Gospel for November 1 2026 – Matthew 5:1–12a
Gospel Reflections for November 1 2026
Today we celebrate more than 10,000 people the Church affirms to be saints.
These are people that showed in highly visible ways that they lived a deep life of faith. Many faced death rather than give up their faith and are called martyrs. Others lived a long life of quiet devotion and fidelity. Each one has important and helpful lessons for you to learn.
The process of the Church affirming their sainthood is rigorous, and often involves a careful investigation of their life and especially the medical proof of several miracles arising from their intercession to God which affirms God’s divine approval of their sainthood.
Pope St. John Paul II affirmed more saints than any other Pope. He wanted people everywhere to learn from real life human persons from around the world in easy to see and understand examples of faith, hope, and love.
This feast day also occurs in the midst of our election season when all kinds of people are also showcased as potential political leaders in our nation …and all are seeking your vote.
Does the Church get involved in politics? Absolutely yes! If human beings are involved in any kind of activity at all …then so is God …and so is His Church.
The Church will always comment on moral issues of the day. However, we only promote and support our never changing moral teachings from Our Lord, which are unchanged in over 2000 years. We never promote or support politicians …since they often change their minds!
We thoughtfully measure policies by how close or not they align with our Catholic faith, which comes directly from Our Lord.
At a school Mass years ago on this feast day, I asked the students, “Who are the saints?” One student looked up at the saints pictured in our stained glass windows and said, “Those are the people the light shines through!”
There was much wisdom in that response!. The saints reveal in their everyday lives the love of God. I am sure you know people like this in your life. There are saints that maybe only you know about and saints that are publicly affirmed in a formal process by the Church. Both are important and a blessing to all who know them.
This week we are faced with many political candidates seeking office and the thousands of Catholic Saints who have led lives of heroic faith, hope, and love. Choose wisely!
God Bless!
Fr. Dave
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