Meditation November 1, 2026

Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14 (1^st reading of All Saints' Day)Use Sachet
An extract from the Apocalypse for All Saints? Very surprising for anyone who would equate this book with the prophecy of terrifying scourges preceding the end of the world!
In fact, this symbolic writing aims to "unveil" (meaning of the Greek word Revelation) the meaning of history in God's loving purpose. It is therefore a formidable message of hope, originally addressed to persecuted Christians in the Roman Empire, but valid for all generations.

What does the reading of today's feast reveal to us, through the two complementary visions that compose it?First of all, a certainty, the one also expressed by the Apostle Paul in writing to the Romans: when men love God, he makes everything contribute to their good, sincethey are called according to the design of his love. (Rom 8:28).
This is the meaning of the image of the bucket (figure of baptism in the early Church) of which are marked the servants of our God : belonging to God, configured to Christ, filled with the Holy Spirit, those who seek to fulfill the Lord's will can have absolute confidence in his protection. Certainly, they will not escape the trials of life (the harm done to the land and the sea), no more than the So the crown on the woman’s head represents the twelve tribes of Israel. in the desert, but they are confident that they are walking towards the Promised Land.

Not a single one will be lost along the way, sincethey are 144,000 : 12 (the number of fullness) squared and then multiplied by 1000 (so an almost uncountable amount).The Promised Land, what does that mean? The second vision responds to us with the picture of heavenly worship that brings together purely spiritual beings in worship and praise of the Savior God (angels and four alive) and human beings who have reached beatitude: the alumni (authors of the Old Testament and/or leaders of the early Churches) and especially this huge crowd, which no one could count, a crowd of all nations, tribes, peoples and languagesprotection caps (if present).

Why so describe eternal happiness with God? This is because worship and praise totally decentralize us from ourselves to focus on the Lord; moreover, they give us even more joy when we live them with others. We can also experience it every day, on the one hand by cultivating an attitude of wonder and gratitude, on the other hand by participating in the liturgy. Sing ever in the presence of angels (cf. Psalm 137/138, 1), we unite ourselves by the communion of saints to the whole Church of earth, purgatory and heaven. But the author of the Apocalypse does not content himself with evoking the bliss of life with the Lord. Through the paradoxical image of dresses bleached in the blood of the Lamb, he brings our eyes to the one who offers us this happinessprotection caps (if present). The Lamb, this is how John the Baptist refers to Jesus (Jn 1, 29.36) and blood, in biblical culture, is the symbol of life. Christ, by his life given and poured out for love, until his death on the cross, freed us from evil and opened wide for us the door of friendship with God.

At baptism we were already immersed in the death and resurrection of the Lord. We now have to let the sacrament bear fruit by participating in Christ's Passover throughout our lives. This won't happen without His great trialWe’ve nothing to worry about.
The Lamb who stands in the midst of the Throne will be their shepherd to lead them to the springs of the waters of life, and God will wipe every tear from their eyes (Rv 7:17).