This past week I was arrested by the first few words from the second reading:
Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,
St Paul is teaching here about the fact that we should have no need for fear, since we are surrounded by this cloud of witnesses, and must therefore
rid ourselves of every burden and
sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
But it was the words “cloud of witnesses” that held me captive.
This phrase is normally used to describe the statutes of the saints that crown the two colonnaded arms that embrace the great piazza of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. And this usage is correct; when Saint Paul refers to the great cloud of witnesses, he is referring to the saints who must inspire us forward on the holy road of sanctity – the race that we are called to run after our baptism.
One of the reasons this word held me captive is because (once again!) I heard two (Catholic) priests disparage the Catholic practice of venerating the saints. Both priests suggested that the Church ought to be Cristo-centric, and that our devotion to the saints was distracting at best, and erroneous at worst. It is a pity when Catholic priests hold these opinions, since this only does damage to the faithful who look to them for teaching, and is in fact contrary to the teaching of our Holy Mother Church.
Examining the words of St. Paul, we can discover how deeply and powerfully they communicate the truths of God’s Kingdom to us.
The first significant reference we find to clouds in the Old Testament is in the Book of Exodus (13: 21), when God appears to the Israelites in the form of a cloud, and guides them out of Egypt. This cloud was, as we should know, the cloud of the glory of the Lord (Ex 16:10). This cloud would go on to do much more, however, for later in Exodus (19:9)
the Lord said to Moses, “I am going to come to you in a dense cloud, in order that the people may hear when I speak with you and so trust you ever after.”
The attentive Christian will see in the reference to the dense cloud of Exodus, the great cloud that Saint Paul refers to – I will develop this idea a little later. In any case, the attentive Christian should already see this verse from Exodus as a prefiguring of the way in which The Father would recognize the Son at His Transfiguration when we read that:
a cloud came and overshadowed them; and they were terrified as they entered the cloud. Then from the cloud came a voice that said, “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” (Lk 9: 34-35)
This overshadowing of the apostles, and their entering the cloud, is an echo of Moses entering the cloud where God was (Ex 24:18).
My dear brothers and sisters, after this breakneck consideration of scripture we are in a better position to reconsider St. Paul’s reference to the “great cloud of witnesses.” But, not before a word from St. Ambrose who teaches that
If anyone therefore desires to behold this image of God, he must love God so as to be loved by him, no longer as a servant but as a friend who observes his commandments, that he may enter the cloud where God is (emphasis provided).
In other words, my dear brothers and sisters in Christ, the words the cloud of witnesses refers not only to the saints, those who have given testament of their faith, whether through their lives or their deaths, but refers also to the communion of the saints. This is to say, these men and women, have, like Moses, and the apostles Peter, James and John, entered into the cloud that is God.
The density of the cloud of God is a density that refers not only to the intensity of the presence of God, but refers to God in all His glory. The same glory that was manifested so often over the Ark of the Covenant, and the Temple in Jerusalem. Listen to the words of Our Lord as regards His second coming:
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see ‘the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven’ with power and great glory. (Mt 24:30)
In other words, when He comes in glory Our Lord will not be alone, not only will He be densely attended by His angels, who have been His for all time, but He will also be attended by these witnesses who have entered the cloud.
My dear brothers and sisters, we should tremble at the words “great cloud of witnesses”, because understood correctly, we can see a whole new meaning to this phrase.
We must not, therefore, hesitate to venerate the saints, because they are beloved of God, and live with Him, and will return with Him when Our Lord comes in glory. A right relationship with the saints – and I stress a right relationship – can, and always will, lead us to Our Lord and Saviour. To follow the saints is not the opposite of being Cristocentric, on the contrary, it is the well-trodden oath towards being Cristocentric. One can only be Cristocentric if one imitates the saints.
May the Saints intervene for us as we:
rid ourselves of every burden and
sin that clings to us
and persevere in running the race that lies before us
while keeping our eyes fixed on Jesus,
the leader and perfecter of faith.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
(This homily was preached to the faithful gathered together at the altar of the Weeping Cross, Convent of Santa Monica, Old Goa on 16 Aug 2025.)
(Image reference: The Last Judgment Polyptych, Rogier van der Weyden, 1445–1450, Hôtel-Dieu of Beaune, Burgundy, France.)
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