Catholic Fire

On November 1, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, also known as Hallowmas and All Hallows. Today's feast honors all the saints of the Church, known and unknown, whose virtues and efforts in this life are considered to have earned them an eternal reward with God. On this day, Catholics are asked to reflect on holiness and sainthood and to celebrate the holiness of men and women who gave their lives in faithfulness and service to God, and whose witness continues to inspire us today. Christians have been honoring saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. Initially, the calendars of saints and martyrs varied by location, with churches honoring local saints. However, gradually feast days became more universal. The first reference to a general feast celebrating all saints occurred with St Ephrem the Syrian (d. AD 373). St. John Chrysostom (d. AD 407) assigned a day to the feast, the first Sunday after Pentecost, where in the Eastern Churches the feast is celeb...

1. Do not be afraid to be holy! Have the courage and humility to present yourselves to the world determined to be holy, since full, true freedom is born from holiness." -- St.John Paul II, World Youth Day, Santiago, Spain, 1989 2.  “Holiness does not consist in doing extraordinary things. It consists in accepting, with a smile, what Jesus sends us. It consists in accepting and following the will of God.”  -- Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Mother Teresa: In My Own Words , 1 3,  "Sanctity consists in struggling, in knowing that we have defects and in heroically trying to overcome them. Sanctity, I insist, consists in overcoming those defects - although we will still have defects when we die; for if not, as I have told you, we would become proud." -- St. Josemaria Escriva The Forge , 312 4. "All the science of the saints is included in these two things: To do, and to suffer. And whoever had done these two things best, has made himself most saintly....

Christ Glorified in the Court of Heaven Blessed Fra Angelico 1428-30 Tempera on wood National Gallery, London 834 - This day was declared to be All Saints’ Day by the Catholic Church. 1512 - The ceiling of the Sistine Chapel , painted by Michelangelo , is exhibited to the public for the first time. 1946 - Karol Wojtyla, the future Pope John Paul II , was ordained as a priest .

Fr. James Martin describes the connections between Halloween and All Saints Day. Related Post: Have a Happy and Holy All Hallow's Eve!

The History of All Hallow's Eve In 834, the evening of October 31 became All Hallow's Eve when Pope Gregory IV established November 1 as the feast of All Saints, followed by a day in honor of her soon-to-be saints, the feast of All Souls. This time of year was chosen because it was the time of barrenness on the earth. The harvest was in, the summer done, and the world was brown, drab, and mindful of death. Snow had not yet descended to comfort and hide the bony trees or blackened fields; so with little effort man could look about and see a meditation on death and life hereafter. Apparently how you spent the vigil of All Saints depended on where you lived in Christendom. In Brittany the night was solemn and without a trace of merriment. On their "night of the dead" and for forty-eight hours thereafter, the Bretons believed the poor souls were liberated from Purgatory and were free to visit their old homes. The vigil for the souls, as well as the saints, had to be kept...