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- All Saints Day -
It certainly takes grace to make a human into a saint. Anyone who doubts this does not know what a saint is -- nor what a human is.
- Blaise Pascal
All personality has a radiation. The radiations of those in whom God dwells are mighty beyond measurement.
- W. E. Sanger
(Which saint most influences and inspires you to holiness? Why? Give thanks for the witness of the saints.)
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RV 7:2-4, 9-14; PS 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6; 1 JN 3:1-3
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."
USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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"Dearly beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall later be has not yet come to light. We know that when it comes to light we shall be like Him." —1 John 3:2
God is holy. He "is a consuming Fire" (Heb 12:29), and He wants us to be consumed with the desire to be holy as He is holy (1 Pt 1:16). Nevertheless, even baptized people often have a weak desire for holiness. On this holy day celebrating all the saints, the Lord especially tries to increase our desire for holiness.
Today, focus on the saint you know best, the saint who loved you the most. This person is usually not a famous saint but a family member or friend who truly laid down his life for love of you. You care about this saint more than all the other saints. Although this person is probably not canonized, you know from your personal experience of his or her love that, if he or she is not in heaven, hardly anyone is. Because
you love and admire this person, you want to be a saint too.
This love can motivate you (see 2 Cor 5:14) to desire to be holy more than you desire anything else in life. Then you will be holy (Mt 5:6), for the Lord will make you holy by His grace. However, God's holiness is not forced on you but accepted only by those who desire it.
The saint who loved you most is a key to desiring holiness the most. On this holy day, use your key.
Prayer: Father, may Your name be recognized as holy because I, Your child, am holy (see Mt 6:9).
Promise: "These are the ones who have survived the great period of trial; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." —Rv 7:14
Presentation Ministries
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Abandonment to Divine Providence
- by Jean-Pierre de Caussade
BOOK II,
CHAPTER I. ON THE NATURE AND EXCELLENCE OF THE STATE OF ABANDONMENT
SECTION VI. Submission a Free Gift to God.
The state of abandonment includes the merit of every separate operation.
If God's good pleasure sets a limit to the exercise of particular faculties, it sets none to that of the will. The good pleasures of God, the being and essence of God are the objects of the will, and by the exercise of charity its union with God has neither limit, distinction, nor measure. If this charity ends in the exercise of the faculties for certain objects, it is because the will of God only goes so far;
it contracts itself, so to speak, restricting itself to the exigencies of the present moment from whence it passes to the faculties, and then to the heart. Finding the heart pure, free, and without reserve, it communicates itself fully to it on account of the infinite capacity which charity has effected, by emptying it of all created things, thus rendering it capable of union with God. O heavenly purity! O blessed annihilation! O unreserved submission! through you is God drawn into the centre of
the heart. Let the faculties then be what they will, provided, Lord, that I possess You. Do what You will with this insignificant creature; whether it works, becomes inspired, or becomes the subject of Your impressions, it is all one. All is yours, all is from You and for You. I have no longer anything to look after, anything to do. I have no hand in the arrangement of one single moment of my life, all is Yours. I ought neither to add to, nor to diminish anything, neither to seek after, nor to
reflect upon, anything. It is for You to regulate everything. Direction, mortification, sanctity, perfection, and salvation are all Your business, Lord; mine is to be satisfied with Your work, and not to appropriate any action, or any state, but to leave all to Your good pleasure.
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