On the Feast of All Saints

Whenever I think of the saints, especially that large number of unnamed women and men who have gone before us, and on whose shoulders we stand, I always remember this passage from the 12th chapter of the Book of Hebrews.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us throw off every encumbrance and the the sin that so easily besets us, running with endurance the race that is set before us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

In this fresco from a ceiling in the Vatican, Mary is surrounded by Dominican saints