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Article 1
Halloween or Hell-O-ween? 'Witch' the Hell is it?
The Three Days of Hell, Heaven and Purgatory
We have entered a period of time which, under the surface, could be said to be a battle between Heaven and Hell. Today, October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day—which traditionally begins with the liturgy of First Vespers on (October 31st) the evening before All Saints Day (November 1st)—has been turned into a glorification of pagan and diabolical customs. We will therefore, over the course of three days, a triduum of sorts, look at Hell (Halloween), Heaven (All Saints Day) and Purgatory (All Souls Day).
Sleeping Catholics Sleep-Walk With Their Ignorance
Pope St. Pius X lamented the ignorance of Catholics (read more here), saying that this ignorance was the Church's greatest enemy. We can understand why and one of the best examples of this is Halloween. We have been so "dumbed-down" in our Faith, that we readily accept what should be a totally Christian celebration (the First Vespers of the Feast of All Saints Day), but which has been aped by Satan and transformed into a pagan celebration at best, or a Satanic celebration at worst.
Neither one nor the other is pleasing to God. Yet we “go along to get along”, because everyone else does it, and we don’t really want to be seen as “spoilsports” or “religious fanatics” who can’t see that the children are only having a good time and people are showing them charity by giving them candy! Oh to what levels of stupidity an ignorant Catholic can sink! We fall into the sleep of ignorance and then we sleep-walk along the roads of ignorance into pagan practices, drugged by the sweet candy on offer! Some are just nonchalantly indifferent to what goes on, and think little of it, saying that we over-react in “putting-down” or criticizing Halloween—these are often those Catholics who also think little of their Catholic Faith and think that we are “religious fanatics” in trying to make everyone a saint!
Holy Scripture is vehement on the point of avoiding contact with pagans and their activities: “What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God … Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ saith the Lord, ‘and touch not the unclean thing!’” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17).
Halloween or Hell-O-Ween?
Few people know the history behind Halloween—they prefer to stop at the sweet superficial aspect of it, and have little or no clue about its origins. They are happy to pass over it with “two-bit” phrases or vague platitudes while smiling at the quaintness of much of the customs.
In a nutshell, Halloween has pagan origins, which the Church tried to replace with a Christian overtone, and which now has reverted back to pagan overtones. One could almost say it parallels the fate of the Church—which was born in a time of pagan darkness, Christianized much of that darkness, and is not falling back into an increasingly pagan atmosphere.
The Gods of Gentiles and Pagans Are Devils
Holy Scripture clearly tells us that: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5). “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “For you have provoked Him who made you, the eternal God, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God” (Baruch 4:7). God tells them to stop this devilish and hellish practice: “And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity” (Leviticus 17:7). Which leads St. Paul to warn us: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Pagan Celtic and Druid New Year
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient pagan Druid and Celtic festival of Samhain―variously pronounced as “sow-in”, “sah-win”, “sam-hayne” plus more. A Druid was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples. The pagan Celts―who lived over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France― It was the beginning of their new year and was generally celebrated on October 31st, but some preferred November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
Communication With The Dead
On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
It is one of the two “spirit-nights” each year, the other being Beltane. It is a ‘magical’ interval when the mundane laws of time and space are thought to be temporarily suspended, and the “Thin Veil” between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is thought to be easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the “Summerlands”. It is a time to study the “Dark Mysteries” and honor the “Dark Mother” and the “Dark Father”, symbolized by the “Crone” and her aged “Consort”.
To commemorate the event, Druids (the Celtic ‘priests’) built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the pagan Celtic deities. Originally the “Feast of the Dead” was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the “wandering dead”. Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.
The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
Human Sacrifice
“He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord: but he that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36).
There is a debate among scholars as to whether human sacrifices were performed during Druid/Celtic celebrations of Halloween. Of course modern druids will say that they were not. They say that the only evidence that this custom was practiced is a reference in an ancient Roman document by Julius Caesar (see below). We do know that human sacrifice was practiced among the Celts in ancient times because of several “bog men”, or mummies preserved in the peat bogs that show signs of ritual killing. Of course, there would be no remains of any humans that were sacrificed in the fire. At any rate, the word “bonfire” comes from a compound of the Middle English words bon (bone) and fir (fire) ... meaning a fire kindled upon bones.
The author Merle Severy, in his book The Celts (National Geographic, May 1977, pages 625-626), describes “the eve of Samhain... the start of the Celtic new year: “According to the Dinshenchas―a medieval collection of the lore of prominent places―firstborn children were sacrificed before a great idol to ensure fertility of cattle and crops. Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger. At this juncture of the old year and the new, our world and the otherworld opened up to each other. The dead returned, ghosts and demons were abroad, and the future could be seen.. . . Behind such Halloween games as bobbing for apples lie Celtic divination arts to discern who would marry, thrive, or die in the coming year. Behind the masks and mischief, the jack-o-lanterns and food offerings, lurk the fear of malevolent spirits and the rites to propitiate them.” Page 601 gives additional insight: “Tacitus tells us of the bloodstained Druid altars of Anglesey in Wales.”
Julius Caesar, speaking on Celtic sacrifices said: “The whole nation of the Gauls is greatly devoted to ritual observances, and for that reason those who are smitten with the more grievous maladies and who are engaged in the perils of battle either sacrifice human victims or vow so to do, employing the druids as ministers for such sacrifices. They believe, in effect, that, unless for a man's life a man's life be paid, the majesty of the immortal gods may not be appeased; and in public, as in private life they observe an ordinance of sacrifices of the same kind. Others use figures of immense size whose limbs, woven out of twigs, they fill with living men and set on fire, and the men perish in a sheet of flame. They believe that the execution of those who have been caught in the act of theft or robbery or some crime is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but when the supply of such fails they resort to the execution even of the innocent.”
The classical author, Diodorus Siculus, also reported scenes of human sacrifice by the Druids: “When they attempt divination upon important matters they practice a strange and incredible custom, for they kill a man by a knife-stab in the region above his midriff.” After the sacrificial victim fell dead ... “they foretell the future by the convulsions of his limbs and the pouring of his blood.”
The 1984 discovery of a sacrificial victim in Cheshire, England, helps validate the reality of ritualistic human sacrifice. The well-preserved young man had apparently belonged to an elite social class in the second century BC. After two sharp blows to the head, he had been strangled. Then, like the countless sacrifices to Aztec and Mayan gods, his body had been drained of the human blood needed to please and appease their gods
Here Come the Pagan Romans!
By 43 A.D., the pagan Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of pagan Roman origin were combined with the traditional pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. Pagan + Pagan = More Pagan.
The first pagan Roman celebration was Feralia, a day in late October, when the pagan Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the pagan Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
Throw-Out Devil & Put In Christ!
Early Christianity developed in an era of the Roman Empire during which many religions were practiced, that are, due to the lack of a better term, labeled paganism. Paganism is commonly used to refer to various, largely unconnected religions from the time period before and after the birth of Christ. The Church found itself in direct conflict with centuries of pagan—and sometimes barbarically evil—customs. Many of these pagan and evil customs the Church sought to Christianize—this was often done by keeping the timetable or schedule but replacing the pagan with the Christian, the evil replaced by good.
For the first 300 years or so, Christianity was on the defensive and largely kept a low profile due to persecution. After the time of the Emperor Constantine, more freedom was obtained—though freedom and persecution alternated, ebbed and flowed. The persecutions produced so many martyrs, that there were not enough days in the year to give each martyr his feast day. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all.
On May 13th, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13th to November 1st. By the 9th century the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted the older Celtic rites. In 1000 A.D., the Church would make November 2nd to be “All Souls’ Day”, a day to honor the dead. It is widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holy day (holiday).
All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Mass (“hallow” means “holy” as in “hallowed by Thy Name”), much like “Candlemas” on February 2nd, means “The Mass of Candles”) and the night before it was celebrated with the singing of First Vespers (which always starts the celebration of great feasts on the evening prior to the feast), and thus began to be called All-hallows Eve and Hallow-even’ [ing], eventually becoming Halloween. The word ‘'Halloween'’, therefore, is a contracted form of ''Holy Evening'' and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1st), when the Church traditionally remember the saints of bygone days; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ.
Christianizing the Pagan Samhain
As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their Faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31st and November 1st as the “Holy Evening” and Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the Gospel over pagan superstition.
There was no need to ''placate'' the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife — eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the ''tricks'' of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own journey to the true after life and Heaven; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution.
The Evolution of Halloween
“Trick-or-treating” is a modern tradition that probably finds its roots in the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The distribution of “soul cakes” was encouraged by the Church as a way to replace the ancient pagan practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given drinks, food and money—but the praying for souls gradually fell away into neglect. So it was a case of all pay, but no pray!
Dressing Up
“Dressing up” for Halloween gets it roots from the pagan custom of dressing up around the ‘sacred’(?) bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest, this practice originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause harm to their homes. A tradition obviously taken from the ancient Celtic pagans.
The Church would try to Christianize this “dressing up” and have folk dress up as saints. They would then organize a parade of saints on All Saints day.
Reaction and Action
Because of its Occult history and symbolism, many informed Christians avoid any activity that would appear to support, promote, or celebrate Halloween. Other Liberal Christians attempt to minimize the glorification of Halloween's Occult roots, by refusing to directly participate in costuming or activities where witchcraft, Satan, or demonic themes are prevalent. They feel that participation in Halloween and even trick-or-treating is acceptable if alternative costumes and themes are substituted. There is not total agreement among Christians concerning appropriate Christian responses to this pagan holiday.
Biblical Blast
The Bible has many warnings and examples of involvement with the Occult. Occult practices are an abomination to the Lord: “Neither let there be found among you any one that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) and Witchcraft was a crime punishable by death in the Old Testament: “Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live” (Exodus 22:18). The New Testament gives several examples of proper Christian response to the Occult: “And many of them who had followed curious [magical] arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all” (Acts 19:19); “What fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5) … “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works and served their idols, and it became a stumbling-block to them. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils” (Psalm 105:35-37).
Wicca and Halloween
Just before reaching a conclusion on the subject, let us find out what Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft, has to say about Halloween. Perhaps they view the day as simple fun and innocent neighborhood activity? “Shock” should be the only word to describe what the truth actually is on the matter. Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day. There is no question that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world.
Witch Way to Go
Here are some excerpts from a news report from ABC News (2009) on a typical witch!
“Patti Wigington is a soccer mom. She is the vice president of her local PTA. And she's a witch. This Saturday while her neighborhood outside Columbus, Ohio, is crawling with costumed witches in search of candy, Wigington and a group of other local witches will not be celebrating Halloween, but the new year festival Samhain, which also occurs October 31st. In her backyard, Wigington and six other local women, who make up her coven of witches, will stand in a circle, each holding a lit candle dedicated to a dead ancestor. They will offer an invocation in each direction of the four winds. They will build an altar upon which they will offer their deceased ancestors gifts of food and wine and “celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year… and do a ritual that honors death.”
“Look,” she says, “We welcome and celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year. It's at this time of year we communicate with the spirit world and we honor the spirit world,” said Wigington, who writes extensively about her Faith and hosts the page on paganism and Wicca at about.com. Wicca is a relatively new religion, which its practitioners say is based on ancient precepts. A hodgepodge of ancient European pagan practices and new age spirituality, Wicca is practiced by a small but growing number of Americans. In 2008, some 342,000 people identified themselves as Wiccans, up from 134,000 in 2001 and up significantly from 8,000 in 1990. Modern Wicca, which draws its practices mainly from pre-Christian Europe, was established in the U.K. in the 1950’s. Its popularity coincided with an in interest in other ancient religions that emphasize beliefs in magic and nature.
“Magical religions ― paganism, Wicca, the Earth-based religions – have really gone mainstream,” said Wigington. “The witches in Harry Potter are not wiccans, but it gets interested in wondering if magic could be real. The best thing that ever happened to Wicca is that it went mainstream, and the worst that happened is that it went mainstream.” The Rev. Don Lewis established the Witch School to train the next generation of practitioners of Wicca and other so-called natural religions. With some 250,000 students enrolled in online classes, the school recently moved its physical location from Illinois, to the a far more likely setting – Salem, Massechussets, home of the famous 1692 witch hunt. “Interest in Wicca has been building for years, but every year there is a spike in interest around Halloween. It's a huge advertising campaign the world runs for us,” he said. The practitioners all stressed that Wicca is in no way associated with Satanism or devil worship. “Satan is a Christian concept,” explained Fox. “We don't believe in him at all.”
The Occult and Halloween
While Halloween masquerades as childish fun and frolic, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, that on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween. Here are some testimonies from Satanists and writers on Satanism:
“Samhain: This is the Witch’s New Year and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow” (Silver RavenWolf, Teen Witch, p. 42). “Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed. . . Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals” (Gerina Dunwich, The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120).
Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes: “After one's own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (Witches Night, May 1st) and Halloween” (Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, p. 96).
The Satanic High Priestess, Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween: “It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil ... I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Halloweens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts.”
The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween: “One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice—male or female.”
Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals, “Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists.” (Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192).
Precautions and Praycautions
The first thing is to be convinced that your enemy exists. The devil exists and we do not talk to the devil, we do not play with the devil. Some dangerous things to avoid include spells, charms, curses, witchcraft, ouija boards, seances and anything having to do with the occult. These kinds of things, some of them innocently done at children’s parties, are not only strictly forbidden by the Catholic Faith, but dangerous, in that they open us up to evil spirits, which are real and not just imaginary. Please don’t ever let your children/teens attend parties (especially popular at slumber parties) where there are seances and ouija boards and/or playing with spells and witchcraft. Ask beforehand what will be done at before allowing your children to attend parties. Witchcraft and spells are becoming more popular due to books and movies and somehow we need protect our children from these dangers of without getting them fascinated with them or making them seem interesting to them.
The chief spiritual weapons we have are, first of all, a state of grace—mortal sin puts us under the devil’s influence. Therefore frequent Confession and Holy Communion (in a state of grace) are the chief guardians of the state of grace. Much—once again, much prayer is another barrier—especially the prayer of the Holy Rosary—but well prayed, not just mechanically, routinely, hurriedly, distractedly said.
Remember the words of St. Louis de Montfort: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if — and mark well what I say — if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins” (The Secret of the Rosary, “A Red Rose”).
Add to this the use and wearing of blessed sacramentals—especially the Brown Scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Benedict Medal—these are big guns among the sacramentals. You can also wear a blessed Rosary too! Holy Water is another powerful weapon, as is a blessed crucifix (both are used in exorcisms).
What Does Vatican’s Chief Exorcist Think?
Fr. Gabriele Amorth (born 1925, ordained a priest in 1954, became an exorcist in 1986) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and former chief exorcist (now retired) of the Diocese of Rome, who has performed thousands of exorcisms. Fr. Amorth says: “Halloween is a trick of the devil. It is pagan, anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. It the creation of a devil and an obstacle to holiness and disrupts the plans of God. The young people follow fads and the devil knows how to use them. To celebrate Halloween is to give the devil a ‘Hosanna’! Which, if loved, even if it’s only for one night, gives the devil a claim or rights over that person …
“I'm very sad to see that Italy, like the rest of Europe, is moving away from the Lord Jesus, and is even paying homage to Satan … Halloween is a kind of a séance, which is presented in the form of game. The cunning of the devil is here. If you notice everything is presented in a playful, innocent manner. Sin is no longer a sin in today's world. But everything comes disguised in the form of a need, a freedom, or a personal pleasure. I think that society is losing its mind, losing the sense of the meaning of life, losing the use of reason, and is becoming increasingly sick. People have lost the Faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or ouija boards have taken its place, which then opens all the doors to the presence of demons.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former Vatican Chief Exorcist).
You will do what you want to do, and that is your responsibility and accountability will be demanded on the Day of Judgment. Too many things are taken lightly today, even sacred things like the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or the Holy Eucharist, or prayer. We have rapidly degenerated into "Cotton-Candy Catholics" ("Candy-Floss Catholics" in the vocabulary of our overseas readers)—light on knowledge and soft in substance when it comes to the Faith. Halloween is only just one example of our decadence.
We have entered a period of time which, under the surface, could be said to be a battle between Heaven and Hell. Today, October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day—which traditionally begins with the liturgy of First Vespers on (October 31st) the evening before All Saints Day (November 1st)—has been turned into a glorification of pagan and diabolical customs. We will therefore, over the course of three days, a triduum of sorts, look at Hell (Halloween), Heaven (All Saints Day) and Purgatory (All Souls Day).
Sleeping Catholics Sleep-Walk With Their Ignorance
Pope St. Pius X lamented the ignorance of Catholics (read more here), saying that this ignorance was the Church's greatest enemy. We can understand why and one of the best examples of this is Halloween. We have been so "dumbed-down" in our Faith, that we readily accept what should be a totally Christian celebration (the First Vespers of the Feast of All Saints Day), but which has been aped by Satan and transformed into a pagan celebration at best, or a Satanic celebration at worst.
Neither one nor the other is pleasing to God. Yet we “go along to get along”, because everyone else does it, and we don’t really want to be seen as “spoilsports” or “religious fanatics” who can’t see that the children are only having a good time and people are showing them charity by giving them candy! Oh to what levels of stupidity an ignorant Catholic can sink! We fall into the sleep of ignorance and then we sleep-walk along the roads of ignorance into pagan practices, drugged by the sweet candy on offer! Some are just nonchalantly indifferent to what goes on, and think little of it, saying that we over-react in “putting-down” or criticizing Halloween—these are often those Catholics who also think little of their Catholic Faith and think that we are “religious fanatics” in trying to make everyone a saint!
Holy Scripture is vehement on the point of avoiding contact with pagans and their activities: “What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God … Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ saith the Lord, ‘and touch not the unclean thing!’” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17).
Halloween or Hell-O-Ween?
Few people know the history behind Halloween—they prefer to stop at the sweet superficial aspect of it, and have little or no clue about its origins. They are happy to pass over it with “two-bit” phrases or vague platitudes while smiling at the quaintness of much of the customs.
In a nutshell, Halloween has pagan origins, which the Church tried to replace with a Christian overtone, and which now has reverted back to pagan overtones. One could almost say it parallels the fate of the Church—which was born in a time of pagan darkness, Christianized much of that darkness, and is not falling back into an increasingly pagan atmosphere.
The Gods of Gentiles and Pagans Are Devils
Holy Scripture clearly tells us that: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5). “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “For you have provoked Him who made you, the eternal God, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God” (Baruch 4:7). God tells them to stop this devilish and hellish practice: “And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity” (Leviticus 17:7). Which leads St. Paul to warn us: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Pagan Celtic and Druid New Year
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient pagan Druid and Celtic festival of Samhain―variously pronounced as “sow-in”, “sah-win”, “sam-hayne” plus more. A Druid was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples. The pagan Celts―who lived over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France― It was the beginning of their new year and was generally celebrated on October 31st, but some preferred November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
Communication With The Dead
On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
It is one of the two “spirit-nights” each year, the other being Beltane. It is a ‘magical’ interval when the mundane laws of time and space are thought to be temporarily suspended, and the “Thin Veil” between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is thought to be easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the “Summerlands”. It is a time to study the “Dark Mysteries” and honor the “Dark Mother” and the “Dark Father”, symbolized by the “Crone” and her aged “Consort”.
To commemorate the event, Druids (the Celtic ‘priests’) built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the pagan Celtic deities. Originally the “Feast of the Dead” was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the “wandering dead”. Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.
