“The Beatitudes offer hope, assuring reward in heaven for those who suffer for their faith, following the example of the saints”
PRESIDENT Ferdinand Marcos Jr. encouraged Filipinos during Undas to strengthen their spiritual bonds during the Solemnity of Saints and the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed – a celebration marked differently – with prayers, funeral marches played by town bands, and with carnival-like atmosphere in some graveyards – in predominantly Christian Philippines.
The President underlined this is a time for reflection and remembering those who lived lives of honor and service, highlighting the first two days of November.as an opportunity to strengthen spiritual connections with both the divine and those still on earth.
His message included reminders of enduring national values like faith, resilience, and hope. He urged reflection on living with love and compassion for others, seeking the common good as loved ones and saints did.
“Every act of remembrance carries a greater meaning: to pray is to enter communion with our saints and deceased loved ones, to light a candle is to bind our conscience with their legacy, and to lay flowers is to pledge to uphold their mission,” the 67-year-old President said.
East of the national capital, at the Sacred Heart of Jesus Parish in the gated subdivision Brookside in the first class municipality of Cainta, Rev. Fr. Ben Guevarra challenged the faithful in his homily during the 74-minute weekend Mass marking All Saints Day to be prepared to be saints, underlining the message of the Beatitudes from Matthew 5:1-12a).
“You finish the race (to be a saint), don’t give up so you can reach heaven. God knows what you are doing,” the visiting priest said.
The Beatitudes, which serve as a guide for Christian living, emphasize holiness is a universal calling and present values that lead to blessing and closeness to God, offering practical steps for daily life like being merciful and striving for justice.
The message offers hope, assuring reward in heaven for those who suffer for their faith, following the example of the saints.
The Catholic and Protestant churches, including the Aglipayan sect—which has its roots in Ilocos Norte, where the first Aglipayan Mass was celebrated in the hill town of Pinili in the early part of the 20th century— celebrate the Solemnity of Saints on Nov. 1.
But All Souls Day is also marked by the Filipino Catholics and the Aglipayans.
The Eastern Orthodox Church observes All Saints Day on the first Sunday after Pentecost. Both All Saints Day and All Hallows Eve, celebrated the day before, have roots in ancient Celtic beliefs and practices.
On Nov. 1, Filipinos, whatever their religious affiliations, do not just remember and honor the saints they have asked previously to intercede for them in seeking God’s blessings.
They also go to the graveyards—the manicured greens of private memorial parks in the metropolis or the now urbanized population centers or the often heavily crowded public town cemeteries often outside the populated municipal blocks.
One graveyard arc north of the capital has an eerie message: “Dakami ita, dakayonto no bigat.” (It’s us today, your turn tomorrow.) Another makes a humorist smile, as the legend, at the bayside Santa town cemetery in Ilocos Sur, suggests in bold letters, in English yet: This way to heaven.
Days before the celebration of All Saints Day, kin of the departed troop to the graveyards and clean up the tombs or uproot wayward grasses including the “cadena de amor,” the Antigonon leptopus Hook & Arn. coral vine which is abundant in Philippine cemeteries.
On the day itself, relatives—at least in some parts of northern Philippines—go to the graveyards to remember their departed kin 12 years and below, with those 13 years old and above to be remembered, with candles, food and Masses the day after, or the better known All Souls Day.
In some towns in the Central Luzon Plains, the well- heeled surviving kin gather beside tombs or mausoleums of their departed and, among themselves, play cards, scrabble or mah jong, listen to CD music while killing time overnight until sunrise on All Souls’ Day when they pack for home.
Remembering their dead, to them, had been done on All Saints Day.
Elsewhere farther north, particularly in Ilocos Norte, surviving relatives go to the graveyards twice—the first on All Saints Day and the second on All Souls Day, particularly for the occasion, a regular holiday in the Philippines.
