Fr Paul reads from the Gospel of Matthew (5: 1-12) in which Jesus makes the introduction to the Sermon on the Mount. Fr Paul begins by reflecting on the final line from the Gospel today; “rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven”.Fr Paul says that today we celebrate All Saints’ Day which is a solemnity that is celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown. Our saints are people we know have given their lives in service of the faith.From the 4th Century, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places, on various dates, mainly near Easter and Pentecost. It was in the 9th Century, some churches in the British Isles began holding the commemoration of all saints on 1 November, and in the 9th century this was extended to the whole Catholic church by Pope Gregory IV. Since that time we have celebrated the solemnity of all saints on this first day of November.And so today, Fr Paul invites us to pray ‘all saints of our church… pray for us!’