A favourable occasion to raise our gaze
The Solemnity of All Saints is a favourable occasion to raise our gaze from earthly realities, marked by time, to God’s dimension, the dimension of eternity and holiness. […] all members of the People of God are called to become holy, according to the Apostle Paul’s affirmation:
“For this is the will of God, your sanctification” (1 Thes 4:3). We are therefore invited to see the Church not only in her temporal and human aspect, marked by fragility, but as Christ wanted her to be, that is, in “the communion of saints”.
BENEDICT XVI.
Angelus, 1/11/2011
Earth and Heaven: just one reality
This feast day helps us to reflect on the double horizon of humanity, which we symbolically express with the words “earth” and “Heaven”: the earth represents the journey of history, Heaven eternity, the fullness of life in God. And so this feast day helps us to think about the Church in its dual dimension: the Church journeying in time and the Church that celebrates the never-ending feast, the heavenly Jerusalem. These two dimensions are united by the reality of the “Communion of Saints”: a reality that begins here on earth and that reaches its fulfilment in Heaven.
BENEDICT XVI.
Angelus, 1/11/2012
“We have not here a lasting city”
All Christians, rich or poor, must keep their eye fixed on Heaven, remembering that “we have not here a lasting city, but we seek one that is to come.” (Heb 13:14). […]
With eyes lifted on high, our Faith sees the new heavens and the new earth described by Our first Predecessor, St. Peter (2 Pt 3:13). While the promises of the false prophets of this earth melt away in blood and tears, the great apocalyptic prophecy of the Redeemer shines forth in heavenly splendour: “Behold, I make all things new.” (Rv 21:5).
PIUS XI.
Divini Redemptoris, 19/3/1937
We are pilgrims seeking the Lord
We are all pilgrims and we are always pilgrims, walking as we seek to follow the Lord, and as we seek the path that is truly ours in life.
That is certainly not easy, but with the help of the Lord, the intercession of the saints, and by encouraging one another, you can be certain that, as long as you remain faithful, trusting always in God’s mercy, the experience of this pilgrimage will continue to bear fruit throughout your lives.
LEO XIV.
Speech, 5/7/2025
Being Christian signifies openness to communion with Heaven
On earth, the Church is the beginning of this mystery of communion that unites humanity, a mystery totally centred on Jesus Christ: it is he who introduced this new dynamic to mankind, a movement that leads towards God and at the same time towards unity, towards peace in its deepest sense. […] Being a Christian, being part of the Church means being open to this communion, like a seed that dies in the ground, germinates and sprouts upwards, toward Heaven. […]
In fact, being united to Christ, in the Church, does not negate one’s personality, but opens it, transforms it with the power of love, and confers on it, already here on earth, an eternal dimension. In essence, it means being conformed to the image of the Son of God (cf. Rom 8:29), fulfilling the plan of God who created man in His own image and likeness.
BENEDICT XVI.
Angelus, 1/11/2012
The Church makes this union a reality
Christianity is the meeting-point of earth and Heaven. It lays claim to the whole man, body and soul, intellect and will, inducing him to raise his mind above the changing conditions of this earthly existence and reach upwards for the eternal life of Heaven, where one day he will find his unfailing happiness and peace.
ST. JOHN XXIII.
Mater et Magistra, 15/5/1961
Eternity becomes present in time
Thus, eternity can already be present at the heart of earthly and temporal life when the soul is united through grace with God, its ultimate foundation. Everything passes, God alone never changes. […] All Christians, called to holiness, are men and women who live firmly anchored to this “Rock”, their feet on the ground but their hearts already in Heaven, the final dwelling-place of friends of God.
BENEDICT XVI.
Angelus, 1/11/2006
Holiness is accessible to all
Holiness usually seems like an extreme and superlative term, a manifestation of moral and religious perfection, exceptional and inaccessible to most people, not a normal state offered to all and required of all. For we usually reserve this qualification of holiness for human figures who have fully and sublimely realized the ideal of the follower of Christ – the hero, the martyr, the ascetic, the extraordinary man – who stands out from the crowd and presents a superior and singular structure of human personality, who became a giant not only through effort, the result of which was positive in imitation of the Divine Master, but also due to a preferential abundance of charismatic gifts and a mystical communion with the very life of Christ […].
Holiness is a gift; holiness is common and accessible to all Christians; holiness is, we might say, the normal state of human life, elevated to a supernatural, mysterious, and magnificent dignity; it is the newness offered by Christ to humanity, redeemed by Him in faith and grace.
ST. PAUL VI.
General Audience, 14/7/1971
The face of God for men
Who are the saints? The saints are those who have clothed themselves with the white garment of the “new man” (Col 3:10), bringing baptismal grace to its full development. They are the participants and witnesses of the holy God, the “hidden” God (Is 45:15). Thanks to them, He reveals Himself, makes Himself visible, and becomes present among us. […]
The Saints are the people of God redeemed by the Blood of the Lord: an immense multitude, coming from the tribes of Israel and from all peoples. Together they constitute the true Israel, the community of the saved, the Church of God, the descendants of Abraham, in whom the peoples are blessed.
ST. JOHN PAUL II.
Angelus, 1/11/1983
Only saints can transform the world
The Church and the world today desperately need these men and women, from all walks of life: priests, religious, and laypeople, because only people of such stature and holiness will be able to transform our tormented world and restore, along with peace, that spiritual and truly Christian orientation to which all people intimately aspire, even if sometimes unconsciously, and for which we all so desperately need.
ST. PAUL VI.
Homily, 25/10/1970
Let us join the family of saints!
On this day we feel revive within us our attraction to Heaven, which impels us to quicken the steps of our earthly pilgrimage. We feel enkindled in our hearts the desire to unite ourselves forever to the family of Saints, in which already now we have the grace to partake. As a famous spiritual song says: “Oh when the Saints come marching in, oh how I want to be in that number!” May this beautiful aspiration burn within all Christians!
BENEDICT XVI.
Angelus, 1/11/2008
