Newsletter Week 3 Term 4              28-10-2019

Dear Parents, Staff and Students,

Over the coming weekend when the doorbell rings and you may be greeted with,

‘TRICK OR TREAT.’

The feast of Halloween is being celebrated more and more in Australia and also in my neighbourhood as well. It is observed on 31 October, the "een" or "eve" of All Hallows Day (All Saints Day) on 1 November. The history of Halloween in fact is part of our Christian story that dates back to the eighth century when Pope Gregory III established the feast of, ‘All Hallows,’ which we know as the feast of All Saints day November 1 and All Souls day November 2 each year. "Hallow" is a word in the Lord's Prayer – "hallowed be thy name" (may God's name be held holy) so to celebrate Halloween without connecting it to All Saints Day would be like celebrating Christmas Eve without a Christmas Day. 

If you take away the Saints from Halloween, along with our Christian beliefs about the dignity and destiny of human beings, then all you have left is a pre-Christian superstition about the dead! Halloween is an opportunity to deepen our understanding of another aspect of our faith. These two days celebrate what we affirm in the Apostles Creed, “I believe in the Communion of Saints," which means the union that exists between the blessed in Heaven (the Saints), the souls expiating their sins in purgatory and we who are still on our earthly pilgrimage to eternal life with God. This is an abundant exchange where the holiness of the Saints (the hallowed ones) benefits others well beyond any harm the sin of anyone could cause others. 

The origin of "trick" or "treat" is connected with forgiveness and reconciliation for those who had died in the previous year. To wipe the slate clean for the coming year, young people would come masked and boldly bargain for "treats" so that the spirits of the dead would not do you any mischief with their "tricks." The use of decorations, costumes, skeletons and skulls are not to glorify the evil Jesus Christ has overcome through his death and resurrection, but a healthy reminder of our humanity, that we will die one day and we offer the charity of the Mass and our prayers as we lovingly remember our dead on All Souls Day.                        Source: Bishop Peter Ingham

Peace and best wishes.

Anthony Kenna – Acting Principal