All Hallows Eve

Stephen set our DVR to record several Scooby Doo shows, a few of them are the Halloween specials. Madeline and James love Scooby Doo! Who would have thought one of these shows would have sparked deep contemplation by my almost 6 year old. Madeline asks, "Mommy our bones don't talk after we die do they?". This sparked a 45 minute conversation of what happens to our bones (and bodies) when we die and if they don't go up to heaven what does. So I proceed to tell her our soul goes to Heaven. "Mommy what's our soul?". That was a bit difficult trying to explain the spiritual distinct part of us...the conversation moved on to marriage and babies. Yes Madeline already thinks of all these complex parts of life! Who would've thought Scooby Doo would spark these thoughts. :)


This weekend we celebrate the eve of All Saints known as All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. All Saints Day is November 1. I thought I'd use this blog post to explain the Catholic view of these days. In North America, Christian attitudes towards Halloween are quite diverse. Many churches such as the Catholic and Anglican have chosen to emphasize the Christian traditions of All Saints’ Day, while some other Protestants celebrate the holiday as Reformation Day, a day to remember the Protestant Reformation. (BTW click here to read an interesting article on "A Protestant Minister's Unusual Sermon on Reformation Sunday"). As Christians, Stephen and I ascribe no negative significance to Halloween, treating it as a purely secular holiday devoted to celebrating "imaginary spooks" and handing out candy - and we respect the differing views of any of our Christian family and friends. We just hold the view that the tradition is far from being "satanic" in origin or practice and that it holds no threat to the spiritual lives of our children. Actually from the Scooby Doo story I shared above sometimes this secular holiday can spark an opening to talk to our children about being taught about death and mortality. :)

The Feast of All Saints is a holy day of the Church honoring all saints, known and unknown. This is much like the American holidays Veterans Day and Presidents Day, where many people are honored on one day. The whole concept of All Saints Day is tied in with the concept of the Communion of Saints. This is the belief that all of God's people, on heaven, earth, and in the state of purification, are connected in a communion.

Many non-Catholics, especially those from more fundamentalist backgrounds, assume that celebrating the saints means somehow worshiping them. This leads some Christians to claim that All Saints Day is an idolatrous holiday. The Church, East and West, has always distinguished between worship (latria), given to God alone, and veneration (dulia), which may be given to the saints. If someone is treating a saint as one should treat God, then yes, that is idolatry. That being said, Catholics believe that the saints have a role in our lives, as intercessors on our behalf, because we are all united by our communion in Christ. The saints are continually praying for us and interceding on our behalf, on account of their closeness to Christ. This is because God is the God of the living, not of the dead. As such, asking a saint for intercession is no more idolatrous than asking a holy friend or pastor to pray for you.

Remembering and honoring the saints are beneficial practices, because to remember the heroes of the faith and follow their examples are good things. Many Christians seem to strongly oppose remembering and celebrating the lives of great Christian men and women, yet have no problem celebrating the lives of secular heroes like George Washington. All Saints Day is kind of like a Christian Memorial Day or Presidents Day, a day to celebrate the lives of all the great heroes of the Christian faith, and to celebrate the deep communion we have with them. While celebrating secular heroes is admirable, how much more admirable is celebrating those who fully dedicated their lives to Christ!

O God, the King of saints, we praise and glorify your holy Name for all your servants who have finished their course in your faith and fear: for the blessed Virgin Mary; for the holy patriarchs, prophets, apostles, and martyrs; and for all your other righteous servants, known to us and unknown; and we pray that, encouraged by their examples, aided by their prayers, and strengthened by their fellowship, we also may be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; through the merits of your Son Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.