Maybe it is just me, but the month of October seems to have passed by more quickly than usual this year. The days are getting noticeably shorter and they are (finally!) getting a little cooler too. Secular society is starting to focus us the upcoming “holiday season” of Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas. This isn’t entirely bad, but as Catholics we should have a different focus as we begin to approach the end of the calendar year. We even have our own feasts, celebrations, and customs for this time of year.
Halloween is a fun holiday for children, as many get to dress up in silly costumes and beg strangers for candy. The older name of the holiday, “All Hallows Eve,” shows us its true origin. It is the evening before, the “eve”, All Saints, the feast of all the hallowed–the holy–ones. I’m not sure where the haunted houses, the spooky decorations, and the ghostly decorations came from, because they are the opposite of what we should be celebrating on the eve of All Saints. On All Saints, we celebrate the victory of the holy men and women who have joined Christ in Heaven. Perhaps these other things were originally done as a way to mock the failure of the devil against the saints in Heaven, but our culture has taken things too far and lost sight of the truth on this holiday. If we dress up as anything, we should dress up as people we want to be like, and who better than the saints in Heaven? The saints have lived life and won the prize of Heaven!
After the joy of All Saints Day on November 1 (which is not a holy day of obligation this year), we celebrate All Souls Day on November 2. This day a very solemn day for the church, because on this day we lift up in prayer all of our brothers and sisters who have died. While some of them may be in the joy of heaven already, many more are in need of our prayers to assist them. One of the most important things to remember about our church is that each of us is connected to each other. The saints pray for and assist us, and we pray for those who have died and are still experiencing the purification of their hearts before they are welcomed into the joy of Heaven. Those brothers and sisters of ours in the process of purification are unable to help themselves, so they must humbly accept our assistance.
The beginning of Advent is often in late November or early December, depending on what day of the week Christmas falls. (This year, Advent begins on November 30.) Advent is a great time to take stock of the blessings we’ve received this year and remember that all the good things we have come from God. Then, with gratitude in our hearts, we prepare to remember one of the greatest events in all of human history: the day that God took on human flesh and was born. On that day, he begins to give humanity the greatest gift we have ever received: freedom from the slavery of sin and the offer to follow him to eternal life. The truth of Christmas is easily forgotten amidst holiday parties and gift buying.
As Catholics, let’s celebrate this upcoming holiday season in a way that reminds ourselves and those around us of the joyful truth of the Gospel: God has saved us! Let’s refocus ourselves on the good that is worthy of emulation instead of “spooky” things on All Hallows Eve. When we celebrate Thanksgiving, let’s use it as a springboard for Advent, to remind us of the many good things God has given us. Finally, as we prepare for Christmas, let’s not rush into the parties so quickly that we don’t have any time to slow down and contemplate the incredible gift we all received on the day of Christ’s birth.