If you’ve been following us for a while, you know where we stand. But it wasn’t always this way. In the past, we allowed our eldest child to dress up in cute, secular costumes and collect treats from friends and family for the first few years of her life. However, as we grew in the Faith, our priorities began to shift. We Enthroned our home to the Sacred Heart of Jesus and felt called to live more radically for Christ.
A turning point came when we were invited to an All Saints’ Party at a traditional Latin Mass parish, nearly 20 years ago. That experience opened our eyes and helped us respond to God’s promptings, leading us to set aside secular Halloween celebrations.
Below are a few resources I’ve previously shared on Instagram, now gathered here to make them easier to find. Every year, I get questions about this topic, and I hope these tools will inspire others to embrace the richness of Catholic traditions.
Let’s Restore Catholic Customs
May we work together to reinstitute the beautiful customs & traditions of thr Church and joyfully celebrate holy feasts of All Saints and All Souls.
When it comes to Halloween, you’ll find traditional Catholics on both sides of the debate. Since there’s no definitive Church teaching on the matter, families are free to discern what’s best for them.
For our family, we’ve come to see that modern Halloween celebrations are far removed from anything of the Faith. They don’t help us grow closer to God, and the holiday itself is now steeped in occult practices. For us, the decision was simple: Does this celebration aid our journey toward Christ? The answer was no.
We’ve asked, how does this serve us in growing closer to Christ?
Our goal is to raise children who are both holy and happy, but not in the way the world defines happiness. Instead of participating in Halloween, we focus on preparing for the great feasts of All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day. On All Hallows’ Eve, we gather with like-minded families to celebrate with faith-centered festivities. We also observe the traditional fast and partial abstinence on the Vigil of All Saints, as the Church prescribed.
Above all, we honor the holy days by attending Mass on All Saints’ Day, as required by the Church. This approach helps keep our hearts and minds focused on what matters most: growing in holiness and seeking the will of God.
Just to clarify my recent stories/posts: the Church does not have an official teaching regarding the celebration of Halloween. For the past 25 years or so, my family has chosen not to participate in Halloween. As my husband and I deepened our understanding of the Faith, we felt called to change certain practices and align our lives more closely with our beliefs. While I don’t pass judgment on the decisions other families make, I share what has guided and challenged us on our journey to grow in holiness and glorify God.
Rev. Fr. Leonard Goffine’s The Church’s Year Instruction On The Feast Of All Saints [November 1]
Why has the Church instituted this festival?
To give praise to God in His saints, (Ps. cl.) and to pay to the saints themselves the honor which they merit for having made it the work of their earthly life to promote the honor of God. 2. To impress vividly upon our minds that we are members of that holy Catholic Church which believes in the communion of saints, that is, in the communion of all true Christians, who belong to the Church triumphant in heaven, to the Church suffering in purgatory, or to the Church militant upon earth; but, more particularly, to cause us earnestly to consider the communion of the saints in heaven with us, who are yet battling on earth.
3. To exhort us to raise our eyes and hearts, especially on this day, to heaven, where before the throne of God is gathered the innumerable multitude of saints of all countries, times, nationalities and ranks of life, who have faithfully followed Christ and left us glorious examples of virtues, which we ought to imitate. This we can do, for the saints, too, were weak men, who fought and conquered only by the grace of God, which will not be denied to us.
4. To honor those saints, for whom during the year there is no special festival appointed by the Church. Finally, that in consideration of so many intercessors God may grant us perfect reconciliation, may permit us to share in their merits, and may grant us the grace to enjoy with them, one day, the bliss of heaven.
Who first instituted this festival?
Pope Boniface IV. first suggested the celebration of this festival, when in 610 he ordered that the Pantheon, a pagan temple at Rome, dedicated to all the gods, should be converted into a Christian church, and the relics of the saints, dispersed through the different Roman cemeteries, taken up and placed therein. He then dedicated the Church to the honor of the Blessed Virgin and all the martyrs, and thus for the first time celebrated the Festival of All Saints, directing that it should be observed in Rome every year. Pope Gregory IV. extended this feast to the whole Catholic Church, and appointed the 1st of November as the day of its celebration.
