Octave Day of All Saints 

On this final day of the Octave, the Mass of All Saints is offered again along with a commemoration of the Four Crowned Martyrs.   There is a Proper Last Gospel too for the Four Crowned Martyrs. 

Today is the last day to gain a plenary indulgence for the Poor Souls in purgatory! 

Visit a cemetery and pray for them. 

All ye Holy Saints of God, pray of us! 

7th Day in the Octave of All Saints 

Take a look at a 1962 Calendar.  

Notice that from Nov 5 - 8, there is nothing but feria days.  

This means that the Mass of the previous Sunday is offered. 

 

How does this make the Liturgical calendar richer?  How does this show that some feast days are greater than others and need more time to celebrate? This is one of the 1962 Missal's great defects. 

Help a Poor Soul get to heaven!  

Visit a cemetery to pray and gain a plenary indulgence for them! 

All ye Holy Missionaries, pray for us! 

 

 6th Day in the Octave of All Saints 

Gain a plenary indulgence today for the Poor Souls in Purgatory.  

Visit a cemetery and pray for them!

All ye Holy Confessors, pray for us!

 5th Day in the Octave of All Saints 

Go to a cemetery today and pray for the Poor Souls.  

Gain a plenary indulgence for them!

All ye Holy Apostles, pray for us!

 4th Day in the Octave of All Saints 

Today is the feast of St. Charles Borromeo.  Since his feast is a Duplex, the feast of All Saints is commemorated at the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion. 

In a later post, we will talk about the ranking of feasts in the pre-1955 Missal. 

Don't forget to visit a cemetery today to obtain a plenary indulgence for a Poor Soul!

All ye holy Bishops and Confessors, pray for us!

 All Souls Day

This is the 3rd day in the Octave of All Saints.  All Souls day was transferred to Monday, Nov 3, because it fell on a Sunday this year.  Unlike the 1962 Missal where the ranking was changed to a 1st Class feast, in the old ranking it was a Duplex which means that  All Saints is commemorated today! 

Visit a cemetery today to gain a plenary indulgence for a Poor Soul.  All you have to do is pray for the dead while there.  An Our Father and Hail Mary is recommended.  Then fulfill the usual conditions of confession, communion and prayers for the traditional intentions of the Holy Father.

Requiescant in pace.  Amen.

 2nd Day within the Octave of All Saints 

If you were lucky enough to go to a parish today that is transitioning back to the pre-1955 Missal, you would have seen that while it is the 21st Sunday after Pentecost, the feast of All Saints was commemorated at the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion!  

Here is a good reflection for the Octave: 

https://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2025/11/the-feast-of-all-saints-2025.html

All ye Holy Martyrs, pray for us!

 All Saints Day with a Common Octave

All Saints Day (Nov 1) is one of the great feasts of the Church and it has a Common Octave.  From Nov 1 - Nov 8, it is a time to rejoice in the saints! 

 

A Common Octave is one where it is commemorated when another feast occurs, but is not commemorated for feasts that are Doubles of the 1st or 2nd class.  Therefore next week, the feast of All Souls (Nov 3) and the feast of St Charles Borromeo (Nov 4), are only Duplex, so it is commemorated both days.  

Take a look at a 1962 calendar for the week of Nov 1 - Nov 8.  After Nov 4, there are only feria days.  When they cancelled the Octave of All Saints, all that was left was feria days!  How does this make the Liturgical calendar richer???  How does this distinguish greater feasts from lesser feasts??  We can reclaim this Octave by celebrating it at home . . . for now.  

 

Ideas to celebrate the Octave at home: 

Display a picture of the heavenly Court for the entire Octave

Read the entry in The Liturgical Year by Dom Gueranger for each day

Pray or chant the Litany of Saints

Read short Lives of the Saints focusing on a certain group of saints each day, ie. Martyrs, Bishops, Holy Women, Popes, Priests, Founders of Religious Orders, etc.

Read the Collect, Secret and Postcommunion of All Saints at Mass every day or privately in your home

(On the ferias, read the propers from All Saints on Nov 1)

Go to a cemetery every day (Nov 1-Nov 8) and pray for the dead to gain a plenary indulgence for the Poor Souls  (under the usual conditions of confession, communion and prayers for the traditional intentions of the Holy Father.)

 

Mary, Queen of All Saints, pray for us!

 OCTAVES in the Pre-1955 Calendar

In the 1962 Calendar, 16 out of 19 Octaves were eliminated, not including the Octaves for individual churches with their patron saint's feast day, anniversary of its dedication, etc.  

Only the Octaves of Christmas, Easter and Pentecost survived.  

The first day of an octave is called the feast day. The last day of an octave is called the ‘octave day’ and the days in between are called ‘days within the octave’. The ranking of these days vary depending on the type of octave. There are three ranks of octaves; privileged, common and simple.

PRIVILEGED OCTAVES:  Feasts of Our Lord

First Order:  Offered every day of the Octave.  No feast can outrank it.

Easter

Pentecost

Second Order:  Offered each day—unless a Double of the 1^st class, then commemorated on those days.

Epiphany

Corpus Christi

Third Order:  Offered on all days with no feast. 

 Commemorated on any day with a feast.

 The Octave day may only be replaced by a feast of a Double of the 1^st  or 2^nd class.

Christmas

Ascension

Sacred Heart

COMMON OCTAVES: 

  

~Offered on all days with no feast. 

~Commemorated on any day with a feast, except feasts of Doubles of the 1^st or  2^nd class.  

~The Octave day only gives way to Doubles of the 1^st and 2^nd class.

Immaculate Conception

Assumption

Nativity of Saint John the Baptist

Solemnity of St. Joseph

Saints Peter and Paul

All Saints

Principal patron saint of a church, cathedral, order, town, diocese, province, or nation.

Anniversary of the Dedication of a Church and also the Cathedral of the Diocese

SIMPLE OCTAVES:   

~Only the feast day (Double of 2^nd class) and the Octave day (Simple) is celebrated or                              commemorated.  

~The days within the octave are not commemorated.

Saint Stephen

Saint John the Evangelist

Holy Innocents

Saint Agnes

Saint Lawrence

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin

Secondary patrons.

 

 

A Blessed All Saints Day!

Let us re-discover and restore the Traditional Roman Rite, BEFORE the 1962 Missal, which nurtured countless saints over the centuries.  If it was good enough for them, it is good enough for us!

Let the journey begin . . .

All ye Holy Saints of God, pray for us!