All Saints and All Souls
On 31st October we celebrated Halloween – a time when we see pumpkin lanterns in windows, and people dressed ghosts and witches wandering the streets… what do we know about Halloween? It comes before the Catholic Church celebrates two major feast days – All Saints and All Souls. Halloween prompts us to think about what happens when we die. Do you have any ideas about what the after life looks like? Do you believe in Heaven? Or Hell?It’s always good to think about the ‘big questions’ in life.
Read the story below about one person’s ideas about Heaven and Hell. What do you think about it?
A curious man once asked to visit heaven and hell.
Expecting hell to be a terrible, frightening place, he was amazed to find people seated around a lovely banquet table. The table was piled high with every delicious thing one could possibly want. The man thought, Perhaps hell is not so bad after all.
Looking closely, however, he noticed that everyone at the table was miserable.
They were starving, because, although there was a mountain of food before them, they had been given three-foot-long chopsticks. There was no way to
carry the food to their mouths with such long chopsticks, and so no one could
eat a bite.
The man was then taken to heaven. To his surprise, he found the exact
same situation as he had seen in hell. People were gathered around a banquet
table piled with food. All the diners held a pair of three-foot-long chopsticks in
their hands. But here in heaven, everyone was happily eating the delicious food,
for the residents of heaven were using their extra-long chopsticks to feed one
another.
You can read how Jesus described the Kingdom of Heaven in the following passages: Matthew 13:31-32, Matthew 13:33-35, Matthew 13:44-46
On 1st November we celebrate All Saint’s day… do you know the names of many saints? Are they patrons of anything? What about our house Saints? In the Catholic Church we often ask saints to pray for us:
Saint Katharine Drexel,selfless service of the oppressed. She said: “It is for each of us to learn the path by which Jesus requires us to follow Him and to follow Him in that path.”
Pray for us
Saint John Bosco, inspirational Educator of the poor.He said: “Do good while you still have time.” Pray for us
Saint Maximillian Kolbe, selfless love in action.He said: “Forget not love.”Pray for us
Oscar Romero, courageous opponent of injustice. He said: “It is my hope that my blood will be the seed of freedom and the sign that hope will soon be a reality”Pray for us
Blessed Mother Teresa, selfless service of the poor.She said: “Not all of us can do great things but we can do little things with great love.” Pray for us
What do you think makes a good saint? Can you think of anyone you know who has these qualities? Spend a moment in quiet praying for this person.
On 2nd November we remember all those who have have died. Sometimes they may be people we know, or we can take time to pray for those we don’t know – maybe people who have died without having people who will remember them.
It has been said that people often use music to honour the dead. Can you think of a song/piece of music which does this for you? Talk to the person next to you about it, or ask your form tutor if you can play it during form prayers later in the week.
O merciful God, take pity on those souls who have no particular friends or family to recommend them to You, who are forgotten by all. Let not the souls You have created be parted from You, their Creator. Amen.
Light a candle and say aloud the names of people you want to pray for, whether they are people you knew, saints, or strangers who have passed away.
In company with Christ,
Who died and now lives,
may they rejoice in Your kingdom,
where all our tears are wiped away.
Unite us together again in one family,
to sing Your praise forever and ever.
Amen.
St. Lucian and St. Marcian: Eye of newt and toe of frog
Saints Lucian and Marcian spent their early years conjuring up magical spells. Their charmed lives came to an end when they discovered their potions had no power when used against a Christian maiden. Lucian and Marcian immediately converted to Christianity and then publicly burned their books of black magic. Each gave up his possessions and began living a solitary life rooted in prayer to strengthen his growing faith.
Lucian and Marciantraveled around, telling others about Jesus. One day, they were apprehended and questioned about their evangelizing ways. They told the judge that when they were practicing black magic and committing crimes, no one had stopped them. But once they turned their gaze toward God, they were punished. They sang hymns of praise and thanksgiving to God as they were burned to death.