[00:00:05] Hello, my name is Sally Moriarty-Flask. Welcome to: From His Word to Our Hearts, my weekly Bible Study podcast. Together we will explore the readings to be proclaimed at the Catholic Mass on Sunday, November 1, 2026, the Solemnity of All Saints.
This week's episode is entitled: Be Blessed. This Feast and its assigned readings all remind us that we are all called to live holy lives… we are all called to be saints, and all too often we fall well short of that goal! So, every year we are invited to change that!
[00:00:54] As we journey through the readings this week, consider the following:
In the Beatitudes, Jesus redefines what it means to be happy, instructing us that earthly happiness isn't as important as being part of the kingdom of heaven. Revelation reinforces that, our Psalm encourages us to seek the face of God, and John's first letter tells us that, as children of God, we may not be accepted in this world… but that's okay because the world rejected Jesus, too. The Feast of All Saints reminds us that our true destiny lies in heaven, so how do we live that every day?
[00:01:43] Let's begin in prayer:
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Heavenly Father, we praise you and we thank you for the saints who teach us that we can be both human and holy, whose friendship and guidance help us through our own triumphs and struggles, and whose strength and courage inspire us to follow where they have already gone… to be in your presence forever. May they always be close to us and may we always be close to you. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
In the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
[00:02:32] Before we dive into the exegesis of this week's Scriptures, I'd like to provide a bit of background on the Solemnity of All Saints, a feast we celebrate every year on November 1st, and luckily that date falls on a Sunday this year.
As early as the 4th century, feasts commemorating Christian martyrs were held wherever Christians gathered and celebrated together, since the Church always believed that martyrs were already in heaven. Those early feasts were often celebrated near Easter and Pentecost, since Jesus' Resurrection opened the gates of heaven for all humanity.
By the 800s, there were so many martyrs and so many saints that churches in Ireland, England, and Scotland were celebrating a feast for all saints together on the first day of November. Pope Gregory IV extended that November 1st date to the entire Church in 835.
Observing the Feast of All Saints in November, the end of the harvest season in the northern hemisphere and the beginning of our descent into the cold and dark of winter, allows the Church to recall Christ's Easter triumph, to celebrate a sort of second Easter, if you will, and proclaim that what is true about Jesus' Body in his Resurrection will also be true about the bodies of all Baptized Christians, those who make up the Mystical Body of Christ - that we will all be resurrected.
And this Feast commemorates all martyrs and saints - whether known or unknown, those who have been declared saints by the Church, those who are on the way to canonization, and those who are, and will always remain, anonymous - because martyrs and saints have already shared in Christ's victory over death, that rising to eternal life, and are with Jesus in his heavenly kingdom.
This feast also invites us to acknowledge the perpetual work of the Holy Spirit, because truthfully, that work has a direct impact on what we celebrate. The Holy Spirit works in the hearts of the faithful to perfect the grace God bestows upon us. The Holy Spirit inspires regular people – real, living, everyday humans - to do extraordinary things with the help of God's grace… and that should motivate us as well!
That same Holy Spirit is with us today… will always be with us… working through our messiness, our brokenness, and our sin to lead us to holiness - with the help of God's grace. We don't have to be perfect to become a saint, and we have lots of examples of that down through the centuries… Peter denied Jesus three times, Paul persecuted the early Church, Ignatius of Loyola and Francis of Assisi served as soldiers during times of war, Augustine of Hippo led a life of absolute hedonism.
And lest we think that a regular sinner can't become a saint anymore… let me introduce you to Dorothy Day, a 20th century social activist and anarchist who led a bohemian lifestyle, had a number of extramarital affairs, and an abortion before converting to Catholicism and eventually founding the Catholic Worker movement. Dorothy Day died in 1980 after suffering a heart attack and in 2000, Pope Saint John Paul II granted the Archdiocese of New York permission to open a cause of sainthood for her. She is now designated Servant of God by the Church, and in 2021 the evidence supporting her cause for sainthood was submitted to the Vatican and is currently under review. I also want to say that Dorothy Day herself would probably be horrified by that.
