The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1909-11-13
TWO DAYS OBSERVED.

In the first volume of the Catholic
Encyclopedia is given an instructive ex-
PLANTATION of the two festivals of All
| Saints and All Souls, which occur Nov.
/ and 9.
Al Saints is feast of highest rank.
! celebrated on the first of November.
having a vigil and an octave, and Civ
ing place to no other feast. II is insti-
tuted to honod all the saints, know and
unknown, and according to Urban ".
TO supply any deficiencies in the faith
ful's celebration of saints feasts during
the year In the early days the Chris
uanS were accustomed to solemniZe the
anniversary of martyrs death for
Christ at the place of martyrdom In
the fourth century neighboring dioceses
began to interchange feasts. to trans
fer relics. to divide them, and to Join in
a common feast, as is shown by the in
vitation of St Basil of Ceasarea $3.50 to
the bishops of the province of Pontus
Frequently groups of martyrs suffered
on the same day, which naturally led to
a joint commemoration. In the perse-
cution of Diocletian the number of mar
tyrs became so great that a separate
day could not be assigned to each. But
the Church, feeling that every MARTYR
should be venerated, appointed a COM
mon day for all. The first trace of this
we find in Antioch on the Sunday after
Pentecost. We also find mention of a
common day in a sermon of ST Ephrem
the Syrian (373) and in the 18th homily
of st. John Chrysostum (40T. At first
only martyrs and st. John the Baptist
were honored by a special day. Other
saints were added gradually and in
creased in number when a regular pro-
cess of canonization was established;
still, as early as AL there is in the Chal-
dean calendar a Commemorate Con-
fessorum' for the Friday after Easter.
In the west, Bonifoce ", Is May, 500.
or $40, consecrated the Pantheon in
Rome to the Blessed Virgin and all the
martyrs, ordering an anniversary.
Gregory III C31-741) consecrated
chapel in the basilica of St. Peter to all
the saints and fixed the anniversary for
Nov. /. A basilica of the apostles al
ready existed in Rome, and its dedica-
ton was annually remembered on Nav
celebration on Nov. l to the entire
Church. The vigil seems to have been
held as early as the feast itself The
octave was added by Sixtus " G471-S4).
Al Souls Day-The commemoration
of all the faithful departed is celebrat-
ed by the Church on Nov. 2. or if this
be a Sunday, or a feast of the first
class. on Nov. 8. The Office of the Dead
must be recited by the clergy and all
the Masses are to be Requiem. except
one of the current feast, where this is
Of obligation. The theological basis for
the feast is the doctrine that the souls
which, on departing from the body, are
not perfectly cleansed from venial sins,
or have not fully atoned for past trans
ara debarred from the Beati-
fic Vision. and that the faithful on earth
can help them by prayers, alms-deeds
and especially by the sacrifice of the
Mass. In the early days of Christianity
the names of the departed brethren
were entered in the diptycus. Later, in
the sixth century, it was customary i'll
mona steries to hold COM
of the deceased members
at Whitsuntide. In Spain there was
such a day on Saturday before Sexage-
sima, or before Pentecost, at the time
If St. Isidore 3D. $3.50. In Germany there
existed according to the testimony of
Widukind. ABBOT of Convey &c. $500 Il
ceremony of prayer for