Did you know? Hallow is a synonym for "holy" (as in the Lord’s Prayer – also, saints and holy places are referred to as "hallowed”) and e’en is a contraction of "evening." The word Halloween itself is a shortened form of "All Hallows Eve," the day before All Saints Day, or All Hallow’s Day.
Did you know? Until the 9th century, the Church celebrated the feast of All Saints on May 13th, during the season of joy after the Resurrection. This is the light in which we see all the faithful who have died, especially those whose witness to Christ is an inspiration. In 835, the date was deliberately changed to November 1 to Christianize the existing pagan time for remembering the dead—to bring light to the darkness, and hope to the most basic of human fears. In about 1048, November 2 was designated as the date to commemorate and pray for all the departed souls in Purgatory, the Feast of All Souls. Praying for the dead and offering sacrifice for them dates all the way back to Jewish customs as part of their belief in the resurrection of the dead. See 2 Maccabees 12:44-46 and 1 Peter 3:19.
Did you know? The feasts of All Saints and All Souls fall back to back to express the Christian belief of the "Communion of Saints." The Communion of Saints is the union of all the faithful on earth (the Church militant), the saints in Heaven (the Church Triumphant) and the Poor Souls in Purgatory (the Church suffering), with Christ as the Head. They are bound together by a supernatural bond, and can help one another. The Church Militant (those on earth still engaged in the struggle to save their souls) can venerate the Church Triumphant, and those saints can intercede with God for those still on earth. Both the faithful on earth and the saints in heaven can pray for the souls in Purgatory. During these two days we see the Communion of Saints really in action! So, do we "worship" or "adore" our beloved saints, as some non-Catholics think? Not at all. We honor them and learn from their example; adoration belongs to God alone. When we ask the saints to pray for us, it’s the same way we might ask a good friend to pray. See 1 Corinthians 12 and Hebrews 12:1.
Did you know? In the 16th century at the time of the Reformation, most Protestants discarded both the doctrine of the communion of saints and the practice of praying for the dead. So for those who don’t value devotion to the saints, All Hallows Eve has become "hollow" instead of "hallow," the vigil of an empty feast day. The purpose behind it has been lost—like celebrating Christmas Eve but not Christmas Day! Take away the saints, and our attempt to remember and honor them, and all that is left is a day full of .…nothing.
There is a better way! Despite losing its true meaning, Halloween has grown into a major secular holiday in American culture. We, as Catholics, can “redeem” Hallowe’en. Instead of sending our children out as devils and vampires, let us emphasize the saints, whose nearly forgotten feast day is the reason for Halloween. When properly understood and celebrated, this holiday can provide a way for us to not only deepen our own faith, but it can also be an opportunity for us to evangelize and face up to the differences that still divide Catholics and Protestants. Together we can honor the saints, pray for the Pour Souls and prepare ourselves spiritually for two great feast days of the Catholic Church. Let us make use of this opportunity as a moment of grace and as a teaching lesson. Let us use it to help us become the saints we are each called to be.
Nice! Jennifer, this is an awesome post -- would you mind if I linked to it on mine?
ReplyDeleteLove the idea of dressing up as saints too ... is that what your little ones are doing this year? I was planning on it ... then made the mistake of asking Thomas what he wanted to be ... I'm sure you've been reading about it on my blog. Maybe they'll be saints next year!