At the Introit the Church sings: Let us all rejoice in the Lord, celebrating a festival day in honor of all the saints; at whose solemnity the angels rejoice, and give praise to the Son of God. Rejoice in the Lord, ye just: praise becometh the upright. Glory &c.
COLLECTAlmighty everlasting God, who givest us to venerate in one solemnity the merits of all Thy saints: we beseech Thee to bestow upon us, through our multiplied intercessors, the fulness of Thy propitiation. Thro’. &c.
LESSON(Apoc. vii. 2-12.) IN THOSE DAYS, behold, I, John, saw another angel ascending from the rising of the sun, having the sign of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying: Hurt not the earth, nor the sea, nor the trees, till we sign the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them that were signed, an hundred and forty-four thousand were signed, of every tribe of the children of Israel. Of the tribe of Juda were twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Ruben twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Gad twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Aser twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Nephtali twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Manasses twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Simeon twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Levi twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe1 of Issachar twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Zabulon twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Joseph twelve thousand signed. Of the tribe of Benjamin twelve thousand signed. After this I saw a great multitude which no man could number, of all nations, and tribes, and peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and in sight of the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands: and they cried with a loud voice, saying: Salvation to our God who sitteth upon the throne, and to the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and the ancients, and the four living creatures; and they fell down before the throne upon their faces, and adored God, saying: Amen. Benediction, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, honor, and power, and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.
EXPLANATION The words of this lesson relate immediately to the divine punishment on Jerusalem and the Jewish people, as they were revealed in spirit to John; in a higher and particular sense they refer to the general judgment. At this judgment there will be chosen ones, from each of the twelve tribes of Israel. But that it might not be thought that the elect are principally Christian converts from Judaism, St. John was shown a countless multitude of Christians from heathen lands, by which it is seen, that it is the pagans who will principally fill the Church of Christ and heaven. This multitude clothed in white and carrying palms in their hands, stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb, that is, Christ. The white robes are tokens of their innocence; the palm is the emblem of their glory and of their victory over the temptations of the world, the flesh and the devil. They shall adore God, and forever sing to Him, in communion with all the heavenly spirits, a canticle of praise for the power and glory which He has bestowed upon them.
Let us strive so to live, that we may one day be among these chosen ones.
GOSPEL (Matt. v. 1 -12.) AT THAT TIME, Jesus seeing the multitudes, went up into a mountain. And when he was sat down, his disciples came unto him. And opening his mouth, he taught them, saying: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 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.
Why is the Gospel of the Eight Beatitudes read on this day?
Because they form, so to speak, the steps on which the saints courageously ascended to heaven.
If you desire to be with the saints in heaven, you must also mount patiently and perseveringly these steps, then God’s hand will assuredly aid you.
EXPLANATION OF THE EIGHT BEATITUDES.
I. Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
THEY are poor in spirit who, like the apostles, leave all temporal things for Christ’s sake and become poor; they who have lost their property by misfortune or injustice, and bear this loss with patience and resignation to the will of God; they who are contented with their poor and lowly station in life, do not strive for greater fortune or a higher position, and would rather suffer want than make themselves rich by unlawful means; they who though rich do not love wealth, nor set their hearts upon it, but use their riches to aid the poor; and especially they who are humble, that is, who have no exalted opinion of themselves, but are convinced of their weakness and inward poverty, have a low estimate of themselves, therefore, feel always their need, and like poor mendicants, continually implore God’s grace and assistance.
II. Blessed are the meek, for they shall possess the land.
He is meek who represses every rising impulse of anger, impatience and desire of revenge, and willingly puts up with every thing that God, to prove him, decrees or permits to happen to him, or men inflict upon him. He who thus controls himself, is like a calm and tranquil sea, in which the image of the divine Sun is ever reflected, clear and unruffled. He who thus conquers himself is mightier than if he besieged and conquered strongly fortified cities, (Prov. xvi. 32.) and will without doubt receive this earth, as well as heaven, as an inheritance, enjoying eternally there the peace (Ps. xxxvi. n.) which is already his on earth.
III. Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted.
The mourners here mentioned are not those who weep and lament over the death of relatives and friends, or over misfortune or loss of temporal riches, but those who mourn that God is so often offended, so little loved and honored by men, that so many souls, redeemed by the precious blood of Christ, are lost. Among these mourners are also those who lead a strict and penitential life, and patiently endure distress; for sin is the only evil, the only thing to be lamented, and those tears only, which are shed on account of sin, are useful tears, and are recompensed by everlasting joy and eternal consolation.
