Carmel Bulletin, 1 November 2015
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints. It is one of the feast days in our liturgical calendar that is observed instead of the usual Sunday in Ordinary Time.
Throughout the year, we celebrate the feast days of many saints. This does not mean, however, that we worship saints.
The Church has also included in the annual cycle days devoted to the memory of the martyrs and the other saints. Raised up to perfection by the manifold grace of God, and already in possession of eternal salvation, they sing God’s perfect praise in heaven and offer prayers for us. By celebrating the passage of these saints from earth to heaven the Church proclaims the paschal mystery achieved in the saints who have suffered and been glorified with Christ; she proposes them to the faithful as examples drawing all to the Father through Christ, and through their merits she pleads for God’s favours.
Vatican II Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy Sacrosantcum Concilium, article 104
By entering into the long tradition of honouring the Blessed Virgin Mary and the saints, we ask them to intercede for us to God, who is always the object of our worship. The saints give us an example of Christian faith and living. They also offer us hope that we, like them, will experience the eternal glory of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ in all its fullness.
Every time we celebrate Mass, it serves as a foretaste of the great and eternal banquet of the Lord. The Eucharistic celebration unites us with the entire Church on earth, as well as the entire Church of God in heaven. As we participate in the great Eucharistic prayer of thanksgiving today, let us once again glorify God “with one voice of praise… with the multitude of Saints and Angels” (Preface for All Saints).
Liturgy 