Solemnity of All Saints (November 1, 2025)

In the United States, because All Saints Day falls on Saturday this year, the obligation to attend Mass is abrogated, i.e., dispensed. But it remains a holy day, and this blog is offered for those who will celebrate it as a Eucharistic community.

Today we celebrate the Communion of Saints. In the First Reading the author of the Book of Revelation is trying to give reassurance to his Christian community that was beset with persecution and hardship. The two visions he shares are apocalyptic code. In his first vision, John (as the author is traditionally named) sees the Church as protected against the troubles to come.

They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.”

John’s second vision is the Church in glory, composed of those who have triumphed and resisted to the end.

“Who are these wearing white robes and where did they come from?...” 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.”

In the Second Reading from the first Letter of John, the author speaks of Jesus Christ as the ultimate love that allows us to be called the children of God. We have accepted him but the world has not. Our faith keeps us one with Christ as we await “what has not yet been revealed.”

And in the Gospel, Matthew presents Jesus’ Beatitudes, the charter of discipleship that shows how Christianity turns the world upside down: The poor are rich in the Kingdom! Mourners are comforted! The meek inherit the Earth! But these blessings are underscored with the reality of persecution. The world will hate us because we are Christians but that, too, is cause for rejoicing! 

On All Saints Day, we celebrate our solidarity with the Communion of Saints, both canonized and uncanonized. Baptized in Christ, they have undergone the trails of discipleship and have been found worthy of wearing the “white robes” of eternal life with our Risen Lord. We look to the saints for guidance and intercession as we await our own revelation of glory. Despite misunderstanding and persecution, our future is filled with hope.

In our modern age, when superheroes dominate movies, television and video games, the saints are the true role models for youth and for the whole Church as they lead us to Christ. Instead of an “Avengers Assemble” battle cry, the Communion of Saints pray for eternity in one voice: “Salvation comes from our God!”