But being a saint should be the goal of every Christian, not something that we assume is far beyond our grasp as mere humans. Jesus himself said: “My sheep hear my voice; I know them, and they follow me. No one can take them out of my hand” and the same Paul who persecuted the Church later wrote to the Galatians: “It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.”
The Feast of All Saints gives us, who are still in the midst of our struggles, the opportunity to remember that heaven is our ultimate destiny and that we are all called to be holy. In Lumen Gentium, the Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, we read that: “in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness,” to be, as Jesus said in Matthew's Gospel: “perfect, just as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The Solemnity of All Saints is so important that the Church has designated it as a Holy Day of Obligation. Its message is so foundational that all Catholic Christians and many Protestant Christians celebrate it every year. It is a reminder to all of us that ordinary people are called to be extraordinarily holy. Because none of us want to suffer what 20th century French Catholic novelist Léon Bloy referred to as: “the greatest tragedy in life… not to become a saint.”
[00:09:58] So now that we've opened our hearts in prayer and learned a bit about the Solemnity we celebrate this coming Sunday, let's listen to what God is telling us in our Scriptures. And the readings for this Solemnity are the same in all three cycles of Scripture.
[00:10:21] Our Gospel for the Solemnity of All Saints is from Matthew 5:1-12a.
[00:10:33] “[When Jesus saw] the crowds, he went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.’”
[00:11:55] This very famous passage, which is also called the Beatitudes, is from the Sermon on the Mount – Jesus’ first major discourse in Matthew's Gospel - and notice that Jesus is speaking primarily to his disciples, those who have already dedicated themselves to following him.
[00:12:21] In the Beatitudes, Jesus teaches that when we are called to be God's children, we are called to live differently… that we must learn to rely on God rather than the world around us. That's not to say that the world isn't good - it is!
In the book of Genesis, we are told God created everything and declared it to be very good. We should absolutely appreciate the world and all the good things in the world, we should care for the world and preserve it for future generations, but - at the same time - we should develop a certain amount of detachment from the world.
[00:13:15] We should learn to see the world from God's viewpoint, not ours… as something transient, temporary, impermanent; a place that we will inhabit for a time, but then move on from, to enter into our eternal home.
[00:13:37] That is the purpose of the Beatitudes… to redefine what it means to be blessed (which can also mean happy or fortunate), and to teach all disciples how to be prepared for the kingdom. And while we may not often think of them this way, the Beatitudes are actually a portrait of Jesus’ own life… every attribute Jesus teaches his disciples to cultivate in the Beatitudes, is one he already possesses. As followers of Jesus, we are all called to follow Jesus’ example, which means that we should also cultivate the attributes in he teaches in the Beatitudes.
[00:14:37] So, let's pay close attention to how Jesus teaches us to live…
[00:14:45] “[When Jesus saw] the crowds, he went up on the mountain,”
[00:14:49] We are told at the end of the previous chapter, that Jesus has been traveling around the region of Galilee preaching, teaching, and healing people, and that his fame has begun to spread… so much so that great crowds had been following him. So, Jesus goes up onto a mountain.
Okay, I've been there and it's not a mountain, it's a large hill. And I will include some photos of the Mount of the Beatitudes on my Instagram this week so you can see what the terrain is actually like.
[00:15:27] Nevertheless, Jesus goes up on a hillside on above the Sea of Galilee. That action of climbing a mountain (regardless of how large or impressive it is or is not), Matthew knew full well would remind his readers of Moses!
[00:15:49] Moses went up on Mount Sinai to receive the Ten Commandments of the Law from God. Jesus, acting as a new Moses, now goes up on a hillside not to passively receive a set of Laws from his Father, but to teach - to establish - a NEW law by his own authority.
[00:16:16] “and when he sat down his disciples came to him.”
[00:16:21] In biblical times, a teacher would sit and teach his students… so Jesus does what any good Rabbi of his time would do, he sits down in order to teach his disciples.
[00:16:37] “And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.’”
