The pope led the Angelus from a window overlooking St. Peter's Square in honor of the feast day. In his message before the prayer, he said it is good for Catholics to let themselves be encouraged by the saints, who did not live their lives by "half measures."
In heaven, the saints "cheer" for those on earth when they see them "choose God, humility, meekness, mercy, purity," he said. The saints "understand us, they love us, they know what our true good is, they help us, and they wait for us. They are happy, and they want us to be happy with them in paradise."
He noted that among the saints are also those who may not be known to us, or who are not on the Church's liturgical calendar, but are nevertheless with God in heaven. And they are all one's brothers and sisters – making the feast of All Saints, "a family party," he said.
Pope Francis recalled a significant point in the Mass, when the "Sanctus," or "Holy, Holy, Holy," is recited or sung. "It is a hymn – that the Bible says – comes from heaven," he said.
When singing the "Sanctus" at Mass, Catholics "not only think of the saints, but we do what they do [in heaven]: at that moment, in the Mass, we are united with them more than ever."
The saints encourage people to follow the Beatitudes, which are "the path of happiness," he said. He acknowledged that this is not always easy, especially because the world says, blessed are the rich and the arrogant, not "blessed are the poor in spirit" or "blessed are the meek."