This weekend we celebrate one of my favorite feast days, “All Saints.” This is a celebration of one of our core Catholic doctrines called “The Communion of Saints.” This biblical teaching is based on our belief that there is an intimate ‘communion’ between the saints in heaven and us ‘saints’ here on earth. While we rarely think of ourselves as ‘saints,’ we are still united with the Blessed Ones in heaven by our shared belief and baptism in Jesus Christ. This doctrine is why we also believe that we can ‘communicate’ with the saints in heaven and we ask them to pray for us since they now share in the beatific vision of God in eternal life.
If you have not chosen a favorite saint yet or have not claimed one or two as a good friend, I invite you to do so as someone to call on for inspiration and help. Search for a saint that maybe struggles with something you do or inspires you in your vocation/career. (For example, there are many saints who were moms and dads; For teens, there were saints who in their early years had doubts about God and Church.)
For
All Souls Feast Day, November 2, we will have Mass at 6:30 PM, to remember and pray for all our deceased loved ones. They can benefit from our prayers for them on their journey into heaven.
Instead of bringing pictures of them to church like we have in the past, I encourage you to set up a little ‘shrine’ in your own home and retell stories of them to family and friends during the month of November.