The Feast of All Saints - 2014; The Praise of God in His Saints

Since we wish to venerate all the Saints, first of all let us venerate and praise with particular zeal the Lord God, whom we are ordered by the prophet to praise in His Saints. (Psalm 150, 1) “Let my soul be filled as with marrow and fatness”, he says, (Psalm 62, 8), that is, just as the soul is made perfect by interior faith and the perfection of exterior virtues, so the voice of the faithful must praise him with the sound of exultation. The prophet’s meaning is this: Just as from a vessel comes forth the odor of that which fills it, so divine praise comes forth from the soul that is full of the love of God, expressed with the sound of exultation and devotion. By this praise God is appeased and honored, and grace conferred upon man for his good. “The sacrifice of praise shall glorify me: and there is the way by which I will show him the salvation of God.” (Psalm 49, 23)

God, the Church and the Saints, from the sacristy of St Peter’s Basilica. I do not know the date or author of this painting; on stylistic grounds, it seems to be a work of the later 16th or very early 17th century. God is seen at the top and to the right, the Church as a female figure to the left, the Virgin Mary in the middle, surrounded by Saints of many different orders. King David, the author of the Psalms, is in the lower right hand corner with his harp, amid other prophets. This painting must have once been displayed in the basilica on the feast of All Saints, since the Angels surrounding the figure of the Church have tablets in their hands on which are written the Beatitudes, from the Gospel of the feast, Matthew 5, 1-12.