Dear brothers and sisters, happy Sunday!
The Solemnity of All Saints, which we celebrate today, invites us to share in the joy of that countless family of men and women who, following the Lord Jesus, have made their lives a gift to God and to their neighbors. Along their different paths to holiness, they have longed for “the ocean of infinite love,” to use a beautiful expression of Pope Benedict XVI (Spe Salvi, 12).
The Liturgy of the Word describes this family as “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages” (Rev 7:9). Today, in fact, we celebrate all the saints: those whom the Church has recognized as such as well as the countless others who have not been formally recognized but are known to God. As today’s Gospel reminds us (Mt 5:1-12), they are poor in spirit, yet rich in God’s love. Their faces are streaked with tears, yet they find consolation in prayer. They are meek in the face of violence and rewarded by the Father. They hunger for justice, yet are filled in the depths of their consciences. They are ready to forgive and embraced by mercy. They are disarmed in heart, yet protected by God. They are peacemakers, called by name by God. They are persecuted and insulted, yet strong in faith and charity.
It is indeed true that it is impossible to count this multitude of brothers and sisters, and not just in numerical terms. Holiness, in fact, cannot be reduced to any calculation, for such is the good that all the saints have spread around them in the world. As we admire them, we ask ourselves: what have these people, with God’s grace, brought forth? Essentially, actions and choices of love that transcend the calculations of greed and the arrogance of evil, which at times seems to prevail. The saints are the most beautiful and powerful sign of the Kingdom of God that is coming — or rather, as Jesus teaches us, is already among us (cf. Lk 17:20-21). Moreover, this blessed multitude embraces people from the most diverse backgrounds, cultures and walks of life. Holiness is not a privilege reserved for a few, but a universal vocation that speaks to each of us where we live. This is the hope-filled message of today’s feast: God sees the good that we do not see, knows stories that we do not know and reaches hearts to which we have no access.
May the Blessed Virgin Mary, blessed because she believed the word of the Lord, accompany us along the path to holiness, so that we may never grow weary of fostering peace, both in the most important situations and in the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.
Source: vatican.va
