Painting by Albrecht Durer (1511)
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Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart. (Psalm 24:3-4)
From the very beginning, the church has honored and revered its martyrs and heroes. What began on a popular and local level gradually became woven into the liturgy, beginning around the fourth century in the Eucharistic Prayer. In the fifth century, a feast honoring all the saints was declared in some Eastern churches, and from there the celebration was taken up in Rome. In 835, Pope Gregory IV declared All Saints Day a feast for the entire church.
A day commemorating the saints is actually a day of rejoicing in the greatness of the Lord and hoping in his love. The victory that we see in the saints testifies to the Lord himself. It was not just their own efforts that produced such holiness, but the work of the Lord, who wants to pour the fullness of the life of…
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