Nov.1 is the festival of All Saints Day, when we remember all those who lived lives of heroic virtue and sanctity, those who were "washed in the blood of the Lamb."
Nov.2 is the commemoration of all the souls of the faithful departed, all those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith.
Halloween is the day when we celebrate Christ's victory over sin and death by making fun of Satan, his ghouls, and all those St. Michael drove out of heaven.
I've never understood the injunction that Halloween is not a Christian holiday. People celebrate Christmas without honoring Christ, but it's still a Christian holiday. Here are two quotes that explain what Halloween is for Christians:
"If you persevere in the love and grace of God, you too shall be a saint. The whole point of "All Hallows" is to remind us to be "hallowed" or "sanctified". Most of us won't have our own particular feast day and so All Saints Day will be our feast day (if God willing, we go to Heaven). It is the feast day for most of the Church's saints, those who lived peaceably, followed Christ, loved their families, accomplished their duties in life and passed on to the next life. May their prayers be with us."
"So witches, wicca, witchcraft--all that stuff. Yes, it's real...Remember in all the fun that the purpose of Hallowe'en is to scare the spooks away--not invite them in. Dressing up as monsters has the same purpose as putting gargoyles on cathedrals--you're supposed to be scarier than the devil in order to give him the creeps and send him running. So when you carve a jack o'lantern, make him scary as you can; but say a prayer as you put him out, that he might keep away the real monsters of the night. And if you dress as a ghoul or a ghost or a witch or a warlock, remember that you are doing so to creep them out; and say a prayer of deliverance from all the dark forces of the world."
What better time than these three days to be praying for an end to abortion. We honor the memory of these innocent babies washed in the blood of the Lamb. We plead that the holy angels of God will vanquish the culture of death and lies in facilities such as the one at 320 Fulton . We pray that our souls will be united with Christ in heaven on the day of our death.
So have a Happy Halloween, and continue praying & fasting for an end to abortion. (Perhaps offer up a different form of fasting if your kids want to share their candy with you! or ask them to offer their candy for the sake of the children who will never get to go trick-or-treating)