IV. Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice, for they shall have their fill.
Hunger and thirst denote the ardent longing for those virtues which constitute Christian perfection. He who seeks such perfection with ardent desire and earnest striving, will be filled, that is, will be adorned by God with the most beautiful virtues, and will be abundantly rewarded in heaven.
V. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.
They are merciful who assist the poor according to their means, who practice every possible spiritual and corporal work of mercy, who as far as they can, patiently endure the faults of others, strive always to excuse them, and willingly forgive the injuries they have received. They especially are truly merciful, who are merciful to their enemies, and do good to them, as written: Love your enemies, and do good to them that hate you. (Matt. v. 44.) Well is it for him who is merciful, the greatest rewards are promised him, but a judgment without mercy shall be passed on the unmerciful.
VI. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God.
They are clean of heart, who carefully preserve the innocence which they received in baptism, and keep their heart and conscience free not only from all sinful words and deeds, but from all sinful thoughts and desires, and in all their omissions and commissions think and desire only good. These while yet on earth see God in all His works and creatures, because their thoughts are directed always to the Highest Good, and in the other world they will see Him face to face, enjoying in this contemplation a peculiar pleasure which is reserved for pure souls only; for as the eye that would see well, must be clear, so must those souls be immaculate who are to see God.
VII. Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall be called the children of God.
Those are peace-makers who guard their improper desires, who are careful to have peace in their conscience and regulated tranquility in all their actions, who do not quarrel with their neighbors, and are submissive to the will of God. These are called children of God, because they follow God who is a God of peace, (Rom. xv. 33.) and who even gave His only Son to reconcile the world, and bring upon earth that peace which the world does not know and cannot give. (Luke ii. 14.; John xiv. 27.)
VIII. Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
Those suffer persecution for justice’ sake who by their words, writings, or by their life defend the truth, the faith and Christian virtues; who cling firmly to God, and permit nothing to turn them from the duties of the Christian profession, from the practice of their holy religion, but on its account suffer hatred, contempt, disgrace, injury and injustice from the world. If they endure all this with patience and perseverance, even, like the saints, with joy, then they will become like the saints and like them receive the heavenly crown. If we wish to be crowned with them, we must suffer with them: And all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution, (ii. Tim. iii. 12.)
SUPPLICATION. How lovely, O Lord, are Thy tabernacles! My soul longeth for Thy courts. My body and soul rejoice in Thee, most loving God, Thou crown and reward of all the saints, whose temporal pains and sufferings Thou dost reward with eternal joy, filling them with good! How blessed are they who have faithfully served Thee, for they carry Thy name on their forehead, and reign with Thee for all eternity. Grant us, we beseech Thee, O God, by their intercession, Thy grace that we, after their example, may serve Thee in sanctity and justice, in poverty and humility, in meekness and repentance, in the ardent desire for all virtues, by mercy, perfect purity of heart, in peacefulness and patience, following them, and taking part, one day, with them in heavenly joy and happiness. Amen.
Let us prepare our souls for the graces heaven is about to shower upon the earth in return for its homage.
Tomorrow the Church will be so overflowing with joy, that she will seem to be already in possession of eternal happiness; but today she appears in the garb of penance, confessing that she is still an exile.
Let us fast and pray with her; for are not we too pilgrims and strangers in this world, where all things are fleeting and hurry on to death?
Year by year, as the great solemnity comes round, it has gathered from among our former companions new saints, who bless our tears and smile upon our songs of hope.
Year by year the appointed time draws nearer, when we ourselves, seated at the heavenly banquet, shall receive the homage of those who succeed us, and hold out a helping hand to draw them after us to the home of everlasting happiness.
Let us learn, from this very hour, to emancipate our souls; let us keep our hearts free, in the midst of the vain solicitudes and false pleasures of a strange land: the exile has no care but his banishment, no joy but that which gives him a foretaste of his fatherland.
With these thoughts in mind, let us say with the Church the Collect of the vigil.
