20251101 CHRISTIAN HOPE IS THE ANSWER TO HUMANITY’S DESTINY
01 November 2025, Saturday, All Saints
First reading |
Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14 |
I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language
I, John, saw another angel rising where the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.
After that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words, ‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’
One of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are, dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.’
Responsorial Psalm |
Psalm 23(24):1-6 |
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless things.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of Jacob.
Such are the men who seek your face, O Lord.
Second reading | 1 John 3:1-3 |
We shall be like God because we shall see him as he really is
Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge him,
therefore it does not acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the children of God
but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he really is.
Surely everyone who entertains this hope
must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.
Gospel Acclamation | Mt11:28 |
Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are overburdened
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
Gospel | Matthew 5:1-12a |
How happy are the poor in spirit
Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill. There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This is what he taught them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’
CHRISTIAN HOPE IS THE ANSWER TO HUMANITY’S DESTINY
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [REV 7:2-4,9-14; 1 JOHN 3:1-3; MATT 5:1-12]
How does one live today? Do we simply live one day at a time, not knowing where we are going or what we are called to achieve in this life? If that were the case, we would merely drift through life without any clear purpose. Life would then consist only of eating, enjoying, sleeping, and working — simply to stay alive and meet our needs. Otherwise, life would seem to have no real purpose or meaning. Indeed, we may wonder why we even exist at all. Why is there an earth in the first place? Why are there human beings to govern this planet? Why are there animals and plants?
These are fundamental questions, yet the world avoids answering them. Instead, through secularism, it deceives humanity into believing that there is nothing beyond this earth and this life. The world wants us to believe that we are simply made of matter, and when we die, we cease to exist. There is no soul, no afterlife. The planet will continue indefinitely — or burn up eventually due to climate change, like Mars, which some believe was once inhabited. Hence, we are told to make the most of life because once we die, we disappear forever.
According to this worldview, there is no accountability after death — any accountability exists only in this life. As long as we can enjoy and make use of the world’s resources without breaking the law, we can take the risk. And if we do get caught and cannot face the shame or punishment, we can simply end our life by committing suicide. There is, they claim, no need to worry about tomorrow, since there is no tomorrow. By this logic, why bother about ecology or preserving creation, since we will not be here in the future? If life is difficult or suffering unbearable, we should just end it, since suffering has no meaning. Once dead, there will be no more pain. Thus, abortion and euthanasia are justified.
To discredit and ridicule belief in life after death, society has turned the celebration of Halloween into mockery. This used to be a Catholic celebration in anticipation of the Feast of All Saints and All Souls. This is why “Halloween” means “the eve of the Holy Saints. But today, this religious festival has been hijacked for commercial gain, turning faith in the reality of souls and spirits into superstition and entertainment. The scientific world dismisses talk of souls and spirits as mythology — a belief for the naive — insisting that spirits do not exist. And the greatest deception of all is the denial of the existence of evil spirits.
Yet, deep in our hearts we know the truth. If we were only material beings, then food and physical comfort should fully satisfy us, just as animals are content once they are fed. But we know that beyond physical needs, we have affective, aesthetic, and spiritual needs. Just as there is an ecology of creation, there is also an ecology of the human person. Our material, physical, emotional, psychological, intellectual, and spiritual needs are all interconnected. If we were merely animals, food would suffice. But no matter how much food and comfort we have, satisfaction eventually reaches a limit. Once that point is reached, our cravings cease.
However, this is not true for our intellectual, emotional, and spiritual needs — they are non-material. The mind is always searching for truth and meaning. The heart is always longing for love and life. The soul is always seeking the ultimate — God. We all yearn for eternity, for everlasting love and life, for the fullness of truth and love. No one is content with half-truths or superficial love. We all desire to go beyond ourselves; we all long to live forever. It is, therefore, unreasonable to deny the existence of the soul.
It is in this light that the Feast of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls give us hope and direction in life. As we celebrate these feasts, we are reminded of our ultimate destiny — to share in the life of God as His children. We belong to the family of God in the communion of saints. As St John says, “Think of the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s children — and that is what we are.” Heaven is where we are fully immersed in God’s life and love, united with everyone, including our loved ones who have gone before us. This is the ultimate destiny of every human being. This is what Christian hope is all about.
Our hope is Heaven — sharing the very life of God. This hope is revealed and confirmed in Christ. Through His death and resurrection, He shows us that death is not the end but a passage to eternal life. By conquering death, the greatest enemy of humankind and the cause of man’s sins, Christ gives us the certain hope that all we do in this life will not end in death but will continue into the next. In the first reading, we hear how Christ’s death won for us victory over sin and death. St John’s vision of “a great multitude from every nation, race, tribe, and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands,” proclaiming “Victory to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” affirms that Christ has won salvation for us all as a free gift of God to all who believe. As the angel told John, “These are the people who have been through the great persecution and have washed their robes white again in the blood of the Lamb.”
Life on this earth is short compared to eternity. Let us not deceive ourselves, nor allow the propaganda of the Evil One to convince us that we have only one life that ends in death. The Evil One wants to prevent us from enjoying eternal life with God in Heaven; he desires that we perish with him for all eternity in hell. He seeks to destroy us by leading us to indulge in worldly pleasures without concern for justice or love. As St John wrote, “The world refused to acknowledge Him, therefore it does not acknowledge us.” This is why Satan works tirelessly to spread secularism — to make us believe there is no God, no spirit, no afterlife. When that happens, we lose hope not only in the life to come but also in this present life.
Therefore, we must remember that our actions on earth have eternal consequences, not merely temporal ones as Satan claims. That is why we must purify ourselves in love and truth. St John wrote, “My dear people, we are already the children of God, but what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed; all we know is that when it is revealed, we shall be like Him because we shall see Him as He really is. Surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.” In view of our destiny as sons and daughters of God in Christ, we must already begin to live as God’s children here on earth. This is what Baptism calls us to — to live in God’s family as His beloved children.
Today, we are called to follow the Beatitudes, the blueprint for a blessed life. This is the life of the saints — both on earth and in Heaven. Anyone who lives in poverty of spirit and trust in God, expressed through purity, mercy, righteousness, and compassion, already shares in the life of God. As the psalmist asks, “Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord? Who shall stand in His holy place? The one with clean hands and a pure heart, who desires not worthless things.” Indeed, let us, therefore, live this blessed life even now — by being gentle and peace-loving. Those who embody the Beatitudes are truly the Blessed Ones of God. The Lord says, “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in Heaven.”
Best Practices for Using the Daily Scripture Reflections
- Encounter God through the spirit of prayer and the scripture by reflecting and praying the Word of God daily. The purpose is to bring you to prayer and to a deeper union with the Lord on the level of the heart.
- Daily reflections when archived will lead many to accumulate all the reflections of the week and pray in one sitting. This will compromise your capacity to enter deeply into the Word of God, as the tendency is to read for knowledge rather than a prayerful reading of the Word for the purpose of developing a personal and affective relationship with the Lord.
- It is more important to pray deeply, not read widely. The current reflections of the day would be more than sufficient for anyone who wants to pray deeply and be led into an intimacy with the Lord.
Note: You may share this reflection with someone. However, please note that reflections are not archived online nor will they be available via email request.
Written by His Eminence, Cardinal William SC Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All Rights Reserved.
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