First Reading: Revelation 7:2-4,9-14
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 children of Israel.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.”
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6
The LORD’s are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Second Reading: 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.
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12
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.”
NAB
I sat in the audience my junior year of college listening to Peter Kreeft talk of moral relativism. I forgot much of what he said, but the one thing that stuck out, and still does twelve years later, was when he looked into the sea of college students that evening and said, “The only real tragedy in life is not to become a saint.”
Now, I cannot seem to find who originally spoke those words, but as we celebrate the solemnity of All Saints Day, it’s a line we can cling to.
The saints were people. Just like you and me. They were given gifts as well as crosses . . . some much greater than yours or mine. Yet, it wasn’t in what they were freely given that they were made saints . . . it was in the choices they made.
Some were adulterers. Some denied Christ. Some were impatient, short-tempered and vain. All were human, and as humans, they sin. But they chose to keep running after Him. They chose to be saints. And, in turn, His grace made them so.
In the Gospel today, Jesus gives us the Beatitudes. What better guide for our journey toward sainthood . . . especially this last one:
“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, this week, the next month, the rest of your life . . . can you imagine rejoicing when someone utters every kind of evil against you falsely? But, if they utter those words falsely because of Him, would it make the rejoicing a bit easier?
If we truly knew that our crosses would someday be lifted . . . that our reward would be great, would it make it easier to choose to be a saint?
They will be lifted. We will be satisfied. We will see God. The Kingdom of Heaven will be ours. In time. With a daily choice to run after Him.
Today we remember all the saints who have gone before us. I hope we also remember they were once exactly where we are, trying to be saintly in a fallen world. Take comfort in knowing they are accompanying our journey back to Heaven. And, don’t let the only real tragedy in life come to fruition. Instead, become a saint!
The only real tragedy in life is not to become a saint.Click to tweet
Read a quick history of a saint you know little about and ask for their intercession today.
Britt Fisk is the wife of Jeremy and mother of four young kids. She spends her days living simply in the-middle-of-nowhere-New Mexico helping with the family beef cattle operation. You can find out more about her here.
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