All Saints Day | iPray with the Gospel

Seeing 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 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.”

Matthew 5:1-12a

“Rejoice”, says Our Lord, “for your reward is great in heaven.” Today we celebrate a great feast. It’s the feast day of all those who are in Heaven whose names we don’t know. Heaven is packed with saints. We know the names and lives of many saints. We know of some Popes, bishops and priests; we know of some virgins and martyrs and some heroic mothers and fathers and girls and boys… but there are millions more that we don’t know anything about: teachers, shop assistants, housewives, athletes, gardeners and soldiers, children, teenagers, youngsters and old people, sick and healthy, black and white, tall and short, blonde and ginger… from all countries, from all ages, from all trades, from every walk of life.

As a matter of fact in the future this will surely be our own feast day. If we allow God to make us saints, we will celebrate the feast of all saints in Heaven. And there they are, worshipping God, perpetually and completely happy with a joy that we, here on earth, can’t even imagine. There we will discover how much love, happiness and joy a human heart can take. There we already have an army of intercessors who watch out for us, supporting, encouraging and helping us with their prayers.

When a climber has finally reached the summit of a mountain, the ascent is easier for the remaining roped team that comes behind. From up there, he encourages them, points out the difficulties, and warns of the dangers: ‘Be careful of those rocks. Watch out!’ ‘On the right you’ll find a place to hang on to’; ‘Look ahead!’ Saints from Heaven are encouraging us today: ‘Come on! You can do it!’ Mary, Queen of All Saints, during this month I want to help the Holy Souls to get into Heaven from Purgatory with my prayers and sacrifices!