Anyone Can Be a Saint
Nov. 1: Solemnity of All Saints
I can’t write as eloquently as the Holy Father, so here’s what Pope Francis wrote about today’s passage from Revelation: “The vision of Heaven described in the first reading is very beautiful: the Lord God, beauty, goodness, truth, tenderness, love in its fullness. All of this awaits us. Those who have gone before us and who have died in the Lord are there. They proclaim that they have been saved not through their own works, though good works they surely did, but that they have been saved by the Lord: ‘Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb!’ It is he who save us, it is he who at the end of our lives takes us by the hand like a father, precisely to that Heaven where our ancestors are…. Today is a day of hope. Our brothers and sisters are in the presence of God and we shall also be there, through the pure grace of the Lord, if we walk along the way of Jesus.”
Reading 1
Rv 7:2-4, 9-14
I, John, saw another angel come up from the East, holding the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who were given power to damage the land and the sea, "Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God." I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel.
After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice:
"Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb."
All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshiped God, and exclaimed:
"Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen."
Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, "Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me, "These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
The book of Revelation is interesting because of its double secret meanings, one in the present and one in the future. At the time of its writing, John was writing about the Roman persecution. He couldn’t outright criticize the authorities, so he had to write in code.
But God knew this book would be used for thousands of years, and inspired a vision of eternity that we can all look forward to. Of course, it’s not literal; we don’t expect exactly 144,000 people to be saved. But with his words, John puts into our minds visions of hope for that which we can’t see.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
God created everything for us to experience and enjoy. But we shouldn’t focus solely on this Earth, but venture to see Him in Heaven.
Reading 2
1 Jn 3:1-3
Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.
Hallow uses this passage as a nighttime prayer for kids.1 You can see why it’s comforting for children. Kids are always looking ahead with wonder. They’re full of joy in the present and optimism for the future.
That’s the kind of pure hope Jesus wants us all to have.
Alleluia
Mt 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
And I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Being a saint isn’t easy, but it will be rewarded.
Gospel
Mt 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven."
Jesus lays out a straightforward call to action, as well as rewards for our behavior. But we shouldn’t be good in order to receive rewards. That’s a child’s motivation, not a child’s faith. We should do good out of love for Jesus, knowing that he loves us. We then have hope that His love will be made manifest in ways we have not yet seen.
I promise this isn’t a promotion; I just genuinely use Hallow every day. Although if any of my readers know someone at Hallow, I’d be happy to work with them!