Sunday:       ALL SAINTS
Date:         November 1, 1999
Year:         A
The readings: [Rev. 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 Jn. 3:1-3; Mt. 5:1-12]
The message:  LET US HONOUR ALL THE KNOWN AND UNKNOWN SAINTS!
Prepared by:  CATHOLIC DOORS MINISTRY
Total words:  927

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Good morning! Some of you may wonder after having reviewed some Catholic Calendars of Catholic Feasts if All Saints' Day, the Feast that we are celebrating today, is a Holy Day of Obligation or not! The Dominican Order that sets the liturgical guideline for the Roman Catholic Church states that this year, All Saints' Day is not a Holy Day of Obligation. Having said this, I find it beautiful to see that a good number of you have been moved by the power of the Holy Spirit to attend today's service in order to partake in the great spiritual Banquet of our Lord Jesus Christ during the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. May the grace of God continue to bless you abundantly.

All Saints' Day was instituted by the Holy Catholic Church in honour of all the saints that are known and unknown. This special feast fills in where there may have been shortfalls during the year, some saints having been forgotten because of the day on which their feasts may have fallen.

The celebration of this special feast goes as far back as year 400 A.D. when the early Church martyrs were commemorated by the faithful. The feast was fixed to November 1 st around 731-741 when Gregory III consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints.

Although the original feast was intended for the martyrs of the Church, the feast has been extended to include all the saints who may have died otherwise. From today's First Reading in the Book of Revelation, we heard reference to the martyrs of the Church.

John had a vision in which he saw an angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God. The angel told four other angels not to damage the earth or the sea or the trees until all of God's servants had received the seal of God on their forehead. For those who do not know it, numerous references in the Old Testament to the word 'trees' is symbolic to 'people.' So the angel was telling the other four angels not to destroy the earth, the sea or the people.

As John continued with his dream, he indicated that an elder asked him who were those that were dressed in white robes and where did they come from? Consequently, we learned that they were the martyrs who died for their faith in Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God.

When reference was made to the number 144,000 who were sealed, this number, as many other numbers in the Sacred Scriptures, is symbolic of a very large number. This number cannot be taken literally. This is supported by the next verse that followed. As John looked, he saw a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages. I am sure if there was only 144,000, their number could be counted. But John makes reference to an infinite number that was so huge, no one could count it.

In the Second Reading, we heard of God's gift to us. What is God's gift? It is our salvation through Jesus Christ. Through the Lord Jesus, we are now able to approach the Heavenly Father, our Father, who calls us His children... and that we are!

Today, we know how we have become God's children. It is through His grace, His calling, our living faith in Jesus Christ, our Baptism, our gift of the new heart and the new human spirit, the gift of the indwelling Holy Spirit, the Sacrament of Confession that make us righteous in the eyes of God, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist that gives us the living bread as our assurance of salvation and the power of the Holy Spirit that sanctifies us so we may grow in the fruit of the Holy Spirit to become shining lights in the world. How abundant are the gifts of our loving Father!

What we will be in the future, we do not know. We know that our physical bodies will be resurrected and that we will be glorifed as Christ was glorified. From the Book of Daniels, we learn that, "Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the sky, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever." [Dan. 12:2]

That is our living hope in Jesus Christ, that one day, we will be eternally united with Him in His Kingdom.

From today's Reading in the Gospel of Matthew, we learn who are the ones who will be blessed. They are the poor in spirit, those who mourn, those who are meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, those who are merciful, the pure of heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteeousness' sake, those who are reviled and persecuted, all kinds of evils being uttered against them on the account of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. These should rejoice and be glad for their reward shall be great in heaven.

Brothers and sisters, let us consider ourselves very fortunate that by the grace of God, we have been called to become Christian pilgrims, having been blessed with the abundance of the gifts of the Lord so we make walk our living faith towards our eternal happiness. As we continue to participate in the celebration of the Holy Mass, let us remember all the saints of the Church who have completed their spiritual journeys, asking them to pray for us and to intercede on our behalf so we may remain faithful until the end.

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The readings...

[The readings were taken from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible (C) 1989 Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Church of Christ in the United States of America.]

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First Reading...

"In my vision, I, John, saw an angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to damage earth and sea, saying, 'Do not damage the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have marked the servants of our God with a seal on their foreheads.'

And I heard the number of those who were sealed, one hundred forty-four thousand, sealed out of every tribe of the people of Israel.

After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes, and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice, 'Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!'

And all the angels stood around the throne, around the elders and the four living creatures; they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God sining, 'Amen! Blessed and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.'

Then one of the elders addressed me, 'Who are these, robed in white, and where have they come from?' I said to him, 'Sir, you are the one that knows.' Then he said to me, 'These are they who have come out of the great ordeal; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.'" [Rev. 7:2-4, 9-14]

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Second Reading...

"See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and that is what 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 will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this; when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we will see him as he is."

And all who have this hope in God purify themselves, just as he is pure."[1 Jn. 3:1-3]

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Gospel Reading...

"When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain; and after he sat down, his disciples came to him. Then he began to sepak, and taught them, saying, 'Blessed are the poor in spirit, for their si sthe kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blesed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people 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." [Mt. 5:1-12]

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