➕
Domine Deus noster, multiplica super nos gratiam tuam: et, quorum prævenimus gloriosa solemnia, tribue subsequi in sancta professione lætitiam. Per Dominum.
O Lord our God, multiply thy grace upon us; and grant us in our holy profession to follow the joy of those, whose glorious solemnity we anticipate. Through our Lord.
We celebrate a beloved family patron saint today and seek his intercession always.
May Our Lady help us make the maxims of St. John of the Cross firm principles for the good of our souls.
➕
The Litany of St. John of the Cross
Lord, have mercy on us.
Christ, have mercy on us.
Lord, have mercy on us. Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.
God, the Father of Heaven,
Have mercy on us.
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
Have mercy on us.
God the Holy Ghost,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Trinity, One God,
Have mercy on us.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Queen and Beauty of Carmel,
pray for us.
Saint John of the Cross,
pray for us.
St. John, our glorious father, etc.
Beloved child of Mary, the Queen of Carmel,
Fragrant flower of the garden of Carmel,
Admirable possessor of the spirit of Elias,
Foundation stone of the Carmelite reform,
Spiritual son, and beloved father of St. Teresa,
Most vigilant in the practice of virtue,
Treasure of charity,
Abyss of humility,
Most perfect in obedience,
Invincible in patience,
Constant lover of poverty,
Dove of simplicity,
Thirsting for mortification,
Prodigy of holiness,
Mystical Doctor ,
Model of contemplation,
Zealous preacher of the Word of God,
Worker of miracles,
Bringing joy and peace to souls,
Terror of devils,
Model of penance,
Faithful guardian of Christ’s vineyard,
Ornament and glory of Carmel,
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Spare us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Graciously hear us, O Lord.
Lamb of God, Who takest away the sins of the world,
Have mercy on us.
V. Holy father Saint John of the Cross, pray for us,
R. That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Let Us Pray.
O God, Who didst instill into the heart of Saint John of the Cross, Thy confessor and our father, a perfect spirit of self-abnegation and a
surpassing love of Thy Cross, grant that assiduously following in his footsteps, we may attain to eternal glory. Through Christ Our Lord.
R. Amen.
Family Retreat 2021
Fr. Weninger offers the following practical consideration.
“Saint John asked of God, in his first Mass, the grace of remaining free from all mortal sin; and at another time, he begged to suffer, to labor, and to be despised for Christ’s sake.
Oh! how different from this is the object of your prayers!
What do you seek and ask of God?
To what end do you promise masses, fasts, pilgrimages, and prayers?
Is not almost everything you ask temporal?
When you, your child, your husband or wife is sick, then you promise in your prayers to do all that is possible in order that God may ward off the disease.
When you have a cross to bear, you pray to God to release you from it. Although it is praiseworthy to fly to God for refuge in such circumstances, tell me, why do you not ask His assistance in much more weighty matters, in such as concern your soul?
Why do you not ask as often or oftener and more earnestly for spiritual gifts, and beg the Almighty to avert spiritual evils? Is not this an incontestable proof that you are far more solicitous for your body and your temporal welfare, than for your soul and your salvation?
And is not this not only unreasonable, but even wicked?
Correct this fault in future, and pray to God frequently and fervently to bestow spiritual gifts and graces upon you, and to avert from you spiritual and eternal evils.
Pray to Him for the grace to avoid sin; to be freed from temptations, or to be upheld in battling against them, for strength to correct evil habits, to overcome sinful inclinations or to practice virtues; to die a happy death, and to escape eternal destruction.
“Pray,” says Cardinal Hugo, “for all that you need for your salvation.” Such graces are more necessary than all others, and you may be sure that they are useful to you, while you do not know that temporal blessings are for your good.” #frweninger #saintoftheday #jffsaints
Today is the Octave Day of All Saints, the last day to receive a plenary indulgence applicable to the Poor Souls for those who have met the necessary conditions and who visit a cemetery to pray for the faithful departed. ➕
“Strangers as we are and pilgrims on the earth, let us fix our hearts and our thoughts on the day which will give to each of us a home, and restore us to Paradise.
Who, that is on a voyage, would not hasten to return to his country!
Who, that is on the way home, would not eagerly desire a favourable wind, that he might the sooner embrace his dear ones!
