How to make All Saints Day and All Souls Day more Holy

[PattyPryor]

Hi!

I have been wondering how I can make All Saints Day and All Souls day more holy. I plan on going to Mass, but as a child this is really all I did to fulfill the obligation. I wondering if anyone has ever done “more” and if so how

Any ideas would be wonderful

 

[corsair]

Yes, we will attend our EF Mass on Saturday and again on Sunday. Then during the week November 1-8, we will visit a local cemetery each day to pray for the dead. Then attend Mass and confession during the week.

There will be a special EF sung High Requiem Mass on the traditional All Souls Day.

Then will also make the trip to the family grave plot to pray for our ancestors.

 

[HelenRose]

Yes, we will attend our EF Mass on Saturday and again on Sunday. Then during the week November 1-8, we will visit a local cemetery each day to pray for the dead. Then attend Mass and confession during the week.

There will be a special EF sung High Requiem Mass on the traditional All Souls Day.

Then will also make the trip to the family grave plot to pray for our ancestors.

It is a good idea to good to the graves of our ancestors. I might do that on Saturday - no promises on that but I just might do it… I plan on just being with my grandchildren and having fun with them on Friday.

 

[Joe_Kelley]

Indulgences for the Poor Souls
*Current regulations in force by Pope Benedict XVI

****I ****On All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2) a plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted to those who visit any parish church or public oratory and there recite one Our Father and one Credo.

                                 ****II ****On  all the days from November                                     I though November 8 inclusive, a  plenary indulgence, applicable only to the Poor Souls, is granted to  those who visit a cemetery                                     and pray even if only mentally for  the departed.
                                 ** ****Conditions for both indulgences:**
                                                                      **1. Only one plenary indulgence can be granted per day.**
                                 ***2. *****It is necessary to be in the state of grace, at least by completion of the work.**
                                 **3. Freedom  from attachment to sin, even venial                                     sin, is necessary; otherwise the  indulgence is only partial. (By this is meant attachment to a particular  sin, not sin in                                     general.)**
                                 **4. Holy Communion must be received each time the                                     indulgence is sought.**
                                 **5. Prayers  must he recited for the intentions of                                     the Holy Father on each day the  indulgence is sought. (No particular prayers are prescribed. One Our  Father and one Hail Mary                                     suffice, or other suitable prayers.**
                                 **6. A  sacramental concession must he made within a week of                                     completion of the prescribed work.  (One confession made during the week, made with the intention of gaining  all the indulgences,                                     suffices.)**

 

[schaeffer]

It’s a good day to go to the cemetery and clean the graves, put fresh flowers etc. Even clean up the graves near by that are in disarray, removing clippings from the stones etc.

Iight candles for loved ones that have passed on, donate to their favorite charity, or to the parish they belonged to.

It is also a very good opportunity to share the stories and family history with one another. Have a meal together, eat family favorites, tell the young one’s about their elders who passed away, etc. This way the stories don’t get lost.

Make a vow to read a different Saint’s story each day of the month of November as a family, include the patron saints of each person and the extended family.

 

[PattyPryor]

I found a wonderful prayer service in my Catholic household blessings and prayers book. I love that book

 

[Kathrin]

suggestions/possibilities:

• pray for the dead (that of course!)
• light a candle in church for the dead
• say prayers from the liturgy of the hours
• visit the/a graveyard
• do an indulgence
• reflect upon how to live a holy life

A question:
Where I live a mass will be said this afternoon by the bishop on the big City garveyard; is that common in the US as well?

edit: I just now saw that this was posted under “traditional catholicism”. But in this sense I don’t think that makes a difference.

 

[TK421]

On an individual level, the simple but reverant things. Attend Mass on Friday/Saturday/and Sunday. Spend some time in the sanctuary in prayer, especially in thanksgiving for triumphant siblings in heaven and in intercession for the souls in purgatory. Invite other’s to join you.

Parishes can refer to Halloween as “All Hallow’s Eve” as kind of a reminder of what “Hallow” actually means. It might seem petty, but language is a powerful weapon.

Needless to say your lifestyle on the weekend matters too. You don’t need to be a party pooper that doesn’t celebrate Halloween, especially since it’s a holiday that belongs to the Church, but if you treat Christmas and Easter in a religious manner instead of a vain secular one, then Halloween is the next runner up to do the same. Between these three major holidays, Easter has been the least damaged by secularism, followed by Christmas, followed by Halloween. It’s the worst hit of the three.

 

[ivan94]

I have a question about how to get an indulgence. First of all, since it is applied only for poor souls, do I pray for someone by his name (e.g. for a family member who passed away recently) and how do I know that he or she really needs my prayers (the he’s in purgatory), or do I simply pray for a soul whomever it may be?
Am I suppossed to do all the requirements in one single day? I visited a graveyard and prayed for deceased on Saturday, and tomorrow I’ll go to confession and Mass, pray for the Holy Father and thus fulfil all of the requirements, but I won’t have the opportunity to visit the graveyard again (unless the Cathedral crypt counts since I’ll go there). Thanks in advance

 

[Kathrin]

but if you treat Christmas and Easter in a religious manner instead of a vain secular one, then Halloween is the next runner up to do the same. .

But it is All Saints’ DAY that is celebrated by the church.

I believe the day before it even used to be a fast day.