Auspice Maria: All Saints Day

“The beauty of holiness shines out through the saints and illumines history.” -Dorothy Day, Duty of Delight

In the Roman Missal, the book used to celebrate the Holy Mass contains various prayers, prefaces, and blessings for Mass. It contains four additional Eucharistic Prayers utilized in Masses that may be offered for different needs. For example, Mass may be celebrated for the “Preservation of Peace and Justice” when no solemnity, feast, or obligatory memorial is scheduled according to the Church’s liturgical calendar. Those days open for various intentions are referred to in liturgical language as “ferial days” or "available" weekdays when the celebrant of the Mass can focus the prayers on a particular intention or theme. Along with the prayers of the Mass, the collect, prayer over the offerings, and prayer after Communion, there are the preface and the Eucharistic Prayer. The priest celebrant prays the Eucharistic Prayer, during which the elements of bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of Jesus. 

When using Eucharistic Prayer IV in Masses for different needs, the priest celebrant or concelebrant (one of the accompanying priests who is not the presider or main celebrant of the Mass) prays to God the Father in the second part of the prayer after the consecration, “Open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters; inspire in us words and actions to comfort those who labor and are burdened. Make us serve them truly, after the example of Christ and at his command. And may your Church stand as a living witness to truth and freedom, to peace and justice, that all people may be raised up to a new hope.” These words have significant meaning when we discuss the saints.

We can say many things about the saints, specifically and in general. This week's lead quote is from Dorothy Day, co-founder of the Catholic Worker Movement with Peter Maurin in the early part of the 20th Century. Dorothy Day has a powerful conversion story to tell. When she writes, “The beauty of holiness shines out through the saints and illuminates history,” her words remind us that holiness is not just for the individual, and saints impact history. In other words, saints make a difference, and that difference is that they embody the Spirit, virtues, values, and message of Jesus. While alive on earth, the saints-in-the-making witness to their faith in Jesus and his Church. They do not only talk about the Faith. They live out their love, believe, and trust in Jesus. Saints-in-the-making are living witnesses of Jesus. Fed and supported by His Church, the Word, and the Sacraments, saint-in-the-making "illuminate history."

If we who proclaim to be disciples of Jesus, who aspire to holiness, who desire to join the communion of saints in the Kingdom of God when our Heavenly Father calls us to himself, witnessed more to our faith in Jesus by our virtuous lives, we would as a Church impact our present and future more brilliantly. 

All Saints Day 2024, November 1st, is a solemnity of obligation, meaning Roman Catholics are asked to attend Mass that day. As we partake of the beautiful All Saints’ Liturgy and reflect on the great communion of saints that prays for us and awaits us, let us be reminded that we, saints-in-the-making, are called to give witness to our love for and faith in Jesus. We are called to allow the love of Jesus and the Spirit within us to shine forth and illuminate our world. May we bring Christ’s love, peace, and the Spirit’s joy more fervently to the world in which we live. We are making history, and may our Catholic Christianity illuminate our present and future so that Jesus may be loved and known more. Happy All Saints Day!

“You are the light of the world.” (Matthew 5:14)

-Bishop James Ruggieri