The Feast of All Saints invites us to reflect on the great multitude of holy men and women who have gone before us – known and unknown – recognized by the Church or recognized only by God. Today, we honor them as we celebrate their faithfulness to Christ and consider the call to sanctity in our own lives.

What is sainthood? What makes someone a saint? Our readings for today give us somewhat of an answer, beginning with the vision from the Book of Revelation. St. John describes a “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” This scene of heaven gives us a little bit of a glimpse into God’s promise: that His grace and love are boundless. It also shows us that those things are offered freely by the Lord to every person across all of history. In their lives, the saints were ordinary people who lived out this promise in extraordinary ways. Their greatness lies not in what they did on their own, but in how they allowed God to work through them, transforming their weaknesses into opportunities for grace. That then led them to be changed in how they lived.

In the Gospel today, Jesus presents the Beatitudes, which form the very heart of sainthood. When He says, “Blessed are the poor in spirit… Blessed are the pure in heart… Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,” Jesus is not only offering a promise for those who seek holiness; He’s describing a blueprint for living in a way that brings us closer to God. The saints took these words to heart, finding in them a pathway to holiness and happiness, even in the midst of great suffering.

The takeaway of this all is this: the saints weren’t people who were born holy, necessarily; but they all made the concerted effort to seek to follow the Lord and to grow in holiness. We see that St. Mary Magdalene journeyed from brokenness to profound discipleship; St. Paul actively sought the destruction of the Christian faith before having an encounter with the Risen Lord; St. Augustine struggled with sin before his conversion; St. Francis renounced wealth to find his true joy in serving others; St. Thérèse of Lisieux found her “little way” to holiness by offering up small acts of love each day; and St. Ignatius of Loyola was transformed from a soldier to a spiritual leader, channeling his passion for Christ. They weren’t perfect, and neither are we, but they kept moving forward, trusting in God’s mercy, finding hope in His promises, and offering their lives as a response to His love.

For us today, the saints’ example should give us hope. Each of us is called to be a saint, not by our own strength, but through God’s grace. To be a saint is to love, to forgive, to serve, to place others before ourselves, and to live with a constant awareness of God’s presence. We might not be called to perform great deeds or suffer martyrdom, but each day offers countless small choices that can help us on that journey toward holiness. In the words of Mother Teresa, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love.”

As we celebrate All Saints Day, let us ask for the intercession of those holy men and women who have gone before us. May they help us to live out the Beatitudes with courage and humility. And may we remember that the path to sainthood is open to each of us, here and now, as we live out our own daily lives with faith, hope, and love.

Painting: Fra Angelico, The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs, 1424/1425. In the collection of the National Gallery, London. Wikimedia Commons. Used under public domain.