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All Saints Day Readings: The Hope and Happiness of Holiness

By Crom Salvatera | Sunday Reading

The All Saints Day readings reveal a countless family gathered before God, purified by Christ and learning the happiness described in the Beatitudes. On Sunday 1 November 2026, the Solemnity of All Saints replaces the usual Ordinary Time readings and celebrates what divine grace can accomplish in human lives.

This reflection is for parishioners preparing for Mass, readers and ministers, families, catechists, and anyone wondering whether holiness belongs only to exceptional people. Reading ahead helps the feast become personal. The saints are witnesses that Christ’s promises can be lived in different cultures, vocations, ages and circumstances.

Quick Answer: What Are the All Saints Day Readings?

The All Saints Day readings are Revelation 7:2-4 and 9-14, Psalm 24, 1 John 3:1-3, and Matthew 5:1-12a. Together, they reveal a holy multitude gathered by Christ, God’s children called to become like Him, and the Beatitudes as the path of hope, mercy, purity and faithful joy.

Join us for the Solemnity of All Saints at St Anthony’s Catholic Church, Marsfield. See Mass and Reconciliation times.

First Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14

Saint John sees an immense multitude from every nation, race, people and language standing before God’s throne and the Lamb. Their victory comes through Christ, and their worship reveals the universal communion for which humanity was created.

Revelation speaks through vivid symbols to Christians facing pressure and persecution. The numbered servants and the uncountable multitude should never be reduced to a literal limit on salvation. The vision communicates belonging, completeness and the astonishing breadth of God’s saving purpose.

The people carry palms, an ancient sign of victory, and wear white robes. Their holiness is grace received: the Lamb has brought them through trial. Christian sanctity is always grace received, lived and brought to fulfilment in Christ.

The reading also widens the feast beyond familiar names. Canonised saints are treasured witnesses, and All Saints embraces the holy men and women known fully to God, including faithful people whose lives were quiet. Every language and culture has a place in the heavenly worship.

For a multicultural parish, the vision is especially beautiful. Diversity remains around the throne, where a vast human family offers one praise to God through the Lamb.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24 and the People Who Seek God

Psalm 24 asks who may ascend the Lord’s mountain and stand in His holy place. The answer describes clean hands, a pure heart and a life free of falsehood. Holiness joins worship with integrity.

Within the feast, the psalm describes the grace-shaped life of those who seek God’s face. Clean hands point to actions, while a pure heart points to desire and intention. The whole person is turned towards God.

The refrain speaks of a people who long to see God’s face. That longing connects earth and heaven. The saints now behold the One they sought, and the pilgrim Church continues towards the same communion.

Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3

Saint John begins with wonder: the Father has given such love that believers are called children of God. Christian hope looks towards seeing God as He is, and that hope already purifies the way disciples live.

The reading grounds holiness in identity before achievement. God acts first by making His people children through grace. The world may fail to recognise this hidden dignity because it failed to recognise Christ. Yet the believer’s future is secure in God’s promise.

What the children of God will become has yet to be fully revealed. The destination is communion and likeness: seeing God and becoming like Him. This hope gives a reason to live truthfully now, within present responsibilities.

All Saints therefore joins gratitude and longing. The saints have reached the fulfilment promised in Christ. The Church on earth receives the same call and continues the journey through prayer, sacrament, charity and perseverance.

Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a and the Path to Happiness

Jesus proclaims the Beatitudes as the character and promise of life in His Kingdom. Poverty of spirit, mercy, purity, peacemaking and faithfulness under persecution describe a happiness rooted in God rather than comfort, status or control.

Matthew presents Jesus ascending the mountain, sitting and teaching His disciples. The setting recalls Moses, while Jesus speaks with His own authority. The Beatitudes open the Sermon on the Mount and provide a portrait of discipleship before specific moral instructions follow.

The word “blessed” names more than a passing emotion. Jesus declares the deep good of belonging to God even when outward circumstances include grief, hunger for justice or persecution. Each promise looks towards God’s Kingdom, comfort, mercy, vision and final joy.

The Beatitudes also describe Christ Himself. He is poor in spirit, merciful, pure, peaceful and faithful through suffering. Holiness is therefore conformity to Jesus through grace.

The Catechism teaches in paragraphs 1716 and 1717 that the Beatitudes stand at the heart of Jesus’ preaching, portray His charity and express the vocation of the faithful. Their promises have already begun in the Virgin Mary and all the saints.

All Saints shows that the Beatitudes are possible. The saints lived them imperfectly but faithfully, returning to grace when they failed and allowing Christ to form His life in them.

How Do the All Saints Day Readings Connect?

The readings show holiness as gift, identity, journey and fulfilment. Revelation displays the completed communion of saints. Psalm 24 describes those who seek God’s face. First John names believers as God’s children. Matthew reveals the Christ-shaped life of the Beatitudes.

