In the early centuries of our Orthodox Church this day was given over first as a commemoration of all the Holy Martyrs and then by the end of the First Millennium, this day has become what it is today that is a commemoration of all the righteous ones who have lived out in their lives the meaning of having received the Holy Spirit through Holy Baptism and Chrismation. But they understood that receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit called them to live a life of holiness and faithfulness in which the quality of their live gave clear testimony that the Holy Spirit was at work in their lives. And this is a very important point for us to understand, for the saints were not super human beings- like some mythical super heroes- but rather they were and are like you and I in that they share in our human nature with all of its struggles, temptations and failings. For the saints that we honor today were not born as saints but rather were made saints through allowing the grace and power of the Holy Spirit to guide and transform their lives so that their lives became models of piety and holiness. Today we have before us the examples of all the holy men and women who having received the Holy Spirit, proceeded to live their lives in light of having the Spirit working actively in their lives. And in noticing the close connection we are able to understand the meaning of both celebrations and gain a very important insight into what these two festal celebrations mean for our own lives. These two commemorations follow logically from each other: in the one we saw the power come which makes possible the lives that we now commemorate in the second. We have just come through the celebration of the Descent of the Holy Spirit at Holy Pentecost and now we now see the practical result of the work of the Holy Spirit in the lives of those who have been called to faithfulness: namely the saints of our Holy Orthodox Church. On this Sunday of All Saints we commemorate those who having received the grace of the Holy Spirit lived their lives in complete obedience to the command of our Lord to “confess Me before men.” Today we gather on this 1 st Sunday after Pentecost to honor all of those who have lived righteous lives in following the teachings and commandments of our Lord. The tradition of three Masses with three separate intentions on All Souls Day continues to the present.”Therefore whoever confesses Me before men, him I will also confess before My Father who is in heaven.”( Matthew 10:32) Due to the extensive number of deaths, destroyed churches and unceasing warfare, in 1915 Pope Benedict XV granted that all priests celebrate three Masses on All Souls Day: one for a particular intention of the day, one for all the faithful departed and one for the intentions of the Holy Father. In 1914, Pope Benedict XV used the feast of All Saints Day to issue his encyclical Ad beatissimi Apostolorum, a call for European nations to end the war and establish peace. With the chaos and large-scale death brought on by World War I, All Saints and All Souls Days gained painful relevance and renewed reverence. In France (La Toussaint), Southern Germany (Allerheiligen) and Poland (Dzień Wszystkich Świętych or Zaduszki) these days are marked by a national holiday from work attendance of Mass for practicing Catholics the decoration of loved ones’ graves with flowers, candles and wreaths and generous meals shared with friends and family. 2, marks a day of prayer for, and remembrance of, the “faithfully departed”: relatives, friends and strangers who are no longer living.
1 is All Saints Day, a feast day observing the lives of the many saints for whom there is no specific feast day during the year. In a practice dating back centuries, the Roman Catholic Church observes these two days as a time in which the living commemorate the dead.
31 are publicly and privately more significant. While Halloween is widely celebrated in the United States, for many people in Europe the two days following Oct.
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