The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
Human Sacrifice
“He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord: but he that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36).
There is a debate among scholars as to whether human sacrifices were performed during Druid/Celtic celebrations of Halloween. Of course modern druids will say that they were not. They say that the only evidence that this custom was practiced is a reference in an ancient Roman document by Julius Caesar (see below). We do know that human sacrifice was practiced among the Celts in ancient times because of several “bog men”, or mummies preserved in the peat bogs that show signs of ritual killing. Of course, there would be no remains of any humans that were sacrificed in the fire. At any rate, the word “bonfire” comes from a compound of the Middle English words bon (bone) and fir (fire) ... meaning a fire kindled upon bones.
The author Merle Severy, in his book The Celts (National Geographic, May 1977, pages 625-626), describes “the eve of Samhain... the start of the Celtic new year: “According to the Dinshenchas―a medieval collection of the lore of prominent places―firstborn children were sacrificed before a great idol to ensure fertility of cattle and crops. Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger. At this juncture of the old year and the new, our world and the otherworld opened up to each other. The dead returned, ghosts and demons were abroad, and the future could be seen.. . . Behind such Halloween games as bobbing for apples lie Celtic divination arts to discern who would marry, thrive, or die in the coming year. Behind the masks and mischief, the jack-o-lanterns and food offerings, lurk the fear of malevolent spirits and the rites to propitiate them.” Page 601 gives additional insight: “Tacitus tells us of the bloodstained Druid altars of Anglesey in Wales.”
Julius Caesar, speaking on Celtic sacrifices said: “The whole nation of the Gauls is greatly devoted to ritual observances, and for that reason those who are smitten with the more grievous maladies and who are engaged in the perils of battle either sacrifice human victims or vow so to do, employing the druids as ministers for such sacrifices. They believe, in effect, that, unless for a man's life a man's life be paid, the majesty of the immortal gods may not be appeased; and in public, as in private life they observe an ordinance of sacrifices of the same kind. Others use figures of immense size whose limbs, woven out of twigs, they fill with living men and set on fire, and the men perish in a sheet of flame. They believe that the execution of those who have been caught in the act of theft or robbery or some crime is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but when the supply of such fails they resort to the execution even of the innocent.”
The classical author, Diodorus Siculus, also reported scenes of human sacrifice by the Druids: “When they attempt divination upon important matters they practice a strange and incredible custom, for they kill a man by a knife-stab in the region above his midriff.” After the sacrificial victim fell dead ... “they foretell the future by the convulsions of his limbs and the pouring of his blood.”
The 1984 discovery of a sacrificial victim in Cheshire, England, helps validate the reality of ritualistic human sacrifice. The well-preserved young man had apparently belonged to an elite social class in the second century BC. After two sharp blows to the head, he had been strangled. Then, like the countless sacrifices to Aztec and Mayan gods, his body had been drained of the human blood needed to please and appease their gods
Here Come the Pagan Romans!
By 43 A.D., the pagan Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of pagan Roman origin were combined with the traditional pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. Pagan + Pagan = More Pagan.
The first pagan Roman celebration was Feralia, a day in late October, when the pagan Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the pagan Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
Throw-Out Devil & Put In Christ!
Early Christianity developed in an era of the Roman Empire during which many religions were practiced, that are, due to the lack of a better term, labeled paganism. Paganism is commonly used to refer to various, largely unconnected religions from the time period before and after the birth of Christ. The Church found itself in direct conflict with centuries of pagan—and sometimes barbarically evil—customs. Many of these pagan and evil customs the Church sought to Christianize—this was often done by keeping the timetable or schedule but replacing the pagan with the Christian, the evil replaced by good.
For the first 300 years or so, Christianity was on the defensive and largely kept a low profile due to persecution. After the time of the Emperor Constantine, more freedom was obtained—though freedom and persecution alternated, ebbed and flowed. The persecutions produced so many martyrs, that there were not enough days in the year to give each martyr his feast day. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all.
On May 13th, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13th to November 1st. By the 9th century the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted the older Celtic rites. In 1000 A.D., the Church would make November 2nd to be “All Souls’ Day”, a day to honor the dead. It is widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holy day (holiday).
All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Mass (“hallow” means “holy” as in “hallowed by Thy Name”), much like “Candlemas” on February 2nd, means “The Mass of Candles”) and the night before it was celebrated with the singing of First Vespers (which always starts the celebration of great feasts on the evening prior to the feast), and thus began to be called All-hallows Eve and Hallow-even’ [ing], eventually becoming Halloween. The word ‘'Halloween'’, therefore, is a contracted form of ''Holy Evening'' and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1st), when the Church traditionally remember the saints of bygone days; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ.
Christianizing the Pagan Samhain
As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their Faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31st and November 1st as the “Holy Evening” and Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the Gospel over pagan superstition.
There was no need to ''placate'' the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife — eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the ''tricks'' of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own journey to the true after life and Heaven; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution.
The Evolution of Halloween
“Trick-or-treating” is a modern tradition that probably finds its roots in the early All Souls' Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family's dead relatives. The distribution of “soul cakes” was encouraged by the Church as a way to replace the ancient pagan practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given drinks, food and money—but the praying for souls gradually fell away into neglect. So it was a case of all pay, but no pray!
Dressing Up
“Dressing up” for Halloween gets it roots from the pagan custom of dressing up around the ‘sacred’(?) bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest, this practice originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause harm to their homes. A tradition obviously taken from the ancient Celtic pagans.
The Church would try to Christianize this “dressing up” and have folk dress up as saints. They would then organize a parade of saints on All Saints day.
Reaction and Action
Because of its Occult history and symbolism, many informed Christians avoid any activity that would appear to support, promote, or celebrate Halloween. Other Liberal Christians attempt to minimize the glorification of Halloween's Occult roots, by refusing to directly participate in costuming or activities where witchcraft, Satan, or demonic themes are prevalent. They feel that participation in Halloween and even trick-or-treating is acceptable if alternative costumes and themes are substituted. There is not total agreement among Christians concerning appropriate Christian responses to this pagan holiday.
Biblical Blast
The Bible has many warnings and examples of involvement with the Occult. Occult practices are an abomination to the Lord: “Neither let there be found among you any one that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) and Witchcraft was a crime punishable by death in the Old Testament: “Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live” (Exodus 22:18). The New Testament gives several examples of proper Christian response to the Occult: “And many of them who had followed curious [magical] arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all” (Acts 19:19); “What fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5) … “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works and served their idols, and it became a stumbling-block to them. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils” (Psalm 105:35-37).
Wicca and Halloween
Just before reaching a conclusion on the subject, let us find out what Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft, has to say about Halloween. Perhaps they view the day as simple fun and innocent neighborhood activity? “Shock” should be the only word to describe what the truth actually is on the matter. Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day. There is no question that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world.
Witch Way to Go
Here are some excerpts from a news report from ABC News (2009) on a typical witch!
“Patti Wigington is a soccer mom. She is the vice president of her local PTA. And she's a witch. This Saturday while her neighborhood outside Columbus, Ohio, is crawling with costumed witches in search of candy, Wigington and a group of other local witches will not be celebrating Halloween, but the new year festival Samhain, which also occurs October 31st. In her backyard, Wigington and six other local women, who make up her coven of witches, will stand in a circle, each holding a lit candle dedicated to a dead ancestor. They will offer an invocation in each direction of the four winds. They will build an altar upon which they will offer their deceased ancestors gifts of food and wine and “celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year… and do a ritual that honors death.”
“Look,” she says, “We welcome and celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year. It's at this time of year we communicate with the spirit world and we honor the spirit world,” said Wigington, who writes extensively about her Faith and hosts the page on paganism and Wicca at about.com. Wicca is a relatively new religion, which its practitioners say is based on ancient precepts. A hodgepodge of ancient European pagan practices and new age spirituality, Wicca is practiced by a small but growing number of Americans. In 2008, some 342,000 people identified themselves as Wiccans, up from 134,000 in 2001 and up significantly from 8,000 in 1990. Modern Wicca, which draws its practices mainly from pre-Christian Europe, was established in the U.K. in the 1950’s. Its popularity coincided with an in interest in other ancient religions that emphasize beliefs in magic and nature.
“Magical religions ― paganism, Wicca, the Earth-based religions – have really gone mainstream,” said Wigington. “The witches in Harry Potter are not wiccans, but it gets interested in wondering if magic could be real. The best thing that ever happened to Wicca is that it went mainstream, and the worst that happened is that it went mainstream.” The Rev. Don Lewis established the Witch School to train the next generation of practitioners of Wicca and other so-called natural religions. With some 250,000 students enrolled in online classes, the school recently moved its physical location from Illinois, to the a far more likely setting – Salem, Massechussets, home of the famous 1692 witch hunt. “Interest in Wicca has been building for years, but every year there is a spike in interest around Halloween. It's a huge advertising campaign the world runs for us,” he said. The practitioners all stressed that Wicca is in no way associated with Satanism or devil worship. “Satan is a Christian concept,” explained Fox. “We don't believe in him at all.”
The Occult and Halloween
While Halloween masquerades as childish fun and frolic, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, that on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween. Here are some testimonies from Satanists and writers on Satanism:
“Samhain: This is the Witch’s New Year and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow” (Silver RavenWolf, Teen Witch, p. 42). “Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed. . . Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals” (Gerina Dunwich, The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120).
Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes: “After one's own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (Witches Night, May 1st) and Halloween” (Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, p. 96).
The Satanic High Priestess, Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween: “It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil ... I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Halloweens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts.”
The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween: “One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice—male or female.”
Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals, “Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists.” (Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192).
Precautions and Praycautions
The first thing is to be convinced that your enemy exists. The devil exists and we do not talk to the devil, we do not play with the devil. Some dangerous things to avoid include spells, charms, curses, witchcraft, ouija boards, seances and anything having to do with the occult. These kinds of things, some of them innocently done at children’s parties, are not only strictly forbidden by the Catholic Faith, but dangerous, in that they open us up to evil spirits, which are real and not just imaginary. Please don’t ever let your children/teens attend parties (especially popular at slumber parties) where there are seances and ouija boards and/or playing with spells and witchcraft. Ask beforehand what will be done at before allowing your children to attend parties. Witchcraft and spells are becoming more popular due to books and movies and somehow we need protect our children from these dangers of without getting them fascinated with them or making them seem interesting to them.
The chief spiritual weapons we have are, first of all, a state of grace—mortal sin puts us under the devil’s influence. Therefore frequent Confession and Holy Communion (in a state of grace) are the chief guardians of the state of grace. Much—once again, much prayer is another barrier—especially the prayer of the Holy Rosary—but well prayed, not just mechanically, routinely, hurriedly, distractedly said.
Remember the words of St. Louis de Montfort: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if — and mark well what I say — if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins” (The Secret of the Rosary, “A Red Rose”).
Add to this the use and wearing of blessed sacramentals—especially the Brown Scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Benedict Medal—these are big guns among the sacramentals. You can also wear a blessed Rosary too! Holy Water is another powerful weapon, as is a blessed crucifix (both are used in exorcisms).
What Does Vatican’s Chief Exorcist Think?
Fr. Gabriele Amorth (born 1925, ordained a priest in 1954, became an exorcist in 1986) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and former chief exorcist (now retired) of the Diocese of Rome, who has performed thousands of exorcisms. Fr. Amorth says: “Halloween is a trick of the devil. It is pagan, anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. It the creation of a devil and an obstacle to holiness and disrupts the plans of God. The young people follow fads and the devil knows how to use them. To celebrate Halloween is to give the devil a ‘Hosanna’! Which, if loved, even if it’s only for one night, gives the devil a claim or rights over that person …
“I'm very sad to see that Italy, like the rest of Europe, is moving away from the Lord Jesus, and is even paying homage to Satan … Halloween is a kind of a séance, which is presented in the form of game. The cunning of the devil is here. If you notice everything is presented in a playful, innocent manner. Sin is no longer a sin in today's world. But everything comes disguised in the form of a need, a freedom, or a personal pleasure. I think that society is losing its mind, losing the sense of the meaning of life, losing the use of reason, and is becoming increasingly sick. People have lost the Faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or ouija boards have taken its place, which then opens all the doors to the presence of demons.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former Vatican Chief Exorcist).
You will do what you want to do, and that is your responsibility and accountability will be demanded on the Day of Judgment. Too many things are taken lightly today, even sacred things like the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, or the Holy Eucharist, or prayer. We have rapidly degenerated into "Cotton-Candy Catholics" ("Candy-Floss Catholics" in the vocabulary of our overseas readers)—light on knowledge and soft in substance when it comes to the Faith. Halloween is only just one example of our decadence.
Article 2
Is it the Eve of Halloween or the Evil of Halloween?
The Three Days of Hell, Heaven and Purgatory
We have entered a period of time which, under the surface, could be said to be a battle between Heaven and Hell. Today, October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day—which traditionally begins with the liturgy of First Vespers on (October 31st) the evening before All Saints Day (November 1st)—has been turned into a glorification of pagan and diabolical customs. We will therefore, over the course of three days, a triduum of sorts, look at Hell (Halloween), Heaven (All Saints Day) and Purgatory (All Souls Day).
Sleeping Catholics Sleep-Walk With Their Ignorance
Pope St. Pius X lamented the ignorance of Catholics (read more here), saying that this ignorance was the Church’s greatest enemy. We can understand why and one of the best examples of this is Halloween. We have been so “dumbed-down” in our Faith, that we readily accept what should be a totally Christian celebration (the First Vespers of the Feast of All Saints Day), but which has been aped by Satan and transformed into a pagan celebration at best, or a Satanic celebration at worst.
Neither one nor the other is pleasing to God. Yet we “go along to get along”, because everyone else does it, and we don’t really want to be seen as “spoilsports” or “religious fanatics” who can’t see that the children are only having a good time and people are showing them charity by giving them candy! Oh to what levels of stupidity an ignorant Catholic can sink! We fall into the sleep of ignorance and then we sleep-walk along the roads of ignorance into pagan practices, drugged by the sweet candy on offer! Some are just nonchalantly indifferent to what goes on, and think little of it, saying that we over-react in “putting-down” or criticizing Halloween—these are often those Catholics who also think little of their Catholic Faith and think that we are “religious fanatics” in trying to make everyone a saint!
Holy Scripture is vehement on the point of avoiding contact with pagans and their activities: ”What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God … Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ saith the Lord, ‘and touch not the unclean thing!’” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17).
Halloween or Hell-O-Ween?
Few people know the history behind Halloween—they prefer to stop at the sweet superficial aspect of it, and have little or no clue about its origins. They are happy to pass over it with “two-bit” phrases or vague platitudes while smiling at the quaintness of much of the customs.
In a nutshell, Halloween has pagan origins, which the Church tried to replace with a Christian overtone, and which now has reverted back to pagan overtones. One could almost say it parallels the fate of the Church—which was born in a time of pagan darkness, Christianized much of that darkness, and is not falling back into an increasingly pagan atmosphere.
The Gods of Gentiles and Pagans Are Devils
Holy Scripture clearly tells us that: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5). “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “For you have provoked Him who made you, the eternal God, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God” (Baruch 4:7). God tells them to stop this devilish and hellish practice: “And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity” (Leviticus 17:7). Which leads St. Paul to warn us: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Pagan Celtic and Druid New Year
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient pagan Druid and Celtic festival of Samhain―variously pronounced as “sow-in”, “sah-win”, “sam-hayne” plus more. A Druid was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples. The pagan Celts―who lived over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France― It was the beginning of their new year and was generally celebrated on October 31st, but some preferred November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
Communication With The Dead
On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
It is one of the two “spirit-nights” each year, the other being Beltane. It is a ‘magical’ interval when the mundane laws of time and space are thought to be temporarily suspended, and the “Thin Veil” between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is thought to be easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the “Summerlands”. It is a time to study the “Dark Mysteries” and honor the “Dark Mother” and the “Dark Father”, symbolized by the “Crone” and her aged “Consort”.
To commemorate the event, Druids (the Celtic ‘priests’) built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the pagan Celtic deities. Originally the “Feast of the Dead” was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the “wandering dead”. Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.
The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
Human Sacrifice
“He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord: but he that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36).
There is a debate among scholars as to whether human sacrifices were performed during Druid/Celtic celebrations of Halloween. Of course modern druids will say that they were not. They say that the only evidence that this custom was practiced is a reference in an ancient Roman document by Julius Caesar (see below). We do know that human sacrifice was practiced among the Celts in ancient times because of several “bog men”, or mummies preserved in the peat bogs that show signs of ritual killing. Of course, there would be no remains of any humans that were sacrificed in the fire. At any rate, the word “bonfire” comes from a compound of the Middle English words bon (bone) and fir (fire) ... meaning a fire kindled upon bones.
The author Merle Severy, in his book The Celts (National Geographic, May 1977, pages 625-626), describes “the eve of Samhain... the start of the Celtic new year: “According to the Dinshenchas―a medieval collection of the lore of prominent places―firstborn children were sacrificed before a great idol to ensure fertility of cattle and crops. Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger. At this juncture of the old year and the new, our world and the otherworld opened up to each other. The dead returned, ghosts and demons were abroad, and the future could be seen.. . . Behind such Halloween games as bobbing for apples lie Celtic divination arts to discern who would marry, thrive, or die in the coming year. Behind the masks and mischief, the jack-o-lanterns and food offerings, lurk the fear of malevolent spirits and the rites to propitiate them.” Page 601 gives additional insight: “Tacitus tells us of the bloodstained Druid altars of Anglesey in Wales.”
Julius Caesar, speaking on Celtic sacrifices said: “The whole nation of the Gauls is greatly devoted to ritual observances, and for that reason those who are smitten with the more grievous maladies and who are engaged in the perils of battle either sacrifice human victims or vow so to do, employing the druids as ministers for such sacrifices. They believe, in effect, that, unless for a man’s life a man’s life be paid, the majesty of the immortal gods may not be appeased; and in public, as in private life they observe an ordinance of sacrifices of the same kind. Others use figures of immense size whose limbs, woven out of twigs, they fill with living men and set on fire, and the men perish in a sheet of flame. They believe that the execution of those who have been caught in the act of theft or robbery or some crime is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but when the supply of such fails they resort to the execution even of the innocent.”
The classical author, Diodorus Siculus, also reported scenes of human sacrifice by the Druids: “When they attempt divination upon important matters they practice a strange and incredible custom, for they kill a man by a knife-stab in the region above his midriff.” After the sacrificial victim fell dead ... “they foretell the future by the convulsions of his limbs and the pouring of his blood.”
The 1984 discovery of a sacrificial victim in Cheshire, England, helps validate the reality of ritualistic human sacrifice. The well-preserved young man had apparently belonged to an elite social class in the second century BC. After two sharp blows to the head, he had been strangled. Then, like the countless sacrifices to Aztec and Mayan gods, his body had been drained of the human blood needed to please and appease their gods
Here Come the Pagan Romans!
By 43 A.D., the pagan Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of pagan Roman origin were combined with the traditional pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. Pagan + Pagan = More Pagan.
The first pagan Roman celebration was Feralia, a day in late October, when the pagan Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the pagan Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
Throw-Out Devil & Put In Christ!
Early Christianity developed in an era of the Roman Empire during which many religions were practiced, that are, due to the lack of a better term, labeled paganism. Paganism is commonly used to refer to various, largely unconnected religions from the time period before and after the birth of Christ. The Church found itself in direct conflict with centuries of pagan—and sometimes barbarically evil—customs. Many of these pagan and evil customs the Church sought to Christianize—this was often done by keeping the timetable or schedule but replacing the pagan with the Christian, the evil replaced by good.
