Feast of All Saints (Novermber 1st)

The Feast of All Saints is a day to celebrate all the saints, including the unknown saints whose names are not mentioned in the Holy Hall of Fame of the Church. This holy day began in early centuries as a "catchall" remembering martyrs whose names were not known and who therefore did not have their own festivities. It was introduced in Rome on May 13, 610, as the "Feast of All Holy Martyrs: by Pope Boniface IV. The occasion was a gift of the ancient pagan temple of the Pantheon to the Church by the Roman Emperor, Phocas.

First celebrated on May 13, it was transferred to November 1 for the universal Church during the pontificate of Pope Gregory VII (d. 1085). By then it included all the saints. The reason for the new date may have been a practical one. It seems that so many pilgrims came to Rome for the feast that it was moved to the Autumn when more food would be available after the harvest. More probably it was the adoption of the date popular in the Irish and English Church. The new date spread throughout the Church. Its eve, All Hallows Eve or Halloween, gave its name to a, pagan Celtic Druid custom still popularly observed on October 31.

The Feast of all Saints is a good day to recall that we are all called to be holy. Pray today that someday in the future, this will be our feast day as well.

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Feast of All Souls (November 2nd)

In the 7th century, monks began offering Mass on the day after Pentecost for their departed community members. In 998, the Benedictine monastery of Cluny began celebrating a feast to remember all of their dead on November 2. This practice spread to other monasteries and eventually to parishes served by secular clergy. In the 13th century, Rome placed the feast day on the annual calendar for the universal Church. The same date was kept so that all of the departed members of the Church as the Communion of Saints might be remembered on successive days, the triumphant saints in heaven on November 1, and those in purgatory on November 2.

At the end of the 15th century, Spanish Dominican priests began the custom of celebrating three Masses on November 2nd. Benedict XIV gave this privilege to priests of Portugal, Spain, and Latin America, and Benedict XV extended it to all priests in 1915. The tradition continues today. So, today is a good day for all of us to remember those we love who have passed through the doorway of death. Let us take some time on this day to prayerfully recall those family members, friends and significant people in our lives who have died.

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Dedication of St. John Lateran (November 9th)

This Basilica was once the palace of the Lateran on the Coelian Hill belonging to Fausta, the wife of Constantine. After the conversion of the emperor, it was given to the Holy Father. In 324 it was consecrated by Pope St. Sylvester as the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior. Later on it was called St. John Lateran by which name it is known in our times. In 1726, the church, which had been destroyed, was rebuilt and was again consecrated by Pope Benedict XI1I.
Let us often recall that just as every Catholic church is dedicated and consecrated to God, so we too are "consecrated" to God through our Baptism.

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St. Leo the Great Pope and Doctor (November 10th)

Called "the Great" because of his wisdom and tremendous courage, St. Leo became Pope in 440 and successfully guided the Church for 21 years. It was he who stopped Attila the Hun from invading Rome in 452; and it was he also who opposed the heretic Eutyches, who denied the two natures in Christ, and Nestorius, who insisted that there are two persons in Christ. Faithful to Christ and to Peter the Rock, St. Leo died in 461.
Let us develop in ourselves and spread to those around us a great love for the Holy Father and loyalty to his teachings.

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Dedication of the Churches of Peter and Paul Apostles (November 18th)

The Basilicas of St. Peter and of St. Paul were erected by Constantine. That of St. Peter was built on the Vatican Hill over the tomb of the Prince of the Apostles. That of St. Paul was built over the tomb of the Apostle of the Gentiles. Both Basilicas were consecrated by Pope St. Sylvester I. St. Peter's Basilica was rebuilt in the sixteenth century; that of St. Paul was rebuilt in 1823, after it had been completely destroyed by fire. Pope Pius IX instituted today's feast.
Let us beg the protection of the great Saints Peter and Paul upon the Church they loved so much and served so well.

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Presentation of Mary (November 21st)

According to tradition, the Blessed Virgin Mary was presented in the Temple of Jerusalem when three years old. This feast was first celebrated in the East. It was introduced in the West by Gregory XI, in 1372.

Parents should remember that their children's innocence is best preserved in the shadow of the Church and by the frequent reception of the sacraments, as well as by consecrating their children to the Blessed Virgin Mary.

Devotion to Mary
One of the most efficacious means of bringing about a delicate conscience, sensibility to its voice, remorse for sin and joy over having worked well is devotion to Mary. This devotion should be illumined, tender, practical, and permeated by prayer. Mary is the ideal of purity and spotlessness. She makes us conceive a great fear of sin, of dangerous occasions, of venial sins themselves. Mary is the one full of grace, the creature most intimate with God, the Blessed Mother who gives Jesus to us and helps us to love Him.

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Feast of Christ the King (November 25th)

The last devotional feast dedicated to Christ during the Ordinary Time of the year is that of Christ the King. Pope Pius XI established it in 1925 as a spiritual weapon against what were considered destructive forces of the age: increasing atheism and secularization. The year 1925 was also the 16th centenary of the First Council of Nicea, which clearly taught the unity of Christ with the Father, and therefore, with the Father's rule.

The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Universal King, was originally celebrated on the last Sunday of October. More recently it has been moved to the final Sunday of the church year. This is its proper context because the church year ends with Sunday Scripture readings emphasizing the end times and the fulfillment of the pilgrimage of the church and of its Lord. This special Sunday becomes a sort of "final Lord's Day." Other than the liturgical celebrations in churches, the feast of Christ the King has attracted no particular popular religious traditions.

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St. Andrew - Apostle (November 30th)

Elder brother of St. Peter, and like him, a fisherman of Galilee, St. Andrew immediately left his nets, when he was called by Christ to become a "fisher of men." He went to preach the Gospel of peace in Palestine, then in Scythia, Epirus and Thrace. At Patras he gave is life, in imitation of the Master, by being crucified. The relic of his head is venerated in St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. St. Andrew is the patron of Scotland.

St. Andrew is the Apostle of the Cross. Following his example, let us bravely face the crosses that come our way for as long as we live.

Suffrages
The Church Suffering is made up of those souls who are making satisfaction for the debts not satisfied before their death. Through the mercy of God, we the living can offer suffrages according o the Scriptures: "It is holy and salutary to think of praying for the dead in order that they may be absolved from their sins." The suffrages are many: the Mass, charitable works, mortifications, the gaining of indulgences, etc.

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