Fr. Guy Adolphe Kasa Mvumbi
Every first of the month of November the Church celebrates the solemnity of all Saints day and this year 2026 it falls on a Sunday that is why we are celebrating it today. For our meditation, the Church gives us the following readings: an excerpt from the book of the Revelation of St. John (7: 2-4, 9-14) in which Saint John describes his vision: those who have endured the trials worship the Lamb. Psalm 24 serves as the responsorial psalm: Those who seek the face of the Lord shall be rewarded. In the second reading (1John 3: 1-3), St. John states clearly that “We are God’s children now.” And lastly, in today’s gospel (Matthew 5: 1-12a), the Lord Jesus teaches what it means to be happy. In the following lines, I am going to give an insight about the origin of the solemnity of All Saints and then, I will highlight on the role of saints in Christian devotions and prayer life, and lastly I will remind ourselves that the aim of our earthly journey is to join the community of the saints in heaven.
From all Christian martyrs to all Saints
Now quid of the solemnity of today? In the light of today’s first reading Pope Benedict XVI explains by way of illustration that it is the celebration of all Christian martyrs (Rev. 7:14) that was later extended to the solemnity of all the saints that we are celebrating today (Rev. 7: 9). When we recite the creed, we profess to believe in the communion of saints. Here, the saints hint at the community of our brothers and sisters in faith who, we believe, are in heaven. Knowing this strengthens our conviction in the reality of the heavenly life and revives our hope in eternal life.[1] For instance, this week we celebrate the following saints: Tuesday, the 3rd it is Saint Martin de Porres, the 5th Friday Saint Guido Maria Conforti, the founder of Xaverian Missionaries, and the 6th all Saints of Africa: St. Augustine, St. Bakhita, the Martyrs of Uganda: St. Kizito and companions, and so on.
Saints: Beatitudes as attitudes
The saints are our brothers and sisters, I mean human beings like you and I, who lived a simple and holy life, and God’s mercy shined on them. In today’s gospel, the Beatitudes point out who the saints are: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and so on. Now none of these attributes, so simple as they are, is attractive in the sight of the world since all of them are seen as a failure. My dear brothers and sisters, I have a good news for you: It is simple to go to heaven, just practice the Beatitudes daily until they become your attitudes.
The saints struggled in their humanity.
While reading some hagiographies, it has been noticed that some of the time the holiness an individual saint may be overemphasized up to the point of forgetting the saints were also human beings, as I have just said. As human beings on this earth, the saints struggled in their human dimension, everything was not perfectly smooth. To name just a few, Saint Augustine struggled with his sexuality. Saint Guido Maria Conforti struggled with his poor health up to doubting his admission to ordained ministries. He was rejected by some several religious congregations before starting the Congregation of Xaverian Missionaries. Indeed, even bad or unfortunate situations can have a positive outcome or hidden benefit.
We too are called to be holy
The humanity of the saints gives us hope that we too, despite of our struggles and the ups and downs of daily life, can reach one day where the saints are, that is, in heaven. None of us is excluded. Remember, Saint John reports to us in the first reading: “…I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all the tribes and peoples and tongues …” Through the sacrament of Baptism, we became God’s children. As such, Saint John continues in the second reading, saying: “…we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” The saints have the privilege of seeing God.
Your saint prays for you
To conclude, as a take away, I have an assignment for each of us. On the day of our baptism, we were baptized with a new name. Mostly, it is a name of a saint or a Christian virtue/gospel value like Mercy, Peace, Grace and the likes. If it is a Christian virtue, then try to practice it in your daily life. If is the name of a saint, then that saint is your personal patronal saint. Go and try to know about him/her and learn from his/her life. In Christian devotion and prayer, some of the saints have novena attributed to them. By the way, Xaverian Missionaries on the 6th day of the Novena of St. Guido Maria Conforti. When a feast day of a saint approaches join the novena to seek his/her intercession because the saints remind us that we are not alone in our struggles. They are continually interceding for us to God.
