The Irish standard., 1919-11-01
Saturday, November / 1919
ALL SAINTS DAY.

Today the Church celebrates the Feast OF All
SAINTS On this day the Church celebrates as a
mother OF, tor these saints are her own children.
The first actual celebration of All Saints Day
was in the year 752, when Pope Gregory III, dedi-
Gated on the Vatican Hill an oratory in honor "of
the Savior, of His Blessed Mother of the Holy
Apostles, OF all the Martyrs, Confessors and perfect
Just who repose throughout the world" In the
year S55 Pope Gregory w. made the celebration OF
this Feast obligatory throughout the world and fixed
the day as the first day of November
Worship OF the Saints is the natural outgrowth
of our worship of God The impulse that leads us
to worship Gods perfection in itself will move us
to venerate the traces OF that perfection as they
appear conspicuously i'll sanity and women. By
honoring them i'll the proper way we offer tribute
to the Giver of all good We recognize that the
Election of Gods goodness. When worship the
Saints we worship Him Who is the source from
Whom they derive all their perfection The most
unlearned Catholic the little child that is pre-
confounding alteration due to God with the reigi-
Gus honor that give to Gods Saints
The invocation and intercession of Saints in
way robs Christ of His position as the one Mediator
Mediatorship Of Christ earnestly begs the prayers
of his brethren In his Episte to the Romans, Saint
Paul says: Il beseech you therefore, brethren
through Lord Jesus Christ and by the charity
of the Holy Ghost, that you help me in your pray
ers for to God" If the prayers of the brethren
earth do not derogate from the glory and dig
nifty of Christ as Mediator neither do the pray
ers of the Saints in Heaven EHery Catholic knows
that when pray to the Saints ask nothing of
them of themselves but only that they pray to God
for The greatest of the Fathers of the Church
speak plainly both Of the doctrine and practice of
intercession and invocation Prayers to the Saints
occur in all the ancient Lturgies. Saint Jerome
shows the reasonabeness of Catholic teaching and
practice in these words: eff the Apostles and
Martyrs while still in the body pray for others,
at time when they must still be anxious for them
selves, how much more after their crowns, victories
and triumphs are won! One man, Noses obtains
from God pardon for six hundred thousand men
in arms; and Stephen, the imitator of the Lord,
and the first martyr in Christ begs forgiveness for
his prosecutors and shall their power be less after
having begun to be with Christ? The Apostle
Paul declares that two hundred three score and six
teen souls sailing with him, freely given him
and, after he is dissolved and has begun to be with
Christ shall he close his lips, and not be able to
utter word in behalf of those who throughout the
whole world believed at his preaching of the Gospel?
And shall the living dog Vigantius be better than
that dead lion?'
1t is quite true that the doctrine of the interces
sion of the Saints is open to abuse and doubt it
has been abused. There is nothing in the doctrine
or practice which can be condemned if Christians
would follow the wholesome DEGREES of the Council
of Trent and the Constant universal teaching of the
Church