Liturgical Feasts

01 November

Already by the end of the 2nd century, there is evidence that the saints were already being venerated. First, the holy martyrs, who were soon joined by the apostles, the official witnesses of the faith. After the great persecutions under Imperial Rome, other men and women who had lived heroic Christian lives gradually became the object of veneration as well. The first non-martyr to be venerated as a saint was Martin of Tours. Toward the end of the year 1000, due to the uncontrolled development of “saint making” and the “purchase” of relics, a process for canonization was developed which required evidence of miracles. The Solemnity of All Saints began in the East in the 4th century, and then spread elsewhere, being observed on different dates: on 13 May in Rome, on 1 November in England and Ireland beginning in the 8th century. It was the latter date that was adopted in Rome as well, beginning in the 9th century. The solemnity falls toward the end of the liturgical year, when the Church fixes its gaze on the last things. It is, therefore, fitting that the thought of those who have already crossed over the gates of Heaven should find a place in their hearts.  

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02 November

Already back in the 2nd century, evidence exists that Christians prayed for and celebrated the Eucharist for their beloved dead. In the beginning, they would pray on the third day after burial, then on the anniversary. Later, the 7th and 30th day after death became days on which it became customary to pray for the deceased. Remembering the dead on the 2 November became official in the year 998 when Abbot Odilo of Cluny (994-1048) made it obligatory in all the monasteries subject to him. In 1915, Pope Benedict XV granted permission to priests to celebrate several Masses on this day. The liturgy proposes various Masses on this day, all of which are geared toward highlighting the Paschal Mystery, Jesus’ victory over sin and death.  

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09 November

“To dedicate or consecrate” a place to God is a ritual that is found in every religion. To “reserve” a place to God is an act of recognizing His glory and honor.

When the Emperor Constantine granted full liberty to Christians in 313, they did not spare in order to construct places for the Lord – numerous are the churches constructed at that time. Constantine himself also constructed churches, one of which he was a magnificent basilica on the Caelian Hill in Rome, over the ancient Lateran Palace, which Pope Sylvester I dedicated to Christ the Savior (318 or 324). A chapel dedicated to Saint John the Baptist was built inside it which served as the baptistry. This moved Pope Sergius III to dedicate it to Saint John the Baptist as well. Lastly, Pope Lucius II also dedicated it to Saint John the Evangelist in the 12th century. Thus, the name of this Papal Basilica is the Basilica of the Most Holy Savior and of Saints John the Baptist and John the Evangelist in the Lateran. Christians consider the Basilica to be the mother church of all churches in the world.

The church was destroyed several times in the course of the centuries, and always rebuilt. The final reconstruction took place under the pontificate of Benedict XIII. The church was rededicated in 1724. It was at that time that the feast celebrated today was established and extended to the universal Church.

  

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21 November

The Memorial of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary in the Temple recalls – according to the apocryphal gospels, the day on which Mary, while still a child, was brought to the temple in Jerusalem to be offered to God. The Church wants to emphasize not so much the historical event in itself, of which there is no trace in the Gospels, but the total gift that Mary made of herself, by listening: “Blessed are those who hear the Word of God and observe it” (Lk. 11:28). This experience prepared the young girl from Nazareth to become the “temple of the Son of God”.

The celebration of this feast dates back to the 6th century in the East with the dedication of the Basilica of Saint Mary the New built by the Emperor Justinian I near the ruins of the temple in Jerusalem. There is evidence that various monasteries in Italy celebrated the feast in the 9th century. It was not until the 15th century that it was included in the Roman Missal.

This is also the on which the Church celebrates the World Day of Cloistered Life, established by Pope Pius XII in 1953.

  

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23 November

In 325, the First Ecumenical Council took place in the city of Nicea in Asia Minor. During that Council, the dogma regarding Christ’s divinity was defined to counteract the Arian heresy: “Christ is God, light from light, true God from true God”. 1600 years later, in 1925, Pope Pius XI proclaimed that the best way to defeat injustice was by acknowledging the kingship of Christ. “For people are instructed in the truths of faith, and brought to appreciate the inner joys of religion far more effectually by the annual celebration of our sacred mysteries than by any official pronouncement of the teaching of the Church. Such pronouncements usually reach only a few and the more learned among the faithful; feasts reach them all; the former speak but once, the latter speak every year - in fact, forever. The church's teaching affects the mind primarily; her feasts affect both mind and heart, and have a salutary effect upon the whole of man's nature” (Encyclical Quas primas, 11 December 1925).

The original date this feast was celebrated was the Sunday prior to All Saints Day (the last Sunday of October). But with the liturgical reform of 1969, it was moved to the last Sunday of the liturgical year, thus highlighting that Jesus Christ, the King, is the destination of our earthly pilgrimage. There are Biblical texts specific to all three years of the liturgical cycle which help us fully grasp the person of Jesus.

  

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