Remember that blessed also means happy or fortunate. We have no problem ascribing happiness to some of the Beatitudes - this certainly being one of those, but others… not so much!
[00:17:04] And poor in spirit doesn't necessarily mean that one is materially or economically poor - it can mean that, but it doesn't have to. Whether a person is destitute or living in opulence, being poor in spirit means that we recognize our need for God, for his mercy and grace; that we rely on God for every good thing rather than relying on our own personal wealth or achievements… that we should be detached from the world. We can appreciate the world, we just don't rely on it.
[00:17:55] Jesus says that if we are poor in spirit, if we do rely on God rather than ourselves, then we will experience some of the peace of the kingdom of heaven during this life, and that full possession of the kingdom will be ours at the Second Coming - the Parousia.
[00:18:22] “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.”
[00:18:26] This is one of those Beatitudes that we definitely don't associate with happiness! And grief - or mourning - can have many causes and assume many faces. We most often associate grief with or the loss of a loved one, and that is certainly one aspect that all of us can relate to at some point in our lives… but there are other ways of mourning. We can lament the state of the world - poverty, war, injustice, terrorism, aggression, political unrest, the list (unfortunately) goes on and on.
[00:19:16] We can grieve our own sin or the societal sin that is perpetuated around us, either by omission - things like not caring for the poor, the immigrant, and the vulnerable in society - or by commission - sins like hatred, prejudice, violence, and oppression. Jesus says that if we express our grief regardless of its source, if we let it out, then we make room for God to enter into our hearts and comfort us.
[00:20:02] “Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.”
[00:20:08] We often misinterpret this Beatitude because we don't truly understand what Jesus means by meek, because being meek doesn't mean that a person is weak, timid, or feeble. Jesus was meek, but no one would ever call him weak! Jesus is referring to those who may appear insignificant, vulnerable, or powerless to the world, but who possess an inner core of strength that allows them to resist becoming discouraged in the face of persecution and refrain from becoming angry when confronted by the hatred, mistreatment, and oppression by those the world considers powerful. Jesus says that those who are meek will possess the new Promised Land, the new and eternal Jerusalem.
[00:21:23] “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
[00:21:30] Righteousness means acting in accord with divine law, living according to God's will, and doing what God expects of us, rather than living by the volatile, erratic standards of human behavior. And righteousness is necessary if we want to be welcomed into the kingdom of heaven…. that's what Jesus means by they shall be satisfied - that the righteous will be content, comfortable, they will feel at home in the kingdom.
[00:22:14] “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”
Those who are merciful here on earth are those who imitate God's mercy, which means forgiving others (whether they deserve forgiveness or not), patiently bearing the faults of others (even if they offend us or make us angry - and meekness can help us with that), aiding those who are most vulnerable (even if it's unpopular, especially when it becomes unpopular - like helping the homeless, the imprisoned and the immigrant). It means being compassionate and generous. Because when we do that, we will receive the mercy that lasts forever.
[00:23:17] “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”
[00:23:24] To be pure in heart means that our hearts are undefiled by the evils of this world, that we measure everything by God's standards rather than human ones. If we do that, we will see the face of God - just as the angels do now.
[00:23:49] “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.”
[00:23:57] Being a peacemaker doesn't necessarily mean that we have the ability to stop foreign wars or soothe tensions between opposing countries - it might mean that, but few of us possess that level of power and influence. Being a peacemaker does mean that we try to sow the seeds of peace in our own little corner of the world… that we try our best to live the Gospel and share its message with everyone - whether friends or strangers. That type of behavior - those actions - mean that we will achieve fully the status of sons and daughters of God when our physical bodies are resurrected.
[00:24:50] “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”
And by persecuted, Jesus means those who are slandered or oppressed for no other reasons than for being faithful to God and living in a righteous manner. When we are righteous and we suffer because of it, Jesus says we will experience in some way our citizenship in the kingdom of heaven here on this earth, and that we will attain full possession of the kingdom at his Second Coming.
[00:25:35] “Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.”
