All Saints Day Meditation: Solemnity of All Saints

Tomorrow is the Solemnity of All Saints, commonly called All Saints Day.  It is normally a holy day of obligation but in my neck of the world, since it falls on a Saturday this year, we are excused from the obligation.  Still we are having a special Mass at my parish for those who wish to attend.  Last year we had Cardinal Dolan come in to celebrate the display of relics our pastor, a great collector of relics, placed in cabinets situated about the Church.  https://ashesfromburntroses.blogspot.com/2024/11/faith-filled-friday-all-saints-day-at.html  There will not be a special celebrant this year, but we will celebrate All Saints through those same relics.  It will be special. 

The Gospel passage for All Saints Day is the same every year, the Beatitudes from the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel.

 

Here is the Gospel passage.

 

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."

~Mt 5:1-12

 

This is a beautiful explanation of what All Saints Day is and why we celebrate it, put together by the YouTube channel, Catholic Saints and Feasts.

The one homily I will embed will come from Cardinal Wilton Gregory of Washington DC speaking on the heroic virtues of St. Dominic de Guzmán.

 

To pray, to bless, to preach!

 

All Saints Day Meditation: "The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint."  (French Catholic novelist Leon Bloy)

 

Let us honor one of the new saints recently canonized in the last few months, one that is ideal with today’s Gospel, the “Man of the Beatitudes.”

“Jesus comes to me every morning in Holy Communion, and I return the visit in the poor.”  -St. Pier Giorgio Frassati.