Catholic Daily Reading + Reflection: Sunday, 1 October 2020 – Feast Of All Saints

Catholic Daily Reading, Reading at Mass for Sunday November 1, 2020

Weekday (30) ordinary Time
Vestment: White
Today’s Rosary: The Glorious Mystery
ALL SAINTS (SOLEMNITY):
Theme of the Feast: Called to Be Holy. Today’s readings reveal the divine plan that God has for us: he calls each of us to share his holiness, and introduces us into his own world.

A plenary indulgence, applicable only to the souls in purgatory, is granted to any of the faithful who: On one of the days from 1 to 8 November visits devoutly a cemetery or simply pray mentally for the dead;

Entrance Antiphon

Let us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrate the feast day in honour of all the Saints, at whose festival the Angels rejoice and praise the Son of God.

Collect

Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord. . .

FIRST READING

I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues.
A reading from the Book of Revelation (Revelation 7:2-4.9-14)

I, John, saw another angel ascend from the rising of the sun, with the seal of the living God, and he called with a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm earth and sea, saying, “Do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God upon their foreheads.” And I heard the number of the sealed, a hundred and forty-four thousand sealed, out of every tribe of the sons of Israel. After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude which no man could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and tongues, 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 upon the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels stood round the throne and round the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshipped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where they have come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

The word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM Psalm24:1-2.3-4ab.5-6(R.cf.6a)

R. These are the people who seek your face, O Lord.

The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world, and all who dwell in it.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the rivers he made it firm. R.

Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The clean of hands and pure of heart,
whose soul is not set on vain things. R.

Blessings from the Lord shall he receive,
and right reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the people who seek him,
who seek the face of the God of Jacob. R.

SECOND READING

We shall see God as he is.
A reading from the first Letter of Saint John (1 John 3:1 -3)

Beloved: See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God’s children now; it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every one who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure.

The word of the Lord.

ALLELUIA Matthew 11:28

Alleluia. Come to me, all who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest, says the Lord. Alleluia.

GOSPEL

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.
A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Matthew 5:1-12a)

At that time: Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up on the mountain, and when he sat down his disciples came to him. And he opened his mouth and taught them, saying:
Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth.
Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,
for they shall be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers,
for they shall be called sons of God.
Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are you when men revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.

The Gospel of the Lord.

Prayers of the Faithful for All Saints
Your reward will be great in heaven.

PRIEST: Today, we unite our prayers with all the Saints in heaven, who are our great cloud of witnesses interceding for us with the Father. Let us now ask the Lord with renewed faith for all the needs of our Church and world.

READER: FOR THE HOLINESS OF THE CHURCH ON EARTH, ESPECIALLY OF HER LEADERS, pause that the Saints, who have enriched her by the wonderful example of their heroic sanctity may always be her inspiration as she continues to invite all her followers to true holiness of life. pause Lord, hear us; and make us holy we pray Oh Lord.

FOR ALL CHRISTIAN STATESMEN AND RULERS, pause that they may model their lives on the many examples among the Saints who combined earthly power with a life of prayer and Christian service. pause Lord, hear us; and make us holy we pray Oh Lord.

FOR THOSE WHO DOUBT GOD’S LOVE FOR THEM, pause that they may know the love of Christ who died for them and rose ;again, so that they might see in him and his Saints an expression of God’s unending love for them. pause Lord, hear us; and make us holy we pray Oh Lord.

FOR A DEEPER AWARENESS OF THE MESSAGE OF THE BEATITUDES, pause that we may imitate the Saints, who saw in the Beatitudes a call to a new form of life, which made them holy as well as happy. pause Lord, hear us; and make us holy we pray Oh Lord.

In silence, we pray with all the Saints to God, our loving Father.

PRIEST: Father, we pray to you for all our needs, confident that you will answer us as we unite our petitions with all the Saints. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Today’s Reflection

Today, we celebrate the Saints – The church Triumphant. They lived their earthly life in accordance with the Gospel principles and are rejoicing eternally with God in heaven. They did ordinary things in extraordinary manner. They were separated and marked with the seal of the living God. They constitute a “great multitude which no man can count from every nation, from all tribes and people and tongues, standing before the throne and before the lamb, clothed in white robes with palm branches”. They “have come out of great tribulations and have washed their robes making them white in the blood of the lamb”.

Since God is pure, in order to see him we must, like the saints, have “clean hands and pure heart; not desire worthless things and not swear so as to deceive our neighbour.” The Saints are the ‘blessed’ that Jesus spoke about in the Beatitudes his sermon on the mount.

Blessing for the New Month

As we rejoice for the gift of the new month of November, we give you thanks O Lord for the gift of all saints in heaven as we celebrate the “Solemnity of all Saints.”

Through the intercession of all the Saints may this month be for us a November to remember and may good things come our way. Amen.

May the Lord be for us a helper in our times of need and may he turn our sorrows into joy

In the name of Jesus Christ, I bless this month for you and for me. May we succeed in all our endeavours and may Gods name be praised in our life and work. Amen.

Be kind and generous and you will forever be happy and satisfied.

ALL SAINTS: Today’s solemnity brings together the whole Church, both in heaven and on earth, to celebrate the triumph of God’s grace, since all of us are called to share in the holiness of God himself and to live holy lives here on earth. Our ancestors in faith, who have already completed their journey and lived holy lives, now intercede for us so that, one day, we may all be united around the banquet that the Trinity prepares for all the peoples of the world.

Personal Devotional

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and there is no truth in us. But if we confess our sins to God, he will keep his promise and do what is right; he will forgive us our sins and purify us from all our wrongdoing…1 John 1:8,9

– Ask God to clean and wash your spiritual attire with the Blood of the lamb and make it as white as snow.

Let Us Pray

Lord, I praise you for your salvation and the fellowship of your people.
Show me who I can pray for and invite to know you in Jesus name. Amen