Piddingworth Greg Benton |
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| 'Piddingworth...where St. George's Cross is not yet banned.' --Mark Steyn |
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| Honour all men. Love the Brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the King. (1Peter 2) |
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| Trust in the Lord and He will give you the strength & courage to do your Duty... Rose West Leonard |
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| Talitha cumi - Rise, little girl |
| The Living & The Dead |
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| All Souls Day William Bouguereau |
| KONTAKION With the saints give rest, 0 Christ, to the soul of Thy servant where sickness and sorrow are no more, neither sighing, but life everlasting. |
| IN the midst of life we are in death: of whom may we seek for succour, but of thee, O Lord, who for our sins art justly displeased? 'AT THE GRAVE' for the Burial of the Dead Book of Common Prayer He who believes in me, but he were dead, yet shall he live. Jesus of Nazareth |
| For several weeks to now, stores have been promoting their 'Hallowe'en Products'. Masks, costumes, plastic Jack o' lanterns and skeletons to serve the needs of a public that, in Canada, is the most lucrative commercial event next to Christmas. All this in addition to the sale of real pumpkins to be carved out with a frightening 'face' and lit with a candle. On Hallowe'en, there is the regular, what we used to call 'shelling out', (now more commonly called 'trick or treat') where children go from door to door in an exercise that, were it not for the collectively agreed 'contract' would plainly be regarded as extortion. The basic premise of the Hallowe'en collective agreement is that when a kid dressed up in a costume yells at the door, the inhabitant willingly gives the urchin some kind of 'pay off' in the form of a sweet treat. If the house-dweller is not forthcoming, he may be subjected to foul play from the caller. Occasionally, a house gets 'soaped' or a pumpkin smashed, but this is not usually done by the little ones seeking treats but generally by bored adolescents who take pleasure in trashing things. It would be a safe guess that the vast majority of these children and their parents don't have a clue as to the origin of the event; much like Christmas has become in our culture. They wouldn't know a 'hallow' from an 'e'en' just as they little know a 'Christ' from a 'mas'. Hallowe'en has joined the fantasy world of popular culture; disconnected from it's Christian roots (as well as from what used to be called an 'education'), it has become embued with shallow sentimentalism and the craving for material pleasure or gain. That it is otherwise harmless fun, of course, is obvious for most. For some, however the elements related to the pagan, occult observances that lay underneath much of 'Hallowe'en' is something of a danger to the vulnerable and curious. For the Christian, All Hallows and All Souls have their 'inspiration' within the context of all that is pure and holy, is anything but fun but has a great deal to do with our destiny. By contrast, in some European countries, families still visit the graves of their dead and lay flowers. In other places, like Mexico, this week's commemoration of 'All Saints' (Hallows) and All Souls Days is the 'Day of the Dead' (Día de los Muertos), a mixture of pagan and Christian belief, and so the place to go is where the 'Dead' are buried. Hymns, chants, songs, prayers, flowers, and the burning of lights are all part of what becomes a festive occasion with the belief in life beyond the grave as well as some superstition. Death comes to us all, but not all of us will either acknowledge that fact or try to come to terms with it. It is remarkable the great number of people who, having little or no faith, seem to cling to an almost pagan notion of life past death with the emphasis being more to bring comfort to the self than hope to the departed. The average 'funeral' for the dead these days seems more like a form of group therapy mixed with a dash of new age 'spirituality'; Perhaps some, kind 'symbolic' prayers, if any, but loads of emotion. In many cases, the body of the loved one, is neither present nor seen; having been either cremated to ashes beforehand and scattered to the wind (or to be latterly placed on a mantle), or placed in a marked spot that will, for many, never be visited. Unlike the burial offices of the Church, death itself, as in pop Hallowe'en, is not addressed, but masked, hidden and avoided. Even the most fervent atheists seem inclined to the observance of the 'invention of death'. Having presided over hundreds of funerals, one is exposed to myriad differences in people's attitudes towards grief, dying and death. Invariably, I have found that those for whom death is an accepted part of paradoxical life and who bring to it an understanding in faith, not only have a firmer hope for the blessing of eternal life in the world to come, but a deeper conviction for this life. The old prayer for a 'happy death' implies a confidence in the promises of Christ, i.e., 'he who believes in me, but he were dead, yet shall he live' and an equally firm acceptance of the reality and fear of 'Hell'. It is this same faith that brings so much satisfaction in the real celebrations of All Saints and All Souls, and that is the real meaning of Hallowe'en. The custom of creating Jack O'Lanterns, first from turnips and then pumpkins, seems to have come from Ireland. These, as well as the tradition of wearing a 'scary' costume, were intended to out-do evil in scariness, i.e., keep the devils away. Somehow, it's got turned around toward keeping the angels away! In the context of the Christian life, the confrontation with life and death is one that is at the very heart of the gospel. 