Healing of the Blind Beggar

My Dear Parishioners,

This week we celebrate the healing of the blind beggar, Bartimaeus. Bartimaeus has an interesting name. His name means son of Timaeus (Bar=son). Timaeus itself can be translated two ways. The first way is “honored or prized one.” The second way is “unclean one.” So, Bartimaeus can be translated as “son of the honored or prized one” or as “son of the unclean one.” This is because the name Timaeus has two possible roots, and the root you choose will then decide how you will translate the name.

It was possible that in the case of Bartimaeus that both translations fit. This is especially true if we see Bartimaeus as representing the entire human race. We know that the human race is created in the image and likeness of God, and so is highly honored and prized in the eyes of God. We also know that the human race is fallen, blinded, and thus made unclean by Original Sin and by Actual Sins.

Bartimaeus then represents a human race that has lost its close and personal relationship with God and is now crying out to have that relationship back: Jesus, Son of David, have pity on me! and Master, I want to see!

Those rebuking him to be silent are unknowingly doing the work of the enemies of God. They are unknowingly doing the work of the Devil, who wishes to keep the human race estranged from God.

Jesus’s tender care of Bartimaeus represents the tender care that He showed us all from His Holy Cross:

Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.

Jesus thankfully continues to bathe us with His tender care through His Sacraments and His Voice that we hear in the Sacred Scriptures and the teachings of the Saints. He continues to answer our cries with the words: Go on your way, your faith has saved you.

Our Faith is properly understood as our close and personal relationship with God, a relationship that we do have through Jesus. Our Faith has saved us: immediately he (Bartimaeus) received his sight and followed Him (Jesus) on the Way. We can place ourselves in the shoes of Bartimaeus and proclaim: Praised be Jesus Christ, now and forever!

Friday, November 1, is the Feast of All Saints and our celebration that the Saints are watching over us, praying for us, and awaiting us to join them in the fullness of God’s Glory. We will have our regular Holy Day Schedule: 5:30PM on Thursday evening, October 31, and 8:00AM, 10:00AM, and 7:00PM on Friday, November 1.

Next weekend, November 2-3, we will also be remembering the souls of all the Faithfully Departed, those whose names will be written in our book of remembrance, those whose names will be placed on the altar, and those whose funerals were at our parish during this past year.

I am including an interesting article on the Catholic roots of Halloween in this week’s Bulletin. I do wish everyone a very happy “All-hallows Eve” and a blessed All Saints Day.

St. Joseph, Patron of the Church, and our Patron, pray for us!
Fr. Michael J. Pawelko, Pastor

The surprisingly Catholic origins of Halloween

Aleteia — Catholic Spirituality, Lifestyle, World News, and Culture Philip Kosloski – published on 10/25/16

The way we celebrate it today is far removed from any Christian influence, but the holiday has deeply Catholic roots. When most people think of Halloween, the first images that come to mind are children dressed up in scary costumes going door-to-door to collect candy from as many houses as possible. At the end of the night delighted kids empty their “loot” on the floor and begin the feasting that often ends up with a stomachache and a trip to the dentist not long after.

What it evolved into in the United States, however, is not how Halloween began.

The word “Halloween” is a Scottish shortening of the phrase “Allhallow-even,” literally meaning “All Holy Evening” and dates to the 18th century. The English have a similar phrase, “All Hallows’ Eve,” with the same meaning. Both words denote the night before All Saints Day, November 1, and refer to the celebration of the holy men and women who are recognized in the Catholic Church as residing in Heaven.

Pope Gregory III established the feast during the 8th century after consecrating a chapel named in honor of “All Saints” in Saint Peter’s Basilica. The feast was then extended to the universal Church by Pope Gregory IV and made into a holy day of obligation for all Catholics.

Along with its celebration, All Saints Day was given a special vigil Mass the night before (October 31), which led to that date being regarded by Catholics as a “holy evening.”

In addition to All Saints Day, the Church established November 2 as All Souls Day, dedicated to praying for the souls in purgatory. On this day Catholics pray for their deceased relatives and friends, visiting cemeteries to remember those who are no longer on this earth. It is with this celebration that many local traditions were created and became mingled with the festivities of All Hallows’ Eve when immigrants started establishing themselves in the United States.

In various cultures in Europe there developed a tradition of “souling” and baking “soul cakes” in honor of the faithful departed. These cakes were baked on All Hallows’ Eve and children would go out on All Saints Day and All Souls Day, begging door-to-door for these cakes in exchange for praying for deceased relatives and friends.

It is believed that in some places there was a tradition of wearing disguises while souling that represented the various souls in purgatory who were seeking these prayers. And of course, the processional candles were carried sheltered from the wind in hollowed-out gourds or turnips, call Jack O’Lanterns.

In France, the faithful created a danse macabre or “dance of the dead” that consisted of a representation of Death (typically a skeleton) leading a chain of individuals to the afterlife. The scene would often be brought to life on All Souls Day, where actors would put on costumes representing the different people in the chain.

According to some accounts, Irish peasants developed an “All Damned Day” on October 31 to complement the All Saints and All Souls Day. The theory is that “if the souls in hell are left out when we celebrate those in heaven and purgatory, they might be unhappy enough to cause trouble.” The Irish then banged pots and pans on October 31 to make sure those in Hell knew they were not forgotten.

All of these different traditions revolving around All Saints and All Souls were mixed together in the United States when immigrants started to intermarry and combine customs. The celebration of Halloween spread throughout the country during the early 20th century and quickly become a secular community activity that was devoid of its Christian origins.

Businesses then recognized the profitability of the holiday and started to promote it in their advertisements, taking over the day in a similar way to the celebration of Christmas.

In the end, while the current activities of Halloween appear to have no Christian significance, they have deep Catholic roots and are meant to remind people of their own mortality and the need to pray for souls in purgatory.