For the first 300 years or so, Christianity was on the defensive and largely kept a low profile due to persecution. After the time of the Emperor Constantine, more freedom was obtained—though freedom and persecution alternated, ebbed and flowed. The persecutions produced so many martyrs, that there were not enough days in the year to give each martyr his feast day. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all.
On May 13th, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13th to November 1st. By the 9th century the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted the older Celtic rites. In 1000 A.D., the Church would make November 2nd to be “All Souls’ Day”, a day to honor the dead. It is widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holy day (holiday).
All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Mass (“hallow” means “holy” as in “hallowed by Thy Name”), much like “Candlemas” on February 2nd, means “The Mass of Candles”) and the night before it was celebrated with the singing of First Vespers (which always starts the celebration of great feasts on the evening prior to the feast), and thus began to be called All-hallows Eve and Hallow-even’ [ing], eventually becoming Halloween. The word ‘‘Halloween’’, therefore, is a contracted form of ‘‘Holy Evening’’ and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1st), when the Church traditionally remember the saints of bygone days; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ.
Christianizing the Pagan Samhain
As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their Faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31st and November 1st as the “Holy Evening” and Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the Gospel over pagan superstition.
There was no need to ‘‘placate’’ the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife — eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the ‘‘tricks’’ of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own journey to the true after life and Heaven; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution.
The Evolution of Halloween
“Trick-or-treating” is a modern tradition that probably finds it’s roots in the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. The distribution of “soul cakes” was encouraged by the Church as a way to replace the ancient pagan practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given drinks, food and money—but the praying for souls gradually fell away into neglect. So it was a case of all pay, but no pray!
Dressing Up
“Dressing up” for Halloween gets it roots from the pagan custom of dressing up around the ‘sacred’(?) bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest, this practice originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause harm to their homes. A tradition obviously taken from the ancient Celtic pagans.
The Church would try to Christianize this “dressing up” and have folk dress up as saints. They would then organize a parade of saints on All Saints day.
Reaction and Action
Because of its Occult history and symbolism, many informed Christians avoid any activity that would appear to support, promote, or celebrate Halloween. Other Liberal Christians attempt to minimize the glorification of Halloween’s Occult roots, by refusing to directly participate in costuming or activities where witchcraft, Satan, or demonic themes are prevalent. They feel that participation in Halloween and even trick-or-treating is acceptable if alternative costumes and themes are substituted. There is not total agreement among Christians concerning appropriate Christian responses to this pagan holiday.
Biblical Blast
The Bible has many warnings and examples of involvement with the Occult. Occult practices are an abomination to the Lord: “Neither let there be found among you any one that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) and Witchcraft was a crime punishable by death in the Old Testament: “Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live” (Exodus 22:18). The New Testament gives several examples of proper Christian response to the Occult: “And many of them who had followed curious [magical] arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all” (Acts 19:19); “What fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5) … “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works and served their idols, and it became a stumbling-block to them. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils” (Psalm 105:35-37).
Wicca and Halloween
Just before reaching a conclusion on the subject, let us find out what Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft, has to say about Halloween. Perhaps they view the day as simple fun and innocent neighborhood activity? “Shock” should be the only word to describe what the truth actually is on the matter. Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day. There is no question that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world.
Witch Way to Go
Here are some excerpts from a news report from ABC News (2009) on a typical witch!
“Patti Wigington is a soccer mom. She is the vice president of her local PTA. And she’s a witch. This Saturday while her neighborhood outside Columbus, Ohio, is crawling with costumed witches in search of candy, Wigington and a group of other local witches will not be celebrating Halloween, but the new year festival Samhain, which also occurs October 31st. In her backyard, Wigington and six other local women, who make up her coven of witches, will stand in a circle, each holding a lit candle dedicated to a dead ancestor. They will offer an invocation in each direction of the four winds. They will build an altar upon which they will offer their deceased ancestors gifts of food and wine and “celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year… and do a ritual that honors death.”
“Look,” she says, “We welcome and celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year. It’s at this time of year we communicate with the spirit world and we honor the spirit world,” said Wigington, who writes extensively about her Faith and hosts the page on paganism and Wicca at about.com. Wicca is a relatively new religion, which its practitioners say is based on ancient precepts. A hodgepodge of ancient European pagan practices and new age spirituality, Wicca is practiced by a small but growing number of Americans. In 2008, some 342,000 people identified themselves as Wiccans, up from 134,000 in 2001 and up significantly from 8,000 in 1990. Modern Wicca, which draws its practices mainly from pre-Christian Europe, was established in the U.K. in the 1950’s. Its popularity coincided with an in interest in other ancient religions that emphasize beliefs in magic and nature.
“Magical religions ― paganism, Wicca, the Earth-based religions – have really gone mainstream,” said Wigington. “The witches in Harry Potter are not wiccans, but it gets interested in wondering if magic could be real. The best thing that ever happened to Wicca is that it went mainstream, and the worst that happened is that it went mainstream.” The Rev. Don Lewis established the Witch School to train the next generation of practitioners of Wicca and other so-called natural religions. With some 250,000 students enrolled in online classes, the school recently moved its physical location from Illinois, to the a far more likely setting – Salem, Massechussets, home of the famous 1692 witch hunt. “Interest in Wicca has been building for years, but every year there is a spike in interest around Halloween. It’s a huge advertising campaign the world runs for us,” he said. The practitioners all stressed that Wicca is in no way associated with Satanism or devil worship. “Satan is a Christian concept,” explained Fox. “We don’t believe in him at all.”
The Occult and Halloween
While Halloween masquerades as childish fun and frolic, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, that on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween. Here are some testimonies from Satanists and writers on Satanism:
“Samhain: This is the Witch’s New Year and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow” (Silver RavenWolf, Teen Witch, p. 42). “Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed. . . Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals” (Gerina Dunwich, The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120).
Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes: “After one’s own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (Witches Night, May 1st) and Halloween” (Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, p. 96).
The Satanic High Priestess, Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween: “It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil ... I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Halloweens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts.”
The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween: “One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice—male or female.”
Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals, “Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists.” (Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192).
Precautions and Praycautions
The first thing is to be convinced that your enemy exists. The devil exists and we do not talk to the devil, we do not play with the devil. Some dangerous things to avoid include spells, charms, curses, witchcraft, ouija boards, seances and anything having to do with the occult. These kinds of things, some of them innocently done at children’s parties, are not only strictly forbidden by the Catholic Faith, but dangerous, in that they open us up to evil spirits, which are real and not just imaginary. Please don’t ever let your children/teens attend parties (especially popular at slumber parties) where there are seances and ouija boards and/or playing with spells and witchcraft. Ask beforehand what will be done at before allowing your children to attend parties. Witchcraft and spells are becoming more popular due to books and movies and somehow we need protect our children from these dangers of without getting them fascinated with them or making them seem interesting to them.
The chief spiritual weapons we have are, first of all, a state of grace—mortal sin puts us under the devil’s influence. Therefore frequent Confession and Holy Communion (in a state of grace) are the chief guardians of the state of grace. Much—once again, much prayer is another barrier—especially the prayer of the Holy Rosary—but well prayed, not just mechanically, routinely, hurriedly, distractedly said.
Remember the words of St. Louis de Montfort: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if — and mark well what I say — if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins” (The Secret of the Rosary, “A Red Rose”).
Add to this the use and wearing of blessed sacramentals—especially the Brown Scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Benedict Medal—these are big guns among the sacramentals. You can also wear a blessed Rosary too! Holy Water is another powerful weapon, as is a blessed crucifix (both are used in exorcisms).
What Does Vatican’s Chief Exorcist Think?
Fr. Gabriele Amorth (born 1925, ordained a priest in 1954, became an exorcist in 1986) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and former chief exorcist (now retired) of the Diocese of Rome, who has performed thousands of exorcisms. Fr. Amorth says: “Halloween is a trick of the devil. It is pagan, anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. It the creation of a devil and an obstacle to holiness and disrupts the plans of God. The young people follow fads and the devil knows how to use them. To celebrate Halloween is to give the devil a ‘Hosanna’! Which, if loved, even if it’s only for one night, gives the devil a claim or rights over that person …
“I’m very sad to see that Italy, like the rest of Europe, is moving away from the Lord Jesus, and is even paying homage to Satan … Halloween is a kind of a séance, which is presented in the form of game. The cunning of the devil is here. If you notice everything is presented in a playful, innocent manner. Sin is no longer a sin in today’s world. But everything comes disguised in the form of a need, a freedom, or a personal pleasure. I think that society is losing its mind, losing the sense of the meaning of life, losing the use of reason, and is becoming increasingly sick. People have lost the Faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or ouija boards have taken its place, which then opens all the doors to the presence of demons.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former Vatican Chief Exorcist).
We have entered a period of time which, under the surface, could be said to be a battle between Heaven and Hell. Today, October 31st, the eve of All Saints Day—which traditionally begins with the liturgy of First Vespers on (October 31st) the evening before All Saints Day (November 1st)—has been turned into a glorification of pagan and diabolical customs. We will therefore, over the course of three days, a triduum of sorts, look at Hell (Halloween), Heaven (All Saints Day) and Purgatory (All Souls Day).
Sleeping Catholics Sleep-Walk With Their Ignorance
Pope St. Pius X lamented the ignorance of Catholics (read more here), saying that this ignorance was the Church’s greatest enemy. We can understand why and one of the best examples of this is Halloween. We have been so “dumbed-down” in our Faith, that we readily accept what should be a totally Christian celebration (the First Vespers of the Feast of All Saints Day), but which has been aped by Satan and transformed into a pagan celebration at best, or a Satanic celebration at worst.
Neither one nor the other is pleasing to God. Yet we “go along to get along”, because everyone else does it, and we don’t really want to be seen as “spoilsports” or “religious fanatics” who can’t see that the children are only having a good time and people are showing them charity by giving them candy! Oh to what levels of stupidity an ignorant Catholic can sink! We fall into the sleep of ignorance and then we sleep-walk along the roads of ignorance into pagan practices, drugged by the sweet candy on offer! Some are just nonchalantly indifferent to what goes on, and think little of it, saying that we over-react in “putting-down” or criticizing Halloween—these are often those Catholics who also think little of their Catholic Faith and think that we are “religious fanatics” in trying to make everyone a saint!
Holy Scripture is vehement on the point of avoiding contact with pagans and their activities: ”What concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God … Wherefore, ‘Go out from among them, and be ye separate!’ saith the Lord, ‘and touch not the unclean thing!’” (2 Corinthians 6:15-17).
Halloween or Hell-O-Ween?
Few people know the history behind Halloween—they prefer to stop at the sweet superficial aspect of it, and have little or no clue about its origins. They are happy to pass over it with “two-bit” phrases or vague platitudes while smiling at the quaintness of much of the customs.
In a nutshell, Halloween has pagan origins, which the Church tried to replace with a Christian overtone, and which now has reverted back to pagan overtones. One could almost say it parallels the fate of the Church—which was born in a time of pagan darkness, Christianized much of that darkness, and is not falling back into an increasingly pagan atmosphere.
The Gods of Gentiles and Pagans Are Devils
Holy Scripture clearly tells us that: “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5). “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “For you have provoked Him who made you, the eternal God, offering sacrifice to devils, and not to God” (Baruch 4:7). God tells them to stop this devilish and hellish practice: “And they shall no more sacrifice their victims to devils, with whom they have committed fornication. It shall be an ordinance for ever to them and to their posterity” (Leviticus 17:7). Which leads St. Paul to warn us: “And what concord hath Christ with Belial? Or what part hath the faithful with the unbeliever?” (2 Corinthians 6:15).
Pagan Celtic and Druid New Year
Halloween’s origins date back to the ancient pagan Druid and Celtic festival of Samhain―variously pronounced as “sow-in”, “sah-win”, “sam-hayne” plus more. A Druid was a member of the educated, professional class among the Celtic peoples. The pagan Celts―who lived over 2,000 years ago in the area that is now Ireland, the United Kingdom and northern France― It was the beginning of their new year and was generally celebrated on October 31st, but some preferred November 1st. This day marked the end of summer and the harvest and the beginning of the dark, cold winter, a time of year that was often associated with human death. Celts believed that on the night before the new year, the boundary between the worlds of the living and the dead became blurred.
Communication With The Dead
On the night of October 31st they celebrated Samhain, when it was believed that the ghosts of the dead returned to Earth. In addition to causing trouble and damaging crops, Celts thought that the presence of the otherworldly spirits made it easier for the Druids, or Celtic priests, to make predictions about the future. For a people entirely dependent on the volatile natural world, these prophecies were an important source of comfort and direction during the long, dark winter.
It is one of the two “spirit-nights” each year, the other being Beltane. It is a ‘magical’ interval when the mundane laws of time and space are thought to be temporarily suspended, and the “Thin Veil” between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is thought to be easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the “Summerlands”. It is a time to study the “Dark Mysteries” and honor the “Dark Mother” and the “Dark Father”, symbolized by the “Crone” and her aged “Consort”.
To commemorate the event, Druids (the Celtic ‘priests’) built huge sacred bonfires, where the people gathered to burn crops and animals as sacrifices to the pagan Celtic deities. Originally the “Feast of the Dead” was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the “wandering dead”. Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos.
The “Wee Folke” became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. During the celebration, the Celts wore costumes, typically consisting of animal heads and skins, and attempted to tell each other’s fortunes. Traveling after dark was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits. When the celebration was over, they re-lit their hearth fires, which they had extinguished earlier that evening, from the sacred bonfire to help protect them during the coming winter.
Human Sacrifice
“He that shall find me, shall find life, and shall have salvation from the Lord: but he that shall sin against Me, shall hurt his own soul. All that hate Me love death” (Proverbs 8:35-36).
There is a debate among scholars as to whether human sacrifices were performed during Druid/Celtic celebrations of Halloween. Of course modern druids will say that they were not. They say that the only evidence that this custom was practiced is a reference in an ancient Roman document by Julius Caesar (see below). We do know that human sacrifice was practiced among the Celts in ancient times because of several “bog men”, or mummies preserved in the peat bogs that show signs of ritual killing. Of course, there would be no remains of any humans that were sacrificed in the fire. At any rate, the word “bonfire” comes from a compound of the Middle English words bon (bone) and fir (fire) ... meaning a fire kindled upon bones.
The author Merle Severy, in his book The Celts (National Geographic, May 1977, pages 625-626), describes “the eve of Samhain... the start of the Celtic new year: “According to the Dinshenchas―a medieval collection of the lore of prominent places―firstborn children were sacrificed before a great idol to ensure fertility of cattle and crops. Samhain eve was a night of dread and danger. At this juncture of the old year and the new, our world and the otherworld opened up to each other. The dead returned, ghosts and demons were abroad, and the future could be seen.. . . Behind such Halloween games as bobbing for apples lie Celtic divination arts to discern who would marry, thrive, or die in the coming year. Behind the masks and mischief, the jack-o-lanterns and food offerings, lurk the fear of malevolent spirits and the rites to propitiate them.” Page 601 gives additional insight: “Tacitus tells us of the bloodstained Druid altars of Anglesey in Wales.”
Julius Caesar, speaking on Celtic sacrifices said: “The whole nation of the Gauls is greatly devoted to ritual observances, and for that reason those who are smitten with the more grievous maladies and who are engaged in the perils of battle either sacrifice human victims or vow so to do, employing the druids as ministers for such sacrifices. They believe, in effect, that, unless for a man’s life a man’s life be paid, the majesty of the immortal gods may not be appeased; and in public, as in private life they observe an ordinance of sacrifices of the same kind. Others use figures of immense size whose limbs, woven out of twigs, they fill with living men and set on fire, and the men perish in a sheet of flame. They believe that the execution of those who have been caught in the act of theft or robbery or some crime is more pleasing to the immortal gods; but when the supply of such fails they resort to the execution even of the innocent.”
The classical author, Diodorus Siculus, also reported scenes of human sacrifice by the Druids: “When they attempt divination upon important matters they practice a strange and incredible custom, for they kill a man by a knife-stab in the region above his midriff.” After the sacrificial victim fell dead ... “they foretell the future by the convulsions of his limbs and the pouring of his blood.”
The 1984 discovery of a sacrificial victim in Cheshire, England, helps validate the reality of ritualistic human sacrifice. The well-preserved young man had apparently belonged to an elite social class in the second century BC. After two sharp blows to the head, he had been strangled. Then, like the countless sacrifices to Aztec and Mayan gods, his body had been drained of the human blood needed to please and appease their gods
Here Come the Pagan Romans!
By 43 A.D., the pagan Roman Empire had conquered the majority of Celtic territory. In the course of the four hundred years that they ruled the Celtic lands, two festivals of pagan Roman origin were combined with the traditional pagan Celtic celebration of Samhain. Pagan + Pagan = More Pagan.
The first pagan Roman celebration was Feralia, a day in late October, when the pagan Romans traditionally commemorated the passing of the dead. The second was a day to honor Pomona, the pagan Roman goddess of fruit and trees. The symbol of Pomona is the apple and the incorporation of this celebration into Samhain probably explains the tradition of “bobbing” for apples that is practiced today on Halloween.
Throw-Out Devil & Put In Christ!
Early Christianity developed in an era of the Roman Empire during which many religions were practiced, that are, due to the lack of a better term, labeled paganism. Paganism is commonly used to refer to various, largely unconnected religions from the time period before and after the birth of Christ. The Church found itself in direct conflict with centuries of pagan—and sometimes barbarically evil—customs. Many of these pagan and evil customs the Church sought to Christianize—this was often done by keeping the timetable or schedule but replacing the pagan with the Christian, the evil replaced by good.
For the first 300 years or so, Christianity was on the defensive and largely kept a low profile due to persecution. After the time of the Emperor Constantine, more freedom was obtained—though freedom and persecution alternated, ebbed and flowed. The persecutions produced so many martyrs, that there were not enough days in the year to give each martyr his feast day. Frequently groups of martyrs suffered on the same day, which naturally led to a joint commemoration. In the persecution of Diocletian the number of martyrs became so great that a separate day could not be assigned to each. But the Church, feeling that every martyr should be venerated, appointed a common day for all.
On May 13th, 609 A.D., Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome in honor of all Christian martyrs, and the Catholic feast of All Martyrs Day was established in the Western church. Pope Gregory III (731–741) later expanded the festival to include all saints as well as all martyrs, and moved the observance from May 13th to November 1st. By the 9th century the influence of Christianity had spread into Celtic lands, where it gradually blended with and supplanted the older Celtic rites. In 1000 A.D., the Church would make November 2nd to be “All Souls’ Day”, a day to honor the dead. It is widely believed today that the church was attempting to replace the Celtic festival of the dead with a related, but church-sanctioned holy day (holiday).
All Souls Day was celebrated similarly to Samhain, with big bonfires, parades, and dressing up in costumes as saints, angels and devils. The All Saints Day celebration was also called All-hallows or All-hallowmas (from Middle English Alholowmesse meaning All Saints’ Mass (“hallow” means “holy” as in “hallowed by Thy Name”), much like “Candlemas” on February 2nd, means “The Mass of Candles”) and the night before it was celebrated with the singing of First Vespers (which always starts the celebration of great feasts on the evening prior to the feast), and thus began to be called All-hallows Eve and Hallow-even’ [ing], eventually becoming Halloween. The word ‘‘Halloween’’, therefore, is a contracted form of ‘‘Holy Evening’’ and refers to the evening of All Saints Day (November 1st), when the Church traditionally remember the saints of bygone days; many of whom were persecuted, tortured, and/or died rather than renounce Christ.
