Sunday Stills

Ed gave us Hallowe'en for our challenge today. I don't buy into the ghost and goblin type of Hallowe'en; to me it is Hallowed Evening, or Holy Eve, the night before All Saint's Day, which is a day for Christians to commemorate those who have died and gone to heaven. Here is what Wikipedia says:

Christian denominations celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints' Day and the Feast of All Souls' Day because of the fundamental belief that there is a prayerful spiritual communion between those in the state of grace who have died and are either being purified in purgatory or are in heaven (the 'church penitent' and the 'church triumphant', respectively), and the 'church militant' who are the living. Different Christian traditions define, remember and respond to the saints in very different ways.

November 2 is All Souls Day, and in our church, we will go to the cemetery to pray for our loved ones.

So, in keeping with my view of Hallowe'en, I give you a very old graveyard on the side of the highway near Moyie, B.C.

Imagine walking through the woods, and suddenly seeing these headstones sprouting up from the earth....

Gone, and forgotten; no one to tend his grave....

Do forgotten souls have anyone to pray for them? We too shall be forgotten some day, our graves untended, mossy, and unkempt; but our souls shall for all eternity delight in the Light which calls us to come to Him.

St. Francis and the Wolf

Speaking of wolves, I thought I'd share with you this story of St. Francis of Assisi, the patron saint of animals:
Wolf of Gubbio
A legend from the Fioretti tells us that in the city of Gubbio, where Francis lived for some time, there was a wolf “terrifying and ferocious, who devoured men as well as animals.” Francis had compassion upon the townsfolk, and went up into the hills to find the wolf. Soon fear of the animal had caused all his companions to flee, but the saint pressed on and when he found the wolf he made the sign of the cross and commanded the wolf to come to him and hurt no one. Miraculously the wolf closed his jaws and lay down at the feet of St. Francis. “Brother Wolf, you do much harm in these parts and you have done great evil…” said Francis. “All these people accuse you and curse you…But brother wolf, I would like to make peace between you and the people.” Then Francis led the wolf into the town, and surrounded by startled citizens he made a pact between them and the wolf. Because the wolf had “done evil out of hunger” the townsfolk were to feed the wolf regularly, and in return, the wolf would no longer prey upon them or their flocks. In this manner Gubbio was freed from the menace of the predator. Francis, ever the lover of animals, even made a pact on behalf of the town dogs, that they would not bother the wolf again.