Dear Parishioners of Mary Immaculate and Saint Rose, Here it is upon us again! The Eve of All Hallows (Halloween), All Saints’ Day, and All Souls’ Day. During the month of November, the Church remembers all those who have gone before us, both those who have entered into the fullness of the Heavenly Kingdom: the saints, and those who are still on their way and are now in the purifying state of Purgatory: the holy souls. All of us are united in prayer. We call this the communion of saints. Everyone celebrates Halloween. It is a night to dress up. The costumes have evolved into everything from blood and gore to superheroes and ballerinas. It is an evening to give out treats, to gather for parties, and to watch scary movies. For us as Catholics, All Hallows’ Eve is the evening before the holy day of All Saints. It is the evening that we celebrate the triumph of good over evil in the lives of the saints. Everyone celebrates Halloween, but not everyone celebrates All Saints’ Day. So for a lot of people, Halloween is seen as the devil’s day. It appears to give too much attention to the occult and evil things. If one only has Halloween, it is easy to miss the triumph of good. It’s like celebrating Christmas Eve without ever getting to Christmas Day. What’s the point? The Feast of All Saints is the celebration of the triumph of all those who are in Heaven. We celebrate that they have made the journey through the joys and sorrows of this life, that they have fought and been victorious over temptation and sin. They have won the battle against evil and now are receiving their reward. We look to their example and we take courage, for what is possible for them is possible for us. So often we accept the lies of this world. We think that we know what we want. We all desire happiness, but we confuse pleasure with happiness. We think if we just possess enough, have enough money, enough prestige, enough power, then we will be happy. This is the lie that the devil places before us. What we really desire is holiness. It is through living a holy life that we discover the presence of God. It is by following Jesus and taking up His Cross that we sanctify our lives. This is the narrow way that leads to Heaven. If we follow this path, then one day, after we have died, we will enter the Heavenly Kingdom and each year those still on earth will celebrate the victory of our life. They will celebrate our feast day. . .the Feast we celebrate today for All the Saints in the Heavenly Kingdom! Saints of God, come to our aid! Msgr. Cox Adoration of the Trinity, Albrecht Dürer (1511)