But lo! there breaks a yet more glorious day;
the saints triumphant rise in bright array;
the King of glory passes on his way.
Alleluia, Alleluia!
Each year churches around the world gather to celebrate the Feast of All Saints’ on November 1. In the celebration of the great feast of All Saints, we thank God for the many blessings God pours into our lives through the Church catholic and especially through the witness, life and labors of the great Saints of our faith upon whose very lives the Church has been built.
The Feast of All Saints—those known to us and those known only to God—reminds us how important each of our witnesses to the Gospel truly is. While we continue to work and share and give for the ministry of the Church, we remember on All Saints’ Day those who “now in glory shine.” What a great image for us all to hold on to as we live as Christians in complexities of the modern day. This glorious feast helps us see what is really important in our lives and how the hope we find in Christ Jesus, the hope proclaimed by all that goes on here day after day, how this hope brings joy and meaning to our lives. This is the hope passed down to us through the Saints of God, whose stories live on in commemorations of the Church. It is this very hope that gave light to a darkened world in ages past and changes the world even still.
We will celebrate the Feast of All Saints on both Wednesday, November 1 at 6:30 pm in the Chapel and again on Sunday, November 5 at 7:45, 9:00 and 11:15 am.
In contrast, the Solemnity of All Souls' is our remembrance of those who have touched our lives and have gone before us in faith and now sleep in the peace of Christ. They, like those remembered on All Saints' Day, have lived lives of faith worthy of remembering and live on in the communion of all the saints. All Souls day stands as a contrast to All Saints Day as a reminder of the promise of Jesus when he said, “Everyone the Father gives to me will come to me. My heart, therefore, is glad, and my spirit rejoices; my body also shall rest in hope." The mystery which is death is in many respects a greater mystery than the gift life of life. One we know; one has bred in us hope and faith in life to come.
Our annual Requiem Mass for the Solemnity of All Souls Day will take place Thursday, November 2 at 7:00 pm. The choir will be singing portions of Tomás Luis de Victoria' Requiem along with some of the most beautiful music of the year. A reception follows in the Narthex.
