Chris and "the bigs" attended a beautiful orchestral Mass performed by the North Carolina Catholic Chorale. The talented group performed the Missa Brevis in G Major (K. 140) by Wolfang Amadeus Mozart.
Then we all enjoyed a potluck dinner with friends. The priest, six families, 19 children, one house--lots of joy, lots of food, lots of noise!
All Saints Day was instituted to honor all the saints, known and unknown, and ask for their prayers. Normally a holy day of obligation for Latin-rite Catholics, because it falls on a Saturday this year, it is recommended to attend Mass but not obligatory.
In the early days, Christians were accustomed to solemnize the anniversary of a martyr's death for Christ at the place of martyrdom. Groups of martyrs frequently suffered on the same day, and in the persecution of Diocletian, the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned toe ach. But the Church, concerned that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all. The first trace of this was in Antioch on the Sunday after Pentacost.
Pope Gregory III (731-741) consecrated a chapel in the Basilica of St. Peter to all the saints and fixed the anniversary for Nov. 1. Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration to the entire Church.
Many customs of the feast's vigil, Halloween, reflect the Christian belief that we mock evil because as Christians, it has no real power over us. The modern custom of "trick-or-treating" comes from the Middle Ages when poor people begged for "soul cakes" and in return prayed for departed souls.
Source: Catholic News Herald, October 24, 2014
We enjoyed seeing everyone at both Mass and dinner! -Emiliann W.
ReplyDelete(wait wait wait-posted at 4:49 AM?? You are a dedicated early riser!)