Main Idea behind Feast of the Saints?

[JamalChristophr]

Also, I’m wondering if it’s fair to say that more grace is available on the Feast of All Saints than on other days? But my main question is, what would you say is the main purpose or key points to remember for celebrating the Feast of All Saints. I wonder if it’s not an underappreciated feast day?

 

[Praedicare]

The main idea behind The Feast of the Saints comes from an ancient eastern celebration coming just after Pentecost. Western Christians moved it to October, and finally to November by the 1200s. It really began when St. Helena converted the pagan Pantheon (“All Gods”) temple in Rome to a Catholic Church dedicated to all the martyrs - to whom was applied the label “The Saints” most commonly in the 300s.

It is the same with September 29 being the feast of St. Michael the Archangel for a long time. This was because Sept. 29 was the day on which the basilica of St. Michael was dedicated by a Pope a very long time ago. As with All Saints Church in the Pantheon, this and many other dedication feasts became universal “thematic” feast days. A lot of our universal feasts come from local Roman church-dedication days.

On the other subject, Grace is always available to the person who is united with Christ by baptism, love, prayer, forgiveness, and a life of virtues. Even for people who are unbaptised, unloving, prayerless, judgmental, and vicious, Grace is constantly working. I don’t believe grace is more available on “big”/extraordinary feasts compared to “little”/ordinary days.

God is present in every time and place. Now, that is not to say that special graces are unavailable on special days, given by the Church as the very Body and Heart of Christ. For example, on All Souls Day a special grace is given for the living to fulfill and give a plenary indulgence of mercy for those who have died. This exists only on November 2, and the 8 days following it.

 

[Weejee]

When I was a kid, the nuns taught me the Feast of All Saints was to cover all those zillions and billions of saints who don’t have their own personal feast day. Our grandparents, our aunts and uncles, all the dead who we personally knew.

That made it a happy day for us kids, and made it personal too.

 

[JamalChristophr]

I’m kind of bummed…I was thinking for some reason that they might celebrate the Feast of All Saints today, Sunday since it was not a day of obligation on Saturday. I get confused too easily, I suppose. Oh well.

Would be kind of cool if some of the holy souls from purgatory and some of the saints were to actually show up at mass, like where you could see them and stuff, I think, and talk to them, well you know, in an everyday sort of way.