How to Observe All Saints Day

All Saints' Day is a solemnity that is celebrated on November 1 each year. All Saints' Day commemorates all the known and unknown martyred saints. For the Catholic Church, All Saints' Day is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means that Catholics are obligated to attend Mass on the feast day. The Communion of Saints is a Catholic doctrine that means to engage and inspire all Catholics and to remind them that they commune with the living and the dead. Although the primary way to observe All Saints' Day is to attend Mass, you can make an effort to live in a way that memorializes a saint's life. There are many from which to choose.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Instructions

1. 

   Attend Mass on November 1. A Holy Day of Obligation for Catholics, All Saints' Day is a time to center the mind and heart on the extraordinary sacrifices of Christian martyrs. The purpose of a Holy Day of Obligation is to gather the faithful and gain inspiration from a sense of sacred communion with the the living and the dead.

2. 

   Pray the Prayer for All Saints Day, from the Liturgy of the Hours. "Father, all powerful and everliving God, today we rejoice in the holy men and women of every time and place. May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love. We ask this through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever."

3. 

   Study the life of an honored saint. Select a saint, well-known or not. Sites, such as New Advent (see Resources), provide in-depth overviews of the saints' lives. With so many saints from which to choose, learning about the extraordinary life of a saint is an enlightening experience.

4. 

   Attempt to imitate a saint's qualities. Select a saint whose personality and accomplishments you admire. For example, you might select St. Teresa of Avila, who wrote prayerful and contemplative books about the soul's journey to God. Then spend time in contemplation. Another way is to help the disadvantaged in imitation of Mother Theresa.

Resources

• The Communion of Saints
• New Advent
• The Interior Castle