ALL SAINTS’ DAY; 1st NOVEMBER

ALL SAINTS’ DAY

1st NOVEMBER

Today is the beautiful celebration of All Saints’ Day, a day of commemoration and joy for all those who have attained the graces to be in heaven. As observed previously, it is a feast day of ancient origin, dating from 615 AD and established as a formal feast day in the 8th century. It is a sacramental recognition of the dead, in a month that is focused on the Holy Souls; today, All Saints, being those who have attained sainthood, and tomorrow, All Souls, for those whose path is still towards heaven. Father Weiser observed that the purpose of the feast day is twofold:

“As the prayer of the Mass states, ’the merits of the saints are venerated in common by this one celebration’, because a very large number of martyrs and other saints would not be accorded the honour of a special festival since the days of the year would not suffice for all these individual celebrations. The second purpose was given by Pope Urban IV: Any negligence, omission, and irreverence committed in the celebration of the saints’ feasts throughout the year is to be atoned for by the faithful, and thus due honour may still be offered to these saints.”

The second sentiment is strongly, (perhaps opportunistically?), supported by the author of the renowned Catholic text “Drinking with the Saints*, who advocates celebrating all the saints by their individual drink, or alternatively, recommending an all-encompassing commemorative drink, being The Saints Whisky Beer, “a smoky, peaty beer infused with a measure of English whisky from St George’s Distillery” made by St Peter’s Brewery in England, or wines made in the Veneto region of Italy by Santi, (because of the word “saint”).

An aspect of the liturgy today is the Litany of the Saints, at the close of Solemn Mass. The Litany of the Saints follows the Jewish practice of repetition of specific prayers by the public. Divers practices of the repetition of prayers existed until Pope Clement VIII, in 1601, determined the official text of the Litany of the Saints to be the one with which we are familiar today. Father Weiser tells us that the Kyrie Eleison came to us from the Orient in the fifth century, today said at the beginning and end of the Litany of the Saints; Francis Weiser, ”Handbook of Christian Feasts and Customs”, Harcourt, Brace and Company, 1952, at p. 308.

Customs include, for very young children processions with the children dressing as saints. American author, Kendra Tierny advises that each child take the stage, gives three clues to the audience and asks, “Who am I?” She also provides some clever suggestions for celebrating these feast days with small children; see generally, The Catholic All Year Compendium, Liturgical Living for Real Life by Kendra Tierny, Ignatius Press, at p. 295.

It is just about universal that Catholics visit the graves of their loved ones on this feast day, or more commonly, the Feast day of All Souls. The authors of the Bad Catholics’ Guide to Good Living *state that the custom in Louisiana is to visit the graves of loved ones and picnic on the grave. Below is a recipe from “Who’s your Mama, are you Catholic, and can you make a Roux?” by Marcelle Bienvenue* in which is set out perfect Cajun picnic food;

CAJUN WALDORF SALAD

1 Granny Smith apple, cored and chopped, skin on

2 Winsesap (red) apples, cored and chopped, skin on

1 cup seedless raisins

½ cup chopped pecans

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

Mayonnaise

Shredded lettuce

Toss the first six ingredients together, using just enough mayonnaise to lightly coat the apples. Serve on a bed of the shredded lettuce.

*John Zmirak and Denise Matychowiak, Crossroads, at p. 182

* Acadian House Publishing, 2006, at p. 83.

*Michael P Foley, “Drinking with the Saints, a Sinners Guide to a Holy Happy Hour”, Regnery, 2005, at p. 304.

Image: https://www.independent.co.uk/.../all-saints-day-2018... <img src="url" alt="alternatetext">;