ALL SAINTS DAY
What is All Saints Day? It is when the Catholic Church and some Protestant churches commemorate every saint, known and unknown. The eve of All Saints is known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. It falls on November 1st.
Liturgical Color(s): White
Type of Holiday: Solemnity, Holy Day of Obligation
Duration: One Day
Celebrates/Symbolizes: All Saints, known and unknown
Alternate Names: All Hallows, Hallowmas, Halloween
Scriptural References: Mark 12:26-27; Ephesians 6:18; Hebrews 12:1, Revelation 5:8
Every day in the Church year has a saint day, but the Solemnity of All Saints is when the Church honors all saints, known and unknown. This is similar to the American holidays of Veterans Day and Presidents Day, when a group of people are honored on a specific day. While we have information about many saints, and we honor them on specific days, there are many unknown or unsung saints, who may have been forgotten, or never been honored specifically. On All Saints Day, we celebrate these holy men and women, and ask for their prayers and intercessions.
Prayer: Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
ALL SOULS DAY
What is All Souls Day? It is when the Church commemorates and prays for the souls in Purgatory, who are undergoing purification before entering heaven. All Souls Day is November 2nd, the day after All Saints Day.
Liturgical Color(s): Black, White, or Violet
Celebrates/Symbolizes: All the faithful departed
Alternate Names: Commemoration of the Faithful Departed; Commemoratio omnium Fidelium Defunctorum
Scriptural References: 2 Maccabees 12:44-45; Matthew 12:31-32; 1 Corinthians 3:13-15; 2 Timothy 1:16-18; 1 Peter 3:18-20
According to Britannica, "All Souls’ Day, in Roman Catholicism, a day for the commemoration of all the faithful departed, those baptized Christians who are believed to be in purgatory because they died with the guilt of lesser sins on their souls or that their souls were not fully purified to enter into heaven at the time of death. Roman Catholic doctrine holds that the prayers of the faithful on earth will help cleanse these souls in order to fit them for the vision of God in heaven, and the day is dedicated to prayer and remembrance."
Prayer: Eternal rest, grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May the souls of the faithful departed through the mercy of God rest in peace. Amen.
From: my catholic kids, church year.net, Britannica, and catholic culture web sites
