Pumpkins and Sacraments |
Reclaiming the Night
It seems as though the world always takes things we Catholics celebrate
and twists them for pleasure and gain. For instance, Mardi Gras has
gone from a celebration before we enter a time of self-examination and
penance to an excuse to drink, party, and worse. Halloween is no
different. It has turned from a time of remembering those who have
gone before us in Christ as well as our own mortality to a time of
celebrating darkness and even evil. The world has taken our
remembrance of those who have passed on in faith and like everything
else turned it upside down. The focus is no longer on our dearly
departed and the saints that give constant witness to the Gospel even
from their place in heaven.
How can we as parents help our children regain the true meaning of this
season? How can we show them the “light of the world” in a world
inebriated with darkness? The goal should not be to protect the light
from the darkness but rather to let the light dispel the darkness. Our
first response should always be prayer. Next, we should imitate Christ
and find the good in all things and bring them to the attention of our
children. Hopefully during this season a jack-o-lantern will suffice as an
excellent teaching tool for spreading the Gospel and understanding the
truths of the faith.
Sacraments and Pumpkins
We, like an un-carved pumpkin, have a great deal of junk within us.
The pumpkins’ junk we call pulp but our junk we call sin. In order to
remove that junk from our lives we sometimes need to be cut open. That
happens when God removes that which we are attached to from our
lives and that in turn makes us rely more fully on Him.
Once we, like the pumpkins, have been cut open the junk (sin) can be
removed. Anyone with experience carving pumpkins will tell you that you
must remove all of the junk in order to make carving easier, make room
for the candle, and to keep the pumpkin from burning when the candle is
placed inside. It is the same for us. The candle and its light are
symbolic of Christ’s light within us. The cleaner we are the easier time
God will have carving us into the people He wants us to be. The cleaner
we are the better our light will be able to shine. The cleaner we are the
less likely we will burn (purgatory or worse).
Let Your Light Shine
How can we bring this lesson to life in our journey of faith? First, we
must be cut open and this is done with an examination of conscience.
Many good guides are available to help us do this properly. A good
examination of conscience can be painful but it is necessary. This should
be done prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate our conscience.
Second, we must discard the junk (sin) in our lives. We can do this by
frequently confessing our sins in the sacrament of Confession. Christ
wants us to bring to him our burdens of sin and He will give us rest.
Finally, we must allow ourselves to be filled with the light of Christ
through frequent reception of the Eucharist which fills us with the Body,
Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, The Light of the World.
As we approach All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day encourage your
children to participate in traditional Catholic practices like praying for the
poor souls in Purgatory. Encourage them to fully participate in the
Communion of Saints through constant conversation with those who have
gone before us and on whose constant intercession we rely for help.
The world sees this as a time to revel in the darkness. We must see this
as the most opportune time to remove the bushel basket from our lamp
so that the world may see our good deeds and give glory to God. Let
the light from your jack-o-lantern be a symbol of the light of Christ that is
within you. Let your light shine in the darkness for the darkness will not
overcome it.
James M. Hahn is the Director of Religious Education at St. Michael
Church in Worthington, OH. He is the founder of Real Life Rosary
and the author of Rosary Meditations for Real Life available at
www.realliferosary.com James lives in Southeast Ohio with his wife and
three children. He can be contacted at webmaster@realliferosary.com.
It seems as though the world always takes things we Catholics celebrate
and twists them for pleasure and gain. For instance, Mardi Gras has
gone from a celebration before we enter a time of self-examination and
penance to an excuse to drink, party, and worse. Halloween is no
different. It has turned from a time of remembering those who have
gone before us in Christ as well as our own mortality to a time of
celebrating darkness and even evil. The world has taken our
remembrance of those who have passed on in faith and like everything
else turned it upside down. The focus is no longer on our dearly
departed and the saints that give constant witness to the Gospel even
from their place in heaven.
How can we as parents help our children regain the true meaning of this
season? How can we show them the “light of the world” in a world
inebriated with darkness? The goal should not be to protect the light
from the darkness but rather to let the light dispel the darkness. Our
first response should always be prayer. Next, we should imitate Christ
and find the good in all things and bring them to the attention of our
children. Hopefully during this season a jack-o-lantern will suffice as an
excellent teaching tool for spreading the Gospel and understanding the
truths of the faith.
Sacraments and Pumpkins
We, like an un-carved pumpkin, have a great deal of junk within us.
The pumpkins’ junk we call pulp but our junk we call sin. In order to
remove that junk from our lives we sometimes need to be cut open. That
happens when God removes that which we are attached to from our
lives and that in turn makes us rely more fully on Him.
Once we, like the pumpkins, have been cut open the junk (sin) can be
removed. Anyone with experience carving pumpkins will tell you that you
must remove all of the junk in order to make carving easier, make room
for the candle, and to keep the pumpkin from burning when the candle is
placed inside. It is the same for us. The candle and its light are
symbolic of Christ’s light within us. The cleaner we are the easier time
God will have carving us into the people He wants us to be. The cleaner
we are the better our light will be able to shine. The cleaner we are the
less likely we will burn (purgatory or worse).
Let Your Light Shine
How can we bring this lesson to life in our journey of faith? First, we
must be cut open and this is done with an examination of conscience.
Many good guides are available to help us do this properly. A good
examination of conscience can be painful but it is necessary. This should
be done prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to illuminate our conscience.
Second, we must discard the junk (sin) in our lives. We can do this by
frequently confessing our sins in the sacrament of Confession. Christ
wants us to bring to him our burdens of sin and He will give us rest.
Finally, we must allow ourselves to be filled with the light of Christ
through frequent reception of the Eucharist which fills us with the Body,
Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, The Light of the World.
As we approach All Souls’ Day and All Saints’ Day encourage your
children to participate in traditional Catholic practices like praying for the
poor souls in Purgatory. Encourage them to fully participate in the
Communion of Saints through constant conversation with those who have
gone before us and on whose constant intercession we rely for help.
The world sees this as a time to revel in the darkness. We must see this
as the most opportune time to remove the bushel basket from our lamp
so that the world may see our good deeds and give glory to God. Let
the light from your jack-o-lantern be a symbol of the light of Christ that is
within you. Let your light shine in the darkness for the darkness will not
overcome it.
James M. Hahn is the Director of Religious Education at St. Michael
Church in Worthington, OH. He is the founder of Real Life Rosary
and the author of Rosary Meditations for Real Life available at
www.realliferosary.com James lives in Southeast Ohio with his wife and
three children. He can be contacted at webmaster@realliferosary.com.