Parents, brothers, children, friends in multitudes impatiently await us in our heavenly fatherland; blessed crowd already secure of their own eternal happiness, they are solicitous about our salvation. What joy for them and for us, when at length we see them and they may embrace us!
How great the delight of that heavenly kingdom: no more fear of death; but eternal and supreme happiness!
Let all our earnest desires tend to this: that we may be united with the Saints, that together with them we may possess Christ.
These enthusiastic words, borrowed from St. Cyprian’s beautiful book “On Mortality,” are used by the Church in her second Nocturn; and in the third she gives us the strong language of St. Augustine, consoling the faithful, who are obliged still to remain in exile, by reminding them of the great beatitude of this earth : the beatitude of those who are persecuted and cursed by the world. To suffer gladly for Christ, is the Christian’s glory, the invisible beauty which wins for his soul the good pleasure of God, and procures him a great reward in heaven.” #domprospergueranger
Today is the Fifth Day within the Octave of All Saints.
We prayed for souls at the grave of my beloved grandmother who had 13 children, my father being number 12.
LORD God almighty, I pray Thee, by the Precious Blood which Thy divine Son shed on this day upon the wood of the Cross, especially from His most sacred hands and feet, deliver the souls in purgatory, and in particular that soul for which I am most bound to pray: that no neglect of mine may hinder it from praising Thee in Thy glory and blessing Thee forever. Amen.
Our Father Hail Mary De Profundis
De profundis Psalm 129
A prayer of a sinner, trusting in the mercies of God. The sixth penitential psalm.
Out of the depths I have cried unto Thee, O Lord; Lord, hear my voice. Let Thine ears be attentive to the voice of my supplication. If Thou, O Lord, shalt mark our iniquities: O Lord, who can abide it? For with Thee there is mercy: and by reason of Thy law I have waited on Thee, O Lord. My soul hath waited on His word: my soul hath hoped in the Lord. From the morning watch even unto night: let Israel hope in the Lord. For with the Lord there is mercy: and with Him is plenteous redemption. And He shall redeem Israel from all his iniquities.
(Eternal rest or “Requiem aeternam”) Eternal rest give to them, O Lord. And let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace. Amen.
V/. Lord, hear my prayer. R/. And let my cry come unto Thee.
Let us pray. O God, the Creator and Redeemer of all the faithful; grant to the souls of Thy servants departed the remission of all their sins, that by our devout supplications they may obtain that pardon which they have always desired. Who livest and reignest world without end. Amen.
V/. Eternal rest give unto them, O Lord. R/. And let perpetual light shine upon them. V/. May they rest in peace. R/. Amen.
Below is a brief but powerful meditation inspirers by St. Andrew whose feast we celebrate today, November 30.
Father Francis Xavier Weninger, in The Livesthe Saints from 1876, writes the following reflection.
Saint Andrew manifested great joy on beholding the cross that had been prepared for him; he greeted it warmly, and embraced it lovingly. He wished not to be released from it, but prayed to be allowed to die on it.
You are not bound to a cross of wood like Saint Andrew, but the All-Wise sometimes lays a cross of suffering upon you, because He wishes to prepare you for heaven.
How do you regard your cross?
How do you carry it?
I fear to ask you how you greeted, embraced and kissed it.
Perhaps you have carried it, as Simon of Cyrene carried the Cross of the Lord, because you were forced, and could not help yourself. You have suffered only because you were obliged. You suffer murmuringly and complainingly, and perhaps even endeavor to free yourself from your cross by improper means.
Oh! how differently did Saint Andrew act. He esteemed himself happy, because he could die on the cross like his Saviour, and because he had heard, from the lips of Christ, that the way of the Cross is the surest road to eternal life.
You know all this; but you do not think seriously enough of it. In future, keep these truths before your eyes: first, the way of the Cross is the way to heaven; secondly, Christ died on the Cross for love of me.
Whoever rightly considers these two points, will in his sufferings, not give way to resentment, murmurs or complaints, but will bear them if not cheerfully, at least patiently.
Hence Saint Paul admonishes us, saying: “For, think diligently upon him that endured such opposition from sinners against himself, that you be not wearied, fainting in your minds.” (Hebrews 12)
Let us continue to mediate upon the life of St. Andrew throughout Advent as we pray the Christmas Novena in preparation for the Christ Child. .
