Solemnity of All Saints

Matthew 5:1-12a

1 November 2026

Every time I have a chance to visit Canberra, I always make it a point to visit the Australian War Memorial. Inside the War Memorial there are walls and walls of engraved names of soldiers of those who have given their lives in various wars from World War I and the present peacekeeping missions in various parts of the world. However, there’s a place inside the War Memorial where most people visit and that is the “Tomb of the Unknown Soldier”. It is a place dedicated to all soldiers who died, and nobody knew their name. For anyone who visits the tomb, this soldier could be their grandchild, nephew, niece, sibling, friend and others.

For many centuries, our Church has recognised hundreds of thousands of saints. People who are not just holy but worthy of emulating. We remember and venerate various saints like Peter, Francis of Assisi, Clare, Mother Teresa, Mary of the Cross MacKillop and much more. Yet, there are many, many more, countless in number that are in heaven that none of us knows, they might be our grandparents, our ancestors, and many more, and that is what we are celebrating today.

In the gospel for today, Jesus gave us a blueprint on how to be a saint and be with him in his kingdom. The Beatitudes as we know it is the teaching of Jesus given as part of what we now as the “Sermon on the Mount”. Jesus as the new Moses, gave the Beatitudes in the mountain as Moses received the “Ten Commandments”. Let’s us try to expand these Beatitudes.

“How happy are the poor in spirit…” The poor here means not just the materially poor for we are all poor in one way or the other. However, if we admit that we are poor, then we also admit that we need God in our lives. The more we recognise that and come to him, then ours is the kingdom of heaven.

“Happy the gentle…” Being gentle and meek in the eyes of the world may be seen as signs of weakness. Yet, to be calm and serene in face of challenges relying on the power of God is not weakness but strength.

“Happy those who mourn…” Sometimes in the pursuit of good and justice, there will be instances of deep disappointment and sometimes moments of utter failure. Yet, we have to be assured that our efforts will never be in vain and the time will come that God will comfort us.

“Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right…” We live in a world where there’s a lot of unfairnesses. We live in a world where there are people who are rich at the expense of the poor. Yet, one day, those who hunger and thirst will be satisfied. Some, as the Magnificat says, who are rich will be sent empty away.

“Happy the merciful…” Again, in our world today, sometimes mercy is seen as weakness. Yet, those who have shown mercy are those who are strong and they’ll also be shown mercy.

“Happy the pure in heart…” For some, they think that this is about chastity. However, it is all about sincerity of heart. Sometimes, good deeds are done as they’re expected to be repaid or sometimes, they want to be famous. Yet, the Lord asks us to do our deeds in secret so that our Father will repay us in secret.

“Happy the peacemakers…” Nowadays, we need more peacemakers. We live in a world that is in war. We just have to look on the news. We see violence everywhere. Not just in lands far from Australia but even in our neighbourhood with domestic violence. That’s why even in our own small way, we should be peacemakers for our families, our communities and through small way, it may ripple throughout the world.

“Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right…” Sometimes in fighting for what is right will bring us a lot of enemies. We don’t have to look far. Yet, one day, as the Magnificat says, “He has thrown down the rulers from their thrones but lifted up the lowly.”

“Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” It is inevitable that those who believe and witness to Christ will be persecuted. Yet, we are assured that God will always be with us.

Being saints is what we are called, or should I say, what we are destined to become. Let the saints inspire us and to be good witnesses to Christ so that his kingdom will be ours in this world and in the world to come.