In Gratitude for All the Saints, by Louise Merrie

Since childhood, All Saints Day, celebrated November 1st, has been one of my favorite days in the Liturgical Year. It brings me happiness to honor all the saints in Heaven—canonized and uncanonized—along with the other members of the Church on this special day.

All Saints Day is a day to celebrate with Mass, with prayer (I like to pray the Litany of Saints alone or with a friend), and perhaps with a party. This is a day that gives us hope that we, too, will become saints. It does not matter if we are canonized as such; what matters is that we get to Heaven.

I learned to love the saints from my mother and grandmother. The Blessed Mother has been part of my life for as long as I can remember. My mother told me about some of her other favorite saints, including St. Joseph, St. Therese of Lisieux, and St. Jude, and my grandmother shared with me her devotion to Our Lady, St. Joseph, St. Ann, St. Lucy, and St. Anthony of Padua. My mother gave me a book of biographies of saints when I was in first grade. I read these stories over and over, inspired by their lives and seeing them as role models. Throughout my childhood and into adulthood, I grew in my love for the saints, finding new saint friends—those canonized and beatified, as well as holy people whose causes are being considered for canonization.  …