Every reading keeps God at the centre. The saints point to Christ, and their lives magnify His grace. The Lamb saves, the Father adopts, and Jesus teaches the path. Honour given to the saints ultimately praises God, whose holiness has become visible in human lives.

The feast also joins the Church across heaven and earth. Christians follow Christ together, worshipping with a communion that crosses time, culture and death and encouraging one another towards the holiness for which every person was created.

Reading	Reference	Key idea (paraphrased)	Question to reflect on
First Reading	Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14	Christ gathers a holy multitude from every people.	Where is grace calling me towards holiness?
Psalm	Psalm 24	Those who seek God join worship with integrity.	What needs purification in my actions or desires?
Second Reading	1 John 3:1-3	God’s children live now in hope of seeing Him.	How does Christian hope shape my choices?
Gospel	Matthew 5:1-12a	The Beatitudes reveal Christ-shaped happiness.	Which Beatitude can I practise this week?

Who Is This All Saints Day Readings Guide For?

This guide to the All Saints Day readings is for anyone who wants to arrive at the solemnity ready to celebrate the communion of saints.

Parishioners and Families

Parishioners and families can use the reflection table to talk about a favourite saint, or a faithful person they have known, before Sunday Mass.

Readers, Ministers and Catechists

Readers preparing to proclaim Revelation or First John, and catechists teaching about the saints, can use the context and Catechism links as a starting point.

Who This Guide Is Not For

This reflection is a short preparation for Mass. It cannot replace the homily, personal pastoral advice or support in grief, which the parish is glad to offer.

What I Take From These Readings

I find hope in the sheer variety of the multitude described by Revelation. Holiness has no single personality, profession, nationality or age. The saints include bold witnesses and quiet servants, teachers and parents, contemplatives and workers, people whose gifts were public and people whose faithfulness was largely unseen.

That variety helps me resist comparing one path with another. The real question is whether Christ is being welcomed into the circumstances I have actually been given. The Beatitudes can be lived in a family conversation, an honest decision, an act of mercy or patient service.

All Saints also reminds a parish that worship is larger than the congregation visible in the church. At Mass, the Church joins the praise of heaven. Grief and hope meet there, especially when loved ones who have died are remembered before God, as the Church does the next day in All Souls’ Day and the Promise of Eternal Mercy.

For a deeper reflection on Jesus’ teaching, read The Beatitudes Can Help You To Truly Be Happy.

How To Prepare for All Saints Mass This Week

Read Matthew 5:1-12a and choose one Beatitude to carry into prayer.
Thank God for one saint whose life helps you follow Christ, whether canonised or personally known.
Notice one ordinary opportunity for mercy, peacemaking, purity of intention or courage.
Pray for people who feel forgotten, grieving or far from the hope of heaven.
Arrive early for Mass and remember that the earthly liturgy joins the worship of the saints before God.

The saints lead towards Christ and towards service. Join the parish for Mass, then let one Beatitude shape a concrete act during the week.

Frequently Asked Questions About All Saints Day

What are the readings for All Saints Day?

The Catholic readings are Revelation 7:2-4 and 9-14, Psalm 24, 1 John 3:1-3, and Matthew 5:1-12a. They focus on the communion of saints, the children of God, the hope of seeing Him and the Beatitudes.

Why does the Church celebrate All Saints?

The Church celebrates all people who share the life of heaven with God, including canonised saints and those known only to Him. The feast praises God’s grace, strengthens Christian hope and reminds every baptised person of the universal call to holiness.

What do the Beatitudes mean?

The Beatitudes describe the attitudes and promises of life in Christ’s Kingdom. They present true happiness as communion with God expressed through humility, mercy, purity, peacemaking, hunger for justice and faithfulness during suffering.

Is All Saints Day a holy day of obligation in Australia?

In Australia, the holy days of obligation are every Sunday, Christmas Day and the Assumption. All Saints is a solemnity celebrated on 1 November. In 2026, All Saints falls on a Sunday, so Catholics celebrate the solemnity at their usual Sunday Mass.

What is the liturgical colour for All Saints?

White is the principal liturgical colour, often enriched with gold. White and gold express resurrection, glory, joy and the victory of Christ reflected in the lives of the saints.

What To Do Next

The All Saints Day readings invite one simple step: choose one Beatitude and ask Christ to make it visible in one relationship or decision. Holiness grows through grace received faithfully in ordinary life, and the saints encourage the Church to keep walking.

Want to learn more about Catholic faith or become more involved at St Anthony’s? Contact the parish office.

About the Author

Crom Salvatera writes about Catholic faith for St Anthony’s Parish, Marsfield, a Catholic community with a Vincentian heritage. This reflection draws on Scripture, the Catechism of the Catholic Church and official Church teaching. Readers seeking personal pastoral guidance are invited to contact the parish.