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“Blessed Are the Hungry and Thirsty” (Matthew 5:1-12)Are you hungry? Are you thirsty? Yes? Good. That’s a good place to be. Blessed, in fact. That’s what Jesus says in our Gospel for today: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.” And so our theme this morning: “Blessed Are the Hungry and Thirsty.” Now it may sound strange to hear Jesus say that the hungry and thirsty are actually “blessed.” It doesn’t sound like any kind of a blessing to be suffering from hunger or thirst. But strangely enough it is. Because Jesus says...

It was 494 years today that Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to the church door in Wittenberg. He wanted to debate the sale of indulgences with his fellow university professors. He wrote in Latin, but a nameless visionary translated the theses into German, carried them to the printing press, and enabled their dispersion far and wide. Luther ended up with more than he bargained for, but he proved to be no coward in defending the discoveries he was making in Scripture. When the Roman church wouldn’t serve him the treat of sufficiently addressing his concerns, he was consigned to...

“The Now and Not Yet of God’s Baptized Saints” (Matthew 5:1-12; 1 John 3:1-3; Revelation 7:9-17)On this day when we have a baptism in our midst and we commemorate the faithful departed from our midst, on this All Saints’ Day observed, I want to talk to you briefly about “The Now and Not Yet of God’s Baptized Saints.” We’ll be looking at aspects of this theme from all three of our lessons today. First, when I say, “God’s baptized saints,” I’m talking about us. You and I are God’s baptized saints, the people he has made his own in Holy...

Pope Benedict prays the Angelus from the window of his study overlooking St. Peter's Square Vatican City, Nov 1, 2009 / 09:58 am (CNA).- To the faithful gathered on Sunday in St. Peter’s Square for the Angelus, Pope Benedict XVI presented the communion of saints, a “beautiful and comforting” reality that says “we are never alone.”  In particular he held up the ancient cult of martyrs in the early Church, and in this Year for Priests, “the saintly priests, both those canonized…and those many more that are known to the Lord.” Pope Benedict also spoke of Monday’s commemoration of the...

I. A seminary in Ireland, now closed, was dedicated to the training of priests for foreign missions, for strange places such as California. It was called "All Hallows", that is, All Saints, November 1. Oxford University in England has a college called "All Souls," November 2. Taken together, all saints and all souls are designed to cover all of the final combinations of the human race except all the still living, who are waiting to join one or the other of the previous categories. Come to think of it, all "all saints" all have souls. What are left are...

I looked over the Halloween article but I was wondering how to explain that to my eleven year old. Do you have any articles written to children on this?—T.H., U.S. Many people celebrate Halloween without considering the history of the holiday. They put on costumes, attend parties, eat candy, and even pull pranks on neighbors. In fact, Americans spend billions of dollars each year decorating and preparing. But there’s more to Halloween than jack-o-lanterns and scary stories. Let’s take a quick trip back in time to see where some of these customs came from—and if Christians should take part. To...

“Who Are These, Clothed in White Robes?” (Revelation 7:9-17)Today is All Saints’ Day, November 1, and, as happens every few years, this year it falls on a Sunday. We always observe All Saints’ on the first Sunday in November, and this year that Sunday happens to be the day itself. On All Saints’ Day, we rejoice that we are part of that great communion of saints that is the church of Christ, both the church on earth and the church in heaven. All the saints, all those made holy by the blood of Christ. Saints, holy ones, set apart to...

ALL SAINTS & ALL SOULS We are approaching the end of the liturgical year which will culminate with the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. At this feast we celebrate what we read in Scripture, that God will be all in all. As we move toward this feast during this month of November, as a church we focus on the four last things: Death, Judgment, Heaven, and Hell. The thought of death may bring discomfort to non believers who are healthy, wealthy, and wise in our own estimation. It can mean the loss of power, prestige, and possessions...

“Not Dead But Sleeping” (Matt. 9:18-26)Things die in November. Now I say this as one who comes from the Midwest, where leaves fall off trees and flowers wither and frost appears. That stuff apparently doesn’t happen out here in this paradise on the Pacific, where, like the new Jerusalem, the trees yield their fruit twelve months of the year. But back in the Midwest, where I come from, things die in November. And it was like that back in Europe, where many of the traditions of the church year developed. In November, things die. And so it was only natural,...

