The month of November gives another occasion to reflect on the meaning of the Church. November 1 is All Saints’ Day in the Church’s calendar. On this day, we remember all those who live and who have died in the Faith, including saints from Biblical times up until today. Why do we remember saints, and what is that remembrance good for? As Philip Melanchthon (a colleague of Martin Luther) wrote in the Augsburg Confession, “Concerning the cult of the saints our people teach that the saints are to be remembered so that we may strengthen our faith when we see how they experienced grace and how they were helped by faith. Moreover, it is taught that each person, according to his or her calling, should take the saints’ good works as an example” (Augsburg Confession XXI, K/W 58:1).

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