CