|
Halloweens and Beatitudes
User’s Guide to Sunday
BY Tom and April Hoopes
October 25-31, 2009 Issue |
Posted 10/16/09 at 1:17 PM
Sunday, Nov. 1, 2009, is All Saints’
Day, a solemnity.
Halloween and All Souls
Last year, we attended our
Connecticut parish’s “Holyween” party, where the kids dressed as saints and
Dominican Father Bernard Confer guessed with astonishing accuracy who each was.
This year we’re in Atchison, Kan., a town that has a cottage industry of
promoting haunted houses.
Catholic parents often debate the
merits of Halloween as it’s celebrated in America today. Is it too macabre?
What message does it send?
We will remind the kids that “All
Hallows Eve” — the vigil of All Saints’ Day — dates back to the time the Church
took over the Pantheon in Rome in the 600s. The “gods” were removed from altars
which were reconsecrated to the martyrs. So, on the first “All Hallows Eve,”
the streets of Rome were literally lined with carts of bones — martyrs’ relics.
Yes, other pagan practices have been mixed in, but we will focus on that first
mix of skeletons and saints.
We’ll pray to the folks in heaven
and celebrate their victory with fun and candy. And on All Souls’ Day, Nov. 2,
we will round out the experience by visiting a cemetery to start the month of
prayer for the dead.
Readings
Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; Psalm
24:1-6; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12
Our Take
The beatitudes — today’s Gospel —
are more relevant than ever. Let us count the ways.
1. “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
Those who aren’t poor in spirit —
those whose hopes are in wealth, health or material pleasures — have had a
tough year. But those who look to spiritual realities for fulfillment needn’t
be fundamentally disturbed by market crashes or tough times. Their investments
are in good hands.
2. “Blessed are they who mourn, for
they will be comforted.”
In order to mourn, you have to be
sensitive to the value of life. In a world with 42 million elective abortions
each year, this beatitude is as needed as ever — and as powerful as ever. The
most effective new voices in the pro-life movement are the mothers of aborted
children.
3. “Blessed are the meek, for they
will inherit the earth.”
To be meek means to allow God’s will
to dominate your own will. The meek don’t abuse the earth; and the meek don’t
see mankind as a blight on the earth, either. The meek take God’s creation on
God’s terms, and truly inherit the earth by appreciating the beauty of nature
and the dignity of human life.
4. “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst
for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.”
“Be nice” is a fine philosophy of
life, as far as it goes, but it doesn’t go far enough. To “hunger and thirst
for righteousness” means to refuse to tolerate the destruction of social
values. Such a hunger won’t stand for the destruction of marriage and the
family, pornography, embryo-killing research, or other intrinsic evils. However
…
5. “Blessed are the merciful, for
they will be shown mercy.”
“Not tolerating evil” can’t mean
“rejecting those we disagree with.” Christ said, “Forgive them, for they know
not what they do.” We can have that same merciful attitude toward sinners —
especially since we’re sinners, too — and seek to better them, not just
denounce them.
6. “Blessed are the pure of heart,
for they will see God.”
Pope John Paul II said to be “pure
of heart” is to see the true value of other people, and not make them objects.
People describe how a glance from a John Paul or Mother Teresa made them feel
like they were in the presence of something great. If we are pure of heart,
we’ll see Christ in those we meet — and that will help them see God, too.
7. “Blessed are the peacemakers, for
they will be called sons of God.”
Ours
is an age where escalating violence is seen as an answer to problems. Though
self-defense is sometimes necessary, Pope Benedict XVI and Pope John Paul II
both pointed out that even that necessary and noble war, World War II, left
Europe on a path to secularization and the culture of death. Solidarity, not
war, is the path to peace.
8. “Blessed are they who are
persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.”
There are today more persecuted
Christians than ever before — Christians are being harassed and killed in
India, Africa, the Philippines, China, Myanmar, Iraq, the Middle East, and on
and on. We can pray for the persecuted — and pray to the martyrs of our time
for the building of the Kingdom of heaven on earth.
Tom
and April Hoopes were editorial co-directors of Faith & Family
magazine. Tom Hoopes is writer in residence at Benedictine College in Atchison,
Kansas, and a former Register editor.
Filed under
Advertisement
Advertisement
Make a Donation now!
Insightful. Informative. Uncompromisingly faithful. The National Catholic Register is more than a newspaper. It’s a cause. Your support for the Register funds important journalism that helps to build a Culture of Life in our nation, and throughout the world. Help us promote the Church’s New Evangelization by donating to the National Catholic Register right now.
Click here to donate
| 
.
