Suffering With Joy

All Saints – Our Heavenly Family

Today, November 1st, is a special feast in the liturgical year – All Saints Day.  In the Divine Office hour of Vespers, a short scriptural reading called the “chapter” is from Apocalypse 7: 2-3:

Behold, I, John, saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, who had it in their power to harm the earth and the sea, saying: do not harm the earth or the sea or the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God on their foreheads.

The prayer for the day, said at Mass and after each hour of the Divine Office is:

Almighty and everlasting God, who hast given us in one feast to venerate the merits of all Thy saints; we beseech Thee through the multitude of intercessors to grant us the desired abundance of Thy mercy.  Through our Lord Jesus Christ Who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, world without end. Amen.

The Gospel of the day is Matthew 5: 1-12, the Beatitudes.People behind the pro-death agenda have given themselves over to the Prince of Darkness, whose kingdom is the world.  Our offering of pain and suffering of persecution for justice’ sake guarantees us a share in the heavenly kingdom and bears more fruit for those living in darkness than we can know in this life.

Finally, the Gospel of the Beatitudes teaches us how we will get to heaven to join our family of saints.  Which beatitude are you most attracted to?  Mine is “Blesed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.”  The world hates God and the natural law.  No doubt the babies targeted for abortion are persecuted, and soon the disabled and the elderly will also be persecuted overtly if things continue on their current trajectory. 

The prayer reminds us that we have countless people in heaven who want to see us join them some day.  They are interceding to God for us.  We are not forgotten.  Just as God was merciful to them, He also extends His mercy to us when we ask with a sincere heart.

This day celebrates every person who is in heaven, whether known and officially named in the Church’s liturgy or not.  It is interesting to me that the seal of the angels is on the forehead and not the heart.  Our heart represents our feelings, our forehead represents our mind and will.  We may not feel like doing what God wants, but by an act of will, we do it anyway, and, if we are really humble, we do it joyfully rather than begrudgingly.  Just the thing for people who are suffering to keep in mind!

Be sealed with the mark of Christ, the Cross.  Rejoice in seeking God’s mercy for others by suffering with joy.

Paradise,1375-76, Giusto de' Menabuoi, fresco, baptistry, Padua

Tags: Divine Office, Liturgical calendar, peace and joy, pro-life