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All Saints’ Day Revelation 7:2–4, 9–14; Psalm 24; 1 John 3:1–3; Matthew 5:1–12a
Today, the Book of Revelation opens a window into heaven.
Saint John sees a great crowd.
No one can count them.
They come from every nation, race, people, and language.
They stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb.
They are dressed in white.
They worship God.
They have come through suffering, struggle, and trial.
And now they are home.
This is the vision of All Saints’ Day.
The saints are not a small group of religious experts.
They are not only priests, sisters, martyrs, or famous people in church history.
They are men and women, young and old, known and unknown, from every place and every time.
Some names are in the calendar.
Most names are known only to God.
But all of them tell us the same thing:
Heaven is real.
Holiness is possible.
And we are made for God.
Leon Bloy once wrote that the only real tragedy in life is not to become a saint.
That may sound strong.
But it is true.
The greatest failure is not to be poor, weak, unsuccessful, or unnoticed.
The greatest tragedy is to miss the life for which we were created.
We were created to see God.
We were created to become His children.
We were created to love and be loved forever.
Saint John says:
“We are God’s children now.”
Not later.
Not only after death.
Now.
But he also says that what we shall be has not yet been fully revealed.
One day, we shall see God as He is.
That is the hope of the saints.
That is also our hope.
But how do we walk there?
Jesus gives us the path in the Beatitudes.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are those who mourn.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the clean of heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
Blessed are those persecuted for righteousness.
This is not the way the world usually describes success.
The world often says:
Blessed are the rich.
Blessed are the powerful.
Blessed are the popular.
Blessed are those who always win.
But Jesus says something different.
He shows us the road to heaven.
The saints are people who believed Him.
Saint Francis chose poverty for Christ.
Saint Teresa of Calcutta chose mercy for the poorest.
Saint John XXIII worked for peace when the world was afraid of war.
Saint Carlo Acutis used his gifts to point people to the Eucharist.
Each saint lived the Beatitudes in a different way.
Each one became a living translation of the Gospel.
And this is good news for us.
Holiness does not mean living someone else’s life.
It means allowing Christ to shape our own life.
In our family.
In our work.
In our studies.
In our friendships.
In our hidden struggles.
In our small acts of mercy.
A saint is not someone who never struggled.
The saints in Revelation came through great tribulation.
They knew tears.
They knew weakness.
They knew temptation.
But they washed their robes in the Blood of the Lamb.
They were saved by Christ.
They belonged to Him.
That is the heart of holiness.
Not our perfection.
His mercy.
Not our strength.
His grace.
Not our glory.
His love working in us.
Today, the saints pray for us.
They are not far away.
They are alive in God.
They encourage us.
They remind us that the road is difficult, but the end is beautiful.
So let us ask ourselves:
Do I still desire heaven?
Do I want to become holy?
Which Beatitude is Jesus asking me to live today?
The crowd in heaven is not closed.
There is still room.
And by the grace of Christ, we are called to join them.
Biblical Reflections on the Gospel of Mark
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Scripture Attribution
New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition,
copyright © 1989, 1993
the Division of Christian Education of the National Council
of the Churches of
Christ in the United States of America.
Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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