Saturday, Nov 1, 2025
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints where we honor all the people who have been brought into Heaven after their labors on earth; and tomorrow we celebrate the Feast of All Souls where we offer prayers for all the souls of people who are in Purgatory. They died loving God and repentant of their sins but not ready to enter into full union with God in Heaven. The whole month of November is a time that the Church prays for the dead and that we remember our own deaths.
The First Reading for today’s solemnity gives us a look at what that heavenly joy will look like. Saint John writes, “After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue” (Revelations 7:9). The people we honor today are already there. The people we pray for tomorrow are on their way, being purified of their last attachments that keep them from loving God fully. And we, dear sister, hope to one day be together with all of our loved ones.
The Lord desires for every human to be with Him and loves us all greatly. Saint John writes in the Second Reading for today, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God” (1 John 3:1). What a gift it is to be made children of God at our Baptism, so that all of our suffering and hopes on earth will be fulfilled in eternity. Today and tomorrow are days of hope: “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Matthew 5:12).
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the Readings for the Solemnity of All Saints:
First Reading // Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
Psalm // Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Second Reading // 1 John 3:1-3
Gospel // Matthew 5:1-12a
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, November 1 (today!) // Solemnity of All Saints (not Holy Day of Obligation this year)
Sunday, November 2// The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed (All Souls)
Monday, November 3 // Optional Memorial of Saint Martin de Porres, Religious
Tuesday, November 4 // Memorial of Saint Charles Borromeo, Bishop
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of the Gospel Studies including Seek His Kingdom: A Meditation on Matthew , Listen to Him: A Meditation on Mark, and Abide in His Love: A Meditation on John. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She was the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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