Sunday, October 30th 2011 will be devoted to All Saints and All Souls at Calvary Cemetery. The annual All Souls Day service will take place at 2:30 p.m. in historic St.Henry’s Chapel, led by Father Lawrence Mierenfeld, followed by an All Saints celebration and dedication of the new Spirit of the Living Water garden.
The garden surrounds a gazebo made of granite from Cold Springs, Minnesota and natural New Bedford stone. The four gospel writers, Saints Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, are each etched into the stone. The dedication ceremony will also include remarks by Board of Trustees President Harry Finke, Superintendent Rick Meade, and architect Tom Wurst.
As a metaphor for the passage from death to rebirth, guests will receive a daffodil bulb to plant in a prepared flower bed in the new garden or alternatively at individual gravesites or home. In the spring the daffodils will bloom, bringing color and new life to the garden. The garden features a stream with two waterfalls falling into a reflection pool. There is a butterfly garden and trees to attract songbirds.
A history of All Saints and All Souls Day:
All Saints Day is typically observed on November 1. Beginning in the early years of the church, All Saints Day is a Catholic/Christian holy day that commemorates the lives of the Saints, especially the martyrs. It is customary in the Catholic Church to celebrate a saint’s feast day. All Saints Day was a means to memorialize all the saints at once.
All Souls Day is observed on November 2. All Souls Day is a Catholic/Christian holy day that is observed by members of the faith in order to pray and memorialize their departed family and friends. While some historians link it to the pagan festivals for the dead, Catholic historians attribute its origin to St. Odilo, the fifth abbot of Cluny. The custom of praying for the souls of the dead on Nov. 2 was practiced at the Abbey.