Poles celebrate All Saints Day 01.11.2007 The biggest cemeteries in major cities are crowded and roads leading to them congested with traffic. Many of the cemeteries have the status of historical sites with centuries old monuments. As state funds are hardly adequate in face of the actual needs for restoration works, volunteers, mainly well known actors and artists are collecting money from the visitors. Prime examples of such cemeteries with extraordinary historical value are Powazki in Warsaw and the Rakowicki cemetery in Krakow, considered the biggest such necropolis in Europe. November 1st is also an occasion to pay respect to...

Benedict XVI's Homily for All Saints' Day "Holiness Demands a Constant Effort" VATICAN CITY, NOV. 1, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the homily Benedict XVI gave during the Mass he presided over in St. Peter's Basilica today, the solemnity of All Saints. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters, Our Eucharistic celebration opened today with the exhortation "Let us rejoice in the Lord." The liturgy invites us to share the heavenly jubilation of the saints, to taste the joy. The saints are not a restricted caste of elect but a crowd without number toward which, today, the liturgy...

In his saints, God is manifest as goodness, power and truth. The variety of saints reflect the infinite beauty and love of the God whose image they most perfectly reflect. It is not enough, therefore, to know one or two or even a few saints. We must have a wide acquaintance with them. Of the multitude of saints and beati in the Church, it is but a mere handful of whom the majority of Catholics possess any knowledge. On this Holy Day of Obligation, we honor the saints whose exemplary lives have merited them eternal life in heaven. What a...

What are the origins of All Saints Day and All Souls Day? Are these linked with paganism and Halloween? Both the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls evolved in the life of the Church independently of paganism and Halloween. However, elements of pagan practices were perhaps "baptized" by some cultures or attached themselves to the celebration of All Saints and All Souls. Let us first address the Feast of All Saints. The exact origins of this celebration are uncertain, although after the legalization of Christianity in 313 a common commemoration of the saints, especially the...

November 1, 2005Solemnity of All Saints Psalm: Tuesday 47 Reading IRev 7:2-4, 9-14 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 angelswho were given power to damage the land and the sea,“Do not damage the land or the sea or the treesuntil we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.”I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,one hundred and forty-four thousand markedfrom every tribe of the children of Israel. After this I...

We are traveling in the footsteps Of those who’ve gone before But we’ll all be reunited (but if we stand reunited) On a new and sunlit shore (then a new world is in store) Oh when the saints go marching in When the saints go marching in Oh lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in And when the sun refuse (begins) to shine And when the sun refuse (begins) to shine Oh lord I want to be in that number When the saints go marching in When the moon turns red with blood...

Prayers for the dead all over Poland 01.11.2005 Cemeteries in Poland are crowded with people flocking to pay respects to those who had gone. All Saints Day is a day when candles are lit on all graves even the forgotten and neglected ones. Lights will shine not only on graves in Poland but all over the world where Poles are buried. In Germany representatives of the Polish consulate and the Polish community in Germany pay respects in several places commemorating the death of Poles. Only in Berlin flowers will be laid at eight cemeteries. Candles will be lit at the...

November 1, 2004Solemnity of All Saints Reading IRev 7:2-4, 9-14 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 angelswho were given power to damage the land and the sea,"Do not damage the land or the sea or the treesuntil we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,one hundred and forty-four thousand markedfrom every tribe of the children of Israel. After this I had a vision of...

What is the object of the All Saints Day? It is the veneration of all souls that are in Heaven, even if they are not officially canonized or beatified. Anyone who is in Heaven is a holy person. He or she is in the presence of God, sees God face-to-face, and is entirely pleasing to God. Since it is impossible to know all these persons, whose number is uncountable, the Catholic Church cannot properly worship each one of these Saints by offering them a formal homage as she does with the canonized Saints. So, she instituted the feast of All...

November 1, 2003Solemnity of All Saints Psalm: Saturday 46 Reading I Responsorial Psalm Reading II Gospel Reading IRev 7:2-4, 9-14 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 angelswho were given power to damage the land and the sea,"Do not damage the land or the sea or the treesuntil we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God."I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal,one hundred and forty-four thousand markedfrom every tribe of the...

<p>Thousands of Mexicans who die in the United States are flown home for burial every year in their native land, where relatives gather at cemeteries on the Day of the Dead with flowers, candles, a favorite meal and nip of alcohol for the spirits of loved ones.</p>