FEAST OF THE DAY
WEDNESDAY, 1 NOVEMBER, 2023
THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS
Throughout the year the Church celebrates daily the feasts of different saints. Today she joins them all in one great festival. In addition to those whose names she has declared, she recalls in a magnificent vision all the others "of all nations and tribes standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands, proclaiming Him who redeemed them in His Blood."
The feast of All Saints should inspire us with tremendous hope. Among the saints in heaven are some whom we have known. All lived on earth lives like our own. They were baptized, marked with the sign of faith, they were faithful to Christ's teaching and they have gone before us to the heavenly home whence they call on us to follow them. The Gospel of the Beatitudes, read today, while it shows their happiness, shows, too, the road that they followed; there is no other that will lead us whither they have gone.
"The Commemoration of All Saints" was first celebrated in the East. The feast is found in the West on different dates in the eighth century. The Roman Martyrology mentions that this date is a claim of fame for Gregory IV (827-844) and that he extended this observance to the whole of Christendom; it seems certain, however, that Gregory III (731-741) preceded him in this. At Rome, on the other hand, on May 13, there was the annual commemoration of the consecration of the basilica of St. Maria ad Martyres (or St. Mary and All Martyrs). This was the former Pantheon, the temple of Agrippa, dedicated to all the gods of paganism, to which Boniface IV had translated many relics from the catacombs. Gregory VII transferred the anniversary of this dedication to November 1
PRAYER: Almighty ever-living God, by whose gift we venerate in one celebration the merits of all the Saints, bestow on us, we pray, through the prayers of so many intercessors, an abundance of the reconciliation with you for which we earnestly long. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
Dear God, thank you for the example of the Saints. I desire to join in their company, worshiping you forever in Heaven. Please help me to follow their footsteps, and yours, Jesus Christ. Please help me to conform myself to Your image, seeking Your will in all things, as the Saints did. Please help me to devote myself, and all that I do, for Your glory, and to the service of my neighbors. Amen.
THE LITANY OF THE SAINTS
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of heaven, have mercy on us
God the Son, Redeemer of the world, have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost, have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, pray for us.
Holy Mother of God, pray for us.
Holy Virgin of virgins, pray for us.
Saint Michael, pray for us.
Saint Gabriel, pray for us.
Saint Raphael, pray for us.
All ye holy angels and archangels, pray for us.
All ye holy orders of blessed spirits, pray for us.
Saint John the Baptist, pray for us.
Saint Joseph, pray for us.
All ye holy patriarchs and prophets, pray for us.
Saint Peter, pray for us.
Saint Paul, pray for us.
Saint Andrew, pray for us.
Saint James, pray for us.
Saint John, pray for us.
Saint Thomas, pray for us.
Saint James, pray for us.
Saint Philip, pray for us.
Saint Bartholomew, pray for us.
Saint Matthew, pray for us.
Saint Simon, pray for us.
Saint Thaddeus, pray for us.
Saint Matthias, pray for us.
Saint Barnabas, pray for us.
Saint Luke, pray for us.
Saint Mark, pray for us.
All ye holy apostles and evangelists, pray for us.
All ye holy disciples of the Lord, pray for us.
All ye holy innocents, pray for us.
Saint Stephen, pray for us.
Saint Lawrence, pray for us.
Saint Vincent, pray for us.
Saints Fabian and Sebastian, pray for us.
Saints John and Paul, pray for us.
Saints Cosmos and Damian, pray for us.
Saints Gervase and Protase, pray for us.
All ye holy martyrs, pray for us.
Saint Sylvester, pray for us.
Saint Gregory, pray for us.
Saint Ambrose, pray for us.
Saint Augustine, pray for us.
Saint Jerome, pray for us.
Saint Martin, pray for us.
Saint Nicholas, pray for us.
All ye holy bishops and confessors, pray for us.
All ye holy doctors, pray for us.
Saint Anthony, pray for us.
Saint Benedict, pray for us.
Saint Bernard, pray for us.
Saint Dominic, pray for us.
Saint Francis, pray for us.
All ye holy priests and levites, pray for us.
All ye holy monks and hermits, pray for us.
Saint Mary Magdalene, pray for us.
Saint Agatha, pray for us.
Saint Lucy, pray for us.
Saint Agnes, pray for us.
Saint Cecilia, pray for us.
Saint Catherine, pray for us.
Saint Anastasia, pray for us.
Saint Clare, pray for us.
All ye holy virgins and widows, pray for us.
All ye holy men and women, saints of God, intercede for us.
Be merciful, spare us, O Lord.
Be merciful, graciously hear us, O Lord.
From all evil, deliver us O Lord.
From all sin, deliver us O Lord.
From Thy wrath, deliver us O Lord.
From sudden and unprovided death, deliver us O Lord.
From the snares of the devil, deliver us O Lord.
From anger, and hatred, and all ill-will, deliver us O Lord.
From the spirit of fornication, deliver us O Lord.
From the scourge of earthquake, deliver us O Lord.
From plague, famine, and war, deliver us O Lord.
From lightning and tempest, deliver us O Lord.
From everlasting death, deliver us O Lord.
Through the mystery of Thy holy Incarnation, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thy coming, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thy birth, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thy baptism and holy fasting, deliver us O Lord.
Through the Institution of the Most Blessed Sacrament, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thy cross and passion, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thy death and burial, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thy holy Resurrection, deliver us O Lord.
Through Thine admirable Ascension, deliver us O Lord.
Through the coming of the Holy Ghost the Paraclete, deliver us O Lord.
In the day of judgment, deliver us O Lord.
We sinners, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst spare us, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst pardon us, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst bring us to true penance, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to govern and preserve Thy holy Church, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to preserve our Apostolic Prelate and all orders of the Church in holy religion, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to humble the enemies of holy Church, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to give peace and true concord to Christian kings and princes, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to bring back to the unity of the Church all those who have strayed away, and lead to the light of the Gospel all unbelievers, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to confirm and preserve us in Thy holy service, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst lift up our minds to heavenly desires, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst render eternal blessings to all our benefactors, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst deliver our souls, and the souls of our brethren, relatives, and benefactors from eternal damnation, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to give and preserve the fruits of the earth, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe to grant eternal rest to all the faithful departed, we beseech Thee, hear us.
That Thou wouldst vouchsafe graciously to hear us, we beseech Thee, hear us.
Son of God, we beseech Thee, hear us.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, who takest away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.
LET US PRAY: Almighty, everlasting God, who hast dominion over both the living and the dead and art merciful to all who, as Thou foreknowest, will be Thine by faith and works; we humbly beseech Thee that they for whom we intend to pour forth our prayers, whether this present world still doth detain them in the flesh or the world to come hath already received them stripped of their mortal bodies, may, by the grace of Thy fatherly love and through the intercession of all the saints, obtain the remission of all their sins. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit liveth and reigneth God, world without end. Amen.