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October 30, 2021All Hallows’ Day, the Solemnity of All Saints, or All Saints’ Day is a celebration of all Catholic saints held on November 1 each year. “On this solemnity, we recall the holy men and women who, having completed their earthly journeys, now live forever with God. These saints, though not canonized, [who were models among us] offer us examples of abiding faith and love of God and neighbor” (Essential Guide to Seasons and Saints, 109).
In the Catholic Church, we are called to imitate and venerate saints because of their heroically virtuous lives, martyrdom, or their offering of life for others. Honoring and praying to saints fosters our faith in God and strengthens our relationship with our brothers and sisters in the faith who are in heaven. We especially ask for their intercession to God on our behalf. We see them as role models of the practice of our faith and ask for help to follow the way of Christ as they have done while on earth. The Church teaches that by imitating the virtues lived by the saints, the saints bring us closer to Christ. When we ask the saints to pray for us, we ask them, through the will of God, to intercede for us here on earth. This is the Communion of Saints which we profess every Sunday in the Creed.
