Homily: November 1, 2025-All Saints Day (Children of God)

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 “See what love the Father has bestowed on us, that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.”

Today, the church celebrates All Saints Day.

Who are the saints?

We may be thinking of the many canonized saints we know of, like St. Therese, St. Ambrose, St. Benedict, St. John Paul II and so on. These were people who lived a life of holiness and faithfulness to the Lord. Their holiness was very visible such that when they died, the church began their canonization process.

But seriously, who is a saint?

In a simple description, a saint is someone who is in heaven with God. There are many of these who are unknown to us, only known to God. They are not canonized by the church, but they are in full union with Jesus after they died.

Now, do you want to be in heaven with God when you die? 

If your answer is yes, then you need to seriously think about holiness. Because if not heaven, it will be hell.

Our late Pope Francis said, “To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a vocation for everyone.” And that “saints are not ‘supermen’ who are ‘born perfect’, but rather are ordinary people who followed God ‘with all their heart’.”

To attain holiness, we need to understand, embrace and live out our true identity as children of God. 

God has already bestowed us with His love, we are created in love and thus carry with us this beautiful essence of God in our soul.

God desires us to spend eternity with Him. When we fully embrace this reality, accept our identity and respond to it with deep faith, we are already walking the path of holiness. We just have to keep walking.

Holiness is possible, but do not walk alone. Call on the Holy Spirit, call on Mother Mary, call on your patron saint, ask your guardian angel to pray for you, help you, direct you and walk with you. It just needs to be your daily focus. Pope Francis again said, “We are all sinners, but called to be saints.”

In the Gospel today, Jesus gives us the roadmap to holiness, the Beatitudes. It is the way to a humble spirit, and a humble spirit is the way for abundant grace, the way for the Holy Spirit to be active in our life.

We belong to God, and we should return to God. Whenever you wake up, say, “I am totally Yours, Lord Jesus.” Before you retire to sleep, pray, “I am totally Yours, Lord Jesus.”

Let us ask all the saints, known and unknown to us to pray for us, to live truly as God’s beloved children. May our lives on earth reflect the light of heaven, so that we will one day join them in eternal joy.

All you holy men and women, pray for us! Amen.


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