All Follows Evil
All Saint's Day celebration at a cemetery in Poland to honor the dead. |
All Saints Day is when the [Catholic] Church commemorates all saints, known and unknown. The eve of All Saints is known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween...On All Saints Day, we celebrate these saints of the Lord, and ask for their prayers and intercessions. The whole concept of All Saints Day is tied in with the concept of the Communion of Saints. This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification (called Purgatory in the West), are connected in a communion...
The vigil of the Feast (the eve) has grown up in the English speaking countries as a festival in itself, All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. While many consider Halloween pagan (and in many instances the celebrations are for many), as far as the [Catholic] Church is concerned the date is simply the eve of the feast of All Saints...The day after All Saints day is called All Soul's Day, a day to remember and offer prayers up on behalf of all of the faithful departed.
Traditional Customs: Visiting Cemeteries and Giving "Soul Cakes" to the poor [an ancient custom where people beg for bread in return for praying for the spirits of the dead in the household].
Catholic Liturgy of the Hours All-Saints Prayer:
Father, All-Powerful and ever-living God,
today we rejoice in the holy men and women
of every time and place.
May their prayers bring us your forgiveness and love
We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.