Monday, October 31, 2011

All Hallows Eve

Today is the Eve of All Saints, or All Hallows Eve. The Feast of All Hallows (All Saints), used to be celebrated on 13 May until the mid-700s when it was changed to 1 November when All Saints Chapel was dedicated in Rome.

The observance of All Hallows Eve, the vigil of All Saint, depended on where you lived in Christendom. In Brittany, the night was solemn and without any merriment. They prayed by their loved ones’ graves during the day, attended church for “black vespers” in the evening and in some parishes proceeded to the cemetery to pray by the bones of those not yet buried or for whom no room could be found in the cemetery singing hymns. They prayed Psalm 130:

Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord.
Lord, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplications!
If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,
Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you may be revered.
I wait for the Lord, my soul waits,
and in his word I hope;
my soul waits for the Lord
more than those who watch for the morning,
more than those who watch for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord!
For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is great power to redeem.
It is he who will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.

Then, they retired for the night.

In Ireland and Scotland and England, All Hallows' Eve became a combination of prayer and merriment. During the time of Queen Elizabeth I, all observances connected with the day after All Saints Day, All Souls’ Day, were forbidden. In spite of her laws, however, customs survived; even Shakespeare in his Two Gentlemen of Verona has Speed tell Valentine that he knows he is in love because he has learned to speak “puling like a beggar at Hallowmas.”

Begging at the door grew from an ancient English custom of knocking at doors to beg for a “soul cake” in return for which the beggars promised to pray for the dead of the household. Soul cakes, a form of shortbread, with currants for eyes.

Although All Saints always falls on 1 November, the Church in the United States celebrates it on the Sunday immediately following 1 November; therefore, we will celebrate All Saints Day on Sunday, 6 November.

Let us pray: Almighty and everlasting God, who grants us to honor in one feast the merits of all Your saints, we beseech You that You would bestow upon us, through our many intercessors, that abundance of Your mercy for which we long, through our Lord Jesus Christ Your Son who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, one God forever and ever. Amen.

CALENDAR REMINDERS & UPCOMING EVENTS

THE FEAST IF ALL SAINTS, Sunday, 6 November, where all of those who have gone before us marked with the sign of faith and who witnessed to us the Risen Christ will be remembered.

WOMEN’S BIBLE STUDY: Sundays at 4:00 p.m. in Sutton Hall. Please join Jillian Bain for this prayerful study of Scripture.

THE FISH FRY & YARD SALE: Saturday, 5 November 2011, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. (proceeds for Church renovation/maintenance), and we are raffling a 32 inch flat screen TV (for the victims of the wildfires in Texas). We are starting to collect items for the yard sale benefiting the Community Garden so bring in your items. Dinner tickets are $7.50 each and the raffle tickets are $2 each of $5 for 3. The Yard Sale is from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Donations for the yard sale can be brought to the church on Sundays, 10:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. or you can contact Karen at 409-762-0316 to arrange other times.

PLEASE REMEMBER EVERYONE ON OUR PRAYER LIST especially Hugh who is recovering from surgery, all of those who are traveling, all of those seeking work, everyone who is addicted to drugs or alcohol, for all who are alone, for those who have no one to pray for them, all parishes with search committees as they seek new rectors, for all of those suffering from the wildfires, and in thanksgiving for all that God has done for us.

“As no darkness can be seen by anyone surrounded by light, so no trivialities can capture the attention of anyone who has his eyes on Christ.” —St. Gregory of Nyssa (c.330-c.395)

Your servant in Christ,

Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550

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