Jack O' Lanterns and Jesus Christ

For some strange reason, I felt it necessary to attend 6:30 a.m. Mass this morning at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception here in Denver. It's a beautiful place, and I don't stop by often enough. The crowd was sparse, as many early services tend to be, and was largely populated with the "older set," i.e. I was probably one of about 5 under the age of 25.

The usual rituals ensued, and continued up to the homily. The priest began by relating an archbishop's recent statements concerning the PAGAN FESTIVAL OF HALLOWEEN. It was the typical rehash of why it's really a hollow holiday, and should always, always be relegated to American "civil religion." Now the funny part: He contrasted it with today's celebration (All Souls Day) and how this is a day that, like Halloween, we are to honor our friends and relatives who have passed on. I forget exactly what differences he was pointing out. All Souls Day, like All Saints Day on November 1st, didn't happen by chance.

I giggled because I feel that the priest may have been willfully ignoring the ways in which pagan/nature holidays have informed, almost exactly, the calendar of the Catholic Church (and Christianity in general). All Souls and All Saints line up with Halloween, Christmas trees and Christmas time have their roots in Germanic myth, and the very word "Easter" may have been named after an old goddess figure. There are also a variety of ways in which Christian holidays fit in with the holidays of their Jewish ancestors. Many of them line up, in one way or another, with the observances of other faiths.

As I sat pondering all of this gobbledigook, the priest moved on to speak of Purgatory, and how we ought to be helping those friends and family who are waiting there. And how do we do this? The priest said, "Almsgiving, prayer, and fasting." Of course, as he spoke it, I was reciting the analogous terms in Islam: zakat, salat, sawm.

I left the church reminded again of the relative ease with which we can find points of convergence between and among our traditions, provided we are on the lookout for them. Happy Belated Halloween.