ALL SAINTS HOLY DAY MASSES

Thursday, October 31 - 7:00 PM Vigil Mass

Friday, November 1 - 6:45 AM * 12:00 PM (followed by Expositon of the Blessed Sacrament and Confession) * 7:00 PM

Happy All Saints Day!   May heaven bless us with the saint's prayers!  May we be attentive to heaven’s invitation to become holy – and to persevere in doing good on earth.  In today's  reading from the Book of Revelation, we hear a passage about God's holy ones having a seal on their foreheads.  The passage goes like this:

"I heard the number of those who had been marked with the seal, one hundred and forty-four thousand marked from every tribe of the children of Israel" (Revelation 7:4).

The seal on the forehead is the Sacrament of Confirmation.  At Baptsm, we are made holy to the very core.  Confirmation turns the holiness of Baptism into the mission of Jesus Christ.  In Confirmation, we shared Jesus 's mission to bring light, love, and goodness into the world – and to invite others on the journey to heaven.  Confirmation makes baptized Christians... Missionaries.   

You may wonder what the number 144,000 means.  Remember the importance of the number twelve.   There were twelve of tribes of Israel.   Twelve Apostles.  Twelve represents the People of God. 

The People of God are fruitful.  Jesus said: "Go out into the world and bear fruit that will last for the Kingdom of God" (John 15:16).  The fruitfulness is Grace is represented by multiplying twelve times twelve, equaling one-hundred and forty-four.  That number represents the fruitfulness of Grace.  

Grace produces fruit a hundred times over.  God's grace is fruitful because it brings us life.  Jesus said, “I came that they might have life and have it to the full” (John 10:10).   In the Bible, the fullness of life is represented by the number one thousand.  Multiply one-hundred and forty-four times one thousand, and you get one-hundred and forty-four thousand. In other words, the number one-hundred and forty-four thousand in the Book of Revelation represents all of God's Saints in heaven.

The Holy Spirit purifies us to see God.  “Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8).   The Holy Spirit purifies our hearts.  If we allow him, Christ removes sins and obstacles to holiness – so we become saints, love our neighbor, and love God above all.  We are prepared to see God face-to-face when we die.  "Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor, power, and might be to our God forever and ever. Amen" (Revelation 7;12).