Welcome to the penultimate month of the Year. During this month, the Church has two very important celebrations: All Saints (Nov.1) and All Souls (Nov.2). These liturgical celebrations highlight the importance of sanctity of life and the reality of human mortality. These feasts are vivid expression of our faith in the Communion of Saints i.e., the link among the faithful who have already attained the joys of heaven (Church Triumphant), the faithful departed who are still undergoing the pains of expiation for their sins in Purgatory (Church Suffering) and, all of us, the faithful who are still on pilgrimage in this world, working out their salvation amidst the vicissitudes of life (Church Militant).
All Saints’ Day (Nov.1): All Saints’ Day is a Holy Day of Obligation set aside to celebrate all the Saints and Martyrs throughout Christian history, known and unknown, canonised or not whose holy and virtuous lives have earned them a place in God’s kingdom. Being a Holy Day of Obligation, all Catholics are to attend Holy Mass and join the Universal Church in celebrating her triumphant sons and daughters.
All Souls’ Day (Nov.2): The Feast of All Souls follows immediately after the Solemnity of All Saints. This feast reminds us of human finitude and mortality. On this day, the Church commemorates and prays for the souls of the faithful departed, especially those who are atoning for their sins in the purifying fires of Purgatory waiting to join the league of the saints. Sacred Scripture teaches that “it is a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead, that they may be loosed from their sins.” (2 Macc. 12: 46). We are therefore, encouraged to express our solidarity with the souls in purgatory through public and private prayers, and by obtaining plenary indulgences through the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, visiting a church or cemetery and giving alms to the poor. The indulgences are obtainable in the eight days following the All-Souls’ Day. The Church mandates all Priests to celebrate three (3) Masses on this day: one for the faithful departed, one for the priest’s intention or any person, and one for the intention of the Holy Father.
Other feast days and memorials in this month are: St. Charles Borromeo (November 4), The Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome (November 9), St. Leo the Great (November 10), St. Martin of Tours (November 11), St. Josephat (November 12), St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (November 13), St. Albert the Great (November 15), St. Elizabeth of Hungary (November 17), The Dedication of the Churches of Peter and Paul (November 18), The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary (November 21), St. Cecilia (November 22), St. Andrew Dung-Lac and Companions (November 24) and St. Andrew (November 30).
…Archbishop’s Intention for November, 2024: For the Faithful Departed: We pray for the repose of the souls of the faithful departed; our deceased missionaries, Indigenous Clergy and Religious, relatives, benefactors and friends in purgatory, that they may receive remission of their sins and the gift of beatific vision.
• Most Rev. (Dr.) Alfred Adewale Martins, Archbishop of the Metropolitan See of Lagos.
