All Saints Day

On the feast of All Saints, we honor those men and women who—whether they’ve been canonized or not—have led lives of heroic virtue that set an example for all Christians. Saints are big dreamers. They believe that with God on their side, no one and nothing can stop them. Saints are go-getters. They don’t wait for someone else to do good first; they jump right in. Saints are love-bringers. They try to see Christ in every person and every situation. Saints tell us what matters most in life is not what we earn or own, not the job we have or the people we know. What really matters is how much we love God, others, and ourselves, and how well we show that love in all we do.

Collect Prayer from the solemnity of All Saints

Let us pray today.
Almighty ever-living God,
By whose gift we venerate in one
Celebration
the merits of all the Saints,
bestow on us, we pray,
through the prayers of so many
intercessors,
an abundance of the reconciliation
with you
for which we earnestly long.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ,
your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the
unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.

from Saints and Feast Days, by Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio

Image credit: The Forerunners of Christ with Saints and Martyrs by Fra Angelico, 15th century. Public Domain via Wikimedia.

Catholics believe that death can separate people who they love from them for only a while. We are still united with them in the Communion of Saints. On this feast of All Souls, and throughout the entire month of November, we recall our deceased relatives, friends, and all the faithful departed who may yet be waiting for the full joy of heaven in purgatory. We pray for them, remembering that likewise these people being purified have the power to intercede us too.

In Mexico, All Souls Day is celebrated as Dia de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead). Altars are assembled in honor of the departed and decorated with flowers and sugar candy skulls, skeleton toys, candles, photographs, bread, chocolate, and the favorite food and drink of the departed. Families then go to cemeteries and wash the tombstones and decorate them. Modern urban Mexican families usually observe the Day of the Dead with a special family supper featuring the “Bread of the Dead” (pan de muerto). It is good luck to be the one who bites into the plastic toy skeleton hidden by the baker in each rounded loaf.

Activities for All Souls Day:

• Visit the cemetery. Some cemeteries have special sections for infants, and you might wish to pray especially here.

• Go to Mass. Find out the schedule of Masses for the day.

• Pray the following:

Let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord,
and let perpetual light shine upon them,
with your Saints forever, for you are merciful.
Amen.

 

from Saints and Feast Days, by Sisters of Notre Dame of Chardon, Ohio

Image credit: The Day of the Dead by William-Adolphe Bouguereau, 1859. Public Domain via Wikimedia..
 

Bless the many parted souls
who lived their lives with grace.
Bless the saints in heaven,
gathered in that special place.
May we tell their stories
and remember all the ways
they lived their faith
and spent their days.
There is glory and reward,
even if at first there’s strife.

Oh, blessed saints, you help us see
a path that’s to eternal life.
May we always hold them dear
and know their life and place.
May we know their inspiration
and aspire to their grace.