All Saints' Day
And All Souls' Day:
What's The Difference?
All Saints’ Day is celebrated each year on November 1st
and is a Holy Day of Obligation for
Catholics of the Latin Rite.
The following day, November 2nd, is All Souls’ Day.
What are these?
What is the difference between them?
To begin, we really need to investigate the questions:
What is a soul? And what is a saint?
What is a Soul?
Normally when we use the word “soul”
we are referring to “spirit,”
but these are a bit different concepts from one another.
Generally speaking, the soul is what gives life to the body.
Whatever is alive has a soul;
this includes bacteria, plants, animals, humans, and angels.
Of course, even the difference between a
“plant soul” and an “animal soul” is vast.
Human beings, specifically, have what is called a “rational soul.”
Our rational soul is what allows us to
think and to act, to know things
and to will towards certain goods.
Wherever our body is, there our soul is.
We have a body and a soul;
this is part of what makes us human beings.
What is a Saint?
Next, let us look at the definition of “saint.”
Saint comes from the Latin “sanctus” which means holy.
This term is used in both the Old and New Testaments
to refer to the followers of God.
We can call someone a saint on Earth who exhibits
holiness in a remarkable way.
Likewise, the holy souls in purgatory
can be called saints in the sense that they are
holy and bound for Heaven.
Most of the time, however,
when we use the term “saint” we are referring to
the members of the Church Triumphant in Heaven.
God’s disciples in Heaven,
who have attained purified perfection
by His grace, are called saints:
the holy ones of God.
What is All Saints’ Day?
November 1 became the date to honor all saints.
This practice goes back at least to the 8th Century.
There are too many saints to honor specifically by name
and there are only 365 days in a year.
And there are more saints in Heaven
than only the ones known by name.
So, the Church celebrates All Saints’ Day each year
to commemorate each individual in Heaven:
those known by name and those known to God alone.
What is All Souls’ Day?
November 2 is the day to honor all souls.
All Souls’ Day is a commemoration
of all the faithful departed,
including those still undergoing
the purification of purgatory.
It is a beautiful celebration that sets aside
one day to pray, in particular,
for the holy souls in Purgatory
as they undergo the cleansing fire of
God’s grace in anticipation of Heaven.
Click below to watch Fr. Leo explain
how we can celebrate and reclaim
our Catholic traditions of Halloween:
RECLAIMING HALLOWEEN
Click below to watch the history of All Saints and All Souls Feast Days:
THE HISTORY OF ALL SAINTS AND ALL SOULS DAY
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