Daily Gospel Reflection – Solemnity of All Saints
November 1, 2023
Solemnity of All Saints
Gospel Mt 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain,
and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him.
He began to teach them, saying:
"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn,
for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek,
for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you
and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me.
Rejoice and be glad,
for your reward will be great in heaven."
*United States Conference of Catholic
Bishop Robert Barron
Friends, today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. Many who have stood in the presence of the Gothic rose windows—brightly fashioned with images of the saints—have heard the windows sing. The Lord Jesus says, “For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it,” and this wonderful loss of self happens when we listen to the singing of the rose window.
The rose is also an evocative symbol of what the spiritual masters refer to as the center. At the center is a depiction of Christ. Then wheeling around the Christic core is a harmoniously arranged amalgam of “medallions,” images, from the lives of the saints.
The medallions are often connected to one another and to the center by a series of spokes. This structured harmony is intended to be a picture of the well-ordered soul. When the divine power is the uncompromised center of our lives—as it is for the saints—then the myriad energies of our souls—intellectual, moral, physical, emotional, sexual—tend to fall into harmony around it.
When Christ is the “ground” of the soul, the soul finds peace, order, and beauty. Make God’s will the center of your concerns, and your proximate needs, desires, and longings will tend to find their place.
COMMENTS