Readings for the Solemnity of All Saints[1][2]
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1 Revelations 7:2-4, 9-14
Then 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 Israelites.
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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rv 7:2-4, 9-14
St. John’s vision of the heavenly kingdom unfolds in this passage with an image of those who have gone from this life to the next and now stand before the throne of God. Hebrew numerology provides the one hundred and forty four thousand number (from each of the tribes of Israel) representing a huge number (1,000 times 12 times 12) and follows that with uncounted Saints from the Gentiles beginning with the martyrs (those who have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The earth is the LORD'S and all it holds,
the world and those who live there.
For God founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who may go up the mountain of the LORD?
Who can stand in his holy place?
"The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who are not devoted to idols,
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
They will receive blessings from the LORD,
and justice from their saving God.
Such are the people that love the LORD,
that seek the face of the God of Jacob.".
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Psalm 24 is a processional song. It recalls that God is the great creator and he calls his people to be faithful. It asks the question; who can come into his presence? The psalmist answers; only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God) may do so. Those who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life from the savior.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: 1 John 3:1-3
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 3:1-3
“The greatest sign of God's love is the gift of his Son (John 3:16) that has made Christians true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of the life to come; true knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, and Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son.”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a
When he (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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:1-12a
This section of the Sermon on the Mount begins the first of five great discourses in St. Matthew’s Gospel. He begins using a formula common in the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This designation identifies those without material resources, completely dependent upon God. (This distinction is for the devout poor). The discourse continues blessing they who mourn, who are meek, who “hunger” for righteousness (to adopt the Lord’s law of love in their hearts), the merciful, the clean of heart (those who are reconciled to God), the peacemakers, the persecuted, and finally those who will be reviled because they profess faith in Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The annual ritual that attempts to overshadow the celebration today has passed. The children and teens are now recovering from their sugar highs and, in some places, near hypothermia. The costumes both gruesome and cute are put away for another year and we can now focus on a truly important celebration of the universal Church- the Solemnity of All Saints. Each year at the Vatican following the Angelus, the Pope makes a short address to mark the occasion. In 2003, Pope John Paul the Great said the following of this day:
“Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. It invites us to turn our gaze to the immense multitude of those who have already reached the blessed Homeland, pointing us to the road which leads to that destination.
The Saints and Blesseds of Paradise remind us, as pilgrims on Earth, that prayer, above all, is our sustenance for each day so that we never lose sight of our eternal destiny.” (John Paul II, Angelus, Solemnity of All Saints, Saturday, 1 November 2003)
Listening to the scripture today we hear first from St. John who writes from his tiny cell on the island of Patmos the Book of Revelations (or Apocalypse). He envisions all of those who have turned faithfully to the Lord and have washed themselves clean in the Blood of the Lamb. An obvious metaphor for Jesus, especially because the robes of those so washed were white, free of blemish.
Those who have gone before us have indeed pointed us on our way. We are reminded of parents who constantly point their children in the direction their experience tells them is best and how often that very good advice is shunned. We cannot afford to ignore the directions we are given, first by Jesus who tells us “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.”
Today as we recall all of those Saints who have gone before us in faith we ask ourselves, with all of these examples, what is the best way for me to follow? The answer to that question can only be found in the depths of prayer and the illumination of the path through the lives of all those varied and winding journeys taken by the Saints we remember today. From the Holy Innocents who died never having tasted life to the colored path taken by the likes of St. Augustine, the path we follow must be the one were Christ leads us.
The beatitudes make it clear – there are may paths but what is common is our need to listen to the word of God and follow where he leads, never giving up never becoming disheartened. At the end of our journey through this life to the next, what the Lord will look at with his intensely loving stare is what we have done for his greater glory with what he gave us. Let us pray we are not found lacking.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is “Virgin and Child in Glory with Six Saints” by Andrea Del Sarto, 1528
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Psalm Response is from Printed source United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 November 11, 2002 Copyright (c) by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[4] See NAB footnote on 1 Jn 3:1-3
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible
Readings and Commentary:[3]
Reading 1 Revelations 7:2-4, 9-14
Then 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 Israelites.
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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Rv 7:2-4, 9-14
St. John’s vision of the heavenly kingdom unfolds in this passage with an image of those who have gone from this life to the next and now stand before the throne of God. Hebrew numerology provides the one hundred and forty four thousand number (from each of the tribes of Israel) representing a huge number (1,000 times 12 times 12) and follows that with uncounted Saints from the Gentiles beginning with the martyrs (those who have washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb).
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The earth is the LORD'S and all it holds,
the world and those who live there.
For God founded it on the seas,
established it over the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who may go up the mountain of the LORD?
Who can stand in his holy place?
"The clean of hand and pure of heart,
who are not devoted to idols,
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
They will receive blessings from the LORD,
and justice from their saving God.
Such are the people that love the LORD,
that seek the face of the God of Jacob.".
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Psalm 24 is a processional song. It recalls that God is the great creator and he calls his people to be faithful. It asks the question; who can come into his presence? The psalmist answers; only those who are sinless (completely reconciled to God) may do so. Those who achieve that beatified state will receive the reward of eternal life from the savior.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reading II: 1 John 3:1-3
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.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on 1 Jn 3:1-3
“The greatest sign of God's love is the gift of his Son (John 3:16) that has made Christians true children of God. This relationship is a present reality and also part of the life to come; true knowledge of God will ultimately be gained, and Christians prepare themselves now by virtuous lives in imitation of the Son.”[4]
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a
When he (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.”
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Commentary on Mt 5:1-12a
This section of the Sermon on the Mount begins the first of five great discourses in St. Matthew’s Gospel. He begins using a formula common in the Wisdom literature of the Old Testament with “Blessed are the poor in spirit.” This designation identifies those without material resources, completely dependent upon God. (This distinction is for the devout poor). The discourse continues blessing they who mourn, who are meek, who “hunger” for righteousness (to adopt the Lord’s law of love in their hearts), the merciful, the clean of heart (those who are reconciled to God), the peacemakers, the persecuted, and finally those who will be reviled because they profess faith in Christ.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Reflection:
The annual ritual that attempts to overshadow the celebration today has passed. The children and teens are now recovering from their sugar highs and, in some places, near hypothermia. The costumes both gruesome and cute are put away for another year and we can now focus on a truly important celebration of the universal Church- the Solemnity of All Saints. Each year at the Vatican following the Angelus, the Pope makes a short address to mark the occasion. In 2003, Pope John Paul the Great said the following of this day:
“Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. It invites us to turn our gaze to the immense multitude of those who have already reached the blessed Homeland, pointing us to the road which leads to that destination.
The Saints and Blesseds of Paradise remind us, as pilgrims on Earth, that prayer, above all, is our sustenance for each day so that we never lose sight of our eternal destiny.” (John Paul II, Angelus, Solemnity of All Saints, Saturday, 1 November 2003)
Listening to the scripture today we hear first from St. John who writes from his tiny cell on the island of Patmos the Book of Revelations (or Apocalypse). He envisions all of those who have turned faithfully to the Lord and have washed themselves clean in the Blood of the Lamb. An obvious metaphor for Jesus, especially because the robes of those so washed were white, free of blemish.
Those who have gone before us have indeed pointed us on our way. We are reminded of parents who constantly point their children in the direction their experience tells them is best and how often that very good advice is shunned. We cannot afford to ignore the directions we are given, first by Jesus who tells us “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.”
Today as we recall all of those Saints who have gone before us in faith we ask ourselves, with all of these examples, what is the best way for me to follow? The answer to that question can only be found in the depths of prayer and the illumination of the path through the lives of all those varied and winding journeys taken by the Saints we remember today. From the Holy Innocents who died never having tasted life to the colored path taken by the likes of St. Augustine, the path we follow must be the one were Christ leads us.
The beatitudes make it clear – there are may paths but what is common is our need to listen to the word of God and follow where he leads, never giving up never becoming disheartened. At the end of our journey through this life to the next, what the Lord will look at with his intensely loving stare is what we have done for his greater glory with what he gave us. Let us pray we are not found lacking.
Pax
[1] ALTRE
[2] The picture used today is “Virgin and Child in Glory with Six Saints” by Andrea Del Sarto, 1528
[3] Text of Readings is taken from the New American Bible, Copyright © Libreria Editrice Vaticana, Psalm Response is from Printed source United States Conference of Catholic Bishops 3211 4th Street, N.E., Washington, DC 20017-1194 November 11, 2002 Copyright (c) by United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
[4] See NAB footnote on 1 Jn 3:1-3
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