Halloween/All Saints' /Souls' Days Invite Self-examination

Halloween festivities in towns and cities around the country kick off a special two days of celebration in many Christian churches, namely All Saints Day Nov. 1 and All Souls Day Nov. 2 (Dia de los Muertos). The former, Nov. 1, commemorates those who have died and been officially recognized as Saints in the church. They are believed to be living in eternal glory with God and so are held up as models for the rest of us. The latter, Nov. 2, recalls all who have died but have not been proclaimed as remarkably holy.

I've always considered these days as 2 sides of the same coin. How does one really distinguish between people to be celebrated on Nov. 1 and those remembered on Nov. 2? I'm sure there are countless numbers who have died and are in heaven but who haven't been named by some official body as a "saint." Many of these "Nov. 2" people were considered saints by  folks who encountered them  on earth.

What struck me this year was how much variety there is in this community of the deceased who lived holy lives. Since God has no boundaries, heaven has to be this way.  There are people of all races, nationalities, cultures, personalities, lifestyles, ages & eras. Some were God-centered from childhood; others were self-indulgent sinners who experienced conversion later in life.

This mosaic that comprises God's heavenly dwelling creates a challenge for those of us still here and trying to live up to our Christian ideals. How comfortable are we with folks who seem to live outside what we consider appropriate? How readily do we give others credit for being seekers of good and truth when their path is far afield from our own? How married are we to our own ways of thinking about most things?

What the Catholic Church calls the "Communion of Saints" turns out to be a motley crew, and because God is everywhere, the eternal kingdom is not just in heaven; it's on earth as well. This means God has everyone under the divine wing, and this infinite variety of personalities and ways of thinking are a reflection of God's own life.

All this asks something hard of us. It demands we who are still working our way toward holiness try to stretch our vision and judgments. We who tend to be sure of our own ideas and methods are invited by this set of celebrations to open up to new possibilities. There are many expressions of the way to Godliness. I think the extreme variety of costumes on Halloween can truly be considered a sign of a much greater reality.

a KY monk