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On Death and Life "Man Needs Eternity -- and Every Other Hope, for Him, Is All Too Brief" VATICAN CITY, NOV. 2, 2011 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of the address Benedict XVI gave today at the general audience. * * * Dear brothers and sisters, After celebrating the Solemnity of All Saints, the Church today invites us to commemorate all the faithful departed, to turn our gaze to so many faces that have gone before us and that have completed their earthly journey. In today's audience, then, I would like to offer a few simple thoughts on the reality...

...[T]oday's feast of All Saints is wholly different from tomorrow's feast: that of All Souls. Today, we celebrate the men and women who have entered heaven; tomorrow, we will remember the souls of our friends and family members who are being purified to do the same. Today, we pray to the saints in heaven with full confidence that they will intercede for us; tomorrow, we pray for the souls in purgatory with full hope that others will do the same for us after we are gone. There's a big difference between the emphases (and purpose) of the two days. Honestly,...

For Purgatory, Thank Heavens Posted by Frank —Feast of All SoulsWhen I was straddling the fence on whether or not I should become a Catholic, I never had a problem with Purgatory. It just makes the most sense to me. I'll admit that I thought I would have a big problem with it at first. Because, you see, it isn't mentioned specifically in the Bible (along with about a million other details). But where did all the people who died go, for example from the Old Testament times? Assuming that all the people who had died before the Incarnation were...

How Halloween Can Be Redeemed by Page McKean Zyromski Halloween has grown into a major secular holiday in American culture. But for those who don’t value devotion to the saints, the Eve has become "hollow" instead of "hallow." The purpose behind it has been lost—like celebrating New Year’s Eve without a New Year’s Day. Take away the saints and our beliefs about the dignity and destiny of human beings, and the only thing left is pre-Christian superstition regarding the dead. Among many Christians, there has been concern that things have gotten out of hand. After all, doesn’t Halloween glorify evil?...

All Saints and All Souls    FR. WILLIAM SAUNDERS What is the origin of All Saints and All Souls Day. Are they linked with paganism and Halloween? Both the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls evolved in the life of the Church independently of paganism and Halloween. However, elements of pagan practices were perhaps “baptized” by some cultures or attached themselves to the celebration of All Saints and All Souls. Let us first address the Feast of All Saints. The exact origins of this celebration are uncertain, although, after the legalization of Christianity in 313, a...

HALLOWEEN: ITS ORIGINS AND CELEBRATION The celebration of Halloween has dual origins. The first is in a pre-Christian Celtic feast associated with the Celtic New Year. The second is in the Christian celebration of All Saints Day (Nov. 1st) and All Souls Day (Nov. 2). In the British Isles November 1st is called All Hallows, thus the evening before is All Hallows Eve. The Celtic FeastThe ancient Celtic peoples who inhabited England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland and Brittany (NW France) celebrated their New Year's Day on what would be November 1st on our calendar. Prior to their conversion to Catholicism these...