All Saints Day

My friend brings up a very important point about saints. Why are they so anonymous? Sure there are some very famous saints like the Apostles, Joan of Arc, Thomas More and Aquinas, and St. Patrick, but what about all the other names on the wall so to speak. Since martyrs are sped through the process of canonization, do we know anything else about them besides this. Are they all just going to be forgotten compared to all the other names? Well the answer is no. Even those forgotten saints who may share feast days with other renown  saints are remembered on the Feast of All Saints.

The Feast of All Saints takes place on November 1 and is also a Holy Day of Obligation meaning you should attend Mass on that day even during the weekday. This day celebrates all the holy men and women who have dedicated their very lives to God. Even those that are unknown to us, but are known to God, are celebrated on this day. All the saints in the Church's about 2000 year history are all together honored on this day.

What I found interesting about All Saints Day was that the liturgical color is not red for the blood of all the martyrs. In fact, it's white.

This is due to a passage in Revelation: "I said to him, “My lord, you are the one who knows.” He said to me, “These are the ones who have survived the time of great distress;* they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" (Revelation 7:14). All saints have cleansed themselves to be with God. Even though plenty of saints have been martyred, the color white is celebrated on this day.