THE BISHOP'S PAGE
October A.D. 2010
October is a special time in the life of the Church, in part because
early on there is the very popular Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, usually
accompanied by the Blessing of the Animals. This is always a festive
event and is rarely without its moments of genuine excitement and
anxiety as cats meet dogs and turtles attempt to run away from the
entire scene. There is no shortage of amusement on the part of the
human attendees, regardless of age, because each of us recalls at least
one such Blessing in our own past where the reaction of our pet was, in
itself, a bit of a sermon.
As the month winds down, we begin to see pumpkins, unadorned
and stacked on front porches, as a reminder of the harvest time of year.
Our Hebrew brothers and sisters recall their own harvest festival, the
Feast of Tishri, a little earlier, but the sentiment is the same. We all take
a moment to thank God for His bounty in providing us with the earth
that gives us all that we need to support ourselves and our families.
The end of the month is, of course, All Hallows Eve, better known
as Hallowe'en, a time when ghosts and goblins of all sizes and shapes
roam the city demanding sweet bribes from its inhabitants lest some ill
befall. It is the eve of All Saints Day, one of the truly obligatory days for
Christians to remember the saints of the Faith, not just the ones in the
calendar, but those who may have touched our lives personally in a
silent witness to the love of Jesus Christ.
In Poland, the custom on the weekend of All Saints is to visit the
cemeteries where one's family is buried, clean the graves, leave flowers,
and light candles in memory of those who have gone on. The result is
cemeteries ablaze, sometimes for days, with candles that seem never to
go out. In Lublin, where one of the Nazi extermination camps was
located, the citizens cross an open field from the neighboring cemetery
to the mausoleum where the ashes of thousands sit under a large dome
to leave flowers and candles, "because we know that they have no one
left to leave flowers for them."
This Hallowe'en and on All Saints Day following, let us not merely
do our Christian duty to go to church, but let us remember to leave
flowers and candles in the lives of those "who have no one left to leave
flowers for them" and in so doing celebrate the living by showing them
the love of Jesus Christ.
Peace and Blessings from your Servant in the Faith,
episcopus
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