A day after little ghosts and goblins have stuffed themselves full of candy on Halloween or All Hallows Eve, many Christians will gather to observe All Hallows Day. Better known these days as All Saints Day, it's a time to remember the dead.
For Catholics, All Saints Day is for celebrating all the Christians saints in heaven.
"It's about celebrating all those who are in heaven -- the saints who have been canonized and the many more who are in heaven but we don't know their names," said the Rev. Jason Tyler, priest at St. Edward Catholic Church in Little Rock.
All Saints Day is a holy day of obligation for Catholics, meaning they are supposed to attend Mass to observe the day. This year it's on Sunday, so it's not an extra day of obligation, Tyler said. The following day, Monday, is known as All Souls Day and is closely linked to the former. For Catholics, it's a time to remember and pray for those who have died but are still in purgatory.
"They are still being cleansed of whatever attachment to sin they might have," Tyler said. "They are being cleansed to go to heaven."
According to the book Holidays, Festivals, and Celebrations of the World Dictionary, the roots of All Saints Day can be traced to the fourth century when Greek Christians set aside a time to honor martyrs and saints after Pentecost. In the seventh century Pope Boniface IV moved the observance to May 1 and declared it to be a day to celebrate the Virgin Mary and all the martyrs of the faith. All Souls' Day came later and can be credited to St. Odilo, the abbot of Cluny in France, who proposed the idea of praying for those in purgatory in the 10th century.
While it's mandatory to observe All Saints Day in the Catholic Church, Tyler said All Souls Day often attracts more attention because of the traditions associated with it, such as praying for deceased loved ones and visiting cemeteries to honor those who have died.
The Catholic Diocese of Little Rock, led by Bishop Anthony Taylor, celebrates an All Souls Day Mass each year at Calvary Cemetery (or at the Cathedral of St. Andrew if the weather is bad). After Mass, worshippers process through the cemetery while praying the rosary.
"It's a beautiful Mass, just to be out there among those who have gone before us," Tyler said.
At St. Edward, the church has some local customs. If All Saints Day falls during the week, younger students at the church school dress up as their favorite saints. Otherwise, the day has the feel of a regular Mass, although the hymns might focus more on the saints.
Tyler said remembering the saints is important because they are examples of holiness.
"The saints show us that holiness is possible. It's something that God invites all of us to," Tyler said. "He's done that for these many centuries in many ways, from teachers and prophets to kings, from the very poor to the very rich. The very powerful and the very humble have had ways to live out that call to holiness."
Tyler said the day is also a time to remember the intercession of the saints -- that the saints "pray for us and with us."
"It's a time to think about the entire communion of saints, not just our favorites, but the entire group praying for us and with us," he said.
Parishioners at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Little Rock will observe All Saints Day throughout the day on Sunday. During morning worship services, the names of parishioners who died in the past year will be read after the tolling of a bell.
"It's a very poignant time when you read those names slowly," said the Rev. Danny Schieffler, rector of the church. "It stirs up a lot of memories. It may sound morbid, but it's a powerful thing to remember people you love and the things you loved about them and just remember them."
Although the mood is solemn, there is an element of celebration.
"Because of our Christian faith we believe that life is changed and not ended with death and we are still in communion," he said. "It's a great feast in the tradition. People really love to come to that service to remember Uncle Don or Aunt Martha. It stirs up such a good spiritual feeling to stir up those memories."
On Sunday afternoon, parishioners will gather in the garden to read aloud the names of every person whose ashes are buried in the church's outdoor columbarium.
"We are bearing witness, remembering the people who have gone before us," Schieffler said. "It's also a reminder that there will be people who will go after us because we'll take our place in the columbarium someday."
The day will close with a choral Evensong service. The choir will sing Basil Harwood's "O How Glorious Is the Kingdom," as well as John Ireland's Magnificat and Nunc Dimittis in F.
At Asbury United Methodist Church in Little Rock the congregation will carry on with an old tradition while adding something new this year. Since Sunday is also a Holy Communion Sunday at the church, the liturgy will include the mention of saints from the Bible.
"A portion of it reads like this: 'God of Abraham and Sarah, God of Miriam and Moses, God of Mary and Joseph ... the apostles and martyrs,'" said the Rev. Mary Hilliard, senior pastor. "And it continues with these words: 'Renew our communion with all your saints, especially those whom we name before you.'"
After the reading, the name of a church member who died within the past year is said aloud and a bell is rung as the congregation responds with "Lord, we thank you for this thy servant for his/her living and dying in the faith." The church's acolytes will then present a family member of the deceased with a white calla lily.The liturgy will end with words from the Book of Hebrews: "Since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, strengthen us to run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith." The sharing of the Lord's Supper will follow.
Hilliard said the contemporary service will feature a slide show of pictures of those who have died in the past year. But all those who have died, regardless of the year, will also be remembered. That's where the new tradition comes in.
"Because we recognize that all of us remember our loved ones who have gone to the church triumphant, and it is a time of remembrance for those persons as well, this year we are enclosing in each church program bulletin a paper dove," Hilliard said.
Worshippers can then write the name or names of their deceased loved ones on the doves and, as they come forward to receive Communion, can place them at the altar while in prayer.
Religion on 10/31/2015