PRAY FOR THE POOR, HOLY SOULS IN PURGATORY!

Image: http://icdacanadasection.wordpress.com/discover/

The Four Last Things:  Death, Judgement, Heaven or Hell.

If we choose heaven we must first be pure ... ENTIRELY PURE. 
In addition, even though Jesus died for our sins we are still to be held responsible for our crimes.  We won't be out "until we've paid the last farthing" (Matthew 5:26) as Jesus says in the parable about anger and reconciliation.

Before we enter heaven virtually everyone has to be purified.  That purification is known as purgatory.  Some need to rinse their hands to remove the stain of sin while others require a very long bath in VERY hot water (along with lots of scrubbing) in order to be pure enough to meet Our Lord.


The blog post below from The Catholic Company covers the importance of praying for the poor, holy souls in purgatory.  As the title says, this will guide you in ways of praying for these poor souls that cannot help themselves.

20 Ways to Pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory

"Those in purgatory cannot pray for themselves, this is why they are called “poor” souls.  They can no longer merit anything for themselves and rely entirely on others to pray and make sacrifices on their behalf. As they are nevertheless part of the communion of saints, they depend upon us to help ease their suffering and quickly advance them through their purification so that they can join the saints in heaven."

 

Image:  http://www.solemncharge.com/pics/purgatory4.jpg

Halloween: The eve of the Feast of All Saints. A CHRISTIAN CELEBRATION and NOT PAGAN IN ORIGIN.

Halloween is an important Christian day  --  the eve of the Feast of All Saints.

Every year though I read people asking whether or not it is "OK" for a Christian to celebrate Halloween.
The answer is a resounding YES!

Our modern world is being strongly influenced by the enemy.  Satin is convincing people that he simply does not exist and that hell does not exist.
Halloween reminds us of our own mortality and of the FACT that evil exists.
We are fighting a battle.  One that is more important than a simple "life or death" war.  This war is for our immortal souls.  If we begin to forget evil, when we stop thinking about the four last things (Death, Judgement, Heaven and Hell) we put more than our mortal lives in danger.  We risk our own immortal lives and the lives of everyone else.  This is a battle we cannot fight alone.  For our wrestling is not against flesh and blood; but against principalities and power, against the rulers of the world of this darkness, against the spirits of wickedness in the high places.Ephesians 6:12

Not only that but the very celebration is a Catholic (and therefore Christian) day.
My major beef with the way we celebrate Halloween is two-fold:  1) That we tone down evil and turn it into a fun time with no actual admission that evil exists.  2)  That society celebrates the eve of All Saints Day but not the Feast itself.  That is like celebrating Christmas Eve rather than Christmas.


Others have done research into the myths surrounding Halloween and its origins, so I'll give you links to those sources:

• Halloween: A Catholic View

The Reality of Evil Points Us Toward the Good

 

Much of the modern aversion to Halloween, I think, stems from the same unwillingness to acknowledge the reality of evil. But there's a reason why we dress up as ghouls and goblins on the night before we celebrate the feast of All Saints Day, and, despite the claims of supposed satanists and Wiccans and anti-Halloween Christians like Jack Chick, it's actually a Christian reason: We believe in a world that extends beyond the one that we can see, a world in which angels and demons do contest for the souls of men, and the Prince of Lies grows in power by convincing people that he does not exist.
If for no reason other than the fact that it reminds us that, as Hamlet tells his friend, "There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, / Than are dreamt of in your philosophy," Halloween is worth celebrating.

• Should Catholics Celebrate Halloween?

The Christian Origins of All Hallows Eve

 

The Christian Origins of Halloween

"Halloween" is a name that means nothing by itself. It is a contraction of "All Hallows Eve," and it designates the vigil of All Hallows Day, more commonly known today as All Saints Day. ("Hallow," as a noun, is an old English word for saint. As a verb, it means to make something holy or to honor it as holy.) All Saints Day, November 1, is a Holy Day of Obligation, and both the feast and the vigil have been celebrated since the early eighth century, when they were instituted by Pope Gregory III in Rome. (A century later, they were extended to the Church at large by Pope Gregory IV.)

Finally there's another good resource again addressing the false pagan origins of Halloween:

• Halloween or Samhain?

 The belief that Halloween is pagan in origin is a myth. Many neo-pagan websites claim that it was an attempt by early Christians to “baptize” the Gaelic harvest festival of Samhain. Because of this persistent myth, some Christians are hesitant to participate in anything associated with Halloween.

Holy Michael Archangel, defend us in the day of battle; be our safeguard against the wickedness and snares of the devil. -- May God rebuke him, we humbly pray: and do thou, Prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God thrust down to hell Satin and all the wicked spirits, who wander through the world for the ruin of souls.
Amen.