High
Days and Holy Days for November 1
All Saints’ Day All
Saints, or All Hallows, is the feast of all the redeemed,
known and unknown, who are now in heaven. When
the English Reformation took place, the number of saints
in the calendar was drastically reduced, with the result
that All Saints’ Day stood out with a prominence
that it had never had before. This
feast day first began in the East, perhaps as early as
the 5th century, as commemorating ‘the martyrs of
the whole world ’. A Northern English 9th century
calendar named All Hallows as a principal feast, and such
it has remained. Down the centuries devotional writers
have seen in it the fulfilment of Pentecost and indeed of
Christ’s redemptive sacrifice and resurrection. The
saints do not belong to any religious tradition, and
their lives and witness to Christ can be appreciated by
all Christians. Richard Baxter, writing in the 17th
century, wrote the following: He
wants not friends that hath thy love, 1,255
ancient English churches were dedicated to All Saints - a
number only surpassed by those dedicated to the
Virgin Mary. 1
The first martyrs The
first martyrs of At
Rome, the birthday is celebrated of very many martyrs,
who under the Emperor Nero were falsely charged with the
burning of the city and by him were ordered to be slain
by various kinds of cruel death; some were covered with
the skin of wild beasts, and cast to the dogs to be torn
asunder; others were crucified, and then when daylight
failed used as torches to illuminate the night. All these
were disciples of the apostles and the first fruits of
the martyrs whom the Holy Roman Church sent to their Lord
before the apostles’ death. 2*
Why ghosts came out All Souls Day The
early Church was slow to dedicate a liturgical day to
offering prayers and masses to commemorate the faithful
departed. But
in time prayers were offered on behalf of dead monks,
that they might attain “the Beatific Vision”
through purification, which the Church later described as
Purgatory. Odilo, the powerful abbot of At
least four ancient English dedications are known, the
most famous of which are In
bygone centuries All Souls day was certainly
uncomfortable for anyone who had wronged a person who had
then died. For it was believed that souls in purgatory
could appear on earth on this day, in the form of ghosts,
witches or toads, to haunt anyone who had wronged them in
life. On
a more cheerful note, it was also believed that you could
help the dead on this day by almsgiving in cash or in
kind. Some of these beliefs seem to have been caught up
in the popular customs of Halloween. When
the Reformation came, the Protestants disregarded the
idea of Purgatory, and this feast day remained
with the Roman Catholic Church. 3
Hubert and the stag With
hunting very much in the public mind at the present, here
at least was one man who was converted while hunting.
Hubert (bishop, d 727 AD) was out on Good Friday hunting
stag when he came across a stag with a crucifix between
its antlers. This so shook him that he converted to
Christianity, and went on to become Bishop of Tongres-Maestricht.
History does not tell us if he killed the stag or not, or
if he ever hunted stag again. 4
Charles Borromeo - the un-ordained archbishop Why
should being a ‘lay’ person stop you from as
full as ministry as being ordained? Here is a saint for
all lay people who suspect they can do as good a job…. Charles
Borromeo was an Italian who lived in 5
Guy Fawkes – an early terrorist If
modern security at the Houses of Parliament seems a bit
weak to you, take heart, it’s never been much better.
At least purple flour bombs on Tony Blair and several
hunts protestors running into the House of Commons didn’t
intend any real harm. Whereas back in 1605 Guy Fawkes
managed to stow a good few barrels of gunpowder under the
House of Lords without anybody noticing. He wasn’t a
member of Al-Quaeda, he was part of a Roman Catholic plot
to murder James 1 of England and his parliament at the
state opening. Fortunately, Guy Fawkes was found in time. 5*
The Kea to toothache? Kea
was an early Christian was a monk from a good family who
left 9
Nektarios of Pentapolis - the kind cleaner Here
was a bishop who cleaned toilets - and was much loved.
Nektarios had been appointed Bishop of Alexandria in 1846,
but then fled to 11
Armistice Day At
11.00 a.m. on the eleventh day of the eleventh month in
1918, after four and a quarter years of war, the guns at
last fell silent on the battlefields of Europe as Germany
admitted defeat and signed an armistice. 13
Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850 – 1917) –
first saint of In
the aftermath of the terrorist attack on towards
those whose lives have been devastated. But 14
Remembrance Sunday High
Streets everywhere will blossom with red poppies this
month: everyone from toddlers in prams to grannies will
be wearing one. By Remembrance Day more than 33 million
are expected to be sold around the county by an army of
many thousands of volunteers. The money raised will help
our ex-Service people and their dependants. To achieve
all that takes more than flower power. We
have recently completed the bloodiest century that the
world has ever known. More people died in wars last
century than ever before in the history of mankind. Many
millions of those died fighting fascism or communism. How
many will die this coming year in our war with
international terrorism? 21
Presentation of Mary at the This
feast is now also called the Presentation of the Lord. St
Luke records this event in the following words: “When
the time of their purification according to the Law of
Moses had been completed, Joseph and Mary took him (Jesus)
to 30
ADVENT With
Advent, the Church’s year begins anew as we wait for
the birth of Jesus Christ, our Saviour and Lord. As
we begin Advent, here are some apt words from William
Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Some
say that ever ‘gainst that season comes Or
this Celtic prayer from Poems of the Western Highlanders Jesu
MacMary, at dawn-tide, the flowing, 30
St Andrew’s Day (d. c.60) Andrew
is a good patron saint for those of you holding a
Christmas party this year - and who hope you have
rightly estimated the amount of food you’ll need.
Andrew was the disciple who, when faced with 5,000 people
to feed, brought a boy to Jesus who had two small fish
and five barley loaves. When Andrew wasn’t being
wildly optimistic with the catering arrangements, he was
out fishing with brother Peter and friends James and John. This
New Testament apostle and martyr was brother of Simon
Peter. He was a fisherman by trade, his home was at In
all the Gospel lists of apostles his names is among the
first four; he is specially mentioned for his share in
the feeding of the 5,000 and in the episode of the Greeks
who wished to meet Jesus. (John12:20-2) It
is not certain where Andrew preached the Gospel, where he
died, or (even in Chrysostom’s time) where he was
buried. The most ancient written tradition links him with
There
was a notable cult in the West. His feast was universal
from the 6th century; churches were dedicated
to him from early times in After
the fall of In
art Andrew is depicted with a normal Latin cross. The
saltire cross (X), commonly called St Andrew’s
Cross, which represents |