The Church has declared some people saints, holding them up as models of virtue.

By honoring them, we honor Him Who made them holy.

Honoring the saints, To strive after the holiness the saints attained.

 

 ＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

I saw another angel,

Ascending from the sunrise, carrying the seal of the living God, and he cried out with a loud voice, to the four angels empowered to harm the earth and the sea, "Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, until we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads."

 

Then, I heard the number of those marked with the seal: a hundred and forty-four thousand, from all the tribes of the people of Israel:

After this, I saw a great crowd, impossible to count, from every nation, race, people and tongue, standing before the throne, and the Lamb, clothed in white, with palm branches in their hands, and they cried out with a loud voice, "Who saves, but our God, who sits on the throne, and the Lamb?"

 

All the angels were around the throne, the elders and the four living creatures; they, then, bowed before the throne, with their faces to the ground, to worship God. They said, Amen. Praise, glory, wisdom, thanks, honor, power and strength to our God forever and ever. Amen!

 

At that moment, one of the elders spoke up, and said to me, "Who are these people clothed in white, and where did they come from?" I answered, "Sir, it is you who know this." 

The elder replied, "They are those who have come out of the great persecution; they have washed, and made their clothes white, in the blood of the Lamb.

 

Ps 24:1b-2, 3-4ab, 5-6 Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

1 John 3:1-3

 

＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊      

Matthew 5:1-12a

When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them: Fortunate are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn; they shall be comforted. Fortunate are the gentle; they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

 

Fortunate are those with pure hearts, for they shall see God. Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God.

 

Gospel Reflection ：

"The poor in spirit." 

We begin our faith journey for the month of November. In our Creed, we profess that we believe in the communion of saints. We can always invoke their intercessions and they come to our aid through their intercessions. Moreover, they become our models. Like the Saints, we are called to a life of holiness.

 

We are challenged to emulate their examples. We are blessed because we have our models whose examples become our life's manual. Today's Gospel tells of the Beatitudes as phrased by Matthew. The Matthean Beatitudes begins by proclaiming that the poor in spirit are fortunate. The spiritually poor are blessed because the kingdom of heaven belongs to them.

 

Matthew must have phrased the first of the Beatitudes this way to convey that spiritual poverty is not only the first of the Beatitudes but also the foundation of all Christian virtues. Some associate this spiritual poverty with the virtue of humility. Furthermore, we understand this Beatitude as the proclamation of our blessedness upon our submission to God's will. Let us then continue journeying with the Saints on the path of submission to the divine will.