All Saints Day

All Saints' day is the day after All Hallows' Eve (Halloween). It is an opportunity for us to remember all the saints and martyrs who have shaped the world and now intercede for us in Heaven. Typically this day is a day of reflection and an obligation to go to Mass (In 2021 All Saints is not a Holy Day of Obligation). While Mass isn't required this year it is still recommended because it allows us to honor the Saints who have given their lives for Christ in a more formal setting. 

Celebrating individual saints on specific days has been a tradition in the Church since the 4th century, but it wasn't until Pope Boniface IV decided to remember all martyrs in 609 AD, that an official day was established. The Feast of All Holy Martyrs was celebrated on May 13th and was a unified day to remember all those who literally gave their lives for Christ and His Church. 

The Feast of All Holy Martyrs was extended to include all Saints by Pope Gregory IV in 837 AD. The day's name changed to All Saints Day and it moved to November 1st where it is still celebrated today. 

Pope Saint John Paul II once said "(All Saints Day) invites us to turn our gaze to the immense multitude of those who have already reached the blessed land, and points us on the path that will lead us to that destination." All Saints Day provides us a clear day to celebrate the eternal achievement of so many and look to those who have attained the eternal prise for guidance and strength.

I heard a story the other day of a very holy man. The commentator said, "We shouldn't call him a saint. If we sanctify him, we don't have to imitate him." This is precisely the opposite of the meaning of saints! Throughout the Church's history, we have honored saints, but not to set them apart. We honor saints to remind us what is possible for a person who loves God. The saints have stories as varied as our own. We have bishops, martyrs, teachers, doctors, former thieves and prostitutes, politicians and kings, soldiers and pacifists, single mothers, desert hermits, the list goes on! On this Solemnity of All Saints, we remember this garden of holiness, rich with diverse flowerings of a holy life. When you look at the life of your favorite saint, ask yourself, "How can I imitate this person? What is possible for me when I love God?"