 | We Must Be Poor in Spirit Being poor does not, in itself, guarantee inner freedom. Poor people can be imprisoned by bitter and resentful feelings. To become spiritually free, we must first become poor in spirit by trusting God, no matter what life brings. To be poor in spirit requires an attitude of simplicity, as we open our arms and heart, like a trusting child, to our ever present, loving God. —from the book Your [Imperfect] Holy Family | †Saint Quote
"Never say, 'What great things the saints do,' but, 'What great things God does in His saints.'"
— St. Philip Neri MEDITATION OF THE DAY
"The life of faith is nothing less than the continued pursuit of God through all that disguises, disfigures, destroys and, so to say, annihilates Him. It is in very truth a reproduction of the life of Mary who, from the Stable to the Cross, remained unalterably united to that God whom all the world misunderstood, abandoned, and persecuted. In like manner faithful souls endure a constant succession of trials. God hides beneath veils of darkness and illusive appearances which make His will difficult to recognize; but in spite of every obstacle these souls follow Him and love Him even to the death of the Cross."
— Fr. Jean-Pierre de Caussade, p. 25
AN EXCERPT FROM
Abandonment to Divine Providence ⛪ TODAY'S FEAST DAY⛪
ALL SAINTS DAY
On November 1st the Church celebrates all her holy ones in heaven, known and unknown, with the feast of All Saints. The solemnity originally began in the 4th century to commemorate all the Christian martyrs killed during those centuries of brutal persecution before Christianity was legalized. There were so many martyrs that a separate feast day could not be given to each one individually, yet, the Church did not want to leave any martyr without proper veneration. A common feast day developed and was usually celebrated in the Easter season. In the 8th century Pope Gregory III consecrated a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica to all the saints and moved the feast day to November 1st. The feast of All Saints is a Holy Day of Obligation. VERSE OF THE DAY
"Finally, beloved, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is pleasing, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence and if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things."
Phillipians 4:8 |  click to read more | | Solemnity of All Saints Saint of the Day for November 1 The earliest certain observance of a feast in honor of all the saints is an early fourth-century commemoration of "all the martyrs." In the early seventh century, after successive waves of invaders plundered the catacombs, Pope Boniface IV gathered up some 28 wagon-loads of bones and reinterred them beneath the Pantheon, a Roman temple dedicated to all the gods. The pope rededicated the shrine as a Christian church. According to Venerable Bede, the pope intended "that the memory of all the saints might in the future be honored in the place which had formerly been dedicated to the worship not of gods but of demons" (On the Calculation of Time). But the rededication of the Pantheon, like the earlier commemoration of all the martyrs, occurred in May. Many Eastern Churches still honor all the saints in the spring, either during the Easter season or immediately after Pentecost. How the Western Church came to celebrate this feast, now recognized as a solemnity, in November is a puzzle to historians. The Anglo-Saxon theologian Alcuin observed the feast on November 1 in 800, as did his friend Arno, Bishop of Salzburg. Rome finally adopted that date in the ninth century.
Reflection
This feast first honored martyrs. Later, when Christians were free to worship according to their consciences, the Church acknowledged other paths to sanctity. In the early centuries the only criterion was popular acclaim, even when the bishop's approval became the final step in placing a commemoration on the calendar. The first papal canonization occurred in 993; the lengthy process now required to prove extraordinary sanctity took form in the last 500 years. Today's feast honors the obscure as well as the famous—the saints each of us have known. | Solemnity of All Saints Reading 1 Rv 7:2-4, 9-14 I, John, saw another angel come up from the East,
holding the seal of the living God.
He cried out in a loud voice to the four angels
who were given power to damage the land and the sea,
"Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees
until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."
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 had a vision of a great multitude,
which no one could count,
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
They stood before the throne and before the Lamb,
wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.
They cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne,
and from the Lamb." All the angels stood around the throne
and around the elders and the four living creatures.
They prostrated themselves before the throne,
worshiped God, and exclaimed: "Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen." Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me,
"Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?"
I said to him, "My lord, you are the one who knows."
He said to me,
"These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;
they have washed their robes
and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb." Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
R. (see 6) Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
The LORD's are the earth and its fullness;
the world and those who dwell in it.
For he founded it upon the seas
and established it upon the rivers.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD?
or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean,
who desires not what is vain.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.
He shall receive a blessing from the LORD,
a reward from God his savior.
Such is the race that seeks him,
that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.
R. Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. Reading 2 1 Jn 3:1-3 Beloved:
See what love the Father has bestowed on us
that we may be called the children of God.
Yet so we are.
The reason the world does not know us
is that 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 it is revealed we shall be like him,
for we shall see him as he is.
Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure,
as he is pure. Alleluia Mt 11:28
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened,
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
R. Alleluia, alleluia. Gospel Mt 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 is 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."
| Meditation: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14 All Saints (Solemnity) I had a vision of a great multitude. (Revelation 7:9) What does it take to become a saint? The Church does a thorough examination before declaring that a person is definitively in heaven and is worthy of universal honor. They comb through the person's writings. They look for miracles. They take testimony from friends, family members, and other witnesses. They even appoint a "devil's advocate" whose job is to argue against canonization—just to be sure. When all the requirements are met, the pope then declares the person a capital-S saint—someone whom all believers can look to as an example of heroic holiness. But don't let this rigorous investigation give you the wrong impression. Countless more men and women are in heaven right now singing the song of triumph that the capital-S saints sing. It's these anonymous, unacknowledged small-S saints, whom we honor today. There are millions of them, spanning every century and every generation since the birth of the Church. So what does it take to become a small-S saint? Take a look around, and you'll see. Think of the people whose love for Christ has inspired you. Think of the people whose dedication to service has touched your heart. Think of the people who seem always to have a peaceful disposition. Think of the people who have made you want to press on in faith. People like these are gifts from God. They encourage us and lift our eyes to heaven. Today is a day to thank God for the blessings that all these small-S saints have been in your life. It's also a day to think about the effect you have on other people. You may not consider yourself a saint, but your witness can make a difference. Jesus said that anyone who is poor in spirit, merciful, pure of heart, or peaceable is blessed. And holiness always stands out. "Jesus, thank you for the saints you have placed in my life. Lord, I want to join that great multitude in heaven." Psalm 24:1-6
1 John 3:1-3
Matthew 5:1-12 | 2 cents :
""These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb."
Happy Saints Day!
You are a Saint in the making. You are God's child. You are being called to this honor. And what an honor to be washed in the blood of the lamb, to be made white as the lamb, pure as the lamb, whole as the lamb, and the Lamb of God calls us to this. The guy that won't answer me when he last confessed at work, this morning I said Happy Saints day saint (and his name)." Then he said he was praying for me, guess he hadn't forgot he's mad at me. Even though I already reached out to hug him. But I'll take every prayer I can get, Lord knows I need them. He'll come around, usually saints make their way. Saints have a funny way of working, with tenacity. Indeed, the difference between a saint and a sinner is that the saint always gets back up! | Let us pray: " Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place?
One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain." And I meet another co-worker this morning and in spanish I say to him in front of another "Feliz Dia de los Santos...Santo Mayelo!" (happy saints day saint Mayelo, his name) and He giggled. The other worker asks him "and why are you laughing!". I said "it's because he liked the sound of it". But I wasn't putting on a show. I was encouraging him to be a saint. That's what saints should do too, right? Always encourage one another to be saints. That was the motto of our cursillo director this past weekend, "Be Like Saints". | In the Holy Gospel, our Lord ascends the mountain. Who can ascend the mountain again? One whose hands are sinless...whose heart is clean. And they said the disciples came up to him and sat down. Sheep, lambs following. He proves that we can indeed ascend the mountain with Him. We can reach heaven, sanctity. He does want us to follow Him. And He wants to feed us. And so He feeds the lambs, lamb food. And you are what you eat. Think Eucharist. Think cleansed. Think being sinless. I was meditating as I woke up and getting ready for work, "you know, I need confession, because I need grace". We need grace to over come sin. Only then can I receive grace in Eucharist much more. You can get morsels, or you can get more. Is a morsel enough? Think grace. A few sniplets:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit". I've heard of how angels appear to people. These people are in dire need of help, and I mean just down in the dumps. And an angel appears. Sometimes, you can be that angel, sometimes a real angel has appeared. They say that our Lord suffered in the garden, and angel was there to merely comfort Him, encourage Him, be there with Him. It is the Holy Spirit, isn't it? Be encouraged my dear saint in the making. Be encouraged to do what you think you can not or should not do for the Lord. You can do great things and even greater with Christ our Lord.
"Blessed are the meek". I'm not too awful worried about our world. Rome used to be the world power with all its pagan gods and christian persecutions for hundreds of years. (which is another reason we have All Saints day for all the martyrs of first centuries). The meek, the Christ followers are now in Rome. For thousands of years to this day, the meek inherited the land. What God says is true. But God inherits souls, meek souls. That is our inheritance. I've noticed in ministries, some people spin out, walk out, pointing all sorts of fingers. The rest of us are left there smelling our armpits "was it because of me?". Nahh, big heads walk out. Remember, be meek and shrewd. Be humble, and watch out for your head too might get big, ain't nobody exempt from that horrible sin of pride. Remember that as you persevere as a saint.
"Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied." Oh I love this one. You know, to be righteous in the bible means to be holy, right? Ahh, who thirsts for holiness, huh? Everyone who thirsts and hungers for this gets their filling. Really. But not many do. Yikes. I mean, once you begin holiness, people start pointing fingers and calling you out and calling you names, right, like "oh here comes Mr. Holy Roller", right?
Jesus our Lord and our God says to this: "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." So next time someone calls you out for being a Jesus Freak, do what Jesus says, "Rejoice and be glad". You are being washed in the Lamb. Saint Paul got beat up once and came back rejoicing. Saint Paul is patron of our cursillos. Rejoice for you have been found praising God in the dark! You have been the light where there was none!! People be like "HEY! TURN IT DOWN, TURN IT OFF!! YOU BLINDING US!!".
LOL, then you reply "I Can't! I'm Sorry, I Can't help it"....I Just love Jesus so much Let's take each other to Heaven, from Saint Adrian to Saint You my child | | |
