All Saints' Day
M Mons. Vincenzo Paglia
00:00
02:53

Gospel (Mt 5,1-12a) - At that time, seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the mountain: he sat down and his disciples approached him. He began to speak and taught them, saying: «Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be consoled. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are those persecuted for justice's sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you, persecute you and, lying, do all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and rejoice, for great is your reward in heaven."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

«Today you give us the joy of contemplating the city of heaven, the holy Jerusalem which is our mother, where the assembly of brothers glorifies your name forever». Thus sings the preface of the Feast of All Saints. «Holy» means “separated”: the saints form a people separated from those who allow themselves to be seduced by war and violence. A people called to shout for peace everywhere. As if to make the Jerusalem of heaven present already now. Holiness is not a good or less good moral quality, holiness is first and foremost a historical dimension, it is the reality of being separated from the power of evil, of sin, of destructive violence. Holiness is not an individual path nor a reward for acquired merits. Holiness is being children of this mother, members of this holy Family, participants in the life of this people which is the Church. Not a parenthesis of one's existence, but remaining in the condition of children, knowing full well, as the Fathers of the Church said, that "one cannot have God as Father if one does not have the Church as Mother". Let us contemplate with gratitude the face of this mother, let us look with grateful love at the faces of the brothers and sisters who have been given to us, let us meet the gaze of the poor and the weak that the Lord asks us to love and serve as brothers and sisters, let us broaden our gaze on the countless friends who accompany us on our pilgrimage towards the destination that has already been shown to us. This mother, also through our brothers and sisters who preceded us and whose names are written in the heart of God, already lives in the Jerusalem of heaven. In this vision we write our names and continue to walk together on the path that this holy mother shows us: the path of holiness, which leads to the city of peace.