For those folks still learning about the Catholic Faith (like me, since I’m a convert), here is a little blurb about today in the Church calendar.

During the year the Church celebrates one by one the feasts of the saints. Today she joins them all in one festival. In addition to those whose names she knows, she recalls in a magnificent vision all the others “of all nations and tribes standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, proclaiming Him who redeemed them in His Blood.”  (from Catholic Culture)

So in simpler terms, today we call to mind all those folks who have lived great lives for Christ that have gone before us; especially those who have died for Christ and/or been specially named a Saint by the Catholic Church.

Today’s Gospel reading was Matthew 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.”

Pretty much everything a person needs to know about being Holy is listed above!  What a great reminder.  I tend to fall short of being Holy nearly every moment of every day.  Just to pick one attribute from the list…meekness, it is not an adjective I think anyone has ever used to describe my personality. I’ve learned that when you are a Christian, you are never done learning how to be less of yourself and more of Christ.

So thank you God, for giving us such wonderful examples in the lives of the Saints, so that we can choose, as they did, to reject our silly selves and choose instead to be more like your Son in the way we conduct our lives.