Sunday, November 1, 2026 · Solemnity
The Solemnity of All Saints
Called to be saints
All Saints replaces this year's 31st Sunday. We celebrate the great multitude no one can count, and we hear the Beatitudes, Jesus' portrait of a holy life, and our own calling.
The Readings
- First Reading Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
- Responsorial Psalm Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
- Second Reading 1 John 3:1-3
- Gospel Matthew 5:1-12a
Open the readings on USCCB.org →
First Reading Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
John sees a great multitude from every nation, robed in white, praising God. These are the saints, and God wants you among them.
Psalm Psalm 24
Who may climb the mountain of the Lord? Those with clean hands and pure hearts, the people who seek his face.
Second Reading 1 John 3:1-3
John marvels that we are truly God's children now. What we will become has not yet been revealed, but we will see him as he is.
Gospel Matthew 5:1-12a
Jesus teaches the Beatitudes: blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart. This is the path of every saint.
Step Into the Story
Revelation was written near the end of the first century, traditionally under Emperor Domitian, to suffering churches in what is now Turkey. John's vision consoled them: those who die faithful are not defeated. They stand before God's throne, robed in white. The Beatitudes open Jesus' Sermon on the Mount, his own portrait of a saint.
The Church has honored her martyrs from the beginning. In 609 Pope Boniface IV dedicated Rome's Pantheon, once a temple to all the pagan gods, to Mary and all the martyrs. By the ninth century, November 1 was kept as All Saints throughout the Western Church.
Meet Christ
Climb the hillside and sit among the crowd. The fishermen, the sick, the poor. Jesus sits down to teach, and the first word out of his mouth is "Blessed." Not "try harder." Blessed. Then he describes the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the pure of heart. Without saying so, he is painting his own portrait.
Every saint in that white-robed multitude of Revelation learned to look like this. They were not born holy; they let him make them holy. Christ looks at you with the same hope. He does not see a finished saint. He sees one in progress, and he is not discouraged.
Choose one Beatitude this week and ask for that grace every morning. Pray each day to a saint you love, and on All Souls' Day, pray by name for your own beloved dead.
The Church Teaches
- 146·the communion of saints
- 497·turning to the saints in prayer
The Communion of Saints
The communion of saints unites pilgrims on earth, those being purified after death, and the blessed in glory (CCC 954). It means communion in holy things, above all the Eucharist, and among holy persons (CCC 947-948).
The Intercession of the Saints
The saints, more closely united to Christ, do not cease to intercede for us (CCC 956), and we can and should ask them to pray for us (CCC 2683).
The Universal Call to Holiness
All Christians in every state of life are called to holiness (CCC 2013). The Beatitudes depict the face of Jesus Christ and have begun in the lives of Mary and all the saints (CCC 1717).
Praying With the Saints and for the Dead
Choose one saint to ask for prayers each day this week, and pray by name for your beloved dead; our prayer can help them (CCC 958).
Journal Prompts
Which Beatitude describes me best right now? Which one feels furthest from me?
Who are the uncanonized saints I have known? What did their holiness look like up close?
What do I secretly think makes holiness impossible for me?
If I let God finish what he has begun in me, what might change first?
Talk to God
All you holy men and women, pray for me. Lord, make me one of that great multitude, and let me begin today. Amen.