St. Patrick celebrates All Saints Day

On November 1, the students, faculty, administration, and staff celebrated the special day of All Saints Day.  This is a holiday celebrated annually and a unique day that celebrates all of the canonized saints within the church.  There was a special mass celebrating the event and a great awareness throughout the school of the goodness that saints bring to our world.

All Saints Day was formally started by Pope Boniface IV, and the holiday was actually established on November 1 by Pope Gregory III during the mid-eighteenth century.  This day is celebrated by Catholics and a few other Christian denominations, and the Catholic church only celebrates the saints who have entered into heaven.  This is also a Holy Day of Obligation so all Catholics must attend mass.

Our school followed this obligation by having a special mass commemorating All Saints Day.  Father Benden offered a thoughtful and inspiring homily describing what it means to be a saint. He started out by asking what everyone wanted to be when they grew up; everyone said something along the lines of a dentist, football player, or chef.  He then stated that no one has ever answered that question with wanting to be a saint when they grew up.  This was an interesting thought because the majority of young people probably haven’t thought about this.  He then went on to say that we all have what it takes to be a saint, that it takes hard work, but it’s basically deciding to do God’s will instead of your own.  This was an interesting idea because it seems like being a saint is out of reach, but Father provided us with the foundational thought if we put others on earth before ourselves and God’s will above our own, this might not be so out of reach.

This also provided the St. Patrick members with an appreciation for the saints that are recognized on this special day.  All of their hard work and dedication was well appreciated by the students of St. Patrick on All Saints Day, and their example will be inspirations to everyone honoring them.

Story by Skye Ward