All Saints Day -- All Souls Day

The second full month of autumn begins with the Solemnity in honor of All Saints: those we know through the church's official process of canonization, and those who may be known only to God who lived lives of great faith, hope and love.

The earliest saints were more or less universally acclaimed, particularly those who were martyred. The formal process that is observed today goes back only to about the 10th century. Since the Church formally recognizes only a fraction of those who are truly saints in eternity. All Saints Day gives us the opportunity to honor those who do not have an official day on the Church's calendar. We hope many of our family members and friends are members of that group, and we celebrate them because they are now living in a state that we hope is also our final end.

The saints in heaven serve as models for our own Christian living. They pray for us constantly that we may share the life they now know. They inspire us by the fact that they are as human as we are, and so serve to remind us that eternal salvation is not only possible but guaranteed, as long as we strive to the best of our abilities to live saintly lives.

November 2, the Commemoration of All Souls, is set aside to remember and honor our beloved deceased, and pray for those who may not have completed their journey to the fullness of the Kingdom (the souls in purgatory), entrusting them to the mercy of God.

Praying for the dead is a good and pious act, and is one of the traditional Spiritual Works of Mercy. Both these pious devotions are good for our souls and help us to grow in our knowledge and love of Jesus Christ, so I encourage all of us to attend mass.

Please be sure to check the schedule in this bulletin for Mass times and location, since our liturgies on these two days will take place in the Church (not the Parish Center).