We just celebrated 3 days of "others" where we concentrated not on ourselves, or politics, but on those who have passed. My neighbor Kathie tells me, and many Christians tell me, they do not celebrate Hallowe’en because it is about things like the walking dead, witches, and ghosts that aren’t Christian, but I do, "for the kids." I remember dressing up as Freddie the Freeloader in my father’s big pants, shoes, and shirts and dirtying up my face and running all hot and sweaty on the streets of Miami shouting "Trick or Treat" and eating too much candy. Remember to visit the people who give cookies last because the apples that people throw in our bags always crush the cookies! This last Monday night was Hallowe’en and Chuck and I decorated with lighted up witches in the windows, a couple of pumpkins with candles in them, a big witch hanging up from the porch post (when the kids come, we push a button and she cackles and her eyes light up) (makes some kids squeal), this year we had a lot of candles and the porch looked cool! I buy a lot of candy and sit outside from about 5:30, the little tiny kids come early, until 9pm when it’s all big young teenagers… and we give a lot of candy away and talk to the parents. It’s all in fun. We got a lot of princesses this year, several pirates, assorted goblins, and one Donald Trump. Talked with the neighbors who either bring their kids out, or are taking a break from candy giving. In my opinion, good fun. Immediately upon closing down at 9pm, all the ghostie and witch stuff has to be taken down because the next day is All Saints, a Holy Day in the Catholic Church when we remember the Saints who emulated Christ, burned with love for Him, and worked so hard on their prayer and behavior, always with their eyes on heaven. We remember all Saints this day, not only the ones everyone knows, Saints Peter and Paul, Saints Teresa and Therese, Saints Ann, Felicity, Perpetua, Agatha and Lucy who are praised in litanies, but the almost unknown ones who were martyred for their faith many so young… each one a love story for God. A love that exceeds their love for themselves. That people emulate saints and ask for saints to pray for them is both accepted and assumed in the Church. I read a lot that Jennifer Hubbard writes. She lost little Catherine Violet in the Sandy Hook massacre of little children in Newtown, Connecticut. She writes for All Saints Day: "The saints, trusting in the promise of their great reward in heaven, are examples of fulfilling a purpose not of this world. They are the miracles in our midst. They are the martyrs; they feed the hungry, embrace the sick, and clothe the naked. They are blessed, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (Luke 6:20). And i, through communion with them, am reminded in my seeking, mourning, sadness, and love, that, I, too, am blessed." We don’t worship Saints, we just remember what they did, ask for them to pray for us, and thank God for their beautiful lives that we can emulate. In the Saints’ humanity we can see the brightness of Christ. So, on November 1, we read Saint John’s vision in Revelation 7: 2-14, "These are the ones who wear white robes… washed white in the blood of the lamb." and we celebrate All Saints. The next day we celebrate and pray for All Souls. These are the people who have "passed on" in the hope that they too will see God’s face. We read the Scripture that tell us, "The souls of the just are in the hands of God, and no torment shall touch them. They seemed in the view of the foolish to be dead, and their passing away was thought an affliction, and their going forth from us, utter destruction, But they are in peace…" Read Wisdom 3:1-9 for the whole of this peaceful, prayerful reading of God’s promises. Saint Paul writes: "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit." ( Romans 5:5). As we weep for those who have passed on, our parents, our children, our friends, we must retain the hope that God would not let his beloved children suffer long. They are being purified if they need it, and we pray in faith that they will see the face of God. I think this is why mothers pray so much for their errant children! I know my mother prayed a lot for me to come back to the church. We have to want to see the face of God…. OK that is the amazing first three days of the last month of the Christian year which ends with the Feast of Jesus Christ King of Heaven and Earth, and then we go into Advent (and start the year all over again.) Let us pray hard this week for our hearts to be full of love, and for our country. God bless us and God bless America.
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