Today is All Hallows’ Eve – also known as Halloween – which, as the name implies, is the eve of the Feast of All Hallows or, as it is better known, the Feast of All Saints.
“Halloween is the first in a sort of “triduum of the dead” which includes All Saints tomorrow and the Feast of All Souls the day after,” explains Rich Budd, Director of Marriage and Family Life for the Diocese of Lansing, October 31.
“Often, Christian parents wonder if they should let their children celebrate Halloween. The answer is a resounding ‘Yes’ and for two reasons. Let me explain.”
“First, the day is all about celebrating the Communion of Saints. The Church Militant, those of us on Earth, are celebrating the lives of the Glorified in heaven and the lives of the Faithfully Departed who are undergoing purification. It is, from its roots, a Catholic holiday.”
“Secondly, the secular world has tried to appropriate our holiday and have perverted it. Halloween certainly always included the ‘spooky’ elements, but the point is not to glorify it. By dressing up, we are making light of the powers of darkness. They’ve lost the battle to the Power of Christ.”
“Dressing up as a ghost can also simply be a way to dress up as a soul in purgatory. The difference between the Catholic approach and the modern secular approach can be summed up nicely by the words of Saint Paul to the Thessalonians: ‘Do not grieve as others do who have no hope.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:13).”
“If the ghoulish and the darkness are the obsessed over in the celebration or considered the whole point of the holiday, then celebrating it is to grieve death like those who have no hope. For them, death is the final end.”
“However, to celebrate this day, even with the darker elements, as part of a larger celebration of the victory Christ has won in his Saints, then the proper balance is restored. Our celebration can declare, again, with Paul, ‘Death, where is your sting?!’ (1 Corinthians 15:55)”
“So, celebrate this day as part of a larger celebration of Christ’s victory lived out in the lives of his saints. Make tomorrow a true Feast commemorating the Saints, visit a cemetery to pray for the dead on All Souls, and give out full size candy bars to the trick-or-treaters. God Bless!”