Today’s Inspirational Snippet:“Holiness is a disposition of the heart that makes us humble and little in the arms of God. We must be pure. Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things. It consists in accepting, with a smile, what Jesus sends us. It depends on God’s Love; every daily act can be transformed into an act of love.”
Reflection for Tuesday 31st Week of Ordinary Time. Year C. November 1, 2022
Today is the Solemnity of All Saints
Today’s Readings:
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
1 John 3:1-3
Psalm 24:1-6
Matthew 5:1-12
Today’s Rosary: The Sorrowful Mysteries
Today’s Saint Quote:“A ray of light enables us to see the dust that is in the air. In the same way, the lives of the Saints show up our defects. If we fail to see our faults, it is because we have not looked at the lives of holy men and women.” – St. Anthony of Padua
PURE HOLINESS
Today, together as the Universal Church we all celebrate with all the glorious saints in Heaven the occasion of the Solemnity of All Saints, as we rejoice on this All Saints’ Day. On this All Saints Day, we rejoice in the glory of all the saints, both the ones whose names and lives are known to us, as well as the many other innumerable holy men and women of God out there who are saints, and yet not known to us. There are also all those other holy men and women who have deserved the glory of Heaven, and yet have not been named and declared saints yet, because of various circumstances. Today, as we rejoice on this All Saints’ Day, we remember all those whom I had mentioned, the ones who have lived their lives worthily of God.
In the First reading (from the Book of Revelation) gives us a glimpse of heaven where a great crowd of people are gathered around the Lamb (Jesus). It is a gathering of people from every land and nation. The throngs are there to give glory to God forever since they have lived lives which gave witness to God. The Psalm describes those who are privileged to ascend the mountain of the Lord and come into God’s presence. St. John, in his First Letter, remarks that we can’t fully comprehend the greatness of being in heaven. In the Gospel account of the Beatitudes, Jesus describes how blessed (joyful) will be those who live lives which reflect their relationship with God and others.
The Beatitudes are not all taught in one sitting by Jesus. They are the main teachings of Jesus about the Kingdom of God in summary form. These teachings of Jesus show us how to live the Christian faith daily and thus witness to the Gospel values of Christ that lead us to eternal life. We could see how the saints were able to live the “Beatitudes” throughout their lives faithfully in spite of persecutions. Are we willing to live the “Beatitudes?” Ask the Lord for the strength to be more Christ-like, especially when we are facing difficult dilemmas and painful challenges.
The Church day by day gives special veneration to the holy men and women who have helped to establish it by their blood, develop it by their labours, or edify it by their virtues. Today we have the opportunity to thank God, if at other times we forget, for their aid and their love. And today we adore Him with them, for the grace which raised them to their present joy. The Church requires this homage of us, by making this day a holy day of obligation for all. All of us have the potential in us, to become saints through our own actions and deeds, which are in accordance with God’s will.
Sometimes it’s a challenge for us to understand that because we think that the saints were special people and they did extraordinary things. But really when we reflect on the lives of the saints we see that they were totally normal people but they really set the call of their lives in going to heaven. What we are celebrating now is what we are all called to be as well. We too are included in that number in principle. To be a saint is to become a true child of God. We are called to share in the sonship of Christ. The apex of all the principles is to have a poverty of Spirit, that is, a total dependence on God for all that we are and all that we do.
Being a saint therefore simply means to live out the life of Christ according to our vocation. We become holy not by withdrawing from the world and our responsibilities. Holiness therefore is to become who we are, namely as children of God. We grow in holiness by giving ourselves fully to what we are called to life. We will be called to exercise humility, justice, compassion, mercy and to be mediators of peace in the midst of conflicts. We must remember that to be a Christian is to share in the victory of Christ that He has won for us.
Jesus has opened “a fountain to purify from sin and uncleanness” (Zec 13:1). The more purified we are in our holiness, the deeper is our love for others and the greater is our service to them. What the world needs now is what it has always needed – great saints. The only way we can become holy is by receiving Christ’s holiness that he offers to us through his death on the cross. The grace and holiness that we have received through Jesus Christ, we should prepare our minds for action, be self-controlled, set our minds on Jesus’ return, avoid evil desires, and work to be holy in all we do.
Sisters and Brothers, let us all be beacons of light for the world, and be not afraid to do what we can in order to evangelise and spread the Good News, lighting up the way to our brethren, particularly those who are still not aware of God and His ways, and those who have lost their way amidst the persuasions and temptations of this world. Let us thus not forget what each of us Christians can do and can become, that is as the reflections of the saints, which in turn are the reflections of God and His light.
Today, let each one of us, us purify ourselves from every defilement of flesh and spirit, and in the fear of God strive to fulfill our consecration perfectly.
PRAY FOR THE CANONIZATION OF BLESSED MICHAEL TANSI, MICHAEL J. MCGIVNEY & NNADI MICHAEL
PRAY THE ROSARY & LITANY- THIS IS THE MOST POWERFUL SPIRITUAL WEAPON AGAINST EVIL FORCES.
Take a decision today for Total Consecration of yourself to Blessed Virgin Mary, grow your Spirituality?
PRAYER:
-Lord Jesus, You withhold no good thing from us and You lavish us with the treasures of heaven. Help me to seek Your kingdom first and to lay aside anything that might hinder me from doing Your will.
ARE YOU A CHILD OF GOD? THEN RESPOND TO JESUS’S CALL TO BECOME FULLY INVOLVED AS A GOOD NEWS DISCIPLE.
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