Reforming the Spirits

When the Church settled on November 1^st as All Saints Day, the world settled on the eve of that sacred celebration as All Hallows’ Eve.  We know the day now as Halloween.  (Business journalists say that Halloween has become the second most profitable holiday for retailers  Christmas remains the at the top—Santa wins).

Why is Halloween so popular?  And why is this Night of the Spirits set on October 31^st?  Think about the word.  Halloween actually is Hallowe’en, a shortened version of the formal title from the older English name for the day:  All Hallows’ Eve.  “Hallow” is related to the word “holy.”  It’s the night before the ancient Christian feast of All Saints Day, which has been observed on November 1^st since the eighth-century tenure of Pope Gregory III.  One year, on November 1^st, he dedicated the Chapel of All Saints of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome.  In early medieval Europe, regular Christian folk continued ancient traditions of ancestor worship and the thrill of contacting and confronting the spiritual world—especially the darker side.

In other words, before celebrating holy and heroic women and men with deep faith in Christ, we human beings ought to get out of the way the encounter with the evil spirits.  So many secular 21st century people have lost any notion of just how holy the saints are, and just how wicked the realm of evil is—and it is real.

We need to develop discernment.  Right now, as I write this blog, I overhear on the television in the next room one of the ghost-hunter programs.  The value of the program is that investigators like you and me can discern the existence of lost or trapped spirits. Thank heaven, these hunters have not met terrible evil nor suffered terrible harm or injury.  But they experience it.  As a Christian, I know that the real day, the better celebration, is the living witness of the saints.  I use this day to prepare my soul and spirit to encounter the hallowed ones of Christian history who inspire (breathe life into) my life today by their glorious witness and presence.