Monster or the Monstrance

I was having breakfast with a parishioner friend over at one of the Jalan Kayu food stall, where we had some prata with teh halia and tehchino.

Over the course of the conversation, our subject matter came to the festivity of Halloween and how does it square with our Christian faith. Our current understanding to this seemed to have been muddled by the overwhelming presence of the secular and the practices that tend to border on the pagan realm. Its actual intention certainly had been Christian but somehow all this have been hijacked by the forces of consumerism, pagan lore and other urban legends that one wonders where faith begins and superstitious mumbo jumbo ends.

Here states the point clearly concerning Halloween (or Hallowe'en): Solemnity celebrated on the first of November. It is instituted to honour all the saints, known and unknown, and, according to Urban IV, to supply any deficiencies in the faithful's celebration of saints' feasts during the year. 

By this, I am reminded of an enlightening article entitled Monster vs Monstrance (M vs M) and it mentions about the dilemma for Christians concerning this celebration. It carries with it a rather thoughful piece as to the real intention which all people of the faith ought to follow when faced with the 'supernatural' dimension that accompanies Halloween. The young generation of our times are especially fascinated by such supernatural elements as a "... vast panoply of scary creatures [of] the human imagination ..." has been made available to them. Unfortunately, this type of imagination has not been carefully qualified to them concerning the influences and effects that can do them no good, thinking that all this is harmless or for the sake of entertainment.

Fr Barron has a reason for this rather taken-for-granted attitude which may the be symptom of our generation today: we are, by nature, wired for God, but in this time and age, our very deep aspirations for the divine and the supernatural have been deprived or suppressed, this suppression thus brings about an effect of a coming out or an acting out of an alternative that expresses itself in forms in what we now see in this fascination for monsters, zombies, vampires and the dark supernaturalism powers and their ilk. So, for this night, there are opportunities that abound all over town and in entertainment places where Halloween would be celebrated and enjoyed within this view that centers on the supernatural dark of things, and all in the name of fun and harmless enjoyment.

I may not be too far in saying that some of our people of the faith also do join in these 'festivities'. This begs the question: Could we be better off celebrating this vigil of Hallow's Eve in a much more fitting manner that do give honour to the saints and the dead in the light of God's love rather than engaging in activities that celebrate the dark?

While at Vespers and Adoration this evening with the seminarians, I found my answer. It was a long time since I attended one, where my whole being was in attention to the celebration, in the wonder  and awe of the Eucharistic presence of the Lord in the monstrance during adoration for the Evening Prayer I for All Saints. The singing of the hymns by the seminarians in the chapel attenuated with the structure of the building and gave their voices almost angelic-like and there was the palpable presence of the divine and I could almost, just almost, touch the hems of the multitude of saints and those who have gone before us in heaven. That powerful and awesome was the feeling and I would recommend this form of adoration incorporated with Vespers to welcome All Saints on this eve.

It is as if to bring about a choice to be made to the following question, which was mentioned in M vs M: "... It’s what Jesus calls the broad and the narrow way and it boils down to this: the Monster or the Monstrance."

Choose wisely...

Related articles

• Overcome idolatry in life by kneeling at during Mass (wdtprs.com)
• On Halloween Sunday, Some Opt For All Saints' Parties (huffingtonpost.com)
• Is Halloween evil? (thepunch.com.au)
• QUAERITUR: Explain devil to very small children (wdtprs.com)

Mortality

Image via Wikipedia

Okay, so we have passed through Halloween's, All Saints' and now we have All Soul's.

All speak of the reality of a supernatural  order that points to something greater than our being. It also shows up our own mortality and how we constantly struggle with the issue of death. It is in this mood that it is difficult not to feel a little melancholic or sober with a dash of fear that one really can go anytime.

It is really laughable when you consider the fact that we may come from all walks of life, with different status and level of intelligence and 'greatness'. However, at the end of it all, we all return to dust that we are...

But to stop here and say nothing else would be totally selling ourselves short - as we always like to do.

The Christian response (and of which I am happy to be part of this great calling) is one of hope, wonder and peace to this question of death. It is because, this response is open to the greater transcendence that continues to pervade our dimension even if we choose to ignore it. We are 'hardwired' for the transcendent and and there is something within our being that 'pushes' us to seek the beyond. When we suppress or deny this 'inner wiring' that is there, it shows up in retaliation through different strains of reaction.

One interesting manner which this comes about, is the current fascination of many young people with vampirism, zombies, and all dark natured related items. The industry that services this fascination thrives in bringing about all sorts of activities, books, movies and related collectibles, thereby creating an industry of sorts which is very profitable and, yes, self-indulging.

Image via Wikipedia

As Christians, we know that our hardwiring is towards a God whom we call Father and Jesus Christ points us the way to Him, as did many countless other saints and holy men and women. It is because of this beacon that constantly blazes the path towards our eternal heritage of sons and daughters of God that we are, we can be reassured and walk in this life a better and enlightened person who knows what it means to have faith, hope and charity.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Spanish bishops warn against 'antiChristian' Halloween (telegraph.co.uk)
• The history and origin of Halloween (witnessthis.wordpress.com)
• Saints and Souls (whispersintheloggia.blogspot.com)

Into the Fire!

Peaceful week that went by saw the crossing over to a new month and remembering the Saints and our departed loved ones.

I spend All Saints' Day with a day trip to Pompei with a Singaporean couple who were down in Rome for a holiday. They are from my home parish (St Bern's) and are making their rounds in Italy before heading back to Singapore sometime next week. The Pompei trip was a very fascinating look at the typical life of a Roman community that mirrors, in an ancient way, what we would usually do now. Until that fateful day, that is, when Vesuvius blew its top and covered that entire city in ash, dust and volcanic lava leaving behind its wake, death and destruction. :-P

What we saw there are the remains of the ancient city that was incredibly preserved over the centuries and now excavated showing remarkable semblance of a thriving and busy city it was in its heyday. While we were trudging over the area and looking at their houses, amphitheatre, shops and the streets, it was as if we were walking among 'ghosts' locked in time, silent sentries of an era long gone and left under tragic and catastrophic circumstances. It was also a little wet and drizzly when we were there which made the atmosphere all the more gloomy and somewhat morose.

Now, back at the College and relaxing a bit over the weekend, I have to prepare for Sunday's lunch and Mass gathering among our Malaysian-Singaporean group with our invited guests. I am cooking a dish that would be familiar to all: fried kway teow or bee hoon, as long as it is something fried! :-D

Have a good weekend! :-)