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After the Angelus:
Dear brothers and sisters, yesterday in Brazil Mother Assunta Marchetti, who was born in Italy and was the co-founder of the Missionary Sisters of St Charles Borromeo, the “Scalabrinians”, was beatified. She was an exemplary sister, serving the orphans of Italian immigrants; she saw Jesus in the poor, the orphaned, the sick and migrants. Let us give thanks to the Lord for this woman, the model of a tireless missionary spirit and courageous dedication to the service of charity. This is a reminder and most of all a confirmation of what we said before, concerning the search for the face of God in our brothers and sisters in the most in need.
I also greet all the Schoenstatt pilgrims: from here I can see their icon of the Mother.
I thank and greet everyone with affection. Please, pray for me, do not forget. I wish you a happy Sunday and a good lunch. Goodbye! Arrivederci!
Acknowledgment: We thank the Vatican Publisher for allowing us to publish the Homily of Pope Francis I, so that it could be accessed by more people all over the world; as a source of God’s encouragements to all of us. |
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All Saints Day, First Reading: Extracted from the Book of the Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14 I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel. After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’ One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’ |
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All Saints Day, Responsorial: Psalm 24:1-6 Responsorial: Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness, the world and all its peoples. It is he who set it on the seas; on the waters he made it firm.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in his holy place? The man with clean hands and pure heart, who desires not worthless things.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord and reward from the God who saves him. Such are the men who seek him, seek the face of the God of Jacob. |
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All Saints Day, Second Reading: Extracted from the first letter of Saint John 1 John 3:1-3 Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are already the children of God but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is. Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
Gospel Acclamation Matthew 11:28 Alleluia, alleluia! Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia! |
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All Saints Day, Gospel Reading: Extracted from the holy Gospel according to Saint Matthew 5:1-12: The Beatitudes Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them: ‘How happy are the poor in spirit; theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Happy the gentle: they shall have the earth for their heritage. Happy those who mourn: they shall be comforted. Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right: they shall be satisfied. Happy the merciful: they shall have mercy shown them. Happy the pure in heart: they shall see God. Happy the peacemakers: they shall be called sons of God. Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right: theirs is the kingdom of heaven. ‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’
Sharing: It was All Saints Day on 1 November 2014. The Readings that were read in the Eucharistic Celebrations all over the world on that day are shown above: First Reading: Apocalypse 7:2-4, 9-14, Responsorial: Psalm 24:1-6, Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3 & Gospel Reading: Matthew 5:1-12. We have extracted the Homilies of Saint Pope John Paul II, Pope Benedict XVI & Pope Francis I based on the aforesaid Readings to share with you, so that you could similarly be encouraged:
SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS HOMILY OF JOHN PAUL II Wednesday 1 November 2000
1. "Praise and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving and honour, power and might, to our God for ever and ever" (Revelation 7: 12). In a spirit of profound adoration of the Most Holy Trinity, we join all the saints who eternally celebrate the heavenly liturgy, to offer thanks again with them to our God for the wonders he has accomplished in the history of salvation.
Praise and thanksgiving to God for having raised up in the Church a great multitude of saints, whom no one could count (cf. Revelation 7: 9). A great multitude: not only the saints and blesseds we honour during the liturgical year, but also the anonymous saints known only to him. Mothers and fathers of families, who in their daily devotion to their children made an effective contribution to the Church's growth and to the building of society; priests, sisters and lay people who, like candles lit before the altar of the Lord, were consumed in offering material and spiritual aid to their neighbour in need; men and women missionaries, who left everything to bring the Gospel message to every part of the world. And the list could go on.
2. Praise and thanksgiving to God, particularly for the holiest of creatures, Mary, beloved of the Father, blessed because of Jesus, the fruit of her womb, sanctified and made a new creation by the Holy Spirit. A model of holiness for having put her own life at the disposal of the Most High, she "shines forth on earth as a sign of certain hope and comfort to the pilgrim People of God" (Lumen gentium, n. 68).
Today is exactly the 50th anniversary of the solemn act by which my revered predecessor Pope Pius XII, in this very square, defined the dogma of Mary's Assumption body and soul into heaven. We praise the Lord for having glorified his Mother by associating her with his victory over sin and death.
Today the faithful of Pompei have wanted in a special way to join in our praise. They have come on pilgrimage in large numbers, led by Archbishop Francesco Saverio Toppi, the shrine's Prelate, and accompanied by the city's mayor. Their presence recalls that it was Bl. Bartolo Longo, founder of the new Pompei, who in 1900 began the popular movement for the dogmatic definition of the Assumption.
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