[00:25:52] Some Scripture scholars believe that these last two statements are actually two very long halves of one Beatitude, because their meanings are very similar and they refer to the same group of people. But where Jesus talks about individuals who are persecuted for righteousness in that first part, he specifies that such persecution is suffered ON HIS ACCOUNT in this second part.
[00:26:32] So, not just being persecuted for doing the right thing, although that is essential, but that we do the right thing for him because we believe in him, because we are doing what he taught us to do. And if we are persecuted for doing the right thing in Jesus’ name, he says we should rejoice - even in the midst of persecution, even in the midst of oppression - we should rejoice because our reward is great in heaven.
We can be satisfied here in this life when we behave righteously, we can be comforted knowing that we are doing the right thing, and any rewards we receive here in this life are only a fraction of the rewards we will receive in the kingdom of heaven.
This passage omits the second half of verse five, but I think those words could encourage us today… because Jesus says: “for so men persecuted the prophets who were before you” meaning that we would find ourselves in good company. Because earthly happiness, as wonderful as it might be, is nothing compared to being part of the kingdom of heaven, which is the true destiny of every believer. So, how do we live that reality? How do we keep that in mind every day?
[00:28:29] No one said it would be easy - Jesus didn't say it would be easy - he said we would each need to carry our own crosses. But perhaps that is exactly where we start… by beginning each day mindfully, patiently, even gratefully (if possible), taking up whatever crosses we are given to bear.
[00:29:01] That takes us to our First Reading for All Saints, which is from Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14.
[00:29:12] “[I, John,] saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called out with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.’ And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.’ Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’ And he said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.’”
[00:31:32] At the beginning of this reading, we hear the author identify himself as John and Church Tradition has always accepted that John the Apostle is the author of this book. As early as the 2nd century, well-respected authorities like Justin Martyr and Irenaeus declared that the Apostle John was the author of Revelation. Many modern scholars, however, disagree, but haven't settled on the identity of an alternate author.
[00:32:09] Some have suggested John the Baptist (which makes no sense since he was long dead before Revelation was written), others have suggested Mark the Evangelist (who was also dead by the time Revelation was written), and still others attribute this work to an as yet anonymous author.
[00:32:33] Since no consensus, logical or otherwise, has been reached by those scholars who doubt John's authorship, most modern scholars still accept John as the legitimate author of Revelation. And the fact that the author introduces himself simply as: “John, your brother” indicates that he was well-known and therefore needed no further identification.
[00:33:06] Even the date of the book's composition has come under debate - most scholars still accept that it was written in the mid-90s, although a minority have suggested that it may have been written as early as the mid-60s.
The Book of Revelation, however, is unique in the Canon of Scripture. On one hand, it is a book of prophecy like Isaiah and Ezekiel; on the other hand, it is apocalyptic in nature… displaying cosmic symbolism, angelic mediators, visions of heaven, and scenes of judgment as are also found in Daniel. Unlike Daniel, however, the apocalyptic focus of Revelation is on the triumph of Jesus, the Lamb, who was slain and is risen. While Revelation can be notoriously challenging to interpret, when we study the text, if we acknowledge that its message is timeLESS rather than time BOUND, interpretation becomes easier.
[00:34:31] As Revelation begins, John is told to record his vision and divide what he writes into three parts: what he has seen, what is happening, and what is to follow. Our passage for All Saints comes from the third part: what is to follow - which actually comprises the majority of the book. Before this week's passage begins, we are told that God (the one who sits on the throne), has given Jesus (the Lamb) a scroll sealed with seven seals, and that Jesus breaks six of those seals in rapid succession, each break producing cataclysmic results.
[00:35:28] This passage comes from a section that serves as an interlude of sorts - delaying the breaking of the seventh and final seal. Without doing a really deep dive into the entire book of Revelation, that is the best context for this passage.
