Thirty-first Sunday - Solemnity of All Saints
November 1, 2015
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 (1), for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek (2), for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who
hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied (3). Blessed
are the merciful (4), 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 (5) every kind of evil against you
falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in
heaven.”
The difficult words
(1) Those who mourn are those who
are sad.
(2)
The meek are people who
are patient, humble, and gentle.
(3)
Satisfied means full.
(4) A merciful person is
someone who is forgiving and loving to others, especially
when others are weak. Mercy is love in the face of
weakness.
(5) To utter means to say.
This week’s spotlight
All Saints’ Day
Today is the feast of all the saints. Saints are people whose hearts
were so full of God's love that they loved as he does. They listened to God and
they followed his commandments. They are our role models because we are all
called to love God and our brothers and sisters. We, too, are called to become
saints. The saints in heaven are part of the Church along with those of us here
on earth.
Saintliness
God alone is holy. Yet, the word “saint” means “holy." We become
“saintly" when we become like God, becoming
members of his family through baptism and turning away from sin. God's own
holiness then dwells in us through grace, which makes us able to love as he
does. The saints are those who lived in that love and now see God face-to-face
in heaven.
Reflection
All saints!
Listen carefully to the All Saints' Day Gospel - it
says a lot of things about happiness. This passage contains the eight
"beatitudes," Jesus' building plans for his kingdom of true
happiness. Jesus isn't saying that you have to be poor and suffering in order
to be "blessed." Rather, Jesus is offering us another way of looking
at life's struggles. Jesus teaches that only those who know how much they need
God will find happiness. God has created us in such a way that only he can
satisfy our hearts. Only the love of God can make us truly happy. Jesus shows
us how to love by living and dying for others. That's not the road to happiness
that the world would design and build. The saints didn't follow the world's
building plans for happiness. They imitated Jesus. The saints are our heroes
and role models for following the beatitudes. They struggled with great
difficulties, just like we do. With their examples and prayers, we too can
build the kingdom of God. We too can hope to become saints!
Discussion questions
1.What does Jesus teach the disciples in today's Gospel?
2.Can you repeat eight beatitudes?
3. Who are Saints?
4.How did Saints live their lives?
5. Do you know what should you do to become a saint?
Praying after Communion
After
receiving Holy Communion,
you can say this prayer silently to yourself. If you
have not yet
received your First Communion, you can still say this prayer because of your desire to
receive Jesus.
Father, through
Jesus, in communion with the whole Church, I thank you for coming into my
heart. By giving us the
body and blood of your Son Jesus, you allow us to share in his life, the life
we will have at your side along with the saints for ever. Thank you for this
communion and thank you for the saints whom you have given us as models. Give
us deeper faith in your Son and never let anything separate us from you.
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