November 1st was All Saints’ Day, a day when many of the Saints were honored. To celebrate this holiday, the second-grade students dress up as their favorite Saints and share some information about that person during an all-school mass. This day was very inspiring, and the whole student body was called to be a saint, a message that the priest at mass made very clear.

The day is mainly about celebrating the life and death of all of the Saints, all of these men and women lived for Christ and some of them even died for their faith. Mr. Brehm,  the 7th-grade religion teacher, explained that the day is about celebrating the holy people that were canonized after they died. People usually go to mass on this day because it is a very important day in the Catholic church. Since St. Robert does something special for this day by having the children dress as Saints and share what they have learned from the Saints’ examples, this is more than just any other day at church.

Additionally, Mr. Brehm also stated that this day is a Holy Day of Obligation. This means that Catholics are expected to go to mass on this day as they are on Sundays every week, and if people don’t go to mass, it’s considered a sin. Mr. Brehm said that there aren’t many Holy Days of Obligation, and Catholics shouldn’t miss any of them, no matter what it takes to get to mass. Luckily, churches are aware of busy schedules, so when these special feasts fall on weekdays, early morning and late evening masses are usually held to help people at work or school still make it to mass.

This year since All Saints Day was on a Thursday, and the students of St. Robert usually go to mass on a Friday, they didn’t attend the Friday mass and went to mass on Thursday instead. Missing mass on Friday was kind of sad to Mr. Brehm because All Souls Day was on November 2nd, which is the day when Catholics honor all of the people who have passed into the afterlife, not just those canonized. This is the day, though not a day of obligation is an important feast to celebrate. Instead of going to mass two days in a row, St. Robert held a special event over the weekend for All Souls Day.

In summary, All Saints’ Day is a day to remember due to the incredible, inspiring people that are honored that day, and how the children of the second grade dress up as Saints to give tales and teach the whole school. Again, this day is especially important because it is a Holy Day of Obligation, which means that Catholics must go out of their way to get to mass on this day, no matter what the circumstances are. Celebrating the servants God and attempting to follow their Christ-like examples is important for everyone.