This Sunday, November 1, we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, a feast day to celebrate all of those saints, known and un-known, who have served the Lord and are with Him in Heaven. This feast is one of the older feasts that we celebrate in the Church, dating back to the 5th century. Due to having more martyrs and saints than days in the year, the early Church instituted a common feast for all of them on the Friday following Easter in the Syrian church. The Byzantine liturgy (now celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox church) celebrated this feast on the octave day (the 8th day) following Pentecost. In Rome, Pope Boniface IV consecrated the Pantheon on May 13, 610, as ‘St. Maria ad Martyres’ after moving many relics of martyrs from the catacombs to there. This date became known as the feast of All Martyrs and All Saints and of Our Lady. These feasts, as celebrated in different parts of the Christian world, had a strong connection to the Easter season, which became broken when it was transferred to November 1st in 835, taking the title of ‘All Saints’. It was possibly moved to November 1 to coincide with the feast of All Saints’ that was being celebrated in the British Isles on this date. In the Celtic nations, there was a festival of Samhain for the end of the harvest season that normally occurred on this date; as with other Christian holy days, they instituted a Christian feast to supplant the pagan or non-religious one.
Tomorrow (Monday, Nov. 2) is the feast of All Souls’ and we will have a special Mass at 7PM to remember the deceased of our parish and to pray for their souls. All are welcome to attend and there is no sign up for this Mass. We will also have our regular 6:15AM and 8:15AM Masses.