I guess I have gotten to the part of my life where I am more excited about All Souls Day than All Hallows Eve.
Sure I enjoy the cultural baggage tied up with Halloween as I am a long-time horror movie junkie. And there are favorite books I like to revisit at this time of year. (The Haunting of Hill House, Something Wicked This Way Comes, etc).
Still, I am now more prone to praying for the dead than watching The Living Dead. Looking more forward to the blessings of the graves on Tuesday and Mass in our historic church afterward. It really is a blessing that my parish has a cemetery adjacent to the historic church. I wish all parishes could have one on property. There is of course the Memento mori aspect, but praying for the dead should be a constant reminder for all of us. It puts a lot of things more into perspective, especially the salvation of souls as an ongoing mission.
Plus I am also thinking more of All Saints Day and all the unknown saints. That praying for the dead, in God’s plan, contributes to their eventual (however time works in aeviternity) being in the beatific vision. One of my intercessions with passed-on loved ones is for them to pray for me and others that we draw closer to Christ, just as they are.
There are many tragedies involved with the Protestant Revolt, but the loss of the idea of praying for your loved ones is a major one. Of asking them to pray for you and others. We seemed to have lost so much intercessory power by this being so. Thankfully God is not limited by our stupidity (which I am personally thankful for).
So tomorrow we can be thankful for those who died in friendship with God and enjoy the beatific vision. Along with the day after that for those on the path of purification towards that.
Part of this musing was sparked by Amy Welborn’s post ‘Unhappy Reformation Day!’
