Today, we celebrate the saints in heaven who have “come out of the great tribulation and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.”  Since they are in heaven, they intercede for us who are pilgrims on earth. The first reading enriches us with beautiful symbols and inspiring messages. John, in his vision, saw an angel ascending where the sun rises with the seal of the living God who told the four angels given the power to harm the earth and the sea, to wait till God’s servants were sealed on their foreheads. A seal indicates the source of possession. The seal which belongs to God shows that the people in question belonged to God and were under his power and authority.  During our baptism, we were sealed with the sign of the cross on our foreheads by the priest or deacon, our parents and God-parents. This means that we have been claimed for Christ, making us an exclusive property of God and that we have been initiated or incorporated into the mystical body of Christ, which is the Church. Since by virtue of our baptism, we were claimed for Christ, and became his possession, let us not return to sin and the works of darkness

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, give me the grace to be conscious that I belong completely to you and to live out the grace of my baptism. Amen