Hallowe'en - Eve of All Saints - Suggestions for Reclaiming this Christian Feast

Women for Faith and Family ^ | Helen Hull Hitchcock

[NYer]

A much more sensible practice, which retains the good but excludes all this occult trash.

Agreed! Here in the US, however, Halloween is now the premiere money making holiday for candy manufacturers. They have stimulated its growth into the grotesque .... follow the money trail. With time, it will catch on overseas as well.

Sadly, I know non-practicing catholics whose unbaptized children view this as "the" event of the year. It's been blown totally out of proportion, as has Christmas and Easter. Fast and pray!

[Ciexyz]

btt

[Diego1618]

Can you name him?

William Tell's boy??? I'm sorry NYer....but I haven't the foggiest.

[magisterium]

St. Sharbel?

[magisterium]

That's exactly what I wore as a second grader! After using a sparrow and a robin, with clips for feet, on my shoulder and finger, we used those bird props as Christmas tree decorations for years after!

[BizzeeMom]

"Bolinhas, bolinhas, a porta todas os santinhos" or, "candy, candy, for all the little saints at the door".

AAAWWWWW! That is SO nice!! :)

[NYer]

St. Sharbel?

Yes!!

Father of Truth

(The Last Prayer of Saint Charbel before he died)

 

Father of truth,

Here is your Son,

The sacrifice in which you are well pleased.

Accept him for he died for me.

So through him I shall be pardoned.

Here is the offering.

Take it from my hands

And so I shall be reconciled with you.

Remember not the sins that I have committed

In front of your Majesty.

Here is the blood which flowered on Golgotha

For my salvation and prays for me.

Out of consideration for this,

Accept my supplication.

I have committed many sins

But your mercy is great.

If you put them in the balance,

Your goodness will have more weight

Than the most mighty mountains.

Look not upon my sins,

But rather on what is offered for them,

For the offering and the sacrifice

Are even greater than the offences.

Because I have sinned,

Your beloved bore the nails and the spear.

His sufferings are enough to satisfy you.

By them I shall live.

Glory be to the Father who sent His Son for us.

Adoration be to the Son who has freed us and ensured our salvation.

Blessed be he who by his love has given life to all.

To him be the glory.

 

from the Maronite Liturgy.

[NYer]

William Tell's boy???

Lol!!! St. Sebastian.

[Salvation]

BTTT on All Hallow's Eve.

[Campion]

This was not wicca, but Celtic paganism. All Hallowed Eve and All Saint's Day replaced these.

Actually, All Saints Day was originally the Sunday after Pentecost, when we now celebrate Trinity Sunday. It still is, in the Byzantine Rite.

A medieval Pope moved the feast to November 1 in the Latin Rite because they were having trouble feeding the pilgrims in Rome. (As you might imagine in the days before freezing and canning, the larder could get a bit sparse in the late spring. All Saints' was the end of the pilgrimage season which started in Lent and hit its height at Easter.)

So, while Samhain coincides with All Saints' Day, putting All Saints' Day on November 1 had nothing to do with Samhain and everything to do with the state of Roman food supplies in late spring.

Also, I should point out that it's only the English and Dutch that calls Easter by a pagan name. Most of the rest of the world calls it by a name cognate to the Hebrew pesach (=Passover), or in Slavic countries, "Bright Night". (The following week is called "Bright Week".)

[Campion]

In Portugal, for instance, children go from door to door and request candy (at least in the country areas) but they do it on All Saints Day, Nov. 1, and they do not dress up as witches and ghosts. They also have a sweet little rhyme which they say when they knock on the door; "Bolinhas, bolinhas, a porta todas os santinhos" or, "candy, candy, for all the little saints at the door".

I've read that the custom of costumed trick-or-treaters started with children dressing up as their favorite saints. Martyrs, of course, are traditionally depicted with the instruments of their martyrdom, hence the costumes sometimes tended toward the macabre.

Maybe I should dress one of my sons up as Bl. Miguel Pro, and send him out carrying a rifle and some rope. Then again, he might get arrested. ;-)

[Salvation]

We just didi this. Probably had over 150 children and parents with Mass, parade of the Saints, games, food, free will offering.

It was great!

[Salvation]

Have fun!

Know Your Saints Quiz for families -- Catholic/Orthodox Caucus

[Salvation]

Halloween Prayers: Prayers and Collects for All Hallows Eve