The liturgical feast known as All Saints Day was first celebrated by Pope Boniface IV in 609 when he dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Virgin Mary. In the eighth century churches in Ireland and Northumbria were commemorating the dead on November 1, largely to counteract an old pagan festival for a midpoint between the autumnal equinox and the winter solstice. Then Pope Gregory III fixed the day as November 1, a day to celebrate all Christians who had died, whether known or unknown.
So what is a saint? We use the term to describe a particularly good person, people who have lived their lives in an exemplary manner. But the term goes back to the letters of Paul to the churches of the first century when he addressed believers using the Greek word hagios, meaning consecrated, set apart, as early Christians certainly were.
As Christians we are – or should be – set apart from a world that cares only about material things. If we take our faith seriously, care for others is primary. And that’s really difficult in our society, one that relies more on the material than the spiritual. Saints in Paul’s time certainly weren’t perfect and neither are we but it doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t try to live to the ideals of our faith.
Prayer for the Day
Grace-filled God, we confess that we are often tired,
Lacking the strength to continue struggling for what we know is right;
The world favors those who cut corners and keep quiet when they see injustice,
And we are frustrated by the lack of action by those who know better.
Give us heart, O God, to persevere as we strive to do what is right,
And help us to live as the model of our lives did.
We ask this in the name of the One who never gave up,
Even Christ Jesus our Lord, Amen
Thoughts for the Day
Pray as if everything depended on God. Work as if everything depended on you.
- Augustine of Hippo, saint (354-430)
I have always wanted to become a saint. Unfortunately, when I have compared myself with the saints, I have always found there is the same difference between me and the saints as there is between a mountain whose summit is lost in the clouds and a grain of sand trodden underfoot by passers-by.
- Therese of Lisieux, saint (1873-1897)
Look at what is before your eyes. If you are confident that you belong to Christ, remid yourself of this, just as you belong to Christ, we do also.
- Paul, Letter known as 2 Corinthians 10: 7