The formal adoption of All...
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The formal adoption of All Saints' Day dates from the ninth century. However, in practice the observance of such a day was in vogue from a much earlier date. The original date was celebrated as Martyrs' Day. The emphasis of the earlier festival was the memory of the faithful departed who had triumphed over false gods and all enemies who persecuted the faithful. Today we remember those of our congregations who have died in the Lord this past year. Certainly the victory of their faith in our age is no less significant than the faith of the martyrs of the fourth century.
However, the day does raise the question of sainthood and the definition of what is a saint. There are all kinds of popular definitions of a saint from do-gooders to an angelic person flying around heaven with a harp. The question of what a saint is recalls the old story of a little girl worshiping in church with her mother. She leaned over and asked her mother who all the people were in the stained glass windows. The mother identified the apostles and other biblical personages who were represented in the stained glass as saints. Quizzed some time later as to what a saint is, the girl answered, "It's someone that the light shines through."
However, the day does raise the question of sainthood and the definition of what is a saint. There are all kinds of popular definitions of a saint from do-gooders to an angelic person flying around heaven with a harp. The question of what a saint is recalls the old story of a little girl worshiping in church with her mother. She leaned over and asked her mother who all the people were in the stained glass windows. The mother identified the apostles and other biblical personages who were represented in the stained glass as saints. Quizzed some time later as to what a saint is, the girl answered, "It's someone that the light shines through."
