All Saints

Yesterday was All Saints Day -- for Catholics, All Saints is a holy day of obligation. That means, we have to go to church.
Anyway, the gospel reading was Matthew 5:1-11 which is commonly known as the Beatitudes. I have a lot of favorite Bible passages, but this one by far is my most favorite. This is the one where Jesus lets us know to hang in there.

1 And seeing the multitudes, He went up on a mountain, and when He was seated His disciples came to Him. 2 Then He opened His mouth and taught them, saying:
3 “ Blessed are the poor in spirit, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
4 Blessed are those who mourn, For they shall be comforted.
5 Blessed are the meek, For they shall inherit the earth.
6 Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.
7 Blessed are the merciful, For they shall obtain mercy.
8 Blessed are the pure in heart, For they shall see God.
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall be called sons of God.
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
11 “Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

Father Chuck gave such a wonderful homily that I wish I could recreate it for you here. Anyway, the gist of it was that we can all aspire to be pure in heart or peacemakers. We can all aspire to become saints. Isn't that a nice thought?

God Bless