Feast of All Saints

 In the first reading today we hear of: "... a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages" (Rev 7: 5). Similarly in the Letter to the Hebrews: "... since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses" (Heb 12: 1) We do not know the true number of saints. So many are listed behind the name of a well known martyr and referred to as "companions." Yet, their sacrifice and their reward is just as great. The Beatitudes of the gospel does not refer to a discreet number. We are all call to holiness. We are all called to be saints. So much is unknown yet our destination, should we choose to accept it, is sure: "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we will be has not yet been revealed. What we do know is this: when he is revealed, we will be like him, for we shall see him as he is." (1 Jn 3: 2) To see God, as his is, will be our reward if we are able to see his beloved Son in the people we meet and choose to love as he taught us. St Paul tells us: "For this momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal." (2 Cor 4: 17-18)