[1] Pope Benedict XVI, All Saints’ Day in Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts, Fasts, and Other Solemnities of the Church (Michigan, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2012)
Every first of the month of November the Church celebrates the solemnity of all Saints day and this year 2026 it falls on a Sunday that is why we are celebrating it today. For our meditation, the Church gives us the following readings: an excerpt from the book of the Revelation of St. John (7: 2-4, 9-14) in which Saint John describes his vision: those who have endured the trials worship the Lamb. Psalm 24 serves as the responsorial psalm: Those who seek the face of the Lord shall be rewarded. In the second reading (1John 3: 1-3), St. John states clearly that “We are God’s children now.” And lastly, in today’s gospel (Matthew 5: 1-12a), the Lord Jesus teaches what it means to be happy. In the following lines, I am going to give an insight about the origin of the solemnity of All Saints and then, I will highlight on the role of saints in Christian devotions and prayer life, and lastly I will remind ourselves that the aim of our earthly journey is to join the community of the saints in heaven.
From all Christian martyrs to all Saints
Now quid of the solemnity of today? In the light of today’s first reading Pope Benedict XVI explains by way of illustration that it is the celebration of all Christian martyrs (Rev. 7:14) that was later extended to the solemnity of all the saints that we are celebrating today (Rev. 7: 9). When we recite the creed, we profess to believe in the communion of saints. Here, the saints hint at the community of our brothers and sisters in faith who, we believe, are in heaven. Knowing this strengthens our conviction in the reality of the heavenly life and revives our hope in eternal life.[1] For instance, this week we celebrate the following saints: Tuesday, the 3rd it is Saint Martin de Porres, the 5th Friday Saint Guido Maria Conforti, the founder of Xaverian Missionaries, and the 6th all Saints of Africa: St. Augustine, St. Bakhita, the Martyrs of Uganda: St. Kizito and companions, and so on.
Saints: Beatitudes as attitudes
The saints are our brothers and sisters, I mean human beings like you and I, who lived a simple and holy life, and God’s mercy shined on them. In today’s gospel, the Beatitudes point out who the saints are: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, the merciful, the pure in heart, the peacemakers, those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, and so on. Now none of these attributes, so simple as they are, is attractive in the sight of the world since all of them are seen as a failure. My dear brothers and sisters, I have a good news for you: It is simple to go to heaven, just practice the Beatitudes daily until they become your attitudes.
The saints struggled in their humanity.
While reading some hagiographies, it has been noticed that some of the time the holiness an individual saint may be overemphasized up to the point of forgetting the saints were also human beings, as I have just said. As human beings on this earth, the saints struggled in their human dimension, everything was not perfectly smooth. To name just a few, Saint Augustine struggled with his sexuality. Saint Guido Maria Conforti struggled with his poor health up to doubting his admission to ordained ministries. He was rejected by some several religious congregations before starting the Congregation of Xaverian Missionaries. Indeed, even bad or unfortunate situations can have a positive outcome or hidden benefit.
We too are called to be holy
The humanity of the saints gives us hope that we too, despite of our struggles and the ups and downs of daily life, can reach one day where the saints are, that is, in heaven. None of us is excluded. Remember, Saint John reports to us in the first reading: “…I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all the tribes and peoples and tongues …” Through the sacrament of Baptism, we became God’s children. As such, Saint John continues in the second reading, saying: “…we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” The saints have the privilege of seeing God.
Your saint prays for you
To conclude, as a take away, I have an assignment for each of us. On the day of our baptism, we were baptized with a new name. Mostly, it is a name of a saint or a Christian virtue/gospel value like Mercy, Peace, Grace and the likes. If it is a Christian virtue, then try to practice it in your daily life. If is the name of a saint, then that saint is your personal patronal saint. Go and try to know about him/her and learn from his/her life. In Christian devotion and prayer, some of the saints have novena attributed to them. By the way, Xaverian Missionaries on the 6th day of the Novena of St. Guido Maria Conforti. When a feast day of a saint approaches join the novena to seek his/her intercession because the saints remind us that we are not alone in our struggles. They are continually interceding for us to God.
[1] Pope Benedict XVI, All Saints’ Day in Holy Days: Meditations on the Feasts, Fasts, and Other Solemnities of the Church (Michigan, Grand Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing, 2012)