All Souls

This year the Solemnity of All Saints we celebrate on Sunday liturgy. Today we honor all those who have died and are now in heaven. Tomorrow, on All Souls’ Day, we will pray for those who have died and are not in full communion with Our Father in heaven. During the month of November we will pray every Sunday for those who died from our families, parishioners, and friends and for all who needs our prayers.

For most of us, there is a question: what does it mean to be a saint. It is a good question because often we think only of the extraordinary saints who have been proclaimed saints by the Church. We do not know how many people who left this world are saints. Remember God loves us and invites each one of us to be a saint. All we have to do is try to be faithful to God’s will in our lives. Each of us has his or her own way to holiness because God created each one of us as a special gift of divine love. Our part is to find out this individual gift of God’s love in our life. Again, the only way to do this is to try to be faithful and loving.

The first reading, for today’s All Saints Day Liturgy tells us about the uncountable numbers of saints. “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.” God chooses us and we must respond: salvation comes from our God! He invites us to share His life. Jesus dies for us and His blood, his love for us, washes us clean if we will only accept Him.

Saint John in his letter tells us that we are God’s children now. We don’t know how it will be in Heavenly Kingdom, but we will be so much more than we are now. We will be like Him. We will be pure just as He is pure.

The Gospel gives us the beatitudes. These are ways of following the Lord. God is telling us that the road to heaven is doing His will. Let me repeat what we heard in the Gospel:

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.”

This is our program, our way to be with our Heavenly Father in Haven, to be saints. This is the way which Saints choose in their life.

May the saints in heaven intercede for us today that we may walk in their paths and choose to follow our Lord.