Solemnity of All Saints - Our Ultimate Fullness in New Jerusalem as the Communion of Saints through the Beatitudes

The first day of November is the Solemnity of All Saints, a.k.a., All Saints Day. It is a holy day of obligation, For this Solemnity Mass, the readings are: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Mathew 5:1-12a.

Out of these readings we can make three points to reflect on for All Saints Day:

I.                   Based on the Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3

God has bestowed the tile – His children – on us. Therefore we are children of God and bound to become like God as we mature toward the fullness.

For this, we were created in God’s image (imago Dei)(Genesis 1:27) and blessed by Him (Genesis 1:28a). And God the Son has been incarnated in the human flesh of Jesus by the power of the Holy Spirit (John 1:1,14; Matthew 1:18; Luke 1:35) to be like us, except for sin and propensity to sin (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Hebrews 2:17-18; 4:15).

In the fullness, we shall become saints.

II.                Based on the Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:3-12a

In order to grow to become saints, we need to be beatified as we live a life of the beatitudes. It means to be:

The poor in spirit, meaning, the humble in spirit – to be anawim (Matthew 5:3).

Those who mourn – who morn because of being anawim, being afflicted but endure with faith (Matthew 5:4a).

The meek – the gentile (Matthew 5:5a), like Jesus (Matthew 11:29).

Those who are hungry and thirsty for righteousness – eager to fight for God’s justice (tzedek) (Matthew 5:6a).

The merciful (Matthew 5:7a), as mercy is a name of God, according to Pope Francis, and God the Father wants us to be merciful as He is (Luke 6:36).

The clean of heart (Matthew 5:8a) to see God (Matthew 5:8b). For this, we pray for the purity of our heart (e.g. Psalm 51).

The peacemakers (Matthew 5:9a), a character of being God’s children (Matthew 5:9b), mature with the Holy Spirit to be fruitful of peace (James 3:18).

The persecuted for the sake of righteousness (Matthew 5:10a), and those who endure persecution (tribulation) are bound to be saints (Revelation 7:14).

The insulted and persecuted (afflicted) with every kind of evil because of the faith in Christ (Matthew 5:11a).

And Jesus calls those who are beatified for their life of faith, as above characterized, to rejoice in their sainthood (Matthew 3:12).

III.             Based on the First Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14.

Those who become saints are sealed and endure tribulations, wearing white robes washed with the blood of Christ the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world for enduring tribulation (persecution), accompanied with four angels and an archangel, assembled at the throne of Christ the King.  This is the ultimate Church, the communion of saints (communio sanctorum), as said in the Apostle’s Creed, and it is, after all, Christ’s mystical body (1 Corinthians 12:12-27), for New Jerusalem (Revelation 21).

Upon receiving the Sacrament of Baptism, we begin our Christian life as children of God. As children, we need to be nurtured – not only by our parents or guardians’ love but God’s love in His grace, the Holy Spirit, the Word, and the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. God the Father has sent His only begotten Son as the Lamb but in the human flesh, just like ours except for sin and potential to sin, in the man of Jesus, so that he can teach us how we can grow to be saints, entering his Kingdom – so that he can feed us with his Word and his body and blood, all of which are fully loaded with the Holy Spirit.

So we learn the way toward the fullness in the sainthood through a beatified life from Jesus the Son, the Christ, strengthened by the Holy Spirit and fortified with the wisdom which is in the Word and the first gift of the Holy Spirit (i.e. John 1:1, 14; 6:51, 63; 2 Corinthians 3:6; cf. Genesis 2:7; 1 Corinthians 15:45).

This is why it is so essential that we attend Mass regularly, as children of God – to be nourished both with the Word in the Liturgy of the Word and the Body and Blood in the Liturgy of the Eucharist, for us to nurtured into the fullness, which is to be revealed (1 John 3:2) in our sainthood.  In this spiritual growth into the sainthood, fullness, we are strengthened by the Holy Spirit to endure tribulation, keeping our faith steadfast, being free from fear of death.

Are you marching in to be counted in the number of the great multitude, wearing white robes washed by the blood of Christ the Lamb of God, entered into the Kingdom through the narrow gate to be assembled at the throne of Christ the King? 

The say after the Solemnity of All Saints is the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, a.k.a., All Souls Day, to give a focused prayer for souls in purgatory, where they are purified in their preparation for the sainthood.

Happy All Saints Day!