All Souls' Day 2011

Because I know probably the majority of whatever few blog readers I have are Catholic moms with young children, I'm sharing the idea Chris had today to do something to mark All Souls' Day. For those who don't know about the Catholic days of the dead:

31 October: Hallowe'en (All Hallows Evening): unofficially recalls the souls of the damned. Practices center around the reality of Hell and how to avoid it.

1 November: All Saints' Day:  set aside to officially honor the Church Triumphant. Practices center around recalling our great Saints, including those whose names are unknown to us and, so, are not canonized.

2 November: All Souls' Day:  set aside officially to pray for the Church Suffering (the souls in Purgatory). Practices center around praying for the souls in Purgatory, especially our loved ones.

Fisheaters has a useful article to read.

Chris was inspired by a photo he saw of candles lit by loved ones at a European cemetery. He and I tallied up family members who have passed away and lit a candle for each one.

We processed into the dark den singing with the children taking turns lighting our way with a candle. Candles make things very impressive for little people. Ooooo.

After praying our family Rosary, we prayed the All Souls' novena and read all the names on our list.

I think our self-imposed illness quarantine lifts tomorrow: no more fevers! Another Catholic practice our family likes to do during the month of November is visit a cemetery to pray for the dead.