Christianizing the Pagan Samhain
As northern Europe and the British Isles became Christianized, the Church saw that the pagan festivals still lured Christians to compromise their Faith. Consequently, the Church in those areas designated October 31st and November 1st as the “Holy Evening” and Holy Day of All Saints Day. The Church not only sought to give Christians an alternative, spiritually edifying holiday; but also to proclaim the supremacy of the Gospel over pagan superstition.
There was no need to ‘‘placate’’ the spirits, or buy their way into the afterlife — eternal life is offered to all who believe in the atonement of Jesus Christ, Who shed His blood to reconcile us to God and bring us eternal life. Rather than fearing the ‘‘tricks’’ of those who have died, Christians reflected on the lives and deaths of those who were faithful and used them as role models for their own journey to the true after life and Heaven; and thanked God for preserving the saints in the midst of suffering and persecution.
The Evolution of Halloween
“Trick-or-treating” is a modern tradition that probably finds it’s roots in the early All Souls’ Day parades in England. During the festivities, poor citizens would beg for food and families would give them pastries called “soul cakes” in return for their promise to pray for the family’s dead relatives. The distribution of “soul cakes” was encouraged by the Church as a way to replace the ancient pagan practice of leaving food and wine for roaming spirits. The practice, which was referred to as “going a-souling” was eventually taken up by children who would visit the houses in their neighborhood and be given drinks, food and money—but the praying for souls gradually fell away into neglect. So it was a case of all pay, but no pray!
Dressing Up
“Dressing up” for Halloween gets it roots from the pagan custom of dressing up around the ‘sacred’(?) bonfire during the original Celtic festival. Some suggest, this practice originates from England, when it was believed that ghosts came back to the earthly world on Halloween. People thought that they would encounter ghosts if they left their homes, so to avoid being recognized people would wear masks after dark so that the ghosts would mistake them for fellow spirits. In addition, these early English people, would place bowls of food outside their homes to appease the ghosts and prevent them from attempting to enter or cause harm to their homes. A tradition obviously taken from the ancient Celtic pagans.
The Church would try to Christianize this “dressing up” and have folk dress up as saints. They would then organize a parade of saints on All Saints day.
Reaction and Action
Because of its Occult history and symbolism, many informed Christians avoid any activity that would appear to support, promote, or celebrate Halloween. Other Liberal Christians attempt to minimize the glorification of Halloween’s Occult roots, by refusing to directly participate in costuming or activities where witchcraft, Satan, or demonic themes are prevalent. They feel that participation in Halloween and even trick-or-treating is acceptable if alternative costumes and themes are substituted. There is not total agreement among Christians concerning appropriate Christian responses to this pagan holiday.
Biblical Blast
The Bible has many warnings and examples of involvement with the Occult. Occult practices are an abomination to the Lord: “Neither let there be found among you any one that consulteth soothsayers, or observeth dreams and omens, neither let there be any wizard, nor charmer, nor any one that consulteth pythonic spirits, or fortune tellers, or that seeketh the truth from the dead. For the Lord abhorreth all these things, and for these abominations he will destroy them” (Deuteronomy 18:10-12) and Witchcraft was a crime punishable by death in the Old Testament: “Wizards thou shalt not suffer to live” (Exodus 22:18). The New Testament gives several examples of proper Christian response to the Occult: “And many of them who had followed curious [magical] arts, brought together their books, and burnt them before all” (Acts 19:19); “What fellowship hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial?” (2 Corinthians 6:14-15). “For all the gods of the Gentiles are devils” (Psalm 95:5) … “They sacrificed to devils and not to God: to gods whom they knew not” (Deuteronomy 32:17). “And they were mingled among the heathens, and learned their works and served their idols, and it became a stumbling-block to them. And they sacrificed their sons, and their daughters to devils” (Psalm 105:35-37).
Wicca and Halloween
Just before reaching a conclusion on the subject, let us find out what Wicca, the official religion of witchcraft, has to say about Halloween. Perhaps they view the day as simple fun and innocent neighborhood activity? “Shock” should be the only word to describe what the truth actually is on the matter. Halloween is a real, sacred day for those who follow Wicca. In fact, it is one of two high and holy days for them. The Celtic belief of spirits being released is current, along with the worship of Samhain (the lord of death) – both are promoted as something to embrace on that day. There is no question that to those who believe and follow the practices of witchcraft, Halloween represents an opportunity to embrace the evil, devilish, dark side of the spiritual world.
Witch Way to Go
Here are some excerpts from a news report from ABC News (2009) on a typical witch!
“Patti Wigington is a soccer mom. She is the vice president of her local PTA. And she’s a witch. This Saturday while her neighborhood outside Columbus, Ohio, is crawling with costumed witches in search of candy, Wigington and a group of other local witches will not be celebrating Halloween, but the new year festival Samhain, which also occurs October 31st. In her backyard, Wigington and six other local women, who make up her coven of witches, will stand in a circle, each holding a lit candle dedicated to a dead ancestor. They will offer an invocation in each direction of the four winds. They will build an altar upon which they will offer their deceased ancestors gifts of food and wine and “celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year… and do a ritual that honors death.”
“Look,” she says, “We welcome and celebrate the coming of the dark half of the year. It’s at this time of year we communicate with the spirit world and we honor the spirit world,” said Wigington, who writes extensively about her Faith and hosts the page on paganism and Wicca at about.com. Wicca is a relatively new religion, which its practitioners say is based on ancient precepts. A hodgepodge of ancient European pagan practices and new age spirituality, Wicca is practiced by a small but growing number of Americans. In 2008, some 342,000 people identified themselves as Wiccans, up from 134,000 in 2001 and up significantly from 8,000 in 1990. Modern Wicca, which draws its practices mainly from pre-Christian Europe, was established in the U.K. in the 1950’s. Its popularity coincided with an in interest in other ancient religions that emphasize beliefs in magic and nature.
“Magical religions ― paganism, Wicca, the Earth-based religions – have really gone mainstream,” said Wigington. “The witches in Harry Potter are not wiccans, but it gets interested in wondering if magic could be real. The best thing that ever happened to Wicca is that it went mainstream, and the worst that happened is that it went mainstream.” The Rev. Don Lewis established the Witch School to train the next generation of practitioners of Wicca and other so-called natural religions. With some 250,000 students enrolled in online classes, the school recently moved its physical location from Illinois, to the a far more likely setting – Salem, Massechussets, home of the famous 1692 witch hunt. “Interest in Wicca has been building for years, but every year there is a spike in interest around Halloween. It’s a huge advertising campaign the world runs for us,” he said. The practitioners all stressed that Wicca is in no way associated with Satanism or devil worship. “Satan is a Christian concept,” explained Fox. “We don’t believe in him at all.”
The Occult and Halloween
While Halloween masquerades as childish fun and frolic, it’s serious business in the occult world. Witchcraft, Wicca, Satanism and paganism believe, that on the night of Halloween, devils and spirits are unleashed. They perform their most hideous and potent rituals on the night of Halloween. Here are some testimonies from Satanists and writers on Satanism:
“Samhain: This is the Witch’s New Year and the primary Sabbat from which all others flow” (Silver RavenWolf, Teen Witch, p. 42). “Halloween is one of the four major Sabbats celebrated by the modern Witch, and it is by far the most popular and important of the eight that are observed. . . Witches regard Halloween as their New Year’s Eve, celebrating it with sacred rituals” (Gerina Dunwich, The Pagan Book of Halloween, p. 120).
Halloween is also among Satanism’s most cherished days. Anton LaVey, founder of The Church of Satan and author of The Satanic Bible writes: “After one’s own birthday, the two major Satanic holidays are Walpurgisnacht (Witches Night, May 1st) and Halloween” (Anton LaVey, The Satanic Bible, p. 96).
The Satanic High Priestess, Blanche Barton, on The Church of Satan web site, praises Halloween: “It [Halloween] gives even the most mundane people the opportunity to taste wickedness for one night. They have a chance to dance with the Devil ... I see Satanists all over the world meeting in small groups this night and Halloweens 500 years hence, to raise a glass to the Infernal Hosts.”
The Satanic Calendar decrees for Halloween: “One of the two most important nights of the year. . . Blood and sexual rituals. Sexual association with demons. Animal and human sacrifice—male or female.”
Former occultist Johanna Michaelsen reveals, “Halloween is also a prime recruiting season for Satanists.” (Johanna Michaelsen, Like Lambs to the Slaughter, p. 192).
Precautions and Praycautions
The first thing is to be convinced that your enemy exists. The devil exists and we do not talk to the devil, we do not play with the devil. Some dangerous things to avoid include spells, charms, curses, witchcraft, ouija boards, seances and anything having to do with the occult. These kinds of things, some of them innocently done at children’s parties, are not only strictly forbidden by the Catholic Faith, but dangerous, in that they open us up to evil spirits, which are real and not just imaginary. Please don’t ever let your children/teens attend parties (especially popular at slumber parties) where there are seances and ouija boards and/or playing with spells and witchcraft. Ask beforehand what will be done at before allowing your children to attend parties. Witchcraft and spells are becoming more popular due to books and movies and somehow we need protect our children from these dangers of without getting them fascinated with them or making them seem interesting to them.
The chief spiritual weapons we have are, first of all, a state of grace—mortal sin puts us under the devil’s influence. Therefore frequent Confession and Holy Communion (in a state of grace) are the chief guardians of the state of grace. Much—once again, much prayer is another barrier—especially the prayer of the Holy Rosary—but well prayed, not just mechanically, routinely, hurriedly, distractedly said.
Remember the words of St. Louis de Montfort: “If you say the Rosary faithfully until death, I do assure you that, in spite of the gravity of your sins ‘you shall receive a never fading crown of glory’ (1 Peter 5:4). Even if you are on the brink of damnation, even if you have one foot in Hell, even if you have sold your soul to the devil as sorcerers do who practice black magic, and even if you are a heretic as obstinate as a devil, sooner or later you will be converted and will amend your life and save your soul, if — and mark well what I say — if you say the Rosary devoutly every day until death for the purpose of knowing the truth and obtaining contrition and pardon for your sins” (The Secret of the Rosary, “A Red Rose”).
Add to this the use and wearing of blessed sacramentals—especially the Brown Scapular, the Miraculous Medal, the St. Benedict Medal—these are big guns among the sacramentals. You can also wear a blessed Rosary too! Holy Water is another powerful weapon, as is a blessed crucifix (both are used in exorcisms).
What Does Vatican’s Chief Exorcist Think?
Fr. Gabriele Amorth (born 1925, ordained a priest in 1954, became an exorcist in 1986) is an Italian Roman Catholic priest and former chief exorcist (now retired) of the Diocese of Rome, who has performed thousands of exorcisms. Fr. Amorth says: “Halloween is a trick of the devil. It is pagan, anti-Christian and anti-Catholic. It the creation of a devil and an obstacle to holiness and disrupts the plans of God. The young people follow fads and the devil knows how to use them. To celebrate Halloween is to give the devil a ‘Hosanna’! Which, if loved, even if it’s only for one night, gives the devil a claim or rights over that person …
“I’m very sad to see that Italy, like the rest of Europe, is moving away from the Lord Jesus, and is even paying homage to Satan … Halloween is a kind of a séance, which is presented in the form of game. The cunning of the devil is here. If you notice everything is presented in a playful, innocent manner. Sin is no longer a sin in today’s world. But everything comes disguised in the form of a need, a freedom, or a personal pleasure. I think that society is losing its mind, losing the sense of the meaning of life, losing the use of reason, and is becoming increasingly sick. People have lost the Faith, and superstition, magic, Satanism, or ouija boards have taken its place, which then opens all the doors to the presence of demons.” (Fr. Gabriele Amorth, former Vatican Chief Exorcist).
Article 3
The Eve of All Saints or the Eve of All Evil?
There will be more articles to follow on this page. Please check back tomorrow.
Dead Right or Dead Wrong?
Pope Gregory IV, 843 years after Christ, moved the feast of All Saints, which at that time was on May 13st, to November 1st, in order to stop this evil tradition which had arrived from Ireland―which we today call “Halloween”―of adoring the world of the dead.
This pagan view of the dead, as menacing ghosts who come to scare the living, was completely foreign to Biblical teaching, and Divine Revelation, as it has come down to us from our Lord through the Apostles in the Catholic Church. With the spread of Christianity, one of the ways to stem such pagan beliefs about the deceased was to move the Feast of All Saints (which had been celebrated on various dates) to November 1st with the commemoration of the souls in Purgatory (All Souls Day) on November 2nd. This change in the Catholic calendar took place gradually in the second half of the first millennium.
Christians have always honored the saints who are in Heaven, and at the same time, have prayed for the souls of the deceased who were not yet in Heaven, but remained in Purgatory for the purpose of their total purification. Nevertheless, even with the Feast of All Saints and All Souls Day firmly established in the Church’s calendar, popular folklore would retain some elements from the pagan Celtic October 31 harvest feast. Moreover, people even started referring to this observance as “All Hallows’ Eve”—the Evening before All Saints.
This is how the ancient pagan celebration took on a Catholic name, while never really having anything to do with Catholicism. As time went by, the Celtic harvest feast was transformed into the present children’s version of Halloween: little boys and girls (and sometimes adults) would wear masks and dress up in costumes of devils, goblins, witches, black cats, and vampires to represent evil spirits which—as the Celts believed—would come to haunt people. This way Halloween has simply become nothing more than an expression of children’s imagination, and an occasion for fun and games. So that’s all there is to it. Right?
Not Quite
Everything which has been said thus far is part of the general knowledge about Halloween which is easily accessible. Even if some people are unaware of the historical background of the holiday, they can look it up in any encyclopedia, or on the Internet. But there is one important source of information about Halloween that very few people tap into. It is called: Exorcists.
Why Exorcists?
As soon as a lot of people hear the word “exorcist,” the first thing which comes to their mind is a Hollywood movie with this title, or maybe a thriller they watched somewhere. Even many Catholics do not realize that exorcists are Roman Catholic priests, appointed officially by the Diocesan Bishop to help people who are possessed or infested by the devil. Diabolical possession is something so serious and difficult to overcome, that only a priest-exorcist who has the authority to expel evil spirits can help get rid of it. Exorcisms performed by such priests consist of a series of prayers and blessings whose purpose is to force the devil out of a possessed person’s body. But exorcisms are nothing new: they are well attested to in Scripture. In addition, experience shows that cases of diabolical possession have sky-rocketed in our times all over the world.
So What Do Exorcisms Have To Do With Halloween?
Some priest-exorcists have been sharing their vast experience with the wide public, and have made it known that during exorcisms, Satan usually speaks through the possessed person. The devil makes known certain things which a lot of people would normally not be aware of. One of the important pieces of information which has been gathered during exorcisms has to do with Halloween. As it turns out, the night between October 31st and November 1st is a time when, all over the world, Satanic practice is on the increase, because on that night, the greatest number of satanic rituals are performed, especially so-called demonic “black masses” which are celebrated with the use of animal or even human sacrifice. So someone may say: “Okay, fair enough, but I have nothing to do with it. My children have nothing to do with it. How does this concern me and my children, if what we are doing on Halloween is just a game with my kids wearing all kinds of funny costumes?”
Is All Hallow's Eve really an evil holiday? The Daily Mail (a British newspaper) reported in 2104 that the International Association of Exorcists (also known as the AIE) held its first official conference over the weekend in Rome (2014). More than 300 exorcists attended after being officially recognized by the Vatican this summer. Father Aldo Buonaiuto told the British publication, The Daily Mail, that his organization's emergency number receives hundreds of calls on October 31st, up from an average of 40 per day, due to concerns about increased occult activity.
Father Buonaiuto said: “Many say Halloween is a simple carnival, but in fact there is nothing innocent or fun about it … There are always more evil rituals, animal sacrifices, desecrations of cemeteries and thefts of sacred bones ... From here the door to the devil can be opened.”
According to the Religious News Service, AIE spokesman, Dr. Valter Cascioli, a psychologist and scientific consultant to the International Association of Exorcists, told Vatican Radio there has been a “steady increase” in possessions. “The battle against evil is becoming more of an emergency. We are calling for major vigilance,” Cascioli added.
The Thoughts of the Famous Exorcist on Halloween
Father Gabriele Amorth, probably the most well-known exorcist in the world, who died just over a year ago—on September 16th in 2016—had condemned the celebration of Halloween and warned of a danger to young people, because of the increase in occult activity, which fuels insomnia, mental illness; depression and suicidal thoughts in children. “Psychiatrical and psychological studies show that children can’t sleep, are agitated, depressed, obsessed, suicidal.” Fr. Amoth said “Halloween is really a spiritual gathering presented as a form of game, and that is the equivalent of singing hosannas to the devil.”
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, performed an estimated 70,000 exorcisms, often repeating the rite on the same persons. Fr. Amorth asked the poignant question, “Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?” For your information Fr. Amorth condemned the celebration of Halloween because of the danger to young people who might be lured to the occult, which promotes suicidal thoughts, psychiatric or psychological stress. Many Catholic parents tolerate their children to celebrate Halloween because it is just for fun and can bring no harm!
But Fr. Amorth said, “Halloween is really a spiritual gathering presented as a form of game, and that is the equivalent of singing hosannas to the devil. We should understand that Pope Gregory IV, 843 years after Christ moved the Feast of All Saints Day which was then celebrated on May 13th to the present November 1st was done in order to stop the evil tradition which arrived from Ireland of adoring the world of the dead.”
He counseled that the battle against evil begins in the family. The reason why many individuals become evil is often because so many young people “live without knowing the sacredness of being children” and therefore do not know what it means to be a good father or mother, he said.
Fr. Amorth added, “The Battle against evil begins in the family. The reason why many individuals become evil is often because so many young people “live without knowing the sacredness of being children” and therefore do not know what it means to be a good father or mother.” How very true this when we become a tolerant society―we end up tolerating this celebration of evil itself! We cannot throw away our Catholicism simply because we want to have fun on Halloween night! Calling it “harmless fun” is one step on the way to calling the devil “harmless” too!
These statements by Fr. Amorth are not far from what we learned from Sister Lucia of Fatima, one of the three children whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared at the Cova de Ira in Fatima a hundred years ago. Sister Lucia once confided to Cardinal Caffara, “The decisive battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be over marriage and the family.” Cardinal Caffara was one of Pope Francis’ 45 handpicked delegates to attend the Ordinary Synod on the Family in 2015 and he once stated that the great tragedy of mankind today is Atheism. Once we lose respect for the spiritual, we become easy prey for the devil.
The Core of the Problem
Dressing up in costumes that stand for demons, goblins, witches, and vampires is not the same as putting on a mask with the face of J. F. Kennedy, or a shirt similar to the one used by Elvis Presley. Exorcists have been finding out that when we start playing with something that resembles Satan, and his demons, we open ourselves to these malevolent creatures’ influence, which is not just something psychological or intellectual in nature. Satan sees such behavior as an invitation on our part: an open door to his evil spiritual influence on the minds and souls of human beings.
