KAMPALA: All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day are celebrated by Catholics and other Christians around the world annually in the month of November. All Saints’ Day is celebrated on November 1 while All Souls’ Day is celebrated the following day November 2.
All Saints’ Day is meant to honor the saints, while All Souls Day is meant to commemorate and pray for the dead and for the repose of the souls in purgatory.
During these two days, families have their “mini-reunion” because some are returning to their countryside homes to visit the graves of their loved ones. With this, people prepare foods and flowers that they can all share together, and flowers are taken to graves as they pray for the deceased, as is the tradition.
However, it’s still uncertain if this is possible at this time of the year due to the pandemic.
Due to the continuing state of the pandemic, Christians are this month obliged to spend a little time after Mass or Service thanking God for all the unnamed saints, some of whom could be our own relatives, and also praying for the departed souls to have eternal rest.
In celebration of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day, Pope Francis according to the Vatican News focused his thoughts on highlighting the Beatitudes, the path followed by the Saints that leads to God’s Kingdom and to happiness, and that consists in humility, compassion, meekness, justice and peace. This was mentioned during a liturgy on Monday, All Saints Day at St. Peter’s Square as he addressed the many pilgrims gathered.
The Pope summed up how the Beatitudes reflect “the prophecy of a new humanity” and a new way of living our lives by making ourselves small and putting all our trust in God.
In a message addressed to the Christians, the Pope encouraged Christians not to be afraid to set their sights higher, to allow themselves to be loved and liberated by God.
“Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace, ” twitted His Holiness Pope Francis.
In reference to the Vatican News, the Pope will travel to the French War Cemetery in Rome to celebrate Holy Mass in commemoration of All Souls’ Day. The cemetery was built by the Italian government to pay tribute to the French troops who fought in the years between 1943 and 1944 against the Nazis. Every year, on 11 November, Remembrance Day, it hosts a commemorative ceremony for all the victims of past and current wars.
“The celebration in a War Cemetery will provide the occasion to pray, in particular for “all victims of war and violence,” he noted.