So, let's listen as John recounts a portion of WHAT IS TO FOLLOW…
[00:35:58] “[I, John,] saw another angel”
Earlier in this chapter, John writes that he saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the winds. Those winds represent forces that would destroy the earth, but those forces are to be held back until a very specific event happens - and we'll hear that presently. Then, as this passage begins, John saw another angel, a fifth angel…
“ascend from the rising of the sun,”
Meaning this angel came from the source of light.
“with the seal of the living God,”
[00:36:51] This type of seal would indicate ownership or belonging, which would also entitle the bearer to God's protection. That idea of protection should remind us of the blood of the Passover lamb that was used to mark the doorposts and lintels of the dwellings of the Hebrews and in Egypt, protecting them from the destructive actions of the angel of death in the tenth plague. This seal - the seal of the living God - does not exempt believers from trials (and the martyrs teach us that), but it does exempt believers from destroying judgment. So, this fifth angel…
“called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea,”
[00:37:58] Those four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the destructive power of the winds.
“saying, ‘Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees,’”
[00:38:16] Putting those three things together should make us think back to the Garden of Eden, reminding us of the goodness of God's creation before Adam's pride brought sin into the world. But the angels are not to release the destructive forces they control…
“till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.”
So, this fifth angel carries God's seal… the very seal that will be used to identify God's faithful servants and ensure that they are protected from destruction.
“And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand”
[00:39:07] This is another instance where Revelation is sometimes misinterpreted. Certain faith traditions believe that this number specifies that only 144,000 people will enter the kingdom of heaven. That is not the case!
[00:39:26] This is a highly symbolic number! It is the product of 12 times 12 which equals 144; and those numbers represent the 12 tribes of Israel multiplied by the 12 Apostles. And remember, the Apostles were all Jews. That number is then multiplied by 1,000 - which is the result of 10 being raised to the third power. Ten, of course, is a perfect number representing the Law - the Ten Commandments… and three represents the number of persons in the Holy Trinity. So, 144 times 1,000 equals 144,000. And understand, those 144,000 people were…
“sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel.”
[00:40:29] So, the Chosen People, the Jewish people… this number doesn't refer to Christians at all! Which is yet another reason why we have to be so careful in interpreting Revelation. After this sentence, the Lectionary omits the next few verses which list the names of the twelve tribes… sort of, but that's a discussion for another day. At any rate, after we are told that a very large and very symbolic number of the Chosen People are marked with God's seal, we read…
“and behold, a great multitude which no man could number,”
Representing the saints in heaven, both known and unknown.
“from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues,”
[00:41:28] Which is a way of saying God has fulfilled his promise to Abraham from Genesis 17. And remember that promise said God would bless Abraham's wife, Sarah, and she would give rise to “nations” and “rulers of people” would issue from her. All of these chosen ones in the kingdom, these saints, were…
“standing before the throne and before the Lamb,”
[00:42:01] So, before God the Father and Jesus the Son.
“clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands,”
The color white symbolizes purity which is why Christian Baptismal garments are white. But it should also remind us of the Transfiguration when Jesus' clothing became whiter than any human efforts could possibly make them. And in biblical times, palm branches represented victory, peace, and joy; they were cut and waved on the Feast of Tabernacles to express gratitude for a plentiful harvest; and, of course, they were waived by those who greeted Jesus as he made his final entry into Jerusalem. So, this great multitude was…
“crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits upon the throne, and to the Lamb!’”
[00:43:13] Again, God the Father and Jesus the Son.
“And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures,”
Revelation 4 tells us that there are 24 elders seated on thrones surrounding God's throne… the number 24 is the sum of the 12 Apostles and added to the 12 sons of Jacob, those men who became the patriarchs of the twelve tribes of Israel. The four living creatures (described as a lion, a calf, a man, and an eagle) represent the four Evangelists. All of these beings together…
“fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God,”
Revelation 4 says that whenever the four living creatures give glory, honor, and thanks to God on his heavenly throne, the 24 elders fall down before God and worship him. And what did they say?
[00:44:29] “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.”
