ALL SAINTS’ DAY

Adriana Sanz Llopis

2º Bachillerato CCNN

WHAT IS ALL SAINTS' DAY?

All Saints' Day was Solemnity celebrated on the first of November.

It is instituted to hounour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful’s celebration of saints’ feats during the year.

WHEN IS ALL SAINTS' DAY CELEBRATED?

This feast that we know as All Saint's Day (first of November)originated as a feast of All Martyrs, sometime in the 4th century. At first it was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. It came to be observed on May 13 when Pope St. Boniface IV (608-615) restored and rebuilt for use as a Christian church an ancient Roman temple which pagan Rome had dedicated to "all gods", the Pantheon. The pope re-buried the bones of many martyrs there, and dedicated this Church to the Mother of God and all the Holy Martyrs on May 13, 610.

It is a principal feast of the Catholic Church. It is a holy day of obligation, which means that all Catholics are to attend Mass on that day.

About a hundred years later, Pope Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a new chapel in the basilica of St. Peter to all saints (not just to the martyrs) on November 1, and he fixed the anniversary of this dedication as the date of the feast.

A century after that, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration of All Saints to November 1 for the entire Church.

Eternal God,Eternal God,whose Son Jesus Christ is the whose Son Jesus Christ is the way, the way, the truth, and the life,truth, and the life,grant us to walk in his way,grant us to walk in his way,to rejoice in his truth,to rejoice in his truth,and to share his risen life;and to share his risen life;who is alive and reigns, who is alive and reigns, now and for ever.now and for ever. Common Prayer, p. 403Common Prayer, p. 403

Prayers, Scripture Readings for All Saints:

Collect:[That the prayers of all the saints will bring us forgiveness for our sins]Father, all-powerful and ever-living God,today we rejoice in the holy men and womenof every time and place.May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love.

We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, Your Son,who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit,one God, for ever and ever. Amen.

or

[We rejoice and keep festival in honor of all the saints]

God our Father, source of all holiness,the work of Your hands is manifest in Your saints, the beauty of Your truth is reflected in their faith.

May we who aspire to have part in their joybe filled with the spirit that blessed their lives,so that having shared their faith on earthmay we also know their peace in your kingdom.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Have each child choose a favorite saint, and make a booklet of their own about the saint's life.

Help them focus on how this saint gave an example of unusual courage, or devotion, or dedication to others, and how we can learn from their example.

Take the children to a religious goods shop and allow the children to look for a medal or small statue of their own patron saint, or another favorite saint, along with a prayer card for that saint to use for bed time prayers.

Ask your parish priest to bless these images for the children.

Teach children the great hymn For All the Saints

All Saints is a Holy Day of Obligation.

Other family activities:

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