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Photo by Rebecca Methven

All Saints Day, All Souls Day

Rebecca Methven —

November 1st is All Saints' Day. It is a solemn holy day of the Catholic Church.

Saints are sometimes regarded as ‘Catholic superheroes’. Stories of miraculous and remarkable deeds abound, though more in the vein of conversions and cures than speeding bullets and tall buildings. But to get caught up on the Saints of the stained glass windows is to overlook the vast majority of saints. You see, a saint is anybody whose soul is in heaven. The Church celebrates a certain number of Saints whose lives provide a glimpse of God for the rest of the Church. But there are many, many more saints whose glimpse of God was only ever experienced by their family, friends and those with whom they worked. The feast of ALL Saints is an opportunity to remember and reflect on the lives of those saints who’ve been known and loved by just a few and whose sphere of influence was such that they will never be recognised as Saints by the universal Church.

All Souls Day is a holy day set aside for honouring the dead, we remember in a special way those who have died. We believe that all who have died in Jesus will rise again with him. For in Jesus, we are all made alive. In remembering the souls who have died, we remember that, if we follow Jesus, we too shall join him in eternal life.

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