Texts taken from the “On Your Word” Missal, November-December 2024

All Saints (solemnity)
proper

FIRST READING

From the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Apostle (Rev 7:2-4, 9-14)
I, John, saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to ravage the earth and the sea: “Do not ravage the earth or the sea or the trees until we have marked the foreheads of the servants of our God with the seal.” And I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal: one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel. After this I saw: behold, a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people, and language. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes, and they held palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God, who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb.” And all the angels stood around the throne and the elders and the four living creatures, and they bowed down with their faces to the ground before the throne and worshiped God, saying: “Amen! Praise, glory, wisdom, thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me and said: “These wearing white robes, who are they and where did they come from?” I answered him: “My lord, you know.” And he said to me: “These are the ones coming from the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” – The word of God.

Commentary on the first reading

“Are only a few people saved?” someone once asked Jesus (Lk 13:23). On that occasion he did not answer, but instead urged people to enter through the narrow door and remain faithful. In Revelation, mention is first made of one hundred and forty-four thousand people who will escape the expected plagues. The number is symbolic: it is twelve squared multiplied by one thousand. We can think of this as the new Israel, the Church of Christ, a great number. Afterward, an immense crowd of people dressed in white appears, with palm branches in their hands: they are the martyrs of Christ, those who, generation after generation, have suffered for him, having “washed their robes” in the blood of the Lamb. We are therefore told that Heaven is indeed a gift, but also a conquest that asks for our “yes” and our concrete commitment, and that the saved are an innumerable multitude. They live in perpetual thanksgiving, praising the Lamb who, through his sacrifice, opened the gates of heaven, and they are a sign of hope for us who are still struggling on this earth.

SECOND READING

From the first letter of Saint John the Apostle (1 Jn 3:1-3)
Beloved, see what great love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God. And so we are! For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when he is revealed, we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. – The word of God. 

Commentary on the second reading

“Whoever has this hope purifies himself,” says the apostle John. What hope? The hope of going to heaven to fully realize ourselves, to be “like God” as he ardently desires. Thus, it is a matter of hope. The apostle Paul explains it well: “If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied” (1 Cor 15:19). Hoping in Christ only for the things of this world means turning to him for a better job, good health, success in earthly endeavors, and so on. All good things, but they do not open us to the true horizon, which is eternal life. Indeed, worldly things serve only to help us make the leap to heaven when we use them as opportunities to live charity, goodness, and faith. Everything is therefore directed toward the other life, the definitive one, won by Christ, where all those who hoped in him before us await us. Hoping in Paradise therefore means purifying ourselves from every stain and preparing our wedding garment.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY

From the Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 5:1-12a)
At that time, seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to speak and taught them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” – The Gospel of the Lord.

Commentary on the Gospel of the day

What is the relationship between the Beatitudes and the lives of all the saints? To be blessed means to fulfill the purpose for which we were created. We come into the world, in fact, with a very precise goal: to reach the fullness of our being, which consists in receiving and giving love, living for others while also receiving their goodwill and attention. Here on earth, steeped as we are in errors and sins, we fulfill this plan only partially. And so Jesus shows us the way: to live the fullness of our being, or blessedness, we must be poor in spirit, meek, merciful, pure in heart, and so on; and if we have opportunities to grieve or suffer injustice from others because of Christ, we will fulfill ourselves by enduring patiently, offering our forgiveness, and remaining at peace. I live in a religious community where this Gospel is proclaimed aloud by everyone every morning as our first prayer; it then serves as a directive for the day ahead, a kind of road map so that we do not lose our way during the day, and thus always keep our final destination before our eyes: Paradise.