“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…”
Thus stands the significant and relevant prayer of the universal Church – Christian faithful of all races, color, and languages in all parts of the globe – on the occasion of the “Feast of All Saints.”
The prayer itself brings to fore some signal teachings of the Catholic Faith – such as the following:
* That all prayers are ultimately addressed to God whereas only God is omniscient and omnipotent to grant all pleadings for whatever right and proper intention. And God stands for the living existence of Divinity. Formal and/or practical atheists wherefore have no reason to pray.
* That provided men and/or women die in holiness – an attribution that is best known to their families, relatives, and friends – they are all saints. It does not really matter if they are proclaimed “Saints” by the competent Church or not. The day of “All Saints” is theirs.
* That life hereafter and beyond covers all times and all places. To the said holy men and women belongs life everlasting in the Kingdom of God. They could have died centuries ago or only the day before. But their holiness is the same then and now. Once a saint, always a saint.
* That the prayers of holy men and women are dependable as they are precisely in the Kingdom of God, as they are with Him and near Him. In a way, it can be said that God would find it hard not to listen to them. Reason: They are His close friends and clear companions.
* That the saints – the holy men and women in the presence and sight of God – are thus good intercessors for His forgiveness and love in favor of the living who are with sin and wherefore in need of God’s pardon and affection. It is odd to ask the enemies of God to pray for His graces.
Thus stands the substantial meaning and complementary implications of the “Feast of All Saints.” The Christian faith are wherefore right in being very much more attentive to the said signal Feast than simply the “All Soul’s Day.” Theirs is the prerogative of considering their relatives departed as counted among the “saints” – than merely the “souls”.
In the “Feast of All Saints,” we pray to God through them. In “All Soul’s Day,” we pray to God for them. Let us pray./PN
