November 1, 2026: All Saints Day
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying: “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 if 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.”
Reflection
When I was a primary school teacher, I was always excited on November 1, The Feast of All Saints. Often, I would assign a student a particular saint. The children were encouraged to research their saint and come to school dressed like that saint on November 1. It would be amazing to see how creative the children and their parents would be.
Today, we pay tribute to the many women and men who have been declared saints in our Church, but most importantly, we remember those unknown saints. What do we do to become saints? I believe it is to live out the beatitudes during our daily lives. To show love, mercy and justice to all we encounter. Some examples can be visiting a person who is ill, volunteering in a food pantry, working toward justice. These are just a few examples to mention.
During the months of November and December, many people and organizations are extremely generous. Can we extend this generosity for an entire year?
Can we follow the example of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin?
Let us reflect on these two quotes of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin:
“Especially let us never forget that if we wish to be like the saints we must live like them. Let us force ourselves to imitate their virtues in particular humility and charity.”
“What have we to do in order to become saints? Nothing extraordinary, nothing more than we do every day. Only do it for God’s love.
Action
How can we put our words into action to become more saint like?
