FCL 400O

Second Semester 2020

Section Code: E2C

INSTRUCTOR: Prof. Janelyn Castillejo

Name: John Paulo N. Gregorio

1. What is the importance of All Saints Day?

As a Catholic, saints days, individually, are literally throughout the calendar because
they show sinners who took God’s message seriously, and made a success out of it.
They show sinners who have turned their life around, “denied themselves, taken up
their cross daily, and followed Christ”.

After two thousand years there is literally a saint for everyone. But there are far
more “saints” in heaven than we know of on earth, as (we hope) far more people
have taken Our Blessed Lord’s words seriously and attained heaven.

All Saints Day is the one day out of the year, when we seriously honour all of those
people who have not been famous enough to get their own day on the Calendar,
they literally are the people whom we can take to heart as being unknown to all but
God, which is the basis of the Christian message.

Because if we are doing what we are doing for other people’s acclaim, then we are
doing our works for show and Our Blessed Lord tells us we have our reward here on
earth. So do the right things, pray constantly, and use the sacraments of confession
and the Eucharist weekly, and do the works of mercy, and we can celebrate you too
on All Saints Day when you have died!
2. Name three saints who are very symbolic to you

(birth saints or your place is named after her/him -Sta Rosa, San Pedro) Write
their biography

 (San Pedro) St Francis of Assisi (1182 – 1226) born to a wealthy merchant family in the
town of Assisi, Italy, St Francis underwent a religious conversion after coming back from a
military campaign. He devoted his life to poverty, chastity and living the truth of the
Gospels. He gained the authority to establish a new order of monks – The Franciscans. He
is said to have received the Stigmata – becoming the first recorded person to experience
the same wounds of Jesus Christ.

St Francis of Assisi is also known as the patron saint of animals, the environment and one
of the two patrons of Italy (with Catherine of Siena).

Francis was born in Assisi, Italy to Pietro di Bernardone, a wealthy cloth merchant in 1811.
As a youngster, he was bright, popular and athletic, though he occasionally showed signs
of his later love for charity and disdain for the world.

However, in 1201, aged 19, Francis joined a military expedition against Peruda. The
campaign proved disastrous and, injured on the battlefield, Francis was taken prisoner for
a year. During this period of imprisonment, a change within St Francis grew. He forsook
the material pleasures and rewards of life and began to dedicate his life to Jesus Christ and
the essential teachings of the Gospels.

 (San Pedro) St Paul was an influential figure in the early development of Christianity. His
writings and epistles form a key section of the New Testament; St Paul helped to codify
and unify the direction of the emerging religion of Christianity.  In particular, St Paul
 emphasised the role that salvation is based on faith and not religious customs. St Paul was
both Jewish and a Roman citizen; in his early life, he took part in the persecution of
Christians. However, on the road to Damascus, he underwent a conversion and became a
committed Christian himself.

St Paul, also known as Saul, ethnically was Jewish, coming from a devout Jewish family. He
was also born a Roman Citizen in Tarsus, Cilicia, South Turkey. He grew up in Jerusalem
and was brought up by Gamaliel, a leading authority in the Jewish religious establishment
(Sanhedrin). In addition to learning religious scriptures, he also studied Greek
philosophers and was well acquainted with the Stoic philosophers, who advocated a
virtuous acceptance of life as a path to happiness. In his daily life, he was a tent maker.

During his early life, St Paul was a Pharisee – a group of Jewish people who administered
the law. He admitted to participating “beyond measure” in the persecution of Christians.
This included taking part in the stoning of Stephen, a Christian. Acts 7:58-60;22:20. One
reason St Paul was so critical of the new sect which followed Jesus Christ was the fact he
was appalled that Jesus died a ‘criminal’s death’ on the cross. He couldn’t assimilate that
with how a Messiah would be treated.

 (San Pedro) Saint Teresa of Ávila (1515–1582) was a Spanish mystic, writer and reformer
of the Carmelite order. She was an influential and pivotal figure of her generation.

St Teresa (Teresa de Cepeda y Ahumada) was born in Avila, Spain on 28th March 1515. Her
parents were both pious Catholics and in some ways inspired their daughter to take up a
life of prayer. As a young child, Teresa showed signs of a deeply religious nature; she
would often retreat into silence for prayer and would enjoy giving alms to the poor. She
was very close to her mother, who provided a warm counterbalance to the strictness of
her father. However, in her teens, Teresa’s mother passed away, leaving the young Teresa
distraught at the void she felt. The young St Teresa tells of her despair and how she turned
instinctively to the Virgin Mary for comfort.

During her later teen years Avila lost some of her early piety and religious zeal. She
recounted how she became interested in worldly matters and enjoyed the company of a
wide circle of friends. She had a natural charm and found it easy to make friends. In
return, she enjoyed the compliments and friendships of others. However, she was not at
 peace, considering herself to be a miserable sinner; later she would look back in guilt at
her early life. However this sense of being a “miserable sinner” was probably the result of
a harsh self-judgement, encouraged by her father’s exacting religious standards. At the
age of 16, her father decided to send Teresa to a convent school to be educated.

This reignited in Teresa an interest in following a spiritual life and after some deliberation
resolved to become a nun of the Carmelite Order.  At the time the convent rules were not
very strict; it was probably more relaxed than living with her father. The convent accepted
many people into the order, often for financial reasons. The convent became
overcrowded, and people were often judged not by spiritual intensity but on material
possessions. In this climate, Teresa struggled to find time for quiet reflection, although she
did start teaching people on the virtues of mental prayer.

REFERENCES

Hough, James;. (2019). Why is All Saints' Day important to the Catholic Church? North Carolina:

Quora.

Pettinger, Tejvan;. (2006). Biography. United Kingdom.