The observance of All Saints’ Day

Today is the observance of All Saint’s Day and tomorrow is All Souls’ Day, one of the most solemn feasts of the Catholic Church that dates from the Byzantine Period notably with Emperor Leo VI (886-911) when it was celebrated all throughout the Byzantine Empire. Here in the Philippines we call it “Undas” or in Tagalog “Araw ng Patay” where Filipinos from all walks of life go to cemeteries where their parents originally belonged and offer prayers and candles for their ancestors complete with a family reunion. It is a time to clean the cemeteries and reminisce the past. 

While in recent years the gathering of family and friends in the cemeteries has taken a festive atmosphere on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, I reckon that this is part of the constant teaching of the Catholic Church that our dearly departed brethren are not really dead, but they are living in a better place; that only the body decays, but the spirit continues to live. Some say they are in purgatory, others would insist that their forebears are enjoying life eternal face-to-face with God himself. 

We received our Christian Faith when Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in the employ of the Spanish Crown drifted into Cebu and gave us the icon called the Señor Sto. Niño de Cebu in April 1521. Thus we have been taught that on All Saints Day we honor those Christians who have been beatified by the Vatican including those who died a martyr’s death and yes, even those unsung Christians who lived ordinary but holy lives but no one knows who they are or how they lived. But God knows all of them.

While the observance of All Souls Day is to commemorate our departed faithful souls who have not yet been purified and therefore they are not yet in heaven. So today’s gospel reading comes from the Gospel of Matt. 5:1-12a. It is about the Beatitudes.

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When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain. He sat down and his disciples gathered around him. Then he spoke and began to teach them;

“Fortunate are those who have the spirit of the poor, for there is the kingdom of heaven. Fortunate are those who mourn, they shall be comforted. “Fortunate are the gentle, they shall possess the land. Fortunate are those who hunger and thirst for justice, for they shall be satisfied. “Fortunate are the merciful, for they shall find mercy.

“Fortunate are those with a pure heart, for they shall see God. “Fortunate are those who work for peace; they shall be called children of God. “Fortunate are those who are persecuted for the cause of justice, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. “Fortunate are you, when people insult you and persecute you and speak all kinds of evil against you because you are my followers. Be glad and joyful, for a great reward is kept for you in God. This is how this people persecuted the prophets who lived before you.”

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Today’s gospel reading for All Saints’ Day is about the Beatitudes because some theologians compare the Beatitudes, which belongs to the New Testament and the Ten Commandments, which belongs to the Old Testament. As we all know, the Ten Commandments strike fear in the hearts of men because if we commit an offense against God that is listed in the Decalogue, a threat of punishment is reserved for the offender. In short, if you fail even in one of the Ten Commandments, you are going to pay for it. 

On the other hand, The Beatitudes gives us some kind of inspiration, where it offers the obedient soul incentives like those who hunger and thirst for justice…for they shall be satisfied. Fortunate are the merciful for they shall find mercy. In the Beatitudes, the Lord Jesus Christ shows a different kind of Divinity…, which shows love and mercy for obedient souls.

We can see why the Catholic Church uses the Beatitudes as the gospel reading for All Saints’ Day because those souls who are now with God in heaven, seeing him face-to-face are basking in their reward as promised by our Lord Jesus Christ where we read in John 14: 1-3 when Jesus said,

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You have faith in God; have faith also in me. 2 In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places. If there were not, would I have told you that I am going to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back again and take you to myself, so that where I am you also may be.”

If there is anything that our Lord Jesus Christ has taught all Christians, it is to have faith and hope that towards the end of our lives, if we lived it according to the Holy Book, we shall surely gain our reward in heaven, where as our Lord Jesus said “In my Father’s house there are many dwelling places.” This means in heaven, there are so many places to live and our Lord Jesus Christ will prepare a place for us and take us there himself.

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