Saint of the Day for 1 November: All Saints
All Saints: a Christian feast day celebrating holiness
Name
All Saints
Title
All Saints’ Day
Recurrence
01 November
Martyrology
2004 edition
Prayer
Most faithful Patriarchs, most holy Prophets, most zealous Apostles, most valiant Martyrs, most upright Confessors, most chaste Matrons, most immaculate Virgins, all of you who reign with Christ in Paradise, from the luminous seats of your beatitude turn a pious gaze upon us unhappy exiles of heavenly Sionne. You now enjoy the ample harvest of joy that you have deserved by sowing your tears in this land of exile. None other than God is now the reward of your labours, the beginning, the object and the end of your enjoyments. O blessed souls, intercede for us! Obtain for us all that we may walk faithfully behind your footsteps, that we may follow your examples animatedly, that we may continually copy in ourselves your virtues, so that, as imitators that we are at present of your great virtues, we may one day become partakers of your immortal glory. Almighty and eternal God, who gave us the gift of being able to celebrate the merits of all the Saints on a single day, grant that our ardent desires for your propitiation may find in them as many intercessors with you. Amen.
Patron Saint of
Rovetta, Lombriasco
Roman Martyrology
Solemnity of all Saints united with Christ in glory: today, in one jubilant feast, the Church still pilgrim on earth venerates the memory of those whose company heaven rejoices in, to be incited by their example, cheered by their protection and crowned by their victory before the divine majesty in the eternal ages.
The Saint and Mission
The feast of All Saints is a privileged time to reflect on the universality of the call to holiness and the mission that every believer has received. The celebration of this day transcends the individual biographies of canonised saints to embrace an infinity of men and women who, over the centuries, have heroically lived their faith, often in anonymity and silence. The mission of the saints is a living testimony to the possibility of incarnating the Gospel in daily life, transforming every gesture, word and choice into an act of love and dedication to God and neighbour. These extraordinary men and women show us that holiness is not reserved for a select few, but is a universal call, to which we are all invited to respond with generosity and courage. The mission of the saints was often marked by a strong tension towards the evangelical ideal, lived in the concreteness of the historical, social and cultural circumstances in which they found themselves operating. They were able to read the signs of the times, interpreting the challenges and questions of their contemporaries in the light of faith, and offering concrete answers of charity, justice and solidarity. In this sense, the feast of All Saints reminds us that mission is not a task reserved for a few ‘specialists’ of the faith, but is the vocation of every baptised person. We are all called to be ‘saints’, to live our faith authentically and consistently, bearing witness to the beauty of the Gospel with our lives. The mission of the saints, moreover, teaches us that holiness is not the result of human efforts, but is a gift from God, a grace that is offered to us and that we are called to accept with humility and trust. The saints have been able to let themselves be moulded by God’s mercy, to open themselves to the transforming action of the Holy Spirit, thus becoming ‘places’ where God’s presence is made visible and tangible. The feast of All Saints is an invitation to rediscover the beauty and relevance of the call to holiness, to become aware of our missionary vocation and to commit ourselves, with renewed enthusiasm, to building the Kingdom of God. The saints, with their lives and their example, encourage us not to be content with a “mediocre” life, but to strive with all our strength towards the evangelical ideal, certain that, with God’s help, we too can become “saints” and contribute to the transformation of the world.
The Saint and Mercy
The feast of All Saints reminds us of the universal communion of believers, a vast and multiform assembly of men and women who have lived according to the Gospel, often in conditions of extreme hardship and persecution. Mercy, in this context, manifests itself as the golden thread that binds all these extraordinary lives, marking the Church’s journey through the centuries. The concept of mercy is deeply intertwined with holiness. To be a saint is not to be without sin, but to have experienced divine mercy in a special way, allowing it to transform one’s life. Indeed, the saints have been living witnesses to the fact that God’s mercy knows no boundaries, is accessible to all and has the power to change hearts. The feast of All Saints invites us to reflect on the fact that mercy is not only a divine attribute, but also a human vocation. Each saint, in his uniqueness, has embodied mercy in different ways, becoming a living reflection of God’s compassionate love. They have succoured the needy, forgiven their persecutors, offered comfort to the afflicted, and dedicated their lives to the service of others. The mercy experienced by the saints was not just an inner feeling, but translated into concrete actions. They understood that true mercy demands courage, sacrifice and a deep solidarity with the suffering. In many cases, they paid for their commitment to justice and love for the weakest in person. All the saints teach us that mercy is not an abstract reality, but a concrete call to live according to the Gospel. Their existence shows us that it is possible for each and every one of us to become instruments of mercy, regardless of our living conditions or abilities. In a world often marked by indifference and hardness of heart, the feast of All Saints reminds us that mercy is the most authentic response to God’s love and the way to build a more human and fraternal world. It invites us to look to the saints not as distant and unreachable figures, but as fellow travellers, friends and intercessors who support us on our journey of faith. All the saints are a shining example of how mercy can become the key to our existence and the compass that guides our every action. Through their witness, we are invited to allow ourselves to be transformed by God’s mercy and to become, in turn, credible and joyful witnesses of his infinite love.
Hagiography
Today’s feast has as its object the glorification of all the Saints who are in heaven: Angels, Martyrs, Confessors, Virgins. Its origin comes from the commemoration of all the martyrs that has been done in some particular churches since the 4th century. Boniface IV in the 6th century asked for and obtained from Emperor Phocas the Pantheon that Marcus Agrippa had dedicated to Jupiter Avenger and…