According
to a study on death statistics, there are 8 deaths per 1,000 population, 55.3 million people die each year, 151,600
people die each day, 6,316 people die each hour, 105 people die each minute.[1]
Given
these figures, if I’ll take the Non-Catholics’ negative
impression about the purgatory which is non-existent for them, that would
mean that there are 151,600 souls each day who are doomed to perdition, if I’ll
base it on Paul’s word that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23),
which basically means that humans are all lawbreakers, because sin is the
violation of God’s law (1 John 3:40). Sinfulness is the general characteristic
of all mankind; humans are all guilty before God. All are sinners by nature and by
human's own acts of transgression.
If
non-Catholics do not believe in the grace of Purgatory (that is why Catholics
incessantly pray for all the departed) then all of them who have already faced their
death with the sin of lying are candidates to be thrown to hell, as no one in this world has perfectly
lived a cleansed life (I supposed) because of lying and lying is alone is not worthy of a homecoming in Heaven. And the words of Lord
Jesus regarding the debtor who is cast into prison affirms that from which he/she
shall not go out till he/she has paid the last farthing (Luke 12:59). If the latter which emphasizes the essence of
purgatory is taken, then no Non-Catholics will be saved, if they don’t believe
in the Purgatory. Nevertheless, because Catholics believe in the grace of the Purgatory, all non-Catholics may be saved: Had there been but
one stiff-neckedperson, it would be a wonder had he gone unpunished. For mercy
and anger alike are with Him; He remits and forgives, but also pours out wrath.
(Sirach 16:11)
Looking back at the foundations of All Saints and All Souls Day
Both
the Feast of All Saints and the Feast of All Souls progressed[2]
in the life of the Church independently of paganism and Halloween. However,
elements of pagan practices were perhaps "baptized" by certain cultures
or attached themselves to the celebration of these two events.
The
exact origins of the Feast of All Saints as celebration are indeterminate,
although, after the legalization of Christianity in 313, a usual celebration of
Saints, particularly the martyrs, emerged in different areas throughout the Church.
In the East for example, the city of Edessa commemorated this feast on May 13;
the Syrians, on the Friday after Easter; and the city of Antioch, on the first
Sunday after Pentecost. St. Ephrem (d. 373) and St. John Chrysostom (d. 407)
attest to this feast day in their sermon. In the West, a commemoration for
all the saints also was celebrated on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The main
objective for instituting a common feast day was brought by the yearning to
honor the great number of martyrs, specifically during the persecution of
Emperor Diocletion (284-305), the worst and most far-reaching of the torments.
The days of the calendar were not enough for a feast day for each martyr and many
of them faced death in groups. Hence, a common feast day for all saints had appeared
to be the most suitable.
In
609, the Emperor Phocas gave the Pantheon in Rome[3]
(was defined as a temple to all gods) to Pope Boniface IV, who rededicated it
on May 13 under the title St. Maria ad Martyres (St. Mary and All Martyrs).
Whether the Holy Father resolutely chose May 13 since the date of the widespread
commemoration already established in the East or whether this was just a
cheerful coincidence is open to discussion.
The
designation of November 1 as the Feast of All Saints occurred over time. Pope
Gregory III (731-741) dedicated an oratory in the original St. Peter's Basilica
in honor of all the saints on November 1 and this date then turned to be the
official date for the commemoration of the Feast of All Saints in Rome. St Bede
(d. 735) accounted the commemoration of All Saints Day on November 1 in
England, which likewise existed in Salzburg. Austria. Ado of Vienna (d 875)
recounted how Pope Gregory IV asked King Louis the Pious (778-840) to declare November
1 as All Saints Day all over the Holy Roman Empire. Sacramentaries of the 9th and 10th centuries also placed the
Feast of All Saints on the liturgical calendar on November 1.
According
to an early Church historian, John Beleth, Pope Gregory IV (827-844) officially
declared November 1 the Feast of All Saints, moving it from May 13. Conversely,
Sicard of Cremona (d. 1215) accounted that Pope Gregory VII (1073-85) decisively
suppressed May 13 and assigned November 1 to commemorate the Feast of All
Saints. Altogether, the Church could be found establishing a liturgical feast
day in honor of the saints free from any pagan-inspired attachment.
With
regard to the pagan connection: November 1 commemorated Samhain, the beginning of the
Celtic winter. (Celts lived as early as 2,000 years ago in England, Scotland,
Wales, Ireland, and northern France.) Samhain, where the feast was derived at,
was the Celtic lord of death, whose name literally meant "summer's
end." In view of the fact that winter is the season of cold, darkness and
death, the Celts in next to no time made the connection with human death. The eve of Samhain
which was October 31 was a time of Celtic pagan sacrifice and Samhain let the
souls of the dead to come back to their earthly homes that evening. Ghosts, goblins, elves and witches appeared to harm the people, especially those who
had inflicted mischief on them in this life. Likewise, cats were deemed hallowed
because they had once been human beings who had been changed as a retribution
for their wicked actions on this earth.
So as
to safeguard themselves from ravaging evil spirits on the eve of Samhain, the
people extinguished their hearth fires and the Druids (the priests and spiritual
teachers of the Belts) formed a vast new year's bonfire of sacred oak branches.
The latter offered burnt sacrifices (crops, animals, even humans) and decipher
futures of the coming year by assessing the remains set to fire. Occasionally,
people wore costumes of animal heads and skins. From this new fire, the home
hearths were lit once more.
Specific
ethnic groups formed their own tradition which was combined with the commemoration.
