I just returned from a fabulous cruise with some great friends on the St. Lawrence River. It was a wonderful way to spend 10 days in October, traveling through the beautiful foliage with the autumn colors bursting all around us. I again sensed the wonder and glory of nature, and how much I see God in the beauty of creation.
Along the way, I prayed the rosary every day. Not just because October is the month of the rosary, but because I’ve tried in recent years to again make it an important part of my prayer life.
To be honest, I’ve had my ups and downs with the rosary. It was a big part of my life when I was in seminary at Mount St. Mary’s, but somewhere along the line my commitment to it began to fade. In the last few years, I’ve prayed the rosary in the car more, especially since I started driving to St. John’s College High School on four mornings a week.
I’ve found it to be a spectacular way to start the day. I readily admit that it’s not a perfect prayer because I’m driving at the same time. It’s not the same as sitting in the chapel and more deeply meditating on the mysteries. At the same time, it’s a lot better for me than listening to the radio or daydreaming.
As we complete this month of October, I encourage you to think about how the rosary fits into your prayer life. If you used to pray it more often, maybe you can bring that back. If you never have, you might want to find out how meaningful it can be to pray the rosary frequently, stopping the busyness of life to praise the Lord Jesus through the mysteries of his life will also honoring his Blessed Mother.
I also love this time of year because we are approaching two of my favorite feasts at the beginning of November. The preliminary event is Halloween, and we see the joy of children dressing in costumes and being given candy. The stores are overwhelmed with Halloween decorations, as are many of the homes around where I live.
I generally visit a family at my former parish, Blessed Sacrament, where I see literally hundreds of kids going up and down the street smiling and laughing. I look forward every year to this opportunity to be with the kids as they rejoice in Halloween festivities.
When I talk to children about Halloween, I’m impressed how many understand that the name came from All Hallow’s Eve – the day before All Hallow’s Day, which we now call All Saints Day. We remember, honor, bless and pray for all those who are with God in the joy of eternal life.
The Church has always recognized martyrs and canonized saints who “lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.” But the Church also realized there are many people who are in Heaven sharing in God’s eternal glory who were not formally declared saints.
That’s who we celebrate, honor, and pray for on All Saints Day. This includes our parents, grandparents, great grandparents, uncles, aunts, neighbors, friends, priests, sisters, lay ministers – all the people we know who tried their best, lived good lives, and made us aware of God’s presence in them.
The next day, All Souls Day, is also very special. It’s particularly meaningful to me because my father went home to God on Nov. 2 49 years ago at the still-young age of 66. From my perspective, he was a saint. If I was in charge, I would canonize him immediately.
He truly lived a holy life. He raised 13 children, all of whom kept doing their best to follow the faithful gifts of both Mom and Dad. He had a spectacular marriage for 39 years, cut short by his untimely death from an aneurysm. He is the complete image of what I think a father should be. He was also a deacon in the Church, successful in his writing career with the government, and authored spiritual books. He was a man of God, a man of faith, and a hero to all of us in his family and many others who knew him well.
All Souls Day is important to me as the anniversary of my father’s death, but it’s important to all of us because we remember those who may still be awaiting the glory that comes with eternal life. One name for that is purgatory, which is sometimes thought of as a place, a “waiting room” for heaven. I think it’s more of a process, a chance for us to get cleaned up so we’re ready to live with God, who is love and purity.
I learned that image of purgatory from a priest friend many years ago through something he experienced. He went to visit someone who was painting her house. She answered the door in her paint clothes, I’m sure with the inevitable splotches all over her. She let Father Bernie in, but she absolutely would not visit with him until she took time to clean up. He told her that wasn’t necessary, but she insisted. She needed to do that to feel ready to visit.
All Saints Day and All Souls Day both celebrate our conviction that though we die here on Earth, we ultimately live with God forever in Heaven. One of our funeral Mass prefaces says that life has changed, not ended.
What a great blessing that we and our loved ones can share in God’s love and glory forever.
(Msgr. John Enzler serves as the mission advocate of Catholic Charities of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington and is a chaplain at his alma mater, St. John’s College High School in Washington. He writes the Faith in Action column for the archdiocese’s Catholic Standard and Spanish-language El Pregonero newspapers and websites.)