As exorcists confirm unequivocally, even if we are not consciously seeking demonic influence, it is still possible for us to be dangerously affected by it. Actually, it is a lot easier for the devil to enter into the mind of those who think nothing of things that “innocently” resemble the devil. So while it is true that there is an unhealthy intellectual and psychological aspect which negatively influences children dressing up in costumes of demons, witches, goblins, and vampires, there is an even more serious area which we should be concerned about: the spiritual aspect of demonic activity which appears innocent and harmless. It becomes more dangerous, because the innocent appearance of evil desensitizes us to what we are dealing with.
Let us never forget that it is not only members of Satanic cults who enter into a spiritual relationship with Satan. A spiritual relationship with the devil can take place in various degrees. It does not always have to end up in diabolical possession. But, as exorcists warn, exposing kids to something which has some kind of a demonic connotation, draws the risk of entering into a relationship with the devil. It is like a slightly open window that a thief sees from a distance: for him it a signal which he interprets as an invitation to enter into the house. Dressing up children in costumes of all kinds of evil spirits and creatures, hanging pumpkins outside the house with evil faces carved on them, is like sending an invitation card to the devil by express mail. We can be assured that the devil will get interested in the invitation. But once he comes, it will not be that easy to fend him off.
St. Paul’s Reminder on Evil
St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Ephesians that: “ …our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.” (Ephesians 6:12-13).
Let’s face it: the “world” is at war with Christ, but it’s not just the world that we see on TV news reports. There is also an invisible evil world out there that we have to know about, and we cannot be naïve about its impact. Satan exists, but in order to harm us, he first has to create the impression that he exists only in our imagination, as a naughty creature with harmless horns, and a long tail. While it is true that there is no such thing as ghosts, or spirits of dead people coming to haunt us, it is also true that there are demons who are not the souls of the dead, but evil spirits whose only aim is to ruin us spiritually.
So What Shall We Do?
We can try to imagine the following situation. Let’s say we see a freshly baked delicious cake, but we do not know that someone laced it with poison. We start eating it. Will the fact that we are not aware of the poison prevent us from getting sick, or even dying? Of course not. The poisonous effects will take their course regardless of our will or our awareness of what’s inside the cake. This is precisely what happens with Halloween, but with one exception. We are fortunate to have the information which more and more priest-exorcists are sharing about its tremendous danger. Knowing what we know now, who in his right mind would want to dress up his children in costumes of demonic creatures? Parents’ concerns should go in a totally different direction. Have we ever wondered why so many young people start drinking, taking drugs, fall into depression, end up in a bad company, and even commit suicide? Parents often say: “What have we done wrong? We have always tried to give our children a lot of love; we taught them respect and proper behavior. So what went wrong?”
While each situation could be analyzed separately, parents may be wise to ask themselves whether throughout the years that their children were growing up, they might have senselessly and naively exposed them to Satan’s influence which had appeared as something innocent, but was actually infiltrating their kids’ minds and souls more and more. We must never take the devil lightly. Playing with fire is neither a game nor a joke. But knowing this is not enough to protect ourselves from demonic influence. It is also necessary to be in the state of grace, and to be strengthened by the frequent reception of the Sacraments—especially Holy Communion and Confession. It is also important to wear the Miraculous Medal of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to have Holy Water in the house. We know for certain that the devil stays away from homes which have a crucifix in a prominent location on the wall and saints’ images hanging in various places in the house—with a pride of place given to the image of the Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. All these things are crucially important in order to create an environment where all the members of the household are protected. Exorcists tell us that Satan does not visit homes where family members pray the Rosary together, where the Bible as well as the Catechism are read regularly, and where all in the family practice their Faith diligently.
Doing The Right Thing
It is good to hear that more and more parishes and Catholic schools in America move away from Halloween for the above reasons, and put a greater emphasis on All Saints Day. On this occasion children are encouraged to dress up as the true heroes of history: saints and biblical figures. Nevertheless, while this is a good idea, it is also important for priests, religious, and parents to remember that this is a separate celebration from Halloween.
Unfortunately, when children are exposed to minimum, or no spirituality in the home, it is no wonder that they are going to feel bad, and be surprised when other children, whom they know celebrate Halloween, while their own parents tell them that Halloween is not something good. Children will spontaneously, and more easily understand, that there is something wrong with Halloween when they start praying the Rosary, read the Bible, hear more about their patron saints, as well as guardian angels and, most importantly, when they look at their parents and see how devoutly they practice their Catholic Faith. This is how the grace of God will work its way, not only into the child’s mind, but also into the child’s soul.
Teaching by Courageous Example
On September 13th, 2015, a 43-year-old South African martyr, and a convert to Catholicism, by the name of Benedict Daswa, was declared blessed. He was a husband and a father of eight children. As a teacher and a school principle, he worked hard to spread the Catholic Faith primarily through a virtuous life. Known for his opposition to occult practices, which were prevalent in the area where he lived, Benedict risked retaliation from those who insisted on adhering to devil worship. On February 2nd, 1990, while returning to his house, he was ambushed by a group of such people, who savagely clubbed him to death. As Benedict was dying, they gathered around him, and in an effort to increase his suffering, poured boiling water on his bleeding head, into his ears, nostrils, and mouth.
Sometimes, we may be under a lot of pressure to adhere to practices which have become so common that a mere opposition to them may draw a lot of criticism. All of us would like to have peace of mind, but at what cost? Blessed Benedict Daswa was a layman who would be the first one to remind priests, religious, and parents about the duty to be watchmen who have their eyes open. A good watchman sees danger when it approaches, but also has the courage to speak out, and resist anything that’s unbecoming to our Catholic Faith. Let’s be prudent and vigilant. Let’s not be naïve at the face of the slightest semblance of evil. We cannot afford to be so. Our destiny, and the destiny of our young people, may be at stake, both in this life and in the next.
Pope Gregory IV, 843 years after Christ, moved the feast of All Saints, which at that time was on May 13st, to November 1st, in order to stop this evil tradition which had arrived from Ireland―which we today call “Halloween”―of adoring the world of the dead.
This pagan view of the dead, as menacing ghosts who come to scare the living, was completely foreign to Biblical teaching, and Divine Revelation, as it has come down to us from our Lord through the Apostles in the Catholic Church. With the spread of Christianity, one of the ways to stem such pagan beliefs about the deceased was to move the Feast of All Saints (which had been celebrated on various dates) to November 1st with the commemoration of the souls in Purgatory (All Souls Day) on November 2nd. This change in the Catholic calendar took place gradually in the second half of the first millennium.
Christians have always honored the saints who are in Heaven, and at the same time, have prayed for the souls of the deceased who were not yet in Heaven, but remained in Purgatory for the purpose of their total purification. Nevertheless, even with the Feast of All Saints and All Souls Day firmly established in the Church’s calendar, popular folklore would retain some elements from the pagan Celtic October 31 harvest feast. Moreover, people even started referring to this observance as “All Hallows’ Eve”—the Evening before All Saints.
This is how the ancient pagan celebration took on a Catholic name, while never really having anything to do with Catholicism. As time went by, the Celtic harvest feast was transformed into the present children’s version of Halloween: little boys and girls (and sometimes adults) would wear masks and dress up in costumes of devils, goblins, witches, black cats, and vampires to represent evil spirits which—as the Celts believed—would come to haunt people. This way Halloween has simply become nothing more than an expression of children’s imagination, and an occasion for fun and games. So that’s all there is to it. Right?
Not Quite
Everything which has been said thus far is part of the general knowledge about Halloween which is easily accessible. Even if some people are unaware of the historical background of the holiday, they can look it up in any encyclopedia, or on the Internet. But there is one important source of information about Halloween that very few people tap into. It is called: Exorcists.
Why Exorcists?
As soon as a lot of people hear the word “exorcist,” the first thing which comes to their mind is a Hollywood movie with this title, or maybe a thriller they watched somewhere. Even many Catholics do not realize that exorcists are Roman Catholic priests, appointed officially by the Diocesan Bishop to help people who are possessed or infested by the devil. Diabolical possession is something so serious and difficult to overcome, that only a priest-exorcist who has the authority to expel evil spirits can help get rid of it. Exorcisms performed by such priests consist of a series of prayers and blessings whose purpose is to force the devil out of a possessed person’s body. But exorcisms are nothing new: they are well attested to in Scripture. In addition, experience shows that cases of diabolical possession have sky-rocketed in our times all over the world.
So What Do Exorcisms Have To Do With Halloween?
Some priest-exorcists have been sharing their vast experience with the wide public, and have made it known that during exorcisms, Satan usually speaks through the possessed person. The devil makes known certain things which a lot of people would normally not be aware of. One of the important pieces of information which has been gathered during exorcisms has to do with Halloween. As it turns out, the night between October 31st and November 1st is a time when, all over the world, Satanic practice is on the increase, because on that night, the greatest number of satanic rituals are performed, especially so-called demonic “black masses” which are celebrated with the use of animal or even human sacrifice. So someone may say: “Okay, fair enough, but I have nothing to do with it. My children have nothing to do with it. How does this concern me and my children, if what we are doing on Halloween is just a game with my kids wearing all kinds of funny costumes?”
Is All Hallow's Eve really an evil holiday? The Daily Mail (a British newspaper) reported in 2104 that the International Association of Exorcists (also known as the AIE) held its first official conference over the weekend in Rome (2014). More than 300 exorcists attended after being officially recognized by the Vatican this summer. Father Aldo Buonaiuto told the British publication, The Daily Mail, that his organization's emergency number receives hundreds of calls on October 31st, up from an average of 40 per day, due to concerns about increased occult activity.
Father Buonaiuto said: “Many say Halloween is a simple carnival, but in fact there is nothing innocent or fun about it … There are always more evil rituals, animal sacrifices, desecrations of cemeteries and thefts of sacred bones ... From here the door to the devil can be opened.”
According to the Religious News Service, AIE spokesman, Dr. Valter Cascioli, a psychologist and scientific consultant to the International Association of Exorcists, told Vatican Radio there has been a “steady increase” in possessions. “The battle against evil is becoming more of an emergency. We are calling for major vigilance,” Cascioli added.
The Thoughts of the Famous Exorcist on Halloween
Father Gabriele Amorth, probably the most well-known exorcist in the world, who died just over a year ago—on September 16th in 2016—had condemned the celebration of Halloween and warned of a danger to young people, because of the increase in occult activity, which fuels insomnia, mental illness; depression and suicidal thoughts in children. “Psychiatrical and psychological studies show that children can’t sleep, are agitated, depressed, obsessed, suicidal.” Fr. Amoth said “Halloween is really a spiritual gathering presented as a form of game, and that is the equivalent of singing hosannas to the devil.”
Fr. Gabriele Amorth, performed an estimated 70,000 exorcisms, often repeating the rite on the same persons. Fr. Amorth asked the poignant question, “Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?” For your information Fr. Amorth condemned the celebration of Halloween because of the danger to young people who might be lured to the occult, which promotes suicidal thoughts, psychiatric or psychological stress. Many Catholic parents tolerate their children to celebrate Halloween because it is just for fun and can bring no harm!
But Fr. Amorth said, “Halloween is really a spiritual gathering presented as a form of game, and that is the equivalent of singing hosannas to the devil. We should understand that Pope Gregory IV, 843 years after Christ moved the Feast of All Saints Day which was then celebrated on May 13th to the present November 1st was done in order to stop the evil tradition which arrived from Ireland of adoring the world of the dead.”
He counseled that the battle against evil begins in the family. The reason why many individuals become evil is often because so many young people “live without knowing the sacredness of being children” and therefore do not know what it means to be a good father or mother, he said.
Fr. Amorth added, “The Battle against evil begins in the family. The reason why many individuals become evil is often because so many young people “live without knowing the sacredness of being children” and therefore do not know what it means to be a good father or mother.” How very true this when we become a tolerant society―we end up tolerating this celebration of evil itself! We cannot throw away our Catholicism simply because we want to have fun on Halloween night! Calling it “harmless fun” is one step on the way to calling the devil “harmless” too!
These statements by Fr. Amorth are not far from what we learned from Sister Lucia of Fatima, one of the three children whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared at the Cova de Ira in Fatima a hundred years ago. Sister Lucia once confided to Cardinal Caffara, “The decisive battle between the Lord and the kingdom of Satan will be over marriage and the family.” Cardinal Caffara was one of Pope Francis’ 45 handpicked delegates to attend the Ordinary Synod on the Family in 2015 and he once stated that the great tragedy of mankind today is Atheism. Once we lose respect for the spiritual, we become easy prey for the devil.
The Core of the Problem
Dressing up in costumes that stand for demons, goblins, witches, and vampires is not the same as putting on a mask with the face of J. F. Kennedy, or a shirt similar to the one used by Elvis Presley. Exorcists have been finding out that when we start playing with something that resembles Satan, and his demons, we open ourselves to these malevolent creatures’ influence, which is not just something psychological or intellectual in nature. Satan sees such behavior as an invitation on our part: an open door to his evil spiritual influence on the minds and souls of human beings.
As exorcists confirm unequivocally, even if we are not consciously seeking demonic influence, it is still possible for us to be dangerously affected by it. Actually, it is a lot easier for the devil to enter into the mind of those who think nothing of things that “innocently” resemble the devil. So while it is true that there is an unhealthy intellectual and psychological aspect which negatively influences children dressing up in costumes of demons, witches, goblins, and vampires, there is an even more serious area which we should be concerned about: the spiritual aspect of demonic activity which appears innocent and harmless. It becomes more dangerous, because the innocent appearance of evil desensitizes us to what we are dealing with.
Let us never forget that it is not only members of Satanic cults who enter into a spiritual relationship with Satan. A spiritual relationship with the devil can take place in various degrees. It does not always have to end up in diabolical possession. But, as exorcists warn, exposing kids to something which has some kind of a demonic connotation, draws the risk of entering into a relationship with the devil. It is like a slightly open window that a thief sees from a distance: for him it a signal which he interprets as an invitation to enter into the house. Dressing up children in costumes of all kinds of evil spirits and creatures, hanging pumpkins outside the house with evil faces carved on them, is like sending an invitation card to the devil by express mail. We can be assured that the devil will get interested in the invitation. But once he comes, it will not be that easy to fend him off.
St. Paul’s Reminder on Evil
St. Paul writes in his Letter to the Ephesians that: “ …our struggle is not with flesh and blood, but with the principalities, with the powers, with the world rulers of this present darkness, with the evil spirits in the heavens. Therefore, put on the armor of God, that you may be able to resist on the evil day and, having done everything, to hold your ground.” (Ephesians 6:12-13).
Let’s face it: the “world” is at war with Christ, but it’s not just the world that we see on TV news reports. There is also an invisible evil world out there that we have to know about, and we cannot be naïve about its impact. Satan exists, but in order to harm us, he first has to create the impression that he exists only in our imagination, as a naughty creature with harmless horns, and a long tail. While it is true that there is no such thing as ghosts, or spirits of dead people coming to haunt us, it is also true that there are demons who are not the souls of the dead, but evil spirits whose only aim is to ruin us spiritually.
So What Shall We Do?
We can try to imagine the following situation. Let’s say we see a freshly baked delicious cake, but we do not know that someone laced it with poison. We start eating it. Will the fact that we are not aware of the poison prevent us from getting sick, or even dying? Of course not. The poisonous effects will take their course regardless of our will or our awareness of what’s inside the cake. This is precisely what happens with Halloween, but with one exception. We are fortunate to have the information which more and more priest-exorcists are sharing about its tremendous danger. Knowing what we know now, who in his right mind would want to dress up his children in costumes of demonic creatures? Parents’ concerns should go in a totally different direction. Have we ever wondered why so many young people start drinking, taking drugs, fall into depression, end up in a bad company, and even commit suicide? Parents often say: “What have we done wrong? We have always tried to give our children a lot of love; we taught them respect and proper behavior. So what went wrong?”
While each situation could be analyzed separately, parents may be wise to ask themselves whether throughout the years that their children were growing up, they might have senselessly and naively exposed them to Satan’s influence which had appeared as something innocent, but was actually infiltrating their kids’ minds and souls more and more. We must never take the devil lightly. Playing with fire is neither a game nor a joke. But knowing this is not enough to protect ourselves from demonic influence. It is also necessary to be in the state of grace, and to be strengthened by the frequent reception of the Sacraments—especially Holy Communion and Confession. It is also important to wear the Miraculous Medal of the Blessed Virgin Mary and to have Holy Water in the house. We know for certain that the devil stays away from homes which have a crucifix in a prominent location on the wall and saints’ images hanging in various places in the house—with a pride of place given to the image of the Divine Mercy, the Sacred Heart, and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. All these things are crucially important in order to create an environment where all the members of the household are protected. Exorcists tell us that Satan does not visit homes where family members pray the Rosary together, where the Bible as well as the Catechism are read regularly, and where all in the family practice their Faith diligently.
Doing The Right Thing
It is good to hear that more and more parishes and Catholic schools in America move away from Halloween for the above reasons, and put a greater emphasis on All Saints Day. On this occasion children are encouraged to dress up as the true heroes of history: saints and biblical figures. Nevertheless, while this is a good idea, it is also important for priests, religious, and parents to remember that this is a separate celebration from Halloween.
Unfortunately, when children are exposed to minimum, or no spirituality in the home, it is no wonder that they are going to feel bad, and be surprised when other children, whom they know celebrate Halloween, while their own parents tell them that Halloween is not something good. Children will spontaneously, and more easily understand, that there is something wrong with Halloween when they start praying the Rosary, read the Bible, hear more about their patron saints, as well as guardian angels and, most importantly, when they look at their parents and see how devoutly they practice their Catholic Faith. This is how the grace of God will work its way, not only into the child’s mind, but also into the child’s soul.
Teaching by Courageous Example
On September 13th, 2015, a 43-year-old South African martyr, and a convert to Catholicism, by the name of Benedict Daswa, was declared blessed. He was a husband and a father of eight children. As a teacher and a school principle, he worked hard to spread the Catholic Faith primarily through a virtuous life. Known for his opposition to occult practices, which were prevalent in the area where he lived, Benedict risked retaliation from those who insisted on adhering to devil worship. On February 2nd, 1990, while returning to his house, he was ambushed by a group of such people, who savagely clubbed him to death. As Benedict was dying, they gathered around him, and in an effort to increase his suffering, poured boiling water on his bleeding head, into his ears, nostrils, and mouth.
Sometimes, we may be under a lot of pressure to adhere to practices which have become so common that a mere opposition to them may draw a lot of criticism. All of us would like to have peace of mind, but at what cost? Blessed Benedict Daswa was a layman who would be the first one to remind priests, religious, and parents about the duty to be watchmen who have their eyes open. A good watchman sees danger when it approaches, but also has the courage to speak out, and resist anything that’s unbecoming to our Catholic Faith. Let’s be prudent and vigilant. Let’s not be naïve at the face of the slightest semblance of evil. We cannot afford to be so. Our destiny, and the destiny of our young people, may be at stake, both in this life and in the next.
Article 4
Exorcists Speak About Halloween
There will be more articles to follow on this page. Please check back tomorrow.
The International Association of Exorcists Casts Out a Warning!
In 1990, the recently deceased (2016) Chief Exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, along with five other priests, founded the International Association of Catholic Exorcists. This organization holds an international conference every other year in Rome. In 2014, the International Association of Catholic Exorcists was officially recognized by the Vatican. At the international conference for exorcists, held in Rome that same year, the exorcist and spokesman for the International Association of Catholic Exorcists, Fr. Aldo Buonaiuto, said the Association’s emergency number receives around 40 calls a day around October 31st. The most common are calls from parents who are concerned that their child has become involved in the supernatural. While most people now associate Halloween with trick-or-treating and dressing up, the Catholic Church has previously taken issue with the holiday’s association with the occult.
