November brings us two celebrations in the Catholic Church which I believe require a bit of an explanation to their origin and meaning.

Sunday, November 1, All Saints' Day, is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church celebrated annually. The day is dedicated to the known saints of the Church, that is, all those who have attained heaven, the Beatific Vision, that is those recognized in the canon of the saints by the Catholic Church.

Generally, All Saints' Day is a Catholic Holy Day of Obligation, meaning all Catholics are required to attend Mass on that day, unless they have an excellent excuse, such as serious illness.

Today, All Saints' Day is still a holy day of obligation, but only when it falls on a Sunday. The bishops of each national conference of bishops have the authority to amend the rules surrounding the obligation of the day based on enculturation. All Saints' Day was formally started by Pope Boniface IV, who consecrated the Parthenon at Rome to the Virgin Mary and all the Martyrs on May 13 in 609 AD. The choice of the day may have been intended to co-opt the pagan holiday "Feast of the Lamures," a day which pagans used to placate the restless spirits of the dead.

The holy day was eventually established on November 1 by Pope Gregory III in the mid-eighth century as a day dedicated to the saints and their relics, and the May 13 celebration was
subsequently abandoned. Following the establishment of the Frankish Empire, and following the reign of Charlemagne, the holy day, which was already celebrated on November 1, became a holy day of obligation by decree of Pope Gregory IV and Louis the Pious, who was king over a portion of Charlemagne's former empire. When Louis the Pious’ wife died, he built a church to her honor but was forbidden to dedicate it to her and so dedicated it to All Saints, to include his queen whom he considered a saint.

The Catholic practice of All Saint’s Day however is properly dedicated to those who are in heaven. It is important to remember these basic facts: Halloween is a secular holiday that comes the night before All Saints' Day (November 1), a Holy Day of Obligation. All Souls' Day in on November 2, and it is NOT a Holy Day of Obligation.

All Souls’ Day, November 2, is meant to highlight all the faithfully departed and to remind us—those who are living—that there is an obligation on our part to pray for and to offer Masses for our departed family and friends, prayers offered for all those who have died but have not yet reached heaven. This should then make us consider the meaning of “The Communion of Saints,” which means that while we die to this life, we do not die forever. Our faith teaches us that we will be changed, raised from the dead, and our mortal body will be reunited with our immortal and invaluable soul, transformed by God into His Divine Life to live forever in His heavenly Kingdom. We are still connected to our deceased loved ones—they do not simply live on in our hearts and memories, but rather rest in the peace of Christ and will be raised to new life; complete and unending joy. Every tear shall be wiped away and we shall see the Face of God.

This is why the Church, at Mass and in prayer, prays for the noble souls of our deceased family members and friends at Mass. We pray that they rest in peace until that Final Day when we shall be raised to glory; we pray for the souls of the departed who are in Purgatory, that they will be healed and made one with Christ. We light candles and offer prayers for their benefit.
Prayer is meant to be constant.

During the month of November the tradition of the Church is to dedicate this month to particular prayers for our deceased loved ones—mothers, fathers, siblings, children and others—that God will be merciful to them and welcome them home. All November long, we will place your ALL SOULS
envelopes, complete with names of your deceased family and friends, in a prominent place near the altar and they will be remembered by name in my daily breviary prayers throughout the day as well as at daily Masses—Monday through Sunday— celebrated in our parish. This is one way in which “We Remember, We Celebrate, We Believe” that God provides for and cares for all—and that we are called to be part of the Communion of Saints—first here on earth in prayer for their noble souls, and then one day as we join them in the Kingdom. So we are “saints in the making in the pew” today, and one day hopefully will be Saints in the Kingdom forever. Let us pray! (in daily prayer I will remember 20 names at each prayer time—morning, daytime, evening and night prayer) as well as 10 names will be mentioned specifically as I elevate the chalice at each Mass)