Also known as All Hallows Day, Hallowmas, or All Saints Day, the Solemnity of All Saints is an important holy day celebrated each year on November 1. It is dedicated to all of those people who have died and are now with God in Heaven.
Initially, the saints who were honored by the Church were all martyrs. Later, other people who had modeled their life after Jesus and exhibited heroic sanctity were also venerated.
Many saints are recognized on a particular day on the Church’s calendar but All Saints Day is an opportunity to remember all the saints, including those who have not been formally canonized and who are known only to God.
Along with All Hallows Eve the night before and All Souls Day the day after, All Saints Day is part of Allhallowtide when Catholics place a special emphasis on remembering the dead.
All Saints Day is a solemnity and a holy day of obligation. All Catholics are required to attend Mass.
A “great cloud of witnesses” encourage and support us:
A celebration of our heroes:
Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and whence have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple; and he who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water; and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
Revelation 7: 13-17
Our connection with everyday sanctity:
Flesh and blood bound for Heaven:
Coming in contact with those already in eternity:
The witnesses who have preceded us into the kingdom, especially those whom the Church recognizes as saints, share in the living tradition of prayer by the example of their lives, the transmission of their writings, and their prayer today. They contemplate God, praise Him and constantly care for those whom they have left on Earth. When they entered into the joy of their Master, they were “put in charge of many things.” Their intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.
Catechism of the Catholic Church 2683
There are saints who are known to God alone:
The perfection of God is expressed in the diversity of the saints:
Exemplifying holiness in spite of human weakness:
The Feast of All Saints that we are celebrating today reminds us that the goal of our existence is not death, it is Paradise! The Apostle John writes: “it does not yet appear what we shall be, but we know that when He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see him as He is. The Saints — who are the friends of God — assure us of this promise which does not disappoint. During their earthly existence they lived in profound communion with God. In the faces of the humblest and least of our brothers, the smallest and most despised brothers, they saw the face of God, and now they contemplate Him face to face in his glorious beauty. The Saints are not supermen, nor were they born perfect. They are like us, like each one of us. They are people who, before reaching the glory of heaven, lived normal lives with joys and sorrows, struggles and hopes. What changed their lives? When they recognized God’s love, they followed it with all their heart without reserve or hypocrisy. They spent their lives serving others, they endured suffering and adversity without hatred and responded to evil with good, spreading joy and peace. This is the life of a Saint.
Pope Francis, Angelus Address, 1 November 2013
Venerating their honor serves us, not them:
Celebrating the glorified dead at the Pantheon:
The Truth, Goodness, and Beauty of the Catholic Church
A life grounded in God’s love:
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