ALL SOULS’: THE COMMEMORATION OF ALL FAITHFUL DEPARTED
(Wednesday, Nov 1: Holy Eucharist 5:30 p.m. in the
Church)
On the
Church’s calendar, November 1 is actually “All Saints’ Day,” one of
the seven Principal Feasts of the Church. The Church allows that the Feast
of All Saints’ may always be observed on the Sunday following Nov. 1 (a
reflection of this celebration’s high status), and since “All Saints” is our
parish’s dedication festival, we always do that. November 2 is set as “All
Souls’ Day,” the popular name for the Feast of All Faithful
Departed. It concludes a three-stage liturgical tandem, being preceded by
All Hallows’ Eve (Oct. 31) and All Saints’ (Nov. 1). For practical purposes,
we will be observing All Souls’ on Wednesday evening (the 1st),
since we’ve transferred All Saints’ to the Sunday, and Wednesday is an
easier day for most of us. (Besides, it is always permissible to observe
any commemoration on the eve before.) Got all that? We’re doing All Souls’
(Nov. 2) on Nov.1 because we are doing All Saints’ on Sunday Nov. 5. Glad
that’s all cleared up. Just be here for both!
Each
one of those three observances has a particular point of emphasis, and yet
all are linked by one great truth: the victory over evil and death we
share—in this life and beyond—through Baptism into the Body of
Christ. Even though Halloween is now under attack in some misinformed and
misguided arenas, we must hold firm in our witness that even the frolicking
customs of that day, lampooning the powers of darkness, actually proclaim
and act out that great truth of the victory of Christ. As for All Saints’
Day, Episcopalians naturally celebrate the surpassing witness of those great
figures of our faith, in Scripture and through the centuries, who have
inspired and empowered the whole Church. However, when it comes to All
Souls’ Day, it has been my experience that many of us are a bit less on
board. This may be because in many places the day passes unobserved.
Perhaps a stronger reason for some confusion is the unfortunate (and yet
very common) practice of somehow blending the observance of All Souls’ into
the celebration of All Saints—“doing both at once”—and thus blurring the
distinct focus and message of each.
The
ancient Christians began the commemoration of All Saints specifically to
include unknown saints. While honoring the saintly exemplars known to
them, they knew that there were also many who were martyred for their faith
and remained unknown to the Church. So, the Feast of All Saints commemorates
all those persons whose manner of life and death are pillars of the
faith that sustained the larger Church in human history.
All Souls
is the commemoration of the faithful lives of countless Christian people
through the centuries who were not distinguished for the “larger” Church,
but who have nonetheless sustained the Church’s ongoing life in local places
and in “ordinary” ways. Now, most of these faithful souls are known only to
God and perhaps to those who inherited their local witness and legacies.
Even so, they are the bulk of that fabric which has been woven in infinite
detail over time and handed down to us as the Church today. It is largely
their collective work and witness that has passed the faith on to us. So, we
commemorate not only our “heroic” saints whose greatness fed the universal
Church (All Saints) but also the faithfulness and strength of the
workaday believers who came before us (All Souls) and passed the faith and the Church on to us.
We know
the witness of All Souls’ Day in our own experiences. Each one of us has
been shaped in our lives and in our faith by persons who, now departed, will
not be named by history. Even so, they have been powerful personal examples
for us and perhaps many others as well. They have taught us the Christian
faith, loved and nurtured us, and made us who we are. They are Sunday
School teachers, altar guild, clergy, family members, friends, and so many
others. On the Feast of All Faithful Departed, we thank God for them and we
give thanks for God’s continuing love and care for them. We also
acknowledge and claim our mysterious but very real ongoing relationship with
them. In the Resurrection, Jesus defeated the power of death. As the
Prayer Book says, “. . . for to your faithful people, O Lord, life is
changed, not ended.” So it is with our relationships. We bring to All
Souls’ Day those
whom we love but see no longer
[BCP, p.
504]—those who have a special place in our lives and in our faith in God as
the loving Lord of both the living and the dead.
ALLELUIA!
Those attending this service will submit the
names of persons to be remembered at the Altar.
If you are interested in Shannon’s article about the
Christian nature of Halloween (“Yes, Halloween is Christian-Wonderfully
So!”), you may find it in the archives of previous “Pastor Page” articles
HERE on the All Saints’ website (http://allsaintstupelo.com/pastorspage2005-10-26.html)
.
In
Christ,
Shannon+