Fr. Buonaiuto, a former President of the International Association of Catholic Exorcists, said: “Many say Halloween is a simple carnival, but in fact, there is nothing innocent or fun about it – it is the antechamber to something much more disturbing and dangerous! For devotees of the occult, October 31st is the satanic new year. With the arrival of Halloween, there is an increase in black magic rites, sacrilege and the adoration of Satan, as well as demonic possessions. There are always more evil rituals, animal sacrifices, desecrations of cemeteries and thefts of sacred bones at the time of the October 31st. For Satanic sects, it is the best time of year to recruit new members. It’s a time for luring new converts. From here, the door to the devil can be opened. For this reason, it’s necessary for us to speak out and not play down the danger. Halloween pushes new generations towards a mentality of esoteric magic and it attacks sacred and spiritual values through a devious initiation to the art and images of the occult.”
It’s More Than a Game! It’s Devilishly Real!
Another priest―who is not an exorcist―writes: “Some priest-exorcists have been sharing their vast experience with the wide public, and have made it known that during exorcisms, Satan usually speaks through the possessed person. The devil makes known certain things which a lot of people would normally not be aware of. One of the important pieces of information which has been gathered during exorcisms has to do with Halloween. As it turns out, the night between October 31st and November 1st is a time when, all over the world, Satanic practice is on the increase, because on that night, the greatest number of satanic rituals are performed, especially so-called demonic “black masses” which are celebrated with the use of animal or even human sacrifice.
“So someone may say: ‘Okay, fair enough, but I have nothing to do with it. My children have nothing to do with it. How does this concern me and my children, if what we are doing on Halloween is just a game with my kids wearing all kinds of funny costumes?’ Dressing up in costumes that stand for demons, goblins, witches, and vampires is not the same as putting on a mask with the face of a sports star or pop star, or a shirt similar to the one used by Elvis Presley. Exorcists have been finding out that when we start playing with something that resembles Satan, and his demons, we open ourselves to these malevolent creatures’ influence, which is not just something psychological or intellectual in nature. Satan sees such behavior as an invitation on our part: an open door to his evil spiritual influence on the minds and souls of human beings. As exorcists confirm unequivocally, even if we are not consciously seeking demonic influence, it is still possible for us to be dangerously affected by it. Actually, it is a lot easier for the devil to enter into the mind of those who think nothing of things that “innocently” resemble the devil.
“So while it is true that there is an unhealthy intellectual and psychological aspect which negatively influences children dressing up in costumes of demons, witches, goblins, and vampires, there is an even more serious area which we should be concerned about: the spiritual aspect of demonic activity which appears innocent and harmless. It becomes more dangerous, because the innocent appearance of evil desensitizes us to what we are dealing with. Let us never forget that it is not only members of Satanic cults who enter into a spiritual relationship with Satan. A spiritual relationship with the devil can take place in various degrees. It does not always have to end up in diabolical possession. But, as exorcists warn, exposing kids to something which has some kind of a demonic connotation, draws the risk of entering into a relationship with the devil. It is like a slightly open window that a thief sees from a distance: for him it a signal which he interprets as an invitation to enter into the house. Dressing up children in costumes of all kinds of evil spirits and creatures, hanging pumpkins outside the house with evil faces carved on them, is like sending an invitation card to the devil by express mail. We can be assured that the devil will get interested in the invitation. But once he comes, it will not be that easy to fend him off.” (Fr. Jacek Stefanski).
Teach and Preach Against Halloween
Fr. Jeremy Davis, has been an exorcist of over 40 years experience for the Archdiocese of Westminster (London, England). Interestingly, Fr. Davies sees potential opportunities for the Church to do good in face of the fact that Halloween has gained an ever-higher profile year by year. “Halloween is a good opportunity,” he suggests, “to teach the Faith and help all of us — especially children — to understand the reality of evil and the truth of Christ and his Church.” It is the occasion, he feels, to “teach against” the festival using the word of God and the “clear teaching of the Church.” This now-omnipresent paganized holiday is the moment, he says, “to warn the world not just to avoid Halloween; it is also an opportunity to tell people about Christ.”
Staying on that side of “pond”, at the annual Synod of the Dioceses of Derry and Raphoe, in Northern Ireland, Fr. David Crooks said: “Halloween ... is turning into this ridiculous nonsense ... In shops and all over the place, we see all these accoutrements of witchcraft and all that kind of horrible nonsense! People say ‘Oh, it’s just for the children!’ Well, I think it’s sending the wrong message to children ― it’s actually highly dangerous! It can lead children to start looking at the internet and finding there things like tarot cards and séances, it can grow into all of that. It’s highly dangerous stuff.”
Another Irish priest, Fr. Richard O’Connor ― of the Diocese of Kerry, Ireland ― says he wants to see Halloween “get back to its true meaning” and that Catholics should lead the way: He said: “The word ‘Halloween’ means the eve of the feast of All Saints. Yet on shop windows and even on school windows, we see images of ghosts, skeletons, witches, demons etc., at this time of year, indeed of all sorts of ugly things that remind one of the occult and of Satan―and are avenues towards the occult. We’re supposed to be celebrating the Feast of All Saints (November 1st) and we have the kids dressing up as demons and devils and witches and things like that―the very opposite! But many Catholic parents and the boards of Catholic schools seem to have no problem with this. Instead, they see it, naively, as good fun even though such things are what might be called ‘avenues’ leading towards the occult; and this at a time when Satan-worship, black masses, and séances are on the increase all over the world. It shows a complete betrayal of the Christian Faith on this particular point. Certainly, have Halloween parties, but have them centered on the saints. I would say certainly make a big thing of Halloween and have a great party but be celebrating the saints instead of the demons. I would expect Catholic schools to give the lead in that respect. Look at Christmas―the school will have a little play centered on the Nativity, and the kids love dressing up as shepherds, the three kings, and all the rest of it. The same way you could have a party centered on the saints. It would give real meaning. If Halloween is to get back its true meaning, why not make this a time when parents encourage young people to dress up as their favorite saints, and schools, then, give prizes for the best efforts. Furthermore, instead of ‘trick-or-treating’, the young could also go around to their neighbors offering to pray to those saints for their intentions.”
Fr. Vincent Lampert, aged 59 (as of October 2022), ordained in 1991 and for over 15 years, since 2005, an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis―says that the manner in which Halloween is celebrated can be an invitation for evil. Fr. Lampert says that he doesn’t see anything wrong with kids dressing up in innocent costumes, such as a cowboy or Cinderella, and asking for candy―“That’s all good, clean fun!” he said. However, he adds that there is danger in costumes that “deliberately glorify evil and instill fear in people”; further adding: “The devil and evil spirits do not have any additional authority on Halloween. It is what people do that invites the devil in. Perhaps by the way they’re celebrating that day, they’re actually inviting more evil into their lives. A lot of children are out celebrating Halloween, perhaps evil is being glorified, but we’re not really sitting around and talking about why certain practices are not conducive with our Catholic Faith and our Catholic identity. I think using it as a teachable moment would be a great thing to do.” Additionally, Fr. Lampert states that even if it’s “just for fun,” it is dangerous. He then references the Bible―Deuteronomy chapter 18―explaining that “it talks about not trying to consult the spirits of the dead, not consulting those who dabble in magic and witchcraft and the like…” Why? He says it’s “because it’s a violation of a church commandment that people are putting other things ahead of their relationship with God. And that would be the danger of Halloween that somehow God is lost in all of this, the religious connotation is lost and then people end up glorifying evil.”
Already back in the 1990s, in south Louisiana, the exorcist Fr. Mario Termini (who died in 2002), was saying: “Halloween is the most dangerous time of the year when it comes to spiritual warfare, because the ancient pagan festival is the night when Satan and his minions are most active — as are Satan worshipers. It’s the time when Satanists practice human sacrifice―especially of children. We have satanic cells around here. They exist in all big cities.” Sgt. C.P. Wilson, of the Baton Rouge City Police intelligence division, confirmed what the exorcist priest had said―but the police officer refused to discuss investigations in detail, but did confirm that Father Termini’s observations square with his own experiences: “This is difficult to talk about and deal with from a law enforcement standpoint,” the officer said. “Some of this stuff is sounds so far-fetched, that it’s very difficult to convince people that it’s really going on.”
In 1990, the recently deceased (2016) Chief Exorcist of Rome, Father Gabriele Amorth, along with five other priests, founded the International Association of Catholic Exorcists. This organization holds an international conference every other year in Rome. In 2014, the International Association of Catholic Exorcists was officially recognized by the Vatican. At the international conference for exorcists, held in Rome that same year, the exorcist and spokesman for the International Association of Catholic Exorcists, Fr. Aldo Buonaiuto, said the Association’s emergency number receives around 40 calls a day around October 31st. The most common are calls from parents who are concerned that their child has become involved in the supernatural. While most people now associate Halloween with trick-or-treating and dressing up, the Catholic Church has previously taken issue with the holiday’s association with the occult.
Fr. Buonaiuto, a former President of the International Association of Catholic Exorcists, said: “Many say Halloween is a simple carnival, but in fact, there is nothing innocent or fun about it – it is the antechamber to something much more disturbing and dangerous! For devotees of the occult, October 31st is the satanic new year. With the arrival of Halloween, there is an increase in black magic rites, sacrilege and the adoration of Satan, as well as demonic possessions. There are always more evil rituals, animal sacrifices, desecrations of cemeteries and thefts of sacred bones at the time of the October 31st. For Satanic sects, it is the best time of year to recruit new members. It’s a time for luring new converts. From here, the door to the devil can be opened. For this reason, it’s necessary for us to speak out and not play down the danger. Halloween pushes new generations towards a mentality of esoteric magic and it attacks sacred and spiritual values through a devious initiation to the art and images of the occult.”
It’s More Than a Game! It’s Devilishly Real!
Another priest―who is not an exorcist―writes: “Some priest-exorcists have been sharing their vast experience with the wide public, and have made it known that during exorcisms, Satan usually speaks through the possessed person. The devil makes known certain things which a lot of people would normally not be aware of. One of the important pieces of information which has been gathered during exorcisms has to do with Halloween. As it turns out, the night between October 31st and November 1st is a time when, all over the world, Satanic practice is on the increase, because on that night, the greatest number of satanic rituals are performed, especially so-called demonic “black masses” which are celebrated with the use of animal or even human sacrifice.
“So someone may say: ‘Okay, fair enough, but I have nothing to do with it. My children have nothing to do with it. How does this concern me and my children, if what we are doing on Halloween is just a game with my kids wearing all kinds of funny costumes?’ Dressing up in costumes that stand for demons, goblins, witches, and vampires is not the same as putting on a mask with the face of a sports star or pop star, or a shirt similar to the one used by Elvis Presley. Exorcists have been finding out that when we start playing with something that resembles Satan, and his demons, we open ourselves to these malevolent creatures’ influence, which is not just something psychological or intellectual in nature. Satan sees such behavior as an invitation on our part: an open door to his evil spiritual influence on the minds and souls of human beings. As exorcists confirm unequivocally, even if we are not consciously seeking demonic influence, it is still possible for us to be dangerously affected by it. Actually, it is a lot easier for the devil to enter into the mind of those who think nothing of things that “innocently” resemble the devil.
“So while it is true that there is an unhealthy intellectual and psychological aspect which negatively influences children dressing up in costumes of demons, witches, goblins, and vampires, there is an even more serious area which we should be concerned about: the spiritual aspect of demonic activity which appears innocent and harmless. It becomes more dangerous, because the innocent appearance of evil desensitizes us to what we are dealing with. Let us never forget that it is not only members of Satanic cults who enter into a spiritual relationship with Satan. A spiritual relationship with the devil can take place in various degrees. It does not always have to end up in diabolical possession. But, as exorcists warn, exposing kids to something which has some kind of a demonic connotation, draws the risk of entering into a relationship with the devil. It is like a slightly open window that a thief sees from a distance: for him it a signal which he interprets as an invitation to enter into the house. Dressing up children in costumes of all kinds of evil spirits and creatures, hanging pumpkins outside the house with evil faces carved on them, is like sending an invitation card to the devil by express mail. We can be assured that the devil will get interested in the invitation. But once he comes, it will not be that easy to fend him off.” (Fr. Jacek Stefanski).
Teach and Preach Against Halloween
Fr. Jeremy Davis, has been an exorcist of over 40 years experience for the Archdiocese of Westminster (London, England). Interestingly, Fr. Davies sees potential opportunities for the Church to do good in face of the fact that Halloween has gained an ever-higher profile year by year. “Halloween is a good opportunity,” he suggests, “to teach the Faith and help all of us — especially children — to understand the reality of evil and the truth of Christ and his Church.” It is the occasion, he feels, to “teach against” the festival using the word of God and the “clear teaching of the Church.” This now-omnipresent paganized holiday is the moment, he says, “to warn the world not just to avoid Halloween; it is also an opportunity to tell people about Christ.”
Staying on that side of “pond”, at the annual Synod of the Dioceses of Derry and Raphoe, in Northern Ireland, Fr. David Crooks said: “Halloween ... is turning into this ridiculous nonsense ... In shops and all over the place, we see all these accoutrements of witchcraft and all that kind of horrible nonsense! People say ‘Oh, it’s just for the children!’ Well, I think it’s sending the wrong message to children ― it’s actually highly dangerous! It can lead children to start looking at the internet and finding there things like tarot cards and séances, it can grow into all of that. It’s highly dangerous stuff.”
Another Irish priest, Fr. Richard O’Connor ― of the Diocese of Kerry, Ireland ― says he wants to see Halloween “get back to its true meaning” and that Catholics should lead the way: He said: “The word ‘Halloween’ means the eve of the feast of All Saints. Yet on shop windows and even on school windows, we see images of ghosts, skeletons, witches, demons etc., at this time of year, indeed of all sorts of ugly things that remind one of the occult and of Satan―and are avenues towards the occult. We’re supposed to be celebrating the Feast of All Saints (November 1st) and we have the kids dressing up as demons and devils and witches and things like that―the very opposite! But many Catholic parents and the boards of Catholic schools seem to have no problem with this. Instead, they see it, naively, as good fun even though such things are what might be called ‘avenues’ leading towards the occult; and this at a time when Satan-worship, black masses, and séances are on the increase all over the world. It shows a complete betrayal of the Christian Faith on this particular point. Certainly, have Halloween parties, but have them centered on the saints. I would say certainly make a big thing of Halloween and have a great party but be celebrating the saints instead of the demons. I would expect Catholic schools to give the lead in that respect. Look at Christmas―the school will have a little play centered on the Nativity, and the kids love dressing up as shepherds, the three kings, and all the rest of it. The same way you could have a party centered on the saints. It would give real meaning. If Halloween is to get back its true meaning, why not make this a time when parents encourage young people to dress up as their favorite saints, and schools, then, give prizes for the best efforts. Furthermore, instead of ‘trick-or-treating’, the young could also go around to their neighbors offering to pray to those saints for their intentions.”
Fr. Vincent Lampert, aged 59 (as of October 2022), ordained in 1991 and for over 15 years, since 2005, an exorcist for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis―says that the manner in which Halloween is celebrated can be an invitation for evil. Fr. Lampert says that he doesn’t see anything wrong with kids dressing up in innocent costumes, such as a cowboy or Cinderella, and asking for candy―“That’s all good, clean fun!” he said. However, he adds that there is danger in costumes that “deliberately glorify evil and instill fear in people”; further adding: “The devil and evil spirits do not have any additional authority on Halloween. It is what people do that invites the devil in. Perhaps by the way they’re celebrating that day, they’re actually inviting more evil into their lives. A lot of children are out celebrating Halloween, perhaps evil is being glorified, but we’re not really sitting around and talking about why certain practices are not conducive with our Catholic Faith and our Catholic identity. I think using it as a teachable moment would be a great thing to do.” Additionally, Fr. Lampert states that even if it’s “just for fun,” it is dangerous. He then references the Bible―Deuteronomy chapter 18―explaining that “it talks about not trying to consult the spirits of the dead, not consulting those who dabble in magic and witchcraft and the like…” Why? He says it’s “because it’s a violation of a church commandment that people are putting other things ahead of their relationship with God. And that would be the danger of Halloween that somehow God is lost in all of this, the religious connotation is lost and then people end up glorifying evil.”
Already back in the 1990s, in south Louisiana, the exorcist Fr. Mario Termini (who died in 2002), was saying: “Halloween is the most dangerous time of the year when it comes to spiritual warfare, because the ancient pagan festival is the night when Satan and his minions are most active — as are Satan worshipers. It’s the time when Satanists practice human sacrifice―especially of children. We have satanic cells around here. They exist in all big cities.” Sgt. C.P. Wilson, of the Baton Rouge City Police intelligence division, confirmed what the exorcist priest had said―but the police officer refused to discuss investigations in detail, but did confirm that Father Termini’s observations square with his own experiences: “This is difficult to talk about and deal with from a law enforcement standpoint,” the officer said. “Some of this stuff is sounds so far-fetched, that it’s very difficult to convince people that it’s really going on.”
Article 5
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From All Hallow's Eve to All Hallow's Day
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The Four Last Things
As we enter the last months of the year, and as we watch summer and fall come ot an end, with the leaves beginning to die and cascade to the ground, we are reminded of the end of life. It is said that the most important things that we could ever meditate upon are the so-called “Four Last Things”―namely, Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Not very popular meditations, but nevertheless very efficacious meditations. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that in all things we must look the end. We have all heard of the saying: “As we live, so shall we die!” There is even a little rhyme that warns:
“As a tree falls, so must it lie,
As a man lives, so shall he die,
As a man dies, so shall he be,
All through the years of eternity!”
You Get Out Of Something What You Put Into It
Holy Scripture says: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Yet to reap eternal joy, we must undergo a life of sorrow. If we want nothing but a life of joy, we could undergo eternal sorrow. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 125:5).
A Hallowed Time
If you check the word “Hallow” in a dictionary, you will a definition similar to the following: “to make holy or set apart for holy use”; “to make holy; sanctify; consecrate”; “to honor as holy; consider sacred; to venerate, to respect greatly.” Thus we better understand the word in the Our Father--“hallowed by Thy Name!”
The noun is from the Old English adjective hālig, nominalised as se hālga “the holy man”. We have, in German, a word that closely resemble hālig, it the word “heilige” as is “heilige nacht” (meaning, “Holy Night”—as in the famous Christmas Carol: Silent Night, Holy Night).
In the past, All Saints Day was also known as “All Hallows Day.” Hallow, as a noun, is a synonym of the word saint. I guess a fake saint would be “Hollow”! Holiness or "Hallowness" is a prerequisite for entry into Heaven—for only saints go to Heaven, or could we say that only saints are “hallowed” into Heaven. Perhaps the word “Hello” stems from “Hallow”?
Holy Cross—Cross of Holiness
The road to Heaven and sanctity is nothing other than the Way of the Cross! The Holy Cross. or the Hallowed Cross, is what makes us holy and fit for Heaven! Our Lord does not mince His words when: “He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me [to Heaven], let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). However, “the laborer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:18) and “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:12). For “as it is written: ‘That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!’” (1 Corinthians 2:9). You cannot outdo God in generosity!
