Months before my mom passed away, she had an accident. She fell in her room and broke her hip. As a family, we stormed heaven with prayers. But God had other plans. Instead of healing her, He relocated her to serve off-site. I wanted her to live longer. But when I saw her on the day she passed away, I knew in my spirit that God took her home. I prayed, “Lord, I surrender my mom to You.”

It was painful, but I also knew this powerful truth: God loves her more than I could ever love her—a bajillion times more. 

Sometimes, our love can be selfish. We want our loved ones to keep on living for our sake. But God is wiser. We can’t see the future. We don’t even know what will happen two seconds from now. But God sees what will happen a billion years from now.

So He knows what’s best for Mom and our loved ones who have “relocated.” Friend, put your loved ones in God’s eternal love. Bo Sanchez (bosanchez@kerygmafamily.com)

Reflect:

Have you lost a friend or family member? Take your time to grieve and remember. Then, surrender them to God.

Lord, as we mourn and remember, we thank You for Your comfort and love. Amen.

All Saints, pray for us.

First Reading | Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

We celebrate today all those who have gone before us into eternal life. But what I can never understand is why many people celebrate Halloween on this day. Halloween, the celebration of darkness and evil, is the opposite of celebrating the lives of the saints. It comes from an ancient Celtic practice where the god of death is paid off so he will not visit one’s family that year. It seems fun to wear monster costumes, but it should be just as much fun to dress up like the saints. How will you celebrate All Saints' Day this year? 

² 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, ³ “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.” ⁴ 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 Israelites. ⁹ 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. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” ¹¹ All the angels stood around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They prostrated themselves before the throne, worshipped God, ¹² and exclaimed: “Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen.” ¹³ Then one of the elders spoke up and said to me, “Who are these wearing white robes, and where did they come from?” ¹⁴ 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 | Psalm 24:1-2, 3-4, 5-6

R: Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. 

¹ The Lord’s are the earth and its fullness; the world and those who dwell in it. ² For he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers. (R) ³ Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in his holy place? ⁴ One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. (R) ⁵ He shall receive a blessing from the Lord, a reward from God his savior. ⁶ Such is the race that seeks for him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob. (R)

Second Reading | 1 John 3:1-3

Every Christian is called to be as pure as Christ. We should keep away from sin and from all the minions of Satan. Let us rejoice in the good things that God has given us and avoid giving any glory or honor to anything that is associated with evil. Let us always live as children of the light and eliminate the works of darkness from our lives.

¹ 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. ² 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. ³ Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. 

Gospel | Matthew 5:1-12

The Beatitudes describe the life that God expects of us. When we embrace these characteristics, we become more like Him and drive sin away from us. It is challenging to develop these attitudes of the heart, but if we persevere through the grace of God, it is possible. Let us open our hearts to the grace of the Holy Spirit and invite Him to teach us to live according to the Beatitudes.

Gospel Acclamation

Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. 

¹ When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. ² He began to teach them, saying: ³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. 5 Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. ⁶ Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. ⁷ Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. ⁸ Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. ⁹ Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. ¹⁰ Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. ¹¹ Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. ¹² Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”

Reflect:

Among the qualities of the Beatitudes, which one do you score the highest? The lowest? Why? How can you live out these Beatitudes more in your life?

Read the Bible in one year! Read OBADIAH today.

Called to Be Saints

It’s All Saints (and saints) Day today! It is the special day dedicated to all who had lived in accordance with God’s holy will. They understood the Beatitudes not only with their minds but also with their hearts, and showed it through their lives. They realized God’s mercy and compassion, and were thankful for the repeated chances given to them. They were witnesses to God’s unceasing presence and guidance.

While we honor the Saints on this day, let us not forget to honor God first and foremost. We always claim, based on our experience, that sainthood is impossible to achieve. Indeed, if we view saints as those who committed no sin at all or lived perfect lives, it is not only impossible but unattainable. If we understand sainthood as inborn—meaning, some were destined to be one and some were not—we may exclude ourselves from it. The truth is, God created us all and, in that sense, our destiny is to be with Him—to be saints. We believe that because of the sins of Adam and Eve, we have lost paradise. Original sin came to be and we inherited it. Jesus, by His death and resurrection, saved us from it and gained paradise back for us. We receive it when we are baptized. We are given a new life. We strive to maintain that state of holiness. That is our task in this life. We hope, at the end of our lives, to be worthy of God’s love. Holiness is the norm, not the exception.

After prescribed processes, some will be recognized as saints for the members of the Church to emulate. But there are those who would only be known to God and to some people to have lived exemplary lives. In both cases, we believe in God’s grace and mercy. 

We go to cemeteries today believing that God had given them mercy and accepted them into His Kingdom. In that sense, we believe they are already saints. It is the right attitude and very Christian. We pray for our departed loved ones and we believe they had been forgiven, paid their dues, and merited salvation and sainthood. May our saints and blessed departed loved ones intercede for us. Fr. Benny Tuazon

Reflection Question: 

Today, pray to your favorite saints and ask them to intercede for you and your loved ones.

All Saints in heaven, pray for us. Amen.

Today, I pray for: ____________________________________________________