In Ireland, people conducted a parade in honor of Muck Olla, a god. They obeyed
a leader clothed in a white robe with a mask from the head of an animal, and
begged for food. (Ireland could also be traced with the jack-o'lantern fable: A man named Jack was not
able to enter heaven because of his greed and he could not enter hell because
he played practical jokes on the devil; so he was doomed to walk the earth with
his lantern until Judgment Day.)
The
Scots walked through fields and villages carrying torches and lit bonfires to
defend against witches and other evil spirits.
In
Wales, every individual put a marked stone in the vast bonfire. Once a
individual's stone could not be seen the next morning, he faced his death
within a year.
Aside
from the Celtic traditions in place, the Roman conquest of Britain in AD 43
brought two other pagan feasts namely Feralia was held in late October to honor
the dead, and the Autumn which was a festival that honored Pomona, the goddess
of fruits and trees. Perhaps,through the
latter festival, apples became linked with Halloween. Elements of these Roman
celebrations were merged with the Celtic Samhain.
The Catholic Church neither practices paganism
By the
spread of Christianity and the establishment of All Saints Day, some of these
pagan customs continued in the English speaking world for All Hallows Eve (or
Halloween, All Saints Eve), possibly more out of superstition at the outset
while more out of fun afterwards. However, All Saints Day undoubtedly stem from
a genuine Christian devotion.
Together
with the Feast of All Saints is the occurrence of the Feast of All Souls. The
Church has unswervingly emboldened the offering of prayers and Mass for the
souls of the faithful departed in Purgatory. At the time of their death, these
souls are not impeccably rinsed of venial sin (grave violation of God’s law; it
turns man away from God, by preferring an inferior good to Him) or have not
atoned for past transgressions, and thereby are deprived of the Beatific
Vision. The faithful on earth can give a hand to these souls in Purgatory in
attaining the Beatific Vision through their prayers, good works (James 2:17) and the offering of Mass (2 Maccabees 12:40-46; Sirach 7:36; Matthew 12:31-32; Luke 12:59; 1 Corinthians 3:14; 1 Corinthians 15:29; 2 Timothy :16-18.
Back
then, the names of the faithful departed were posted in Church so that the
community would recall them in prayer. In the 6th century, the Benedictine
monasteries conducted a solemn celebration of departed members at Whitsuntide,
the days following Pentecost. In Spain, St. Isidore (d. 636) confirmed to a
celebration on the Saturday before Sexagesima Sunday (the second Sunday before
Lent, the eighth before Easter in the old calendar). In Germany, Widukind,
Abbot of Corvey (d. 980) chronicled a special ceremony for the faithful departed
on October 1. St. Odilo, the Abbot of Cluny (d. 1048), decreed for all of the
Cluniac monasteries that special prayers be offered and the Office of the Dead
chanted for all of the souls in Purgatory on November 2, the day after All
Saints. The Benedictines and Carthusians embraced that same devotion, and almost
immediately November 2 was espoused as the Feast of All Souls for the entire
Church.
Other
customs have developed over time in the commemoration of All Souls Day. The
Dominicans in the 15th century established a custom of each priest offering
three Masses on the Feast of All Souls. Pope Benedict XIV in 1748 granted this
practice, and it quickly spread throughout Spain, Portugal and Latin America.
During World War I, Pope Benedict XV, being aware that the number of war dead
and the numerous Masses that could not be accomplished brought by smashed Churches,
allowed all priests the privilege of offering three Masses on All Souls Day - for
the particular intention, for all of the faithful departed, and for the
intentions of the Holy Father.
In
the Middle Ages, superstitious belief, most likely influenced from Celtic
paganism, held that the souls in purgatory appeared on All Souls Day as
witches, toads, goblins, etc. to individuals who did errors against them during their lives
on earth. As a result, some ethnic groups also prepared meals for the spirits as peace offerings on this day, practices which are remnants of the
Celtic Samhain festivities perhaps.
Nevertheless,
All Souls Day as well as All Saints Day stemmed from Christian belief and surfaced
in this life of the Church through a nourishing spirituality, despite some
pagan frills that may have stayed alive and have stayed linked to their commemoration.
Personal Reflection:
When an occasion is very tempting to turn nose up at one's odor whether it's physically,emotionally or spiritually, I simply look back on my past (to see how did I smell when I had no money to take care of my decayed tooth which stenches when I exhaled, to freshen my underarm and foot odor which irritated my fellow beside me, to occasionally skip my jeepney fare because what was left in my pocket was good only for two maximum rides, to sometimes explore to walk a 2-kilometer distance going to the community for the praise and worship because of being jobless, and to irregularly skip meals brought by scarcity and when I had no tranquility because of sexual immorality and not-so-good relationship with my loved ones) than saying a harsh comment, "you deserve your fate," because God never says so but gives an ample time towards realization.
As
these realities burst in my head, my conscience is naturally filtered and
whispers: If God gives me and the people around me a luxurious time until
realizing life's infidelities and physical shortcomings brought by poverty, who
am I and these significant others to say that they deserve misfortune and a
second life in hell. God simply desires everybody to return to Him, to talk to
Him,to kiss Him, to be with Him, Amen!
References:
[1] Nearly two people die
each second (World Birth and Death Rates, Estimated 2011, http://www.ecology.com/birth-death-rates/
[2] Father William Saunders, All Saints and All Souls, http://www.catholiceducation.org/en/culture/catholic-contributions/all-saints-and-all-souls.html
[3] Freda Parker, The
Pantheon – Rome – 126 AD, Published on May 12, 2009 http://www.monolithic.org/domes-more/the-pantheon-rome-126-ad)
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