Oh, When the Saints!

Everyone still here after the mayhem last night?

And by mayhem, I mean, the 30 trick-or-treaters we had between 6 -8 pm. Since we didn’t live on this street last year, we believed our neighbors when they told us we’d have more than 60 kids. So we bought a big bag of over 100 pieces. Oops.

I packed my husband a ziploc quart sized bag full of candy to take with him to work today. There’s still about 25 pieces of chocolate in the house. *bites knuckles and stares longingly at fun-sized Snickers* I wonder who the patron saint of “self-control when tempted with leftover Halloween candy” is?

I digress.

Anyway, today the real liturgical fun begins with two of my favorite feasts in all the Church coming back to back — that’s right, All Saints and All Souls Days!

All Saints Day is such a joyous day. I love to think of all the different saints I learned of as a child and adult, all their different personalities, gifts, and contributions to the Church and the world. Also, they are such an inspiration to continue to strive for holiness.  The Catechism says the following: “a perennial link of charity exists between the faithful who have already reached their heavenly home, those who are expiating their sins in purgatory and those who are still pilgrims on earth. Between them there is, too, an abundant exchange of all good things” (#1475). Even though the Church does not claim to know who exactly is in Purgatory or Hell, she can say with reasonable certainty that these holy men and women, this canon of Saints, are with God for all eternity in Heaven. The miracles attributed to each saint’s intercession, and which are necessary to complete the canonization process, are perhaps one of the best proofs that they are indeed enjoying the beatific vision. What a source of hope!

One great way to pray on this day is with the Litany of the Saints. I found these two videos on YouTube, one is of a Matt Maher version which is sort of folksy and has great icons, and the other is a much more traditional Latin one with some beautiful images too.

and the Latin:

On the food side of things, which let’s be honest, is such a great side, there are a lot of things you can do today and tomorrow to celebrate the feasts!

These cupcakes look so delicious — if we didn’t have so much leftover candy, I would totally make them. Thanks to Catholic Cuisine for the idea!

I’ve also made an All Saints and All Souls area in our dining room, containing photos of loved ones who have died from both of our families, some candles, and prayer cards of our favorite saints. I’m hoping to get some fresh flowers tonight and then post a picture of the area tomorrow.

To celebrate the feast of All Souls, (which is also election day, and Atticus doesn’t have to work — woohoo!) we’re going to have a traditional Italian (in honor of my 1/4 Italian heritage) brunch of Eggs in Purgatory, which is really just fried or poached eggs surrounded by tomatoes. Get it?

You can also celebrate with the English tradition of Soul Cakes. This post has a great recipe for these scone-like mini cakes. They look very good as well.

I’ll stop yammering so you can start partying, but one last song. Sara Groves is a lovely Christian singer, and this is her version of “When the Saints”. Enjoy and Happy Feast of All Saints!

What are you doing to celebrate these feast days? I’d love to hear your ideas!