'God so loved the world that He gave His only-begotten Son, to the end that all who believe in Him, shall not perish, but have eternal life'. (Jn 2.16) That's sort of Christmas, Easter and all the stuff in-between all wrapped together. All Saints Day is a focus on the mystery and holiness of life in, with and for God where death can claim no victory but is relegated to it's shadowy place whilst the Saints live forever in the beatific presence of God. A 'Saint' formally is one whose life was so filled with faith in and devotion to Christ that they lived either to die or with such sacrifice that God showered them with grace. Thousands have died as martyrs from the very beginning of the Church and sadly continue to do so today in some parts of the world. The Saints remind us of the deep purpose for living, i.e., to live in communion with God now and forever. God is the beginning and the end of all life and the beginning and hopeful end for our lives. All Saints is a celebration of the promise of eternal light and love for all those who love God. For those among us whose notion of life is that it ends at death, that may well be true....for them. A life estranged from the love of God leads to death...perhaps an early one in the soul. Hell is life within death...utterly devoid of light and love. Some people don't even want to think about such a condition and many deny the existence of it at all...along with no Satan. They may acknowledge a kind of 'evil' in the world but it is mostly defined by their own limited sensibilities rather than as the powerful, worldly opposition of all things to God. For those of us of faith, leading a good and holy life in friendship with God does not mean that we are not tempted or surrounded by evil and all it's clever tricks, but that having put on the whole armour of God, in spite of all the 'bad' that comes our way, we remains constant...we stay on course by putting away our sins and refreshing our souls. The observance of All Soul's Day, the day after All Hallows, is in a variety of forms from east to west, also from antiquity. It is the commemoration of 'the faithful departed', i.e., the dead whose lives await their final end with God and all the saints in heaven. The basis of the celebration is intercessory prayer, i.e., asking God to forgive the sins of those departed, to bless them and make them pure and holy, that they may know Christ in the fullness of Light. Some Protestants would protest such a notion as this (and with the corruptions of the middle ages clouding the issue it is somewhat understandable) but this is a very early part of the Church's tradition even preceding the written scriptures. The Church, the community of the faithful prays for all in their need. We pray for each other, for those we don't know, for those in any sort of condition...including the departed condtion. One could only accept this, of course, if one also believes in a manner of existence beyond the material world. We believe that the departed are either a. with God (as saint) or b. without God (damned) or c. awaiting God. (in purgatory). Wash me I will be whiter than snow. All prayer is communion with God. Jesus promised that if we ask in faith God will respond in grace and according to His will. The will of God is that no one should die forever, (perish) but live. That's a good reason to appeal on behalf of those whom we no longer see but are in another realm. Besides, it goes both ways. We believe that the saints and many of our departed loved ones are praying for us! The 'work' of God is itself prayer...in heaven and on earth. When we speak with heaven through the Holy Spirit, heaven also speaks with us, in the depths of our souls, through the Holy Spirit. That is why we communicate with the known saints of heaven. They're alive. We are not schizophrenics falling about with delusional chatter; although, to an unbeliever it might well seem the same. Any prayer, formal, informal, off the cuff, or quietly at bedside, when offered by a contrite and earnest soul in the name of God...is heard. Sometimes I am asked if we are able to communicate with 'the dead'. There are many charlatans making a living off their 'snake oil' of claiming to communicate with the souls of people's loved ones; especially the often deeply vulnerable and those who, even years after the death, are riddled with grief. Contacting spirits comes with accepting Visa, Amex, Mastercard, and the like. If these people do contact a 'spirit', outside of prayer, outside of God and the Name of God...then whatever it is they are talking to isn't of God and if isn't of God then it belongs to something else: something very dark. When our loved ones die, all the love and grace marking their soul does not die but lives. Love never dies. That is why we can continue to love those whom we no longer see and they, if through the Holy Spirit, continue to love us. We surrender the souls of the departed from earth to God at the funeral. Our ability to communicate to that world beyond us can only happen through the power of that is that world: God. There is no direct access in communication with the departed. Everything must go through God to whom those souls belong alone and are detached from this world. It is possible for a living soul to communicate with us but only by and through God and the Holy Spirit that is God. Our conversations with souls and saints are the same as those we have with Christ in whom we are able to have such communion. The language is that of grace...where the needs be no translation. The treats of faith are true and everlasting. The tricks of the evil one are lies that lead to corruption and death. G.B. 2007 |
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