All Saints Day: Celebrating Our Faithful Guides

Colleen Mallette reflects on why we celebrate All Saints Day and how the prayers of the saints can help us in our daily lives.

Since the year 835, the Roman Catholic Church has set aside November 1 as the celebration of All Saints. Even though many recognized saints in our church have their own feast days when we remember and honor them, there are many other saints who aren’t listed in the liturgical calendar, so we celebrate all of them on this day.

Who are these people and why do we honor them? They are a variety of men and women throughout history who have been studied and declared by the church to have done good things for others and had at least two miracles attributed to them by those devoting their intercessory prayers directly to them.

The list of saints includes priests and popes, single and married men and women, children, and those from all countries and walks of life. Once they are declared saints, the church assigns them specific situations that they may be called upon to intercede for based on the careers they had or devotions they supported.

For instance, Saint Peregrine is the patron saint of those with cancer because of his holiness and for the miraculous healing that he received. When Saint Peregrine himself was afflicted with cancer of the foot and amputation had been decided upon, he spent the night in prayer. The next morning, he found that he had been completely cured of his cancer.

Saint Francis of Assisi is the patron saint of the environment and animals because he loved all creatures and allegedly preached to even the birds. He was known for his humility and love of God’s creation, which is part of the reason Pope Francis chose him as his patron saint.

For mothers, Saint Monica is recognized as the patron saint. Her faith and dedication to motherhood played a pivotal role in the spiritual formation of one of the most brilliant philosophers and well-known saints of all time: Saint Augustine, her son. There are other female saints who are patrons of specific mothering dilemmas; they can be found at Catholic-Saints-Info.

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Of course, the greatest saint to turn to for us mothers is Mary, the chosen mother of God’s only Begotten Son. She is an example of perfect mothering, full of patience, kindness, love and faithfulness. Her direct relationship with our Lord also gives her intercessory prayers on our behalf even greater impact.

All Saints’ Day is also a day we can pray for the intercession of our own deceased loved ones who have offered us support in our faith journey and therefore are “saints” in our eyes. A loving and faithful grandmother who went to daily Mass, prayed a daily Rosary and spoke often of her beliefs in Jesus would be an example of someone in our own lives to pray to on this day. A deceased parish priest and confessor or the faith-filled teacher who influenced your spiritual life could also be someone whose intercession you could pray for on this day.

A common practice at the beginning of each calendar year is to choose a saint to be by your side that whole year because of a virtue they exhibited and you would like to grow in. This can be a wonderful way to research and read about a saint you aren’t familiar with. Then they can be your devoted helper of God to assist in your prayer life and journey to grow closer to God. Putting a prayer card with that saint on it near where you pray is a good reminder to seek their involvement each day.

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Ask the saints to continue to be your guides in prayer and life in order to bring you closer to God. #CatholicMom

On this most holy day, think of those saints you are grateful for, both recognized saints and those known only to God. Ask the saints to continue to be your guides in prayer and life in order to bring you closer to God and fulfill the two great commandments Jesus gave us. Pray that they may help build your faith and courage to share that faith with others so that you may grow the Church by your words and examples.

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