BAGUIA
We come at last to Allhallowtide.
I grew up thinking that this season was all
about ghouls and ghosts, that this was a legacy of the Celts.
But Halloween, or All Hallows’ (Saints’) Eve actually forms a triduum with our celebrations of All Saints’ and All Souls’ Days.
It is a Christian holiday, an opportune time to reflect on what the Church calls the last things.
Everything comes to an end on this side of life, and Allhallowtide brings to our minds thoughts of our possible destinations in the afterlife.
The horrors of Halloween remind us of the end of the unrepentant, the state of eternal separation from God called hell.
It would benefit us if we thought of the things that scared us the most to ponder how fearsome separation from God is. Irreparable divorce from the Almighty is as fearsome as our greatest fears multiplied an infinite number of times.
Repentance is the source of hope. It opens to us a path to meet the God who has been chasing us in spite of the decisions that in effect are escapes from his presence. May the horrors of Halloween, from the gargoyles on the heights of our churches to the modern-day fictions such as vampires and our own folkloric monsters serve as salutary reminders of the hell we must avoid.
If hell is separation from God, then in a way it is anticipated each time we participate in situations that put God out of the equation.
The fake news that goes against the commandment against lying, the extrajudicial killings that go against the commandment against killing, the normalization of rape that goes against the commandment against adultery, the economic inequality that goes against the commandment against stealing, the arrogance of leadership that goes against the commandment against worship of idols — all these are recreations or anticipations of hell because they operate without acknowledging God in the equation.
Halloween, the day to remember the grief that comes to those who deny God, ends with All Saints’ Day, the day of all the blessed, the day of the Church triumphant.
In this time of scandals from some of the highest officials of the Church, it would do us all well to remember that the Church shines in her saints, canonized or otherwise, known or unknown.
The pillars of the Church are not her officials. The pillars of the Church are her saints. The church still stands because of their infinite merits in the Holy of Holies, Christ Jesus himself.
All Souls’ Day is for the souls of the departed, whose fate we do not know but whom we commend to the mercy of God. We do not have access to anyone’s conscience. Their final destiny is up to the Lord, merciful yet judge, so we pray for them, knowing that his love, for those who may still need purification in his eyes, is what purifies, and love listens.
May all of us take heed of the messages of Allhallowtide. May these holy days do our souls well.