The word amen means truly - or - so be it. So, placing an amen at the beginning and end of this statement attests to its veracity. Initially, the praises: glory, honor, and power were offered to God by the 24 elders in Revelation 4. In this passage, the entire gathered assembly utters those same three praises but adds to them: blessing, wisdom, thanksgiving, and might - making a total of seven praises. And since seven is a perfect number, this represents a perfect form of praise.
[00:45:34] “Then one of the elders addressed me,”
[00:45:38] One of those 24 elders spoke to John. And at this point, if your brain's doing a little sidestep thinking, wait a minute… if those 24 elders are the 12 patriarchs of the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles, is John bi-locating? Shouldn't he be one of those 24 elders? John is not bilocating! Because – remember - this is part of WHAT IS TO FOLLOW. One of those 24 elders spoke to John…
“saying, ‘Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?’ I said to him, ‘Sir, you know.’”
That exchange seems to suggest a test of some sort. But who is testing who?
There are plenty of instances when we think we know the answer to something, but perhaps it's not the best answer. Then there are other times that maybe we're guessing. This particular exchange reminds us that there's nothing wrong with turning to someone who does know the best answer and who is never guessing, meaning that there are times when we should turn to God in prayer or seek the assistance or intercession of the saints who are already in heaven, so that we rely not only on ourselves, but so that we can practice being poor in spirit.
[00:47:23] “And [the elder] said to me, ‘These are they who have come out of the great tribulation;’”
[00:47:30] Some scholars believe this refers to Nero's persecution of Christians, others believe it refers to the Decian persecutions, and still others to the Diocletian persecutions… regardless of which wave of persecutions this phrase referenced, there were significant persecutions perpetrated by the Roman Empire during the first four centuries of the Church and many early Christians lost their lives as a result.
[00:48:03] “they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”
The robes John mentions may be a reference to Baptismal garments which are outward signs of our Christian dignity, and to this day, in the Rite of Infant Baptism, we are instructed to bring that dignity unstained into the kingdom of heaven. Unfortunately, however, from the time of Adam, sin has been part of the human experience, but John says we are purified, cleansed, our Baptismal garments are again made white, by the sacrifice of Jesus, by the Blood of the Lamb.
[00:48:58] This passage from Revelation reminds us that there are already many saints - a great multitude of them - in heaven… and because we were washed clean in our Baptisms, being part of the kingdom of heaven is our destiny.
[00:49:21] But we don't always maintain and our Christian dignity, we don't always keep our Baptismal promises, and our once-white Baptismal garments sometimes become just a bit dingy. But Revelation assures us we can be purified, and our Baptismal garments can be washed in the Blood of the Lamb… as Catholic Christians, that means that our sins can be absolved in the Sacrament of Reconciliation and we can receive God's mercy; we can receive the Blood of Christ in the Sacrament of the Eucharist and be sanctified by God's grace. But we have to believe that, we have to live that - every day! Even when we're tired or angry or suffering or grieving - especially then! Because our true destiny really does lie in the kingdom… in the midst of the angels and saints.
[00:50:38] That takes us to our Responsorial Psalm for All Saints, which is Psalm 24, and the refrain is:
“Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.”
And here are the verses:
“The earth is the LORD's, and the fulness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein; for he has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the rivers.”
“Who shall ascend the hill of the LORD? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, and does not swear deceitfully.”
“He will receive blessing from the LORD, and vindication from the God of his salvation. Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek the face of the God of Jacob.”
This Psalm is a Liturgical Hymn attributed to David, and it may have been part of a ritual procession featuring the Ark of the Covenant. After the construction of the temple, it may have been used during a liturgical entrance procession.
The first stanza talks about God's sovereignty over all creation.
The second stanza contains both a question and an answer… the Psalmist asks: who is worthy to be in God's presence? And the answer is: only those who are pure and sinless.
The third stanza assures those who are righteous that they will receive God's blessings. And one of those blessings will be to see the face of God.
But we will only see his face if we seek him… if we pursue holiness, if we live as Jesus taught in the Beatitudes, if we love God and allow him into our hearts and minds, then we will be with our Heavenly Father forever and be called children of God.
