Today is All Saints Day, in which we honor in many churches the
canon of Saints who have served the Church in its mission to baptize
and teach all about the love of Christ. And one hymn that seeks to
celebrate this day is "For All The Saints," which uses the musical
composition "Sine Nomine" by Ralph Vaughn Williams & words written
in the 1860s by William W. How.
This song pays tribute to all the saints-martyrs, evangelists,
doctors, leaders-who made Christianity great and whose deeds have
furthered the Love of Jesus to countless millions.
This is a day in which we honor those saints whose names are not
recorded-our loved ones who have gone before us. They are the ones
who shaped our character & our faith, teaching us to walk in God's
holy light.
Another song that is useful for today is Christopher Walker's "Out
Of Darkness," which is based on a Eucharistic prayer preface:
"Through his cross and resurrection, he set us free from sin and
death and called us to the glory that has made us a chosen race, a
royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people set apart. Everywhere we
proclaim your mighty works, for you have called us out of darkness
into your own wonderful light."
And that's what God has called us. To be saints.

Now I'm sure that "When The Saints Go Marching In" is a great song
for the Feast of All Saints, too, as well as for the Feast of All
Souls, that we celebrate tomorrow, Friday November 2nd. Because
it's a joyous and happy song that makes us desire to be saints, even
if we're sinful and weak, as we all are.
We all wanna be in that number when the Saints go marching in, don't
you agree?