Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of Matthew (5: 1-12), in which Jesus says, ‘Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven’. Afterwards, Fr Paul shares a little about the feast of All Saints which we celebrate today.

All Saints’ Day is a Christian solemnity celebrated in honour of all the saints of the church, whether they are known or unknown.

From the 4th century, feasts commemorating all Christian martyrs were held in various places, on various dates near Easter and Pentecost. 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.

So today, Fr Paul asks all the saints of our church, known or unknown to pray for us