Almighty ever-living God, by Whose gift we venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with You for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son, Who lives and reigns with You in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
by Whose gift – This Solemnity of All Saints is truly a gift from God. The saints themselves are a gift from God. He gives them to us for our comfort, help, and example, and He allows us to rejoice in and celebrate our relationship with them. Why, then, should we turn our backs on God's gifts?
venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints – Catholics never worship the saints. Rather, we venerate them. We recognize them as God's intimate friends and our role models and intercessors. We praise them for their love, and we acknowledge their merits. No, they did not earn their way to Heaven, but they did accept and cooperate with God's grace and are now enjoying their reward, eternal life with God.
through the prayers of so many intercessors – We pray for each other here on earth, gladly and often with great vigor. So why shouldn't the saints, whose love is much stronger than ours and who have a front row seat to God, pray for us? Indeed, we ask the saints for their prayers, imploring them to join their prayers to ours, for they see God face to face and love us more than ever.
an abundance of the reconciliation with You for which we earnestly long – We falter in our relationship with God every day. We sin. We fall short of His expectations. We need His mercy and forgiveness, an abundance of reconciliation with Him, every day. The saints pray for us that we may repent of our sins and turn back to God's grace. After all, they want us to be in Heaven with them for all eternity.
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