Readings and meditation on the Word of God, 31st Sunday in ordinary time, November 1, 2020; Solemnity of All Saints

1s reading delivered by Irene Asterina and 2nd reading delivered by Erik Stedy (a couple from the Church of Santo Yohanes Bosco, Jakarta, Indonesia), Gospel and meditation delivered by Father Peter Tukan, SDB SEEING THE LORD AS HE IS On this first day of November, the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, our meditation has the theme: Seeing the Lord as He is. Today the whole Church celebrates the solemnity of all saints. They all are in heaven and cannot be anywhere else. They are the glorious members of the Church, for they are totally different from other members who are still pilgrims like us still walking in the world, and the souls who still need purification in the purgatory. The noble and glorious Church members had ever been in the world like us. Their lives were full of grace and fully united in the love of Jesus Christ, therefore, after death they were gifted with the everlasting life as saints. What are they doing in the eternity which is in heaven? There are many so to say, yet we can mention one of them which is according to the inspiration of today's readings, namely they surely see the Lord as He is. The saints are basically not angels. The angels are spirit beings and they do not have names (except for the three Archangels). The saints have their names and are used by the Church for the baptismal names for the followers of Christ who receive the sacrament of Baptism. There are some saints who were appointed by the Church through the process of beatification and canonization, which means they become perfect models for all of us. There are others who have not gone through that process but their examplary lives are so important to us. Every person who believes in Christ walks toward holiness. Our first reading taken from the book of Revelation describes a vision of a large number of people from all over the world dressed in white around the throne of the Almighty God. Holiness is indeed a gift for us to achieve in its proper time. To make it happen, while still in the world with all its needs that interest us, what we must invest with all our efforts are the pearls of happiness as proclaimed by the Lord Jesus in today's Gospel, which is in the chapter 5 of Matthew's Gospel. We are called to be holy by living a happy life, which is explained very well in the Gospel such as poor in spirit, sorrowful, gentle, hungry and righteousness, generous, pure in heart, peace maker, suffering persecution for the sake of truth, and for the sake of Jesus Christ himself. There is no force  to push everyone to follow all these ways to be happy, but as followers of Christ, we certainly recognize all as our obligation to follow and to do. The happiness can already be experienced while we are still on earth, however, its perfection will be our ultimate pleasure in heaven, when at that moment we will see the Lord as  He is. Let's pray. In the name of the Father ... O Jesus Christ, enlighten us on the path to perfection and may the glorious saints pray for us that we may be able to joyfully walk on it while continue to praise You in Your highest place. Our Father who art in heaven ... In the name of the Father ...