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“Trials and doubts are part of everyone's faith journey,

even mine, but Christians know

they can get throughthe hard times

with help from God, other Christians and those in heaven.

POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS” (I)

“Who hasn't experienced

insecurities, losses and even doubts in the

journey of faith? It's part of life.

It should not shock us because we are human

beings, marked by fragility and limits.

POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS” (II)

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POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS” (III)

"Don't be frightened, but ask

for help. In times of difficulty,

it is necessary to trust in God through prayer and, at the

same time, it's important to find the

courage and humility to open

yourself to others in order to

ask for help.”

“We are a great big family through baptism.

The communion of saints, refers not only to those

who have been canonized by the Catholic Church but

to all the baptized.

“The communion of saints goes beyond earthly life. It extends beyond death

and lasts forever, to find its fullest expression when all

believers are reunited in heaven.”

POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS” (IV)

POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS” (V)

“This communion between heaven and earth

is expressed particularly in prayers of intercession, which are the greatest

form of solidarity.”

“The communion of saints is the deepest reality of the Church,

because in Christ, through Baptism, we are made sharers in the communion of life and love which is the Blessed Trinity. 

“Every Christian, has an obligation to

be a responsible part of the

communion of aints, supporting other

Christians in their faith.

Pope Francis: “Be a responsible part of the communion of saints”

“A believer's communion with God and with Jesus must find expression

in communion with all those who also believe.”

November 1st is the Solemnity of All Saints. This feast day is kind of a catch-all for the Church’s saints:-- from the first martyrs in Jerusalem and Rome to those newly canonized last month at St. Peter’s; -- from St. Stephen in the book of Acts, the very first Christian martyr, to St. Kateri Tekakwitha, and everyone in between.

This feast day spans 2,000 glorious years of the Catholic Church’s history.

According to the Roman Missal, this feast day celebrates all the saints, especially those unknown to us by name, who are now in heaven.

All of these saints are in heaven enjoying the same thing, beholding God face to face, also known as the ‘beatific vision’. The beatific vision–the blissful union with God–is our true end and our true happiness.

Beatific means, ‘exalted joy’, ‘holy bliss’, ‘blissfully happy’, or ‘making happy’. St. John the Evangelist captures the happy scene the saints enjoy in heaven in a vision he relates in the book of Revelation 7:9-12:

The Church Triumphant! Nov. 1, The Solemnity of

All Saints

HAPPY & BLESSED ALL SAINTS DAY, 1st November

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Painting: Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven; By: Fra Angelico ; In: National Gallery, London

"The glorious company of the apostles praise Thee. The godly fellowship of the prophets praise Thee.

The white-robed army of martyrs praise Thee. All Thy saints and elect with one voice do acknowledge Thee,

O Blessed Trinity, one God!"

Antiphon at Lauds, from the Te Deum

HAPPY & BLESSED ALL SAINTS DAY, 1st November

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“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.” -- Hebrews 12:1-2

“For centuries the church has confronted the human community with role models of greatness.

“We call them saints when what we really often mean to say is 'icon,' 'star,' 'hero,' ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human.

They give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves.”

— Joan D. Chittister in A Passion for Life

HAPPY & BLESSED ALL SAINTS DAY, 1st Nov.

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A CLOUD OF WITNESSES AT EVERY EUCHARIST!

A priest was asked, 'How many people were at the early celebration of the Eucharist last Wednesday morning?'

He replied, 'There were three old ladies, the janitor, several thousand archangels, a large number of seraphim, and several million of the triumphant saints of God.'

Such a 'cloud of witnesses' answers a deep human urge to be part of something larger, to not stand alone, to give our little lives meaning.

One drop of water, left alone, evaporates quickly. But one drop of water in the immense sea endures. -- Geddes MacGregor in The Rhythm of God

martinjallehHAPPY & BLESSED ALL SAINTS DAY

Revelation 7:9-12:

“After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, ‘Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, ‘Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.’ “

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”Hebrews 12:1-2"For centuries the church has confronted the human community with role models of greatness.

We call them saints when what we really often mean to say is 'icon,' 'star,' 'hero,' ones so possessed by an internal vision of divine goodness that they give us a glimpse of the face of God in the center of the human.

They give us a taste of the possibilities of greatness in ourselves.“— Joan D. Chittister in A Passion for Life

Congregation of All the Saints of the Pechersk Lavra.Icon Painting Workshop of Kyiv-Pechersk Lavra, Kyiv.

POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS”

“Trials and doubts are part of everyone's faith journey, even mine, but Christians know they can get through the hard times with help from God, other Christians and those in heaven.

"Who hasn't experienced insecurities, losses and even doubts in the journey of faith? It's part of life. It should not shock us because we are human beings, marked by fragility and limits. "Don't be frightened, but ask for help. In times of difficulty, it is necessary to trust in God through prayer and, at the same time, it's important to find the courage and humility to open yourself to others in order to ask for help."We are a great big family through baptism, The communion of saints, refers not only to those who have been canonized by the Catholic Church but to all the baptized."The communion of saints goes beyond earthly life. It extends beyond death and lasts forever, to find its fullest expression when all believers are reunited in heaven."All the baptized here on earth, the souls in purgatory and the blessed souls in heaven form one big family. This communion between heaven and earth is expressed particularly in prayers of intercession, which are the greatest form of solidarity, and is also the basis of the liturgical celebrations of the feasts of All Saints and All Souls."

Every Christian, the pope said, has an obligation to be a responsible part of the communion of saints, supporting other Christians in their faith A believer's communion with God and with Jesus must find expression in communion with all those who also believe. Those who truly enter the glowing furnace of the love of God, love others because God's love "burns away our selfishness, our prejudices, our internal and external divisions," he said. "The love of God also burns away our sins."

POPE FRANCIS: “IN TIMES OF TROUBLE, CALL ON THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS”