CAC Honors November Holy Days and Holidays | Native American Heritage Month, All Saints Day, All Souls Day, Duns Scotus’ Feast Day, and Advent
This November, the Center for Action and Contemplation (CAC) celebrates holy days and holidays that span diverse communities and faiths.
Native American Heritage Month: Celebrating Diverse Cultures
November is Native American Heritage Month, a time in which we celebrate the Native American individuals, cultures, and communities who raise our collective consciousness and model resilience and strength.
One way to celebrate this month is to intentionally set aside time to read from indigenous authors — some of our favorites include Randy Woodley, Kaitlin Curtice, and Robin Wall Kimmerer.
Who are your favorite indigenous authors? Share your experience on Facebook or Instagram.
All Saints Day: Celebrating the Christian Saints
On the first of November, we commemorate All Saints Day — a day to celebrate of all saints and martyrs of the Christian Church!
Fr. Richard Rohr described All Saints Day as “a celebration of all of us precisely in our togetherness, which is why the New Testament (in twenty places!) called all God lovers ‘the saints.'”
How can you draw near in relationship with your fellow saints today? Perhaps reach out to a friend whose spirituality invigorates and inspires you — have a meaningful call, catch up on life, and embrace a vulnerable conversation.
What does All Saints Day mean to you? Share your experience on Facebook or Instagram.
All Souls Day: A “Thin Day”
November 2 is All Souls Day, a day that has historically been set aside to pray for those who have already departed.
Here are some practical ways to honor today:
- Visit memorial spaces for the deceased in our lives, saints, or other impactful figures.
- Light candles for saints.
- Share a meal with loved ones and reflect upon the lives of deceased loved ones, saints, or impactful figures.
The ancient Celts described All Saints Day and All Souls Day as “thin days.” On a “thin day” like today, how do you connect to your ancestors who are still at work within you?
Which departed souls do you pray for? Share your experience on Facebook or Instagram.
Duns Scotus’ Feast Day: A Moment for Cosmic Peace
On November 8, we celebrate Duns Scotus’ Feast Day, honoring the 14th-century friar who had a substantial impact on Franciscan theology.
In his book Eager to Love, Fr. Richard Rohr writes: “The worldview of John Duns Scotus can and still will sway our spirits to this same cosmic peace: God is good and so we his children must be good too; God is free and so we do not need to be afraid of true freedom; God is nonviolent love, and this is the only hope for a world in which even Christians think violence is a way to ‘redeem’ the world. Wrong ideas about God create wrong ideas about everything else, too.”
How does Duns Scotus help sway your spirit towards cosmic peace? Share your experience on Facebook or Instagram.
Advent Begins: Preparing for Christmas
November marks the beginning of Advent — a four-week season when many Christians begin to prepare our hearts for the Christmas celebration.
In an Advent meditation, Richard Rohr explained that “when we speak of Advent or preparing for Christmas, we’re not just talking about waiting for the little baby Jesus to be born. That already happened two thousand years ago. In fact, we’re welcoming the Universal Christ, the Cosmic Christ, the Christ that is forever being born (incarnating) in the human soul and into history.”
As we prepare for Christmas, we invite you to join the livestream of our free Advent Virtual Sit meditations — every Sunday during Advent!
What does the Advent season mean to you? Share your experience on Facebook or Instagram.
Resources to Bring You Deeper in Your Faith
- Being Presence: Turning to the Mystics Online Retreat will feature live teaching from James Finley, December 4-7.
- Season 3 of the Everything Belongs podcast explores Richard Rohr’s bestselling book The Tears of Things, chapter-by-chapter!
- Explore how to embody “Salt and Light” in vulnerable communities with this video featuring Carlos Rodríguez.
- Enrollment is open for James Finley’s beloved online course — Mystical Sobriety: Coming Home to Love.