Home
 Feast of All Saints Scott 679-680 (1980) Commemoration of saints was a regional feature of 4th century Christianity onwards. In 835, Pope Gregory IV established the solemnity for all saints as a holy day of obligation for the universal Church on 1 November. The Eastern Orthodox Church celebrates All Saints on the Sunday after Pentecost. It is suggested that the autumn season was selected as the time of the liturgical year for this solemnity because it symbolized the conclusion of the annual harvest. The gathering in of crops and the burning of vines and branches in a bonfire can be compared to the harvest of righteous souls for Heaven and the separation of the wheat from the chaff, to be burned in the everlasting fires of Hell. All this would have graphic significance for a society that remained agriculturally-based up into the era of the agricultural and industrial revolutions of the 18th and 19th centuries. As stated in the Catechism of the Catholic Church: "Being more closely united to Christ, those who dwell in heaven fix the whole Church more firmly in holiness…They do not cease to intercede with the Father for us, as they proffer the merits which they acquired on earth through the one mediator between God and men, Christ Jesus. …So by their fraternal concern is our weakness greatly helped." (CCC 956)In his homily for All Saints Day, St. Bernard of Clairvaux (1090-1153) stated: "Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of the apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir or virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. …When we commemorate the saints we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. …That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints.The commemoration of All Souls is on 2 November, a day of remembrance and commemoration of all who have died, including those in Purgatory. As stated in the Catechism: "In full consciousness of this communion with the whole Mystical Body of Jesus Christ, the Church in its pilgrim members, from the very earliest days, has honored with great respect the memory of the dead; and ‘because it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead that they may be loosed from their sins’ she offers her suffrages for them. Our prayer for them is capable not only of helping them, but also of making their intercession for us effective." (CCC 958) REFERENCES: |