[00:52:53] That appellation gives us the perfect transition into our Second Reading for All Saints, which is from 1 John 3: 1-3.
“[Beloved:] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
Historically, the Apostle John has been universally accepted as the author of this letter, although the author never actually identifies himself. But there are sufficient parallels between the text of this letter and John's Gospel that support his authorship.
But there are some modern scholars who have begun to question that. No single valid alternate author has been proposed, but that hasn't quelled the debate. Regardless of objections posed by modern scholars, the verbiage and concepts found in 1 John certainly do parallel John's Gospel. So, we will attest that John the Apostle is the author of this letter. So, let's explore the meaning of John's words in this passage…
[00:54:48] “[Beloved:] See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God;”
Through faith, through Baptism, through God's grace, we become adopted brothers and sisters of Jesus, therefore adopted sons and daughters of God the Father.
[00:55:10] “and so we are.”
The NAB says: yet - yet, so we are.
When the RSV uses the word AND to connect the phrase “being called children of God” with “so we are” - it suggests that our identity as children of God is an established, unchanging reality.
However, the NAB's use of the word YET suggests that while we may be called “children of God” at this present time, that may not be the case in the future.
Based on the clarification John will offer quite soon, the NAB's use of the word YET may be more appropriate than the RSV's use of the word AND.
“The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him.”
The biblical world wasn't able to recognize the true identity of Jesus and did not acknowledge him as the Son of God. So, if our behavior, if our actions, don't live up to the Christian ideal, we may not be recognized if we proclaim that we are Christians.
“Beloved, we are God's children now;”
That is our current reality… through the grace bestowed upon us in the Sacrament of Baptism, we have received the divine adoption as Paul reminds us in Romans 8.
“it does not yet appear what we shall be,”
That phrase is why I say the word YET may actually be more appropriate than the word AND in that earlier sentence. And the NAB is a bit different here as well. It says: “what we shall be has not yet been revealed” - which is also a better translation. And John is talking about who and what we will be in the kingdom.
[00:57:19] “but we know that when he appears”
At the end of our lives for individual judgment, or at the end of time in the Second Coming for the final judgment - whichever comes first. But when we see Jesus…
“we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
[00:57:43] We will see Jesus' transformed, glorified human Body which still bears - and will always bear - the wounds of his Crucifixion, which have also been transformed and glorified. And we can't gloss over that first part… “we shall be like him” - we will be transformed; our resurrected bodies will be glorified. Not a single one of us understands what that means, but that is our ultimate destiny in the kingdom of heaven.
[00:58:26] “And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.”
Those words should again call us back to the Gospel, to the Beatitudes… “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God.” That hope is always before us and should guide us in everything we do.
[00:58:53] We celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints every year because we need to be reminded that our true destiny lies in heaven.
So, how do we live that every single day?
When life's challenges threaten to overwhelm us…
When we stumble in our brokenness and the messiness of our lives…
Or when the world rejects us because - every once in a while - we actually do manage to live as Jesus commands us to live?
[00:59:29] We do it one day at a time… sometimes one hour at a time…
No one ever said our journey through this life would be easy… Jesus didn't say it would be easy… he said each of us would need to carry our own crosses.
And this Solemnity invites us to do just that, because THAT is where we start…
by prayerfully, mindfully, purposefully taking up our crosses every day…
so that we don't suffer the greatest tragedy in life of not becoming a saint.
[01:00:21] If you would like to reach out to me with questions or comments, send me an email at
[email protected]
Thank you for spending this time with me and until next we meet, may God shower his blessings upon you like a soft and gentle rain and may he hold you safe and secure in the palm of his hand.
From His Word to Our Hearts is produced by SFS Audio Solutions.
The content of this show was assembled by me, Sally Moriarty-Flask.
Our music was composed by Jimmy Flask and is used with the permission of the composer. All rights reserved.
Information regarding reference references used in preparing the exegesis for this podcast is available upon request.
Thank you for listening. God Bless and Happy Feast of All Saints!
