November 1, Tuesday, 31st Week in Ordinary Time
Solemnity of all Saints (All Sains’ Day)
Daily Readings: 1st Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; 2nd Reading: 1 John 3:1-3; Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a
As a young boy, I used to wonder why we have this special day for All Saints when we already have each day dedicated to one or another saint in the liturgical calendar. As part of my training to become a priest, I studied theology and other subjects, which helped me answer this question to a large extent.
The Solemnity of All Saints shows the world as seen and taught by the Catholic Church. It shows that the Church is one, holy, catholic, and apostolic and that everyone in it is called to be a saint. This Church has three levels of existence: the pilgrim Church, which is made up of believers on earth; the suffering Church, which is made up of believers in purgatory who are waiting to see God's light; and the triumphant Church, which is made up of saints in heaven.
The sanctity of the dead comes to a faithful person who died and left a legacy of holiness, even though he or she had flaws and couldn't do everything. Even though they were not good enough to hold God's love, God gave them a lot of it anyway because they were able to overcome their weaknesses and come out victorious.
Sainthood is celebrated for both those who are canonized and those who are not canonized but lived a holy life before the sight of God and left an example for living souls on earth to follow the path of sainthood.
If this is how sainthood can be attained, then why can’t I be a saint too?
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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