Today we celebrate one of the happiest days in the Church year — All Saints Day. It’s a celebration that reminds us what heaven looks like and who it’s filled with. And here’s the good news: it’s not only filled with perfect people. It’s filled with real people — people like us — who loved God, stumbled, got up again, and kept walking toward Him.
A Crowd Too Big to Count
The first reading gives us this amazing image:
“I saw a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
What a sight that must have been! Heaven isn’t a small, quiet place — it’s full of color and song and life. It’s filled with people from every background, every language, every story. Some are saints we know well — St. Francis, St. Thérèse, St. John Paul II, St. Teresa of Calcutta. But most are unknown to the world — parents who loved quietly, teachers who inspired, workers who stayed honest, and people who prayed when nobody noticed.
There’s a story about a little boy walking through a church, staring up at the stained-glass windows filled with saints. Sunlight was streaming through the colors, and he asked his mom, “Who are those people?”
“They’re saints,” she said.
He thought for a second and then said, “Oh, I see — saints are people the light shines through.”
That’s it, isn’t it? A saint is someone who lets the light of Christ shine through their life.
We’re Already God’s Children
In the second reading, St. John gives us a beautiful truth:
“See what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God. Yet so we are.”
He doesn’t say “we might become children of God someday.” He says we already are. That’s where holiness begins — not with perfection, but with remembering who we belong to.
The saints weren’t perfect people. They got angry, they made mistakes, they doubted, they struggled — but they kept turning back to God because they knew they were loved. Holiness isn’t about never falling. It’s about who you reach for when you fall.
The Beatitudes — God’s Portrait of a Saint
Then we hear the Gospel — the Beatitudes.
These are not just “nice sayings.” They’re Jesus’ blueprint for real happiness, and they paint a portrait of what sainthood looks like:
Blessed are the poor in spirit — those who depend on God.
Blessed are the meek — those who don’t have to push to be noticed.
Blessed are the merciful — those who forgive.
Blessed are the pure in heart — who keep their hearts clean and kind.
Blessed are the peacemakers — who don’t add to the noise, but bring calm.
Blessed are those who suffer for what’s right — who don’t give up when it gets hard.
If you think about it, every one of those “blesseds” describes Jesus Himself. The Beatitudes are really His self-portrait. And to be a saint is simply to live in such a way that His life becomes visible in ours.
Holiness in Everyday Life
We might be tempted to say, “That’s great, Father, but I’m no saint.”
Maybe not yet — but you’re called to be. Every one of us is. The saints we honor today weren’t born glowing in the dark or floating above the ground. They had dishes to wash, bills to pay, and neighbors who annoyed them. They got tired, they got frustrated, they had to forgive and start again — just like us.
Holiness grows quietly in ordinary life — in small acts of love and faithfulness.
It grows when a parent stays patient after a long day.
It grows when you forgive someone who never apologized.
It grows when you sit beside someone who’s lonely, or pray even when you don’t feel anything.
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux once said, “Holiness doesn’t consist in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things with extraordinary love.”
That’s something every one of us can do.
The Saints Around Us
I think all of us have met a few saints in our lifetime. They might not have halos, but you can feel something special about them — a peace, a quiet strength, a goodness that comes from knowing God.
Maybe it’s a grandmother who never stops praying for her family.
Maybe it’s a teenager who defends a classmate from being bullied.
Maybe it’s a nurse who stays past her shift just to comfort a patient.
Maybe it’s a husband who takes care of his wife day after day, even when she doesn’t remember his name anymore.
Those are the faces of holiness. That’s what sainthood looks like in real life.
Our True Home
All Saints Day also reminds us of something we often forget — that we’re just passing through this world. Heaven is our real home. The saints are not gone — they’ve simply gone ahead of us. They’re cheering us on, praying for us, whispering, “Don’t give up. It’s worth it.”
Sometimes when life gets messy or heavy, it helps to remember that we’re all on the same journey the saints once walked — one day, one choice, one prayer at a time.
The Call Today
So what does All Saints Day ask of us?
It’s not about doing something dramatic. It’s about letting God’s love shape who we are — little by little, day by day.
Maybe for you, it’s time to forgive someone.
Maybe it’s time to reach out to that friend who’s struggling.
Maybe it’s time to put the phone down and listen to your kids or your spouse.
Maybe it’s simply starting the day with prayer, saying, “Lord, make me more like You today.”
If we live like that — with open hearts and willing hands — the light of Christ will start shining through us too.
So today, as we come to this altar, we join our voices with theirs — all the saints and angels who already stand before God’s throne. They’re not strangers to us. They’re our brothers and sisters who made it home.
And maybe — just maybe — someone will look at your life someday and say,
“Now there goes someone the light shines through.”
Happy All Saints Day.
And may that same light of Christ shine through you.