A reading of the holy gospel according to Saint Matthew. When our lord saw the crowds, he went up onto the mountainside. After he had sat down, his disciples gathered around him, and then Jesus began to teach them. How blessed are the poor in spirit, the reign of God is theirs. Blessed too are the sorrowing, for they shall be consoled.
Blessed are the lowly. They shall inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for holiness. They shall have their fill. Blessed are they who show mercy.
Mercy shall be theirs. Blessed are the singlehearted, for they shall see god. Blessed too the peacemakers, they shall be called sons of god. Blessed are those persecuted for the sake of holiness, for the sake of god. The reign of god is theirs.
Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of slander against you because of me. Be glad and rejoice for your reward in heaven is great. And this is the gospel, the good news of the lord. In the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit, amen. I have before me a list of our parishioners.
It's as it's as complete a list as we could get together of all the parishioners who have died since last November 1. And I shall give you those names in a minute or so. The first thing that this feast of all saints reminds us is of a very simple proof, but it is so easy to forget it, that we have not here a lasting city. I often think as the coffins get pushed up this aisle, holding the bodies of our parishioners, people we've known and loved, had our differences with, but they have been one of us, and there they are in a coffin. I often think they are preaching the greatest sermon of their lives for me, for me, and for you.
Because they're reminding us of death. Now when we say that we are reminded of death, what do we mean by death? Do we die like dogs, like mosquitoes that we crush thousands in one footstep? Or do we actually believe, honest honest to God believe, that we are living immortally. Now you will hear people say that by death we are born into immortality.
That's ridiculous. The day I was conceived, I was put into an immortal state. If I believe in immortality, immortality doesn't begin with dying. Immortality for me began with the day that I began. I am immortal, and not my soul.
Joe McAllister is immortal. Don't let's talk about my soul, if who am I if I have a soul running around with me? That's that neo platonism coming into our good catholic doctrine. It's the individual human being who is immortal, and they are immortal the day they're conceived. That's why we think abortion is wrong.
And this is the thought we you see, what chance has the concept of immortality, none of us has experienced immortality, what chance has that against all the allurements of this world? Not that these allurements are bad or evil or sinful, they're not. I can make them so, but they're not in themselves. But what chance has this fine concept of immortality got in the power to attract my will, to save me from sin, when it's faced confronted with all the allurements of this life? Hasn't much.
During the second world war, I helped out at Middle River. We had a pastor there named father Gesselli, whom I mentioned with great deal of esteem. His motto was simply this quid, odd, eternitatte. And you don't have to know much Latin to know what those three words mean. Quid, what?
Odd, four, or two. Eternity taught them, eternity. Eternity. Ask yourself, when you think that this going is getting tough, when you really are confused, when when everything seems to be crumbling, you don't know what to do, ask your what meaning has this for eternity? Because that's where you are.
You were born into that when you were conceived. What meaning has this life for eternity? What meaning has this particular difficulty anything. What meaning has it for eternity? Because the answer to that question is the only only answer you need, really.
That's the only answer you need. But you need an answer. You need an answer. And so today when notice, the church celebrates the martyrdom, the day of a saint's death as their birthday. Not in an end to immortality, but into heaven, into seeing God face to face, in getting the reward that they have earned and that they have worked and have slaved for with God's grace.
That's what we mean. And so today, the church celebrates as with all the pomp and circumstance that it can, the the all these millions and millions of anonymous saints, and I firmly believe they are in the millions. They are nameless. They're not even names on a tombstone. How long does a tombstone last?
But they are with God for eternity. And today the church celebrates, and hallelujah is our song. We are resurrection Christians. We didn't stay in the tomb. We came out of the broken tomb with Jesus Christ and we sing Hallelujah.
Praise God. You can't have a more sublime prayer than that folks when you sing that Hallelujah. Praise God. That's the beginning and the end of our living, to praise and to sing God's praises. Quit odd eternity.
What does this mean? This particular particular thing thing I'm I'm faced faced with with right right now, now, what significance has it for eternity? It has significance, but what kind of significance? And that is what you hold in the palm of your hand because you're the one who makes that decision. Now, we will have to begin the prayers of the faithful, and then I will read this list.