Rewards Amidst the Cross
Yet, even among the sufferings of this world, in our strenuous efforts to be saints, we will also receive a reward—”Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29-30). This was Our Lord’s reply to St. Peter, who had asked Him: “Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee!” (Luke 18:28). St. Mark adds the unpleasant Cross in his report of Jesus’ reply to Peter: “Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time―houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions―and in the world to come life everlasting” (Mark 10:29-30).
Wait For It!
However, the full reward, the true reward, the lasting reward will come in the next life—as Our Lady told St. Bernadette: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next!” This merely echoes what Our Lord promised His Apostles and disciples before entering into His own Passion, Cross and Death: “They shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved … Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy … Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 24:9; 5:11-12; Mark 13:13; John 16:20).
Not Always What It Seems!
C.S. Lewis offers a beautiful reflection on the path to sanctity in his book Weight of Glory: “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of theses destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal … Our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins, in spite of which we love the sinner — no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ is the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden” (C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory).
Preconceived Ideas About Saints
Workers of miracles—readers of minds—makers of prophecy—severe penances—endless prayers—faultless lives—these and similar traits are what we tend to associate with saints and becoming saints. We forget that when in was announced in the Carmelite Convent of Liseux that one of the deceased sisters was “up for canonization”—when the sisters finally extracted the name of the candidate from “those in the know”, they were shocked to find out that it Thérèse of the Infant Jesus! The common reaction was one of “What did she ever do that was worthy of canonization?” Of course, we now know that ‘her way’ is what we now call “The Little Way”—and Pope St. Pius X calls her the model for sanctity in this modern world.
Even Sinner Saints!
For those discouraged about achieving sanctity, there can be no better thing than to read and study the lives of the great sinners who became great saints. They are walking proof of the words of God in Holy Scripture, Who said: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Around the time of Our Lord, we think of St. Mary Magdalen, who was possessed by seven devils and caught in adultery. Then there is St. Dismas, the Good Thief on the cross, who, by his sufferings and sorrow for sin, steals Heaven with his dying breath. There too, on Calvary, in the Roman legionary, St. Longinus, who pierces Our Lord’s heart with his spear, and ends up being pierced with sorrow in his own heart—finally converting, leaving the military and becoming a saint. Then there is St. Paul the persecutor of Christians, who converts and becomes a pillar of the Faith and paying for his sins through a lifetime of suffering.
A little later in time, as the Church grows, we have St. Callixtus of Rome, who had a very sinful life before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. He embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century, when he reformed. Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, and died a martyr shortly thereafter, thereby sufficiently paying his debts for sin.
St. Mary of Egypt (c.344-c.421), at the age of 12, ran away from home to Alexandria, the most ‘exciting’ city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins, when a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God's intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary then spent the rest of her life as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert.
The beautiful, teenage St. Pelagia would have been every parent’s nightmare. As legend has it, she was a dancer and courtesan by her early teens. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. The young girl was baptized, gave away her possessions to the poor and lived as a hermit for the rest of her life.
Another sinner turned saint was St. Olga (879-969). When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, St. Olga, princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband's murderer and almost all of his people. In vengeance, she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev as a Christian, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her―even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.”
Heaven’s Surprise
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash!
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in Hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal?
I would love to hear your take!”
“How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake!”
“And why’s everyone so quiet, so somber?”
“Give me a clue!”
“My Friend,” He said, “They’re all in shock!”
“They never thought they’d be seeing you!”
Museum or Hospital?
As St. Augustine says: “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital of sinners … There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future” (St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church—sinners need a good doctor!).
Saints can seem remote and distant, close to God, but far from people. But they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Their lives were like ours, full of dilemmas and struggles, with bad choices as well as good. But their goodness won out in the end, as ours can. Interest in angels is quite popular at the moment, but it is the saints who are really like us in both their strengths and frailties. They came to Heaven’s Hospital wounded by sin, and they found a cure—sometimes a painful cure—in Christ’s care.
You’d Better Believe It and Want It!
Let it be said and let it be understood and let it be believed and let it be desired: God expects you to be a saint and Our Lady will help you be a saint! Don’t question it and don’t doubt it! It is not, as you may think, an act of pride to want and expect to be a saint—it is an act of insanity not to do so! What’s the alternative to not wanting to and actually becoming a saint in this life? It is either Hell or Purgatory! Either way, it is insanity! Why pay a thousand times more or pay eternally for what could have been bought at a fraction of the effort and pain here below? You are expected to be a saint. You can be a saint. You must be a saint. Only saints go to Heaven.
As we enter the last months of the year, and as we watch summer and fall come ot an end, with the leaves beginning to die and cascade to the ground, we are reminded of the end of life. It is said that the most important things that we could ever meditate upon are the so-called “Four Last Things”―namely, Death, Judgment, Heaven and Hell. Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Ouch! Not very popular meditations, but nevertheless very efficacious meditations. St. Thomas Aquinas tells us that in all things we must look the end. We have all heard of the saying: “As we live, so shall we die!” There is even a little rhyme that warns:
“As a tree falls, so must it lie,
As a man lives, so shall he die,
As a man dies, so shall he be,
All through the years of eternity!”
You Get Out Of Something What You Put Into It
Holy Scripture says: “For what things a man shall sow, those also shall he reap. For he that soweth in his flesh, of the flesh also shall reap corruption. But he that soweth in the spirit, of the spirit shall reap life everlasting” (Galatians 6:8). Yet to reap eternal joy, we must undergo a life of sorrow. If we want nothing but a life of joy, we could undergo eternal sorrow. “They that sow in tears shall reap in joy” (Psalm 125:5).
A Hallowed Time
If you check the word “Hallow” in a dictionary, you will a definition similar to the following: “to make holy or set apart for holy use”; “to make holy; sanctify; consecrate”; “to honor as holy; consider sacred; to venerate, to respect greatly.” Thus we better understand the word in the Our Father--“hallowed by Thy Name!”
The noun is from the Old English adjective hālig, nominalised as se hālga “the holy man”. We have, in German, a word that closely resemble hālig, it the word “heilige” as is “heilige nacht” (meaning, “Holy Night”—as in the famous Christmas Carol: Silent Night, Holy Night).
In the past, All Saints Day was also known as “All Hallows Day.” Hallow, as a noun, is a synonym of the word saint. I guess a fake saint would be “Hollow”! Holiness or "Hallowness" is a prerequisite for entry into Heaven—for only saints go to Heaven, or could we say that only saints are “hallowed” into Heaven. Perhaps the word “Hello” stems from “Hallow”?
Holy Cross—Cross of Holiness
The road to Heaven and sanctity is nothing other than the Way of the Cross! The Holy Cross. or the Hallowed Cross, is what makes us holy and fit for Heaven! Our Lord does not mince His words when: “He said to all: ‘If any man will come after Me [to Heaven], let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me!’” (Luke 9:23) … “And he that taketh not up his cross, and followeth Me, is not worthy of Me!” (Matthew 10:38). However, “the laborer is worthy of his reward” (1 Timothy 5:18) and “Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 5:12). For “as it is written: ‘That eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man, what things God hath prepared for them that love Him!’” (1 Corinthians 2:9). You cannot outdo God in generosity!
Rewards Amidst the Cross
Yet, even among the sufferings of this world, in our strenuous efforts to be saints, we will also receive a reward—”Amen, I say to you, there is no man that hath left house, or parents, or brethren, or wife, or children, for the Kingdom of God’s sake, who shall not receive much more in this present time, and in the world to come life everlasting” (Luke 18:29-30). This was Our Lord’s reply to St. Peter, who had asked Him: “Behold, we have left all things, and have followed thee!” (Luke 18:28). St. Mark adds the unpleasant Cross in his report of Jesus’ reply to Peter: “Amen I say to you, there is no man who hath left house or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or children, or lands, for My sake and for the Gospel, who shall not receive an hundred times as much, now in this time―houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions―and in the world to come life everlasting” (Mark 10:29-30).
Wait For It!
However, the full reward, the true reward, the lasting reward will come in the next life—as Our Lady told St. Bernadette: “I do not promise to make you happy in this life, but in the next!” This merely echoes what Our Lord promised His Apostles and disciples before entering into His own Passion, Cross and Death: “They shall deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall put you to death: and you shall be hated by all nations for My Name’s sake … And you shall be hated by all men for My Name’s sake. But he that shall endure unto the end, he shall be saved … Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy … Blessed are ye when they shall revile you, and persecute you, and speak all that is evil against you, untruly, for My sake! Be glad and rejoice, for your reward is very great in Heaven!” (Matthew 24:9; 5:11-12; Mark 13:13; John 16:20).
Not Always What It Seems!
C.S. Lewis offers a beautiful reflection on the path to sanctity in his book Weight of Glory: “The load, or weight, or burden of my neighbor’s glory should be laid daily on my back, a load so heavy that only humility can carry it, and the backs of the proud will be broken. It is a serious thing to live in a society of possible gods and goddesses, to remember that the dullest and most uninteresting person you talk to may one day be a creature which, if you saw it now, you would be strongly tempted to worship, or else a horror and a corruption such as you now meet, if at all, only in a nightmare. All day long we are, in some degree, helping each other to one or other of theses destinations. It is in the light of these overwhelming possibilities, it is with the awe and the circumspection proper to them, that we should conduct all our dealings with one another, all friendships, all loves, all play, all politics. There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal … Our charity must be a real and costly love, with deep feeling for the sins, in spite of which we love the sinner — no mere tolerance or indulgence which parodies love as flippancy parodies merriment. Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object presented to your senses. If he is your Christian neighbor he is holy in almost the same way, for in him also Christ is the glorifier and the glorified, Glory Himself, is truly hidden” (C.S. Lewis, Weight of Glory).
Preconceived Ideas About Saints
Workers of miracles—readers of minds—makers of prophecy—severe penances—endless prayers—faultless lives—these and similar traits are what we tend to associate with saints and becoming saints. We forget that when in was announced in the Carmelite Convent of Liseux that one of the deceased sisters was “up for canonization”—when the sisters finally extracted the name of the candidate from “those in the know”, they were shocked to find out that it Thérèse of the Infant Jesus! The common reaction was one of “What did she ever do that was worthy of canonization?” Of course, we now know that ‘her way’ is what we now call “The Little Way”—and Pope St. Pius X calls her the model for sanctity in this modern world.
Even Sinner Saints!
For those discouraged about achieving sanctity, there can be no better thing than to read and study the lives of the great sinners who became great saints. They are walking proof of the words of God in Holy Scripture, Who said: “If your sins be as scarlet, they shall be made as white as snow: and if they be red as crimson, they shall be white as wool” (Isaias 1:18).
Around the time of Our Lord, we think of St. Mary Magdalen, who was possessed by seven devils and caught in adultery. Then there is St. Dismas, the Good Thief on the cross, who, by his sufferings and sorrow for sin, steals Heaven with his dying breath. There too, on Calvary, in the Roman legionary, St. Longinus, who pierces Our Lord’s heart with his spear, and ends up being pierced with sorrow in his own heart—finally converting, leaving the military and becoming a saint. Then there is St. Paul the persecutor of Christians, who converts and becomes a pillar of the Faith and paying for his sins through a lifetime of suffering.
A little later in time, as the Church grows, we have St. Callixtus of Rome, who had a very sinful life before being taken under the wing of Victor I, a second century pope. He embezzled money and started a public riot, amongst other criminal affairs, but left that all behind early in the third century, when he reformed. Callixtus went on to become a pope himself, and died a martyr shortly thereafter, thereby sufficiently paying his debts for sin.
St. Mary of Egypt (c.344-c.421), at the age of 12, ran away from home to Alexandria, the most ‘exciting’ city in the Roman Empire. She became an accomplished seductress, who took special pleasure in corrupting innocent young men. Once, on a whim, she joined a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. By the time the ship reached its destination, Mary had seduced the entire crew and all of the pilgrims. In Jerusalem she realized the enormity of her sins, when a supernatural force prevented her from entering the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. Filled with remorse, Mary sought the Mother of God's intercession and made a good confession. In penance, Mary then spent the rest of her life as a hermit, alone in the Jordanian desert.
The beautiful, teenage St. Pelagia would have been every parent’s nightmare. As legend has it, she was a dancer and courtesan by her early teens. Pelagia’s conversion occurred all of a sudden, following a chance encounter with Saint Nonnus, the bishop of Edessa. The young girl was baptized, gave away her possessions to the poor and lived as a hermit for the rest of her life.
Another sinner turned saint was St. Olga (879-969). When a neighboring tribe assassinated her husband, St. Olga, princess of Kiev, went to war. Olga slaughtered her husband's murderer and almost all of his people. In vengeance, she massacred virtually the entire tribe; the few who did survive she sold into slavery. Years later, while in Constantinople to make an alliance with the emperor, Olga visited a church and was in awe of the magnificence of the liturgy. She took instruction, was baptized and returned to Kiev as a Christian, zealous to convert her people. Olga tried to convert her people, but hardly anyone would listen to her―even her family rejected Christianity. Olga died believing that as a missionary, she was a failure. Yet, she planted a seed of Faith which flourished. Today, Catholic and Orthodox Christians of Russia and Ukraine hail her as “Equal to the Apostles.”
Heaven’s Surprise
I was shocked, confused, bewildered
As I entered Heaven’s door,
Not by the beauty of it all,
Nor the lights or its decor.
But it was the folks in Heaven
Who made me sputter and gasp--
The thieves, the liars, the sinners,
The alcoholics and the trash!
There stood the kid from seventh grade
Who swiped my lunch money twice.
Next to him was my old neighbor
Who never said anything nice.
Herb, who I always thought
Was rotting away in Hell,
Was sitting pretty on cloud nine,
Looking incredibly well.
I nudged Jesus, “What’s the deal?
I would love to hear your take!”
“How’d all these sinners get up here?
God must’ve made a mistake!”
“And why’s everyone so quiet, so somber?”
“Give me a clue!”
“My Friend,” He said, “They’re all in shock!”
“They never thought they’d be seeing you!”
Museum or Hospital?
As St. Augustine says: “The Church is not a museum of saints, but a hospital of sinners … There is no saint without a past, no sinner without a future” (St. Augustine of Hippo, Doctor of the Church—sinners need a good doctor!).
Saints can seem remote and distant, close to God, but far from people. But they’re more like us than we give them credit for. Their lives were like ours, full of dilemmas and struggles, with bad choices as well as good. But their goodness won out in the end, as ours can. Interest in angels is quite popular at the moment, but it is the saints who are really like us in both their strengths and frailties. They came to Heaven’s Hospital wounded by sin, and they found a cure—sometimes a painful cure—in Christ’s care.
You’d Better Believe It and Want It!
Let it be said and let it be understood and let it be believed and let it be desired: God expects you to be a saint and Our Lady will help you be a saint! Don’t question it and don’t doubt it! It is not, as you may think, an act of pride to want and expect to be a saint—it is an act of insanity not to do so! What’s the alternative to not wanting to and actually becoming a saint in this life? It is either Hell or Purgatory! Either way, it is insanity! Why pay a thousand times more or pay eternally for what could have been bought at a fraction of the effort and pain here below? You are expected to be a saint. You can be a saint. You must be a saint. Only saints go to Heaven.
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Article 6
Forget Halloween! This is the Real Day to Remember the Dead!
This is last of the Halloween or Hell-O-Ween articles
November 2nd is All Souls Day, it is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead. All Souls Day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and a few other denominations of Christianity. The Anglican church is the largest Protestant church to celebrate the holy day. Most Protestant denominations do not recognize the holiday and disagree with the theology behind it.
According to Catholic Church teaching and belief, the soul of a person who dies can go to one of three places—two are permanent places and one is temporary. The first permanent location is Heaven, where a person goes who dies in a state of grace and in perfect communion with God, having paid their debt for all past forgiven sins. The second permanent location is Hell, where those who die in a state of mortal sin are naturally condemned by their own choice. The intermediate or temporary option is Purgatory, which is thought to be where most people go, who die free of mortal sin, but with the debt for forgiven sins (mortal and/or venial) still unpaid due to imperfect love and insufficient penance.
At one time, Catholics flocked to their churches on All Souls Day, to offer prayers in memory of their friends and loved ones. These days, however, most All Souls Day Masses are poorly attended.
Since praying for the dead is our Christian duty, it's sad to see how little attention is paid to All Souls Day. That's especially true since there is a special plenary indulgence that can be gained for the souls in Purgatory on All Souls Day. A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment for sin—and so, in effect, releases a soul from Purgatory.
To obtain the plenary indulgence, you must visit a church, recite one Our Father and the Creed, receive Communion, and pray one additional Our Father and one Hail Mary for the intentions of the Holy Father.
On the care of the dead, St. Augustine writes:
“The providing of a place at the Memorials of Saints for the burial of bodies, is a mark of a good human affection towards the remains of one's friends. Yet it follows not that the bodies of the departed are to be despised and flung aside, and above all of just and faithful men, which bodies as organs and vessels to all good works their spirit has holily used. For if a father's garment and ring, and whatever such like, is the more dear to those whom they leave behind, the greater their affection is towards their parents, in no wise are the bodies themselves to be spurned, which truly we wear in more familiar and close conjunction than any of our putting on. For these pertain not to ornament or aid which is applied from without, but to the very nature of man. Whence also the funerals of the just men of old were with dutiful piety cared for, and their obsequies celebrated, and sepulture provided: and themselves while living did touching burial or even translation of their bodies give charge to their sons” (St. Augustine, On the Care for the Deceased, Chapters 2 and 3).
“And when this affection is exhibited to the departed by faithful men who were most dear to them, there is no doubt that it profits them who while living in the body merited that such things should profit them after this life. But even if some necessity should through absence of all facility not allow bodies to be interred, or in such places interred, yet should there be no pretermitting of supplications for the spirits of the dead: which supplications, that they should be made for all in Christian and catholic fellowship departed, even without mentioning of their names, under a general commemoration, the Church has charged herself withal; to the intent that they which lack, for these offices, parents or sons or whatever kindred or friends, may have the same afforded unto them by the one pious mother which is common to all. But if there were lack of these supplications, which are made with right Faith and piety for the dead, I account that it should not a whit profit their spirits, howsoever in holy places the lifeless bodies should be deposited” (St. Augustine, On the Care for the Deceased, Chapter 4).
“If these things be so, then let us not think that any other thing reaches the dead, unto whom we would like to extend our care, except such things as we solemnly supplicate for them by means of sacrifices, either of the altar, or of prayers, or of alms given to God in their name. And even so, such sacrifices are not profitable unto all the deceased for whom they are offered, but only to them who so lived their lives on earth as to merit that such things would be profitable to them after death. But, inasmuch as we know not who these souls might be that are able to profit from our prayers and sacrifices, it is fitting that we offer them for all deceased persons, just in case anyone might be passed over, to whom these benefits may and ought to reach.
“Far better it is that these things be needlessly or superfluously done on behalf of them, whom they neither hinder nor help [because of their already being in Heaven or Hell], than that they be lacking unto them who might still need such aid. And it is natural that one should do these things right diligently on behalf of his own kin, in the hope that by his kinsfolk the same likewise will, someday, be done on his behalf. But so far as the burying of the body is concerned, whatsoever is bestowed on the dead body, is no aid to salvation, but a mere duty to humanity; for it comes naturally from that affection by which it is said that no one ever hates his own flesh. Wherefore it is fitting that man should take whatever care he can for the dead body of his neighbor, when he that once lived in that body is now departed from it. And if they, that believe not in the resurrection of the flesh, do these things, how much more ought we, that believe, so to do? For are not such offices, bestowed upon a dead body, which yet shall rise again and remain unto eternity, a kind of a testimony to our Faith in the resurrection?” (St. Augustine, On the Care for the Deceased, Chapter 18).
Dom Gueranger, in the final volume of The Liturgical Year, writes of All Souls Day, saying:
“No human science or eloquence could ever reach the depth of teaching, the power of soul-stirring supplication contained in the Office of the Dead. This intimate knowledge of the secrets of the other world, and of the way to win the Heart of her Spouse, belongs to the bride alone; and she alone, the true mother of men, is able with exquisite tact to console the orphans and the bereaved, by shortening the painful purification of those who have passed away. The suffering souls and the blessed, both are the captives of love; love gives them their dignity, and is their imperishable treasure. In the case of the blessed, Faith having given place to the vision of God, their love is highest bliss; but to the suffering souls, imprisoned in darkness by sins not yet expiated, love is the source of inexpressible pain. However, they are now free from the anxieties of this world, the perils of Hell, they are confirmed in grace, and can never sin again; they are full of gratitude towards God who has saved them in His mercy, and in His justice is purifying them to make them worthy of Himself. They are in a state of absolute and perfect resignation and of calm expectancy, called by holy Church a ‘sleep of peace.’”
“The soul in Purgatory, separated from the body which weighed her down and distracted her. by a thousand vain preoccupations, is now entirely absorbed by the one desire of becoming at length perfectly pleasing to God. Towards this end her whole energy is directed: and so too is the force of the torments for whose violence she is so grateful. Purgatory is a crucible where the dross of sin is burnt away, until every debt is cancelled. When its flames have effaced every stain and every wrinkle that marred the soul's beauty, then she flees away to her Spouse, truly a blessed one and sure of offering no obstacle to the complacent love of her Lord. Yet to what a sad length her exile is prolonged! True, she is united by charity to the inhabitants of Heaven: but the fire which torments her is of the same nature as that of Hell; her abode is nigh to that of the damned; she must endure the proximity of the infernal Cedar, and of those haters 0/ all peace, the detestable demons, who attacked her unceasingly during her mortal life with their assaults and their snares, and who still with deceitful tongue accuse her before the throne of God.
“Yet the soul faints not; lifting up her eyes to the mountains, she feels that she can rely upon her Lord, and that she is abandoned neither by Heaven, which is expecting her arrival, nor by her mother the Church on earth. Although Purgatory, where justice and peace meet and embrace, is so near the region of endless weeping, it is still accessible to the angels. These august messengers comfort the soul with divine communications: while the blessed in Heaven and the just on earth assist her with their prayers and suffrages. She is well assured that sin, the only real evil, can never touch her.
“The destitute condition of the holy souls is well calculated to touch our hearts. Though not yet in Heaven, they no longer belong to earth, and have consequently lost those privileges whereby God compensates us for the dangers which surround us in our passage through this world of trial. Their perfect acts of Love, of Hope, of Faith, and of resignation, have no merit. Such unspeakable sufferings, accepted with their dispositions, would earn for us a reward equal to that of a thousand martyrs; yet to these souls they profit nothing, for all eternity, beyond the mere payment of the penalty exacted by the just Judge. Besides their inability to merit, they can no longer satisfy God's justice by offering Him an equivalent such as He can accept. Their powerlessness to help themselves is more absolute than that of the paralytic of the pool of Bethsaida: the saving waters are left behind on earth, together with the holy Sacrifice, the Sacraments, and the use of the all-powerful keys entrusted to the Church.
“The Church, however, albeit she has no longer any jurisdiction over these poor souls, still feels towards them all a mother's tenderness; nor has she lost her credit with the Spouse. She makes their prayer her own. Opening the treasure she has inherited from the plentiful redemption of the Lord, she makes an offering from her dowry to Him who gave it her, begging in return the deliverance of the captives, or at least an alleviation of their sufferings. Thus, all rights being duly respected, abundant mercy penetrates into the kingdom of inexorable justice” (Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, “All Souls Day”).
Dom Gueranger, in the final volume of The Liturgical Year, writes of All Souls Day, saying:
“No human science or eloquence could ever reach the depth of teaching, the power of soul-stirring supplication contained in the Office of the Dead. This intimate knowledge of the secrets of the other world, and of the way to win the Heart of her Spouse, belongs to the bride alone; and she alone, the true mother of men, is able with exquisite tact to console the orphans and the bereaved, by shortening the painful purification of those who have passed away. The suffering souls and the blessed, both are the captives of love; love gives them their dignity, and is their imperishable treasure.
"In the case of the blessed, Faith having given place to the vision of God, their love is highest bliss; but to the suffering souls, imprisoned in darkness by sins not yet expiated, love is the source of inexpressible pain. However, they are now free from the anxieties of this world, the perils of Hell, they are confirmed in grace, and can never sin again; they are full of gratitude towards God who has saved them in His mercy, and in His justice is purifying them to make them worthy of Himself. They are in a state of absolute and perfect resignation and of calm expectancy, called by holy Church a ‘sleep of peace.’”
“The soul in Purgatory, separated from the body which weighed her down and distracted her. by a thousand vain preoccupations, is now entirely absorbed by the one desire of becoming at length perfectly pleasing to God. Towards this end her whole energy is directed: and so too is the force of the torments for whose violence she is so grateful.
"Purgatory is a crucible where the dross of sin is burnt away, until every debt is cancelled. When its flames have effaced every stain and every wrinkle that marred the soul's beauty, then she flees away to her Spouse, truly a blessed one and sure of offering no obstacle to the complacent love of her Lord. Yet to what a sad length her exile is prolonged!
"True, she is united by charity to the inhabitants of Heaven: but the fire which torments her is of the same nature as that of Hell; her abode is nigh to that of the damned; she must endure the proximity of the infernal Cedar, and of those haters 0/ all peace, the detestable demons, who attacked her unceasingly during her mortal life with their assaults and their snares, and who still with deceitful tongue accuse her before the throne of God.
“Yet the soul faints not; lifting up her eyes to the mountains, she feels that she can rely upon her Lord, and that she is abandoned neither by Heaven, which is expecting her arrival, nor by her mother the Church on earth. Although Purgatory, where justice and peace meet and embrace, is so near the region of endless weeping, it is still accessible to the angels. These august messengers comfort the soul with divine communications: while the blessed in Heaven and the just on earth assist her with their prayers and suffrages. She is well assured that sin, the only real evil, can never touch her.
“The destitute condition of the holy souls is well calculated to touch our hearts. Though not yet in Heaven, they no longer belong to earth, and have consequently lost those privileges whereby God compensates us for the dangers which surround us in our passage through this world of trial. Their perfect acts of Love, of Hope, of Faith, and of resignation, have no merit.
"Such unspeakable sufferings, accepted with their dispositions, would earn for us a reward equal to that of a thousand martyrs; yet to these souls they profit nothing, for all eternity, beyond the mere payment of the penalty exacted by the just Judge. Besides their inability to merit, they can no longer satisfy God's justice by offering Him an equivalent such as He can accept. Their powerlessness to help themselves is more absolute than that of the paralytic of the pool of Bethsaida: the saving waters are left behind on earth, together with the holy Sacrifice, the Sacraments, and the use of the all-powerful keys entrusted to the Church.
“The Church, however, albeit she has no longer any jurisdiction over these poor souls, still feels towards them all a mother's tenderness; nor has she lost her credit with the Spouse. She makes their prayer her own. Opening the treasure she has inherited from the plentiful redemption of the Lord, she makes an offering from her dowry to Him who gave it her, begging in return the deliverance of the captives, or at least an alleviation of their sufferings. Thus, all rights being duly respected, abundant mercy penetrates into the kingdom of inexorable justice” (Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, “All Souls Day”).
According to Catholic Church teaching and belief, the soul of a person who dies can go to one of three places—two are permanent places and one is temporary. The first permanent location is Heaven, where a person goes who dies in a state of grace and in perfect communion with God, having paid their debt for all past forgiven sins. The second permanent location is Hell, where those who die in a state of mortal sin are naturally condemned by their own choice. The intermediate or temporary option is Purgatory, which is thought to be where most people go, who die free of mortal sin, but with the debt for forgiven sins (mortal and/or venial) still unpaid due to imperfect love and insufficient penance.
At one time, Catholics flocked to their churches on All Souls Day, to offer prayers in memory of their friends and loved ones. These days, however, most All Souls Day Masses are poorly attended.
Since praying for the dead is our Christian duty, it's sad to see how little attention is paid to All Souls Day. That's especially true since there is a special plenary indulgence that can be gained for the souls in Purgatory on All Souls Day. A plenary indulgence removes all temporal punishment for sin—and so, in effect, releases a soul from Purgatory.
To obtain the plenary indulgence, you must visit a church, recite one Our Father and the Creed, receive Communion, and pray one additional Our Father and one Hail Mary for the intentions of the Holy Father.
On the care of the dead, St. Augustine writes:
“The providing of a place at the Memorials of Saints for the burial of bodies, is a mark of a good human affection towards the remains of one's friends. Yet it follows not that the bodies of the departed are to be despised and flung aside, and above all of just and faithful men, which bodies as organs and vessels to all good works their spirit has holily used. For if a father's garment and ring, and whatever such like, is the more dear to those whom they leave behind, the greater their affection is towards their parents, in no wise are the bodies themselves to be spurned, which truly we wear in more familiar and close conjunction than any of our putting on. For these pertain not to ornament or aid which is applied from without, but to the very nature of man. Whence also the funerals of the just men of old were with dutiful piety cared for, and their obsequies celebrated, and sepulture provided: and themselves while living did touching burial or even translation of their bodies give charge to their sons” (St. Augustine, On the Care for the Deceased, Chapters 2 and 3).
“And when this affection is exhibited to the departed by faithful men who were most dear to them, there is no doubt that it profits them who while living in the body merited that such things should profit them after this life. But even if some necessity should through absence of all facility not allow bodies to be interred, or in such places interred, yet should there be no pretermitting of supplications for the spirits of the dead: which supplications, that they should be made for all in Christian and catholic fellowship departed, even without mentioning of their names, under a general commemoration, the Church has charged herself withal; to the intent that they which lack, for these offices, parents or sons or whatever kindred or friends, may have the same afforded unto them by the one pious mother which is common to all. But if there were lack of these supplications, which are made with right Faith and piety for the dead, I account that it should not a whit profit their spirits, howsoever in holy places the lifeless bodies should be deposited” (St. Augustine, On the Care for the Deceased, Chapter 4).
“If these things be so, then let us not think that any other thing reaches the dead, unto whom we would like to extend our care, except such things as we solemnly supplicate for them by means of sacrifices, either of the altar, or of prayers, or of alms given to God in their name. And even so, such sacrifices are not profitable unto all the deceased for whom they are offered, but only to them who so lived their lives on earth as to merit that such things would be profitable to them after death. But, inasmuch as we know not who these souls might be that are able to profit from our prayers and sacrifices, it is fitting that we offer them for all deceased persons, just in case anyone might be passed over, to whom these benefits may and ought to reach.
“Far better it is that these things be needlessly or superfluously done on behalf of them, whom they neither hinder nor help [because of their already being in Heaven or Hell], than that they be lacking unto them who might still need such aid. And it is natural that one should do these things right diligently on behalf of his own kin, in the hope that by his kinsfolk the same likewise will, someday, be done on his behalf. But so far as the burying of the body is concerned, whatsoever is bestowed on the dead body, is no aid to salvation, but a mere duty to humanity; for it comes naturally from that affection by which it is said that no one ever hates his own flesh. Wherefore it is fitting that man should take whatever care he can for the dead body of his neighbor, when he that once lived in that body is now departed from it. And if they, that believe not in the resurrection of the flesh, do these things, how much more ought we, that believe, so to do? For are not such offices, bestowed upon a dead body, which yet shall rise again and remain unto eternity, a kind of a testimony to our Faith in the resurrection?” (St. Augustine, On the Care for the Deceased, Chapter 18).
Dom Gueranger, in the final volume of The Liturgical Year, writes of All Souls Day, saying:
“No human science or eloquence could ever reach the depth of teaching, the power of soul-stirring supplication contained in the Office of the Dead. This intimate knowledge of the secrets of the other world, and of the way to win the Heart of her Spouse, belongs to the bride alone; and she alone, the true mother of men, is able with exquisite tact to console the orphans and the bereaved, by shortening the painful purification of those who have passed away. The suffering souls and the blessed, both are the captives of love; love gives them their dignity, and is their imperishable treasure. In the case of the blessed, Faith having given place to the vision of God, their love is highest bliss; but to the suffering souls, imprisoned in darkness by sins not yet expiated, love is the source of inexpressible pain. However, they are now free from the anxieties of this world, the perils of Hell, they are confirmed in grace, and can never sin again; they are full of gratitude towards God who has saved them in His mercy, and in His justice is purifying them to make them worthy of Himself. They are in a state of absolute and perfect resignation and of calm expectancy, called by holy Church a ‘sleep of peace.’”
“The soul in Purgatory, separated from the body which weighed her down and distracted her. by a thousand vain preoccupations, is now entirely absorbed by the one desire of becoming at length perfectly pleasing to God. Towards this end her whole energy is directed: and so too is the force of the torments for whose violence she is so grateful. Purgatory is a crucible where the dross of sin is burnt away, until every debt is cancelled. When its flames have effaced every stain and every wrinkle that marred the soul's beauty, then she flees away to her Spouse, truly a blessed one and sure of offering no obstacle to the complacent love of her Lord. Yet to what a sad length her exile is prolonged! True, she is united by charity to the inhabitants of Heaven: but the fire which torments her is of the same nature as that of Hell; her abode is nigh to that of the damned; she must endure the proximity of the infernal Cedar, and of those haters 0/ all peace, the detestable demons, who attacked her unceasingly during her mortal life with their assaults and their snares, and who still with deceitful tongue accuse her before the throne of God.
“Yet the soul faints not; lifting up her eyes to the mountains, she feels that she can rely upon her Lord, and that she is abandoned neither by Heaven, which is expecting her arrival, nor by her mother the Church on earth. Although Purgatory, where justice and peace meet and embrace, is so near the region of endless weeping, it is still accessible to the angels. These august messengers comfort the soul with divine communications: while the blessed in Heaven and the just on earth assist her with their prayers and suffrages. She is well assured that sin, the only real evil, can never touch her.
“The destitute condition of the holy souls is well calculated to touch our hearts. Though not yet in Heaven, they no longer belong to earth, and have consequently lost those privileges whereby God compensates us for the dangers which surround us in our passage through this world of trial. Their perfect acts of Love, of Hope, of Faith, and of resignation, have no merit. Such unspeakable sufferings, accepted with their dispositions, would earn for us a reward equal to that of a thousand martyrs; yet to these souls they profit nothing, for all eternity, beyond the mere payment of the penalty exacted by the just Judge. Besides their inability to merit, they can no longer satisfy God's justice by offering Him an equivalent such as He can accept. Their powerlessness to help themselves is more absolute than that of the paralytic of the pool of Bethsaida: the saving waters are left behind on earth, together with the holy Sacrifice, the Sacraments, and the use of the all-powerful keys entrusted to the Church.
“The Church, however, albeit she has no longer any jurisdiction over these poor souls, still feels towards them all a mother's tenderness; nor has she lost her credit with the Spouse. She makes their prayer her own. Opening the treasure she has inherited from the plentiful redemption of the Lord, she makes an offering from her dowry to Him who gave it her, begging in return the deliverance of the captives, or at least an alleviation of their sufferings. Thus, all rights being duly respected, abundant mercy penetrates into the kingdom of inexorable justice” (Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, “All Souls Day”).
Dom Gueranger, in the final volume of The Liturgical Year, writes of All Souls Day, saying:
“No human science or eloquence could ever reach the depth of teaching, the power of soul-stirring supplication contained in the Office of the Dead. This intimate knowledge of the secrets of the other world, and of the way to win the Heart of her Spouse, belongs to the bride alone; and she alone, the true mother of men, is able with exquisite tact to console the orphans and the bereaved, by shortening the painful purification of those who have passed away. The suffering souls and the blessed, both are the captives of love; love gives them their dignity, and is their imperishable treasure.
"In the case of the blessed, Faith having given place to the vision of God, their love is highest bliss; but to the suffering souls, imprisoned in darkness by sins not yet expiated, love is the source of inexpressible pain. However, they are now free from the anxieties of this world, the perils of Hell, they are confirmed in grace, and can never sin again; they are full of gratitude towards God who has saved them in His mercy, and in His justice is purifying them to make them worthy of Himself. They are in a state of absolute and perfect resignation and of calm expectancy, called by holy Church a ‘sleep of peace.’”
“The soul in Purgatory, separated from the body which weighed her down and distracted her. by a thousand vain preoccupations, is now entirely absorbed by the one desire of becoming at length perfectly pleasing to God. Towards this end her whole energy is directed: and so too is the force of the torments for whose violence she is so grateful.
"Purgatory is a crucible where the dross of sin is burnt away, until every debt is cancelled. When its flames have effaced every stain and every wrinkle that marred the soul's beauty, then she flees away to her Spouse, truly a blessed one and sure of offering no obstacle to the complacent love of her Lord. Yet to what a sad length her exile is prolonged!
"True, she is united by charity to the inhabitants of Heaven: but the fire which torments her is of the same nature as that of Hell; her abode is nigh to that of the damned; she must endure the proximity of the infernal Cedar, and of those haters 0/ all peace, the detestable demons, who attacked her unceasingly during her mortal life with their assaults and their snares, and who still with deceitful tongue accuse her before the throne of God.
“Yet the soul faints not; lifting up her eyes to the mountains, she feels that she can rely upon her Lord, and that she is abandoned neither by Heaven, which is expecting her arrival, nor by her mother the Church on earth. Although Purgatory, where justice and peace meet and embrace, is so near the region of endless weeping, it is still accessible to the angels. These august messengers comfort the soul with divine communications: while the blessed in Heaven and the just on earth assist her with their prayers and suffrages. She is well assured that sin, the only real evil, can never touch her.
“The destitute condition of the holy souls is well calculated to touch our hearts. Though not yet in Heaven, they no longer belong to earth, and have consequently lost those privileges whereby God compensates us for the dangers which surround us in our passage through this world of trial. Their perfect acts of Love, of Hope, of Faith, and of resignation, have no merit.
"Such unspeakable sufferings, accepted with their dispositions, would earn for us a reward equal to that of a thousand martyrs; yet to these souls they profit nothing, for all eternity, beyond the mere payment of the penalty exacted by the just Judge. Besides their inability to merit, they can no longer satisfy God's justice by offering Him an equivalent such as He can accept. Their powerlessness to help themselves is more absolute than that of the paralytic of the pool of Bethsaida: the saving waters are left behind on earth, together with the holy Sacrifice, the Sacraments, and the use of the all-powerful keys entrusted to the Church.
“The Church, however, albeit she has no longer any jurisdiction over these poor souls, still feels towards them all a mother's tenderness; nor has she lost her credit with the Spouse. She makes their prayer her own. Opening the treasure she has inherited from the plentiful redemption of the Lord, she makes an offering from her dowry to Him who gave it her, begging in return the deliverance of the captives, or at least an alleviation of their sufferings. Thus, all rights being duly respected, abundant mercy penetrates into the kingdom of inexorable justice” (Dom Gueranger, The Liturgical Year, “All Souls Day”).