Cycle B - Year I:

1 November 2015: Solemnity of All Saints
(Liturgical color: White or Violet)

Gospel: Please read Matthew 5:1-12


Our path to true happiness....

We interrupt our observance of Ordinary Time to celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, since November 1 falls on a Sunday this 2015.

This day commemorates all the saints --not only those celebrated in the Church's calendar but all the heroic men and women who followed Christ faithfully and who have now attained the beatific vision in heaven.

The Church honors all the saints reigning together for these reasons: to thank God for the graces and crowns of all His saints; to excite ourselves to a fervent imitation of their virtues by considering their holy examples; to implore the divine mercy through this multitude of powerful intercessors; and to glorify God in the saints who are unknown to us, or for whom no particular feast days are appointed.

On All Saints' Day and in other feast days of the saints, God is the only object of our supreme worship, and the whole of that inferior veneration which is paid to the saints is in reality directed to give sovereign honor to God alone. Our addresses to saints are only petitions to holy fellow creatures for the assistance of their prayers to God on our behalf.

Reflection on the Gospel:

The Gospel proclamation on the Sermon on the Mont, or more popularly known as the Beatitudes supports our celebration of All Saints' Day.

The word "beatitude" means literally "happiness", or "blessedness" in the context of our search for God's kingdom. What is the significance of the beatitudes, and why are they so central in the teaching of Jesus?

As we reflect more deeply, we realize that the beatitudes respond to the natural desire for happiness in every human heart. Because the beatitudes teach us the final end to which God calls us to His kingdom. But the beatitudes also confront us with decisive choices concerning the life we pursue here on earth and the use we make of the goods God puts at our disposal. For in reality, God alone satisfies our longing for happiness, and not material possessions or wealth.

The Beatitudes point the way to God's kingdom. The saints have trodden the path of the beatitudes in
their worldly journey.  We, too, are called to be holy and to be happy by working for the treasures which can afford us welcome into the heavenly home. For when we follow the way of the Beatitudes, our Lord Jesus promises us, at the conclusion of the Gospel reading: "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven".... like all the saints,

A blessed Sunday to us all. And thank you for a moment with God.


Ad Jesum per Mariam!