By Father Michael Clark
This time of year all things seem to go orange don’t they? We suddenly become very interested in pumpkins and front yards are decorated with grotesques. It’s all a bit of fun isn’t it? Well yes, – and no.
First thing to make clear is: we are allowed to have fun. We are also allowed to play make-believe and tell stories. We’re even allowed to scare ourselves and play practical jokes. There is a line between innocent fun and superstition – and it is generally for parents, not priests, to discern where that is.
In fact, I find something hopeful in the attention the secular world gives to Hallowe’en, because it proves that deep down there is a longing for answers to the deeper questions of life, a sense of dissatisfaction in the finality of death, and an inbuilt desire to rage against, even to mock it.
The problem is we Catholics are not very good at picking up the baton and running with it. We have all these people celebrating a ‘feast’ whose very name is Catholic (Hallowe’en is the old English name for the Vigil of All Saints – October 31 is the day before All Saints, also known as All Hallows in older times. Hallowe’en is just a contraction of All Hallows’ Even) yet we do nothing to bring them further and deeper.
Even the carved pumpkins are originally Catholic! They come from the tradition in England and Ireland of placing lanterns made out of turnips on the graves of loved ones. Over time these lanterns were elaborately carved, even with faces, because they represented a soul. Similarly the tradition of ‘trick or treat’ has its origins in the handing out of soul cakes – candy – in return for a promise to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory.
This year, our ‘soul lights’ will return at Sacred Heart once again. Why not dedicate a candle or two this year in memory of your loved ones? It is a beautiful tradition that demonstrates our prayer and attention for our deceased relatives and friends. Each light around the church represents a person – and when you drive past and see them at night, you will see them as members of the Church – not forgotten, but loved and prayed for. Perhaps others who see them will be moved to pray too – and thus our private memorial becomes a public witness of faith in Christ.
Why not come out on November 2 and see the lights and hear the Bede Roll (the roll call of names) – you can even partake in a ‘soul cake’ too, but remember to pray for a soul if you do!
God bless you all.
Father Michael Clark is the rector of the Guild of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Georgetown Oratory.
