Month: October 2018

Is Halloween a Trick or Treat for Catholics?

It’s that time of year when we pull out the Halloween decorations, carve some pumpkins, go apple picking, and pick out over-priced costumes. It’s a dream come true for those of us who love to create our own costumes and act like our favorite characters from various books, movies, or tv shows.

When I was in high school, I loved dressing up for Halloween. One year I dressed up like Frodo Baggins from The Lord of the Rings, and when I was a Senior, I decided to dress up like a mime. I did not speak at all and only made gestures through my hands and expressions. It was quite hysterical trying to “communicate” with my friends and teachers! In fact, when I tried miming out the answer to the math problem in my calculus class, my teacher squirted me with water as punishment… it was so worth it!!

For those of us who are Catholic, Halloween has become a controversial topic for the faithful. Many believe that it has pagan origins and feel that it is not appropriate for Catholics to celebrate. Others feel that it’s an evil holiday and want nothing to do with it. I can understand why many people would feel this way! Who in their right minds would want to participate in festivities that beckon evil spirits or make us stray away from God?

What many people do not realize is that

Halloween is deeply rooted in the Catholic Faith.

Since the fourth century, the honoring of all Christians who died for their faith was celebrated on May 13th. Overtime, the faithful celebrated the “Feast of All Saints” to commemorate all the Holy men and women in Heaven (not just the martyrs). By the 9th century, Pope Gregory IV transferred the feast to November 1st so that “All Hallows’ Eve” could fall as its vigil on October 31st. Some historians believe that Pope Gregory did this to “sanctify” the Celtic holiday of Samhain which was all about scaring away ghosts and spirits. This ingenious move encouraged pagans to delve deeper into the richness of Christianity. In turn, many hearts were converted to the Catholic faith.

For those of you who are still not convinced about Halloween,you must remember that

Jesus overcame death by His resurrection and that evil will never prevail because of the incredible love God has for us.

If we refrain from participating in any evil activity or practices, we have nothing to worry about.

As you participate in your annual Halloween traditions, take some time to think about the Saints who have gone before you! They are praying for you as you continue striving for holiness. Maybe one day, you will be doing the same for future trick-or-treaters! 😉

 

Carolina Soares is the Event Coordinator of Array of Hope. She received a Master’s Degree in Theology at Immaculate Conception Seminary School of Theology at Seton Hall University.  She is a Portuguese geek who is very passionate about her Catholic faith and family! She looks up to Saint Teresa of Calcutta for inspiration and thinks C.S. Lewis is pretty amazing!

Finding God Amidst the Storm

God never fails to answer our prayers. Sometimes it takes a long time and we don’t always see the fruits, and then sometimes God answers us immediately.

Jesus helps us in the most mysterious ways, but it is always in His perfect timing.

For me, He sends horrible natural disasters. Yes, you read that correctly. There have been multiple instances where storms have answered my prayers (God is so extra). Allow me to share with you an example of what I mean. 

It was a Tuesday. The sun was shining, it was 78 degrees outside, and on the outside, everything was good. On the inside, I was a mess.

For the previous three weeks, I had been struggling with getting my college assignments completed. Working full time and attending online college can be quite a juggle. Along with that, I was directing a dinner theater and the performance was that Friday. To top it all off, I had looming deadlines for getting together the biggest event of my little life; my vendor’s table at BookCon.

With all this and more on my mind, I was very overwhelmed. I needed to complete these 3 important projects before the week was over otherwise my grades would plummet. That morning, I said the quick prayer that had been my mantra for the past month: “Please, God, help me get these projects done.” As you can see, the prayer was simple, but God is always listening.

The old saying “Be careful what you wish for; lest you get it” has never been truer to me. 

At 4:15 pm that day, I got a call from my sister. She was hysterical crying and begged for me not to drive home yet from work. The winds were whipping, trees came crashing down, and the power was out. Tornadoes were raging through my hometown.  After receiving multiple concerned calls from family, I decided to stay put. 5:00pm crept up on me and so did the storm. My coworkers had all left to beat it and I stayed behind to wait it out.

During that time, I wasn’t sure what to do. I wanted to get home but was advised to stay put. So, with the power still on at the office, I did the only thing I could do – Homework. I was at there for 3 hours before it was safe for me to drive home. In that time, I worked on my biggest research assignment. Once I was finished, the roads were cleared and I safely drove home to my powerless, dark town. 

You’re probably thinking, That’s great… she got her homework done. Yipee. But that sounds like a terrible storm! Why would she consider this an answer to her prayers?!

Trust me. That storm was dreadful and difficult for most people (my family included). However, the moral of this story is twofold: God is listening and He makes good out of everything. 

God is always listening.

Throughout my difficult scheduled moments, God has always made it possible for me to get things done. To some people, this may seem like a small prayer but that makes it even more profound. God listens to our purest and simplest prayers. If He is listening to prayers like mine, imagine what He’s thinking when we have larger requests. Whatever you’re praying for, just have patience. Things happen in God’s time and according to His plan (which is always better).

God makes good out of everything.

Was the storm horrible? Absolutely! I pray that we never get another storm like that here again. Despite the destruction, God made good out of all of it. Not only for me, but for others in my town. The storm brought our community together as we did our best to help each other in this crisis. It gave veteran soldiers work for a few days while they stood in the rain directing traffic beneath powered-down lights. It also gave everyone a greater appreciation for what we have. We realized that in an instant so much could be lost.

As you can see first hand, God is always working in our lives. I find it amazing how God cares so much about me particularly and my simple needs. This is the same for you. God is listening to you. He cares about you so much and loves you with such detail. He would move mountains (and send storms) for you. When we experience hardships and difficulties, He always makes good out of it. With all these things, we just have to trust, be patient, and let Him work in our lives.

 

Sara Francis is a young Catholic author and media communicator. She is a member of the Array of Hope team and is the author of  the YA sci-fi trilogy The Terra Testimonies. She strives to bring Christ’s message to teens through everything she does. If she’s not writing, she’s making music or art. Sara also loves time with friends, French fries, martial arts, and making people smile. To check out her books, visit her author site: www.sara-francis.com. To see her work as a media communicator and more, visit her portfolio: saraannraciti.weebly.com