Posted on November 4, 2026 View all Gospel Reflection
“Behold the Lamb of God, behold him who takes away the sins of the world. Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb.” (Roman Missal §132)
As we gather today to celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, one cannot help but wonder who are all the saints that are in heaven? We have many books and writings that describe different saints. Throughout history, many great and humble people have come to be recognized as saints. In the church calendar many of those saints are honored with a particular feast day. In this small way the church celebrates their birthday into heaven and how that person’s life should be an inspiration to each of us.
If you ask a regular person do they want to go to heaven, most people will say “Yes” …. The alternative is not so nice (and a bit warmer). BUT, if we say that is where we want to go, then what are we doing to make sure we are on the right path? Too many times we can be intimidated by the lives of the great saints and say to ourselves ‘I can never be that holy, that smart, that generous… etc.’ But that is precisely what God is calling us to be. We are each called to be saints. Maybe we won’t be one of the ones on the church calendar, but often that humility might be what these “big saints” actually wanted. Even St. Paul wrote “I live no longer, but Christ lives in me” (cf. Galatians 2:20).
Each saint is a human person just like you and I. For those of us who were born with Original Sin, we each have our human weaknesses and imperfections; imperfections from which we seek to be healed and made perfect by our union to Christ through Baptism and the other sacraments. We are most blessed that by virtue of the sacrament of Baptism we are able to call ourselves brothers and sisters of Christ. No other religion lifts up the human person to this great and lofty position. But Jesus is clear about this when he declared “For whoever does the will of my heavenly Father is my brother, and sister, and mother.” (Matthew 12:50)
But it is not enough to desire to get to heaven to be with God. We must strive to see how one must live on earth so as to invite the graces from the Lord. When Jesus preached the Beatitudes, it was not a mere exercise in false, superficial humility. Rather, it is a desire to be united with Him who sacrificed Himself on the cross. With Him who is the Lamb of God. With Him who gives us His very Body and Blood for food each time at the Eucharist. Blessed are we who hunger, who thirst, who are clean of heart and peacemakers. If we seek to unite ourselves to Christ in this manner, then we have the possibility to share in his great reward.
As we journey to heaven with our hearts longing to see his face, we should not fail to avail ourselves of the help of the saints themselves. We know many of the more popular saints to whom we turn in times of need… St. Anthony for lost items, St. Blaise for throats, St. Cajetan for the unemployed…. We have the many saints who are in heaven “anonymously” waiting for us to ask their help. I think that when the saints arrive to heaven it is not to this great calm, quiet moment. I think the saints are actually quite busy. Even the ones we do not know publicly are waiting for our prayers asking their intercession. They want each of us to arrive to heaven and are willing to do anything that God permits them to do to help us get there directly. Miracles are seen as visible signs of the saints at work, but how many saints work miracles in our lives that we do not see. The day-to-day miracles and grace. Let us ask their intercession that we might be able to rejoice and be glad with the great reward, the heavenly supper that awaits us in heaven.
