What is the significance of All Souls Day?

As mentioned in the previous post after Halloween comes All Saints Day. This year we will celebrate All Saints on Sunday, but on Monday our school community will celebrate All Souls Day. Not being a holy day of obligation I thought this would be a witness for the students to come together to pray for the souls of the dear ones who are in purgatory.

This morning while reading a blog I was reminded that it being the Year for Priests it would be appropriate to pray in a special way for the souls of the departed priests. In that the priests are marked by signs of the Sacrament of Holy Orders, they are still human and not always in a state of grace. We forget the man behind the clerics as a human being is tempted in all things and must reconcile his sinfulness to God as we all do.

There are special indulgences for All Souls Day as well as Plenary Indulgences granted to all the faithful who are truly repentant, attend the Divine Sacrifice of the Mass and offer prayers to Jesus Christ, the Eternal High Priest for the first Thursday of the Month during the Year for Priests. This would be an incredible week to offer for the souls of the departed priests. To receive a Plenary Indulgence, a person must be in a state of grace by receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, prayed in accordance with the Pope's monthly intentions, an Our Father, one Hail Mary and one Glory Be, and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

An indulgence is the remission before God of the temporal punishment due sins already forgiven as far as their guilt is concerned which the follower of Christ obtains through the intervention of the Church. Christ died for our sinfulness, but the sin is still ours alone and we make reparation through the Sacrament and with our penance. The Church as minister of the redemption authoritatively dispenses and applies the treasury of the satisfaction won by Christ and the saints to the faithful follower of Christ. In a nutshell, indulgences shorten your time in purgatory. The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains purgatory as a process, not a place. It will be suffering, but a suffering that cleanses the soul, a "purging" of temporal punishment due to sin. This is the suffering we will enjoin to Christ. There will be rewards in heaven after our own suffering on our own "cross". It makes sense, why would we be granted easy access to heaven when God's own Son suffered so? The reality is who will be in a perfect state of holiness at the time of their death, what are the chances? With the indulgences we are granted we pray for ourselves and others to have a shortened time in purgatory. If you pray for someone who has already made it to the Beatific Vision, those prayers will be offered for someone else.

This is how God's mercy is led to forgiveness and it becomes possible for the sinner who has repented sincerely, to share, as soon as they are capable of it, in the full enjoyment of the benefits of God's family. There is a connection made through prayer between those in heaven, in purgatory, and those still on earth. This is what points to that communion of saints. We are all in that number.

Do Catholics celebrate Halloween?

It's that magical time of the year, and no I don't mean Christmas. While googleling images for this post I came across everything from the macabre to the mundane, so I settled for the pumpkin. It was either that or something with witches, black cats, devils, or the gorry, slasher trademark ala Mike Meyers. I get asked this question every year, the one about...is it okay for Catholics to celebrate halloween?

And I give the same answer, of course, as long as you as a Catholic understand the meaning behind the name All Hallows Eve. When I was growing up we always dressed in costume and traversed the neighborhood for goodies. My brother and I were always some sort of comicbook or cartoon character. We never went for the scarry or evil side of the celebration. It was meant to be fun and it meant a night to run around the neighborhood with friends going from house to house yelling and screaming just because you could. When my husband and I moved into our neighborhood twenty years ago we were thrilled to find that there was a block party that was planned for each halloween night. Everyone came out of the house and set up their tables of candy in their driveway so the kids could go house to house without worrying about going up to a darkened house and being frightened. It was not a night to be scared, but was a night for family and friends to come together in the 'spirit' of fun.

Of course this tradition is about as American as one can get. For Catholics we are reminded that the next day is All Saints Day. We pray and remember all those loved ones who have died and are in heaven as saints. The next day, November 2nd, is All Souls Day and we remember those souls who are in purgatory awaiting to be granted entrance into heaven by the prayers of all the faithful praying with the Church. As Catholics we have to be mindful of how we celebrate the night before All Saints Day. Sadly it has become for some a night to worship evil and many think that dressing as devils and witches is just in fun and has no real significance. As Catholics we must never give any credance to evil even in jest. Opening a door to the evilness in the secular world is just that...leaving the door open. Remember initially the night before All Saints Day was a pagan holiday celebrated in Ireland, it took the Catholic Church's influence to change the day into one of charity and commemoration of the dead. Men and women would go from house to house asking for food to be distributed to the poor and then ask the poor soul's to pray for the donor's dead.

Some still believe the gates of the underworld are opened on this night for ghosts, witches and devils to roam freely and cause havoc. I recently read an article that said people would masquerade so as to disguise themselves from the ghouls and goblins that roamed the lands, hence then they would not be bothered. There are many stories and folklore surrounding the history of halloween and how it came to be celebrated as we know it today. We as Catholics still need to be aware of the significance of All Saints Day. This is especially true when picking costumes for children and planning parties. Evil is real and we need to pray for the safety of our children and for ourselves. Have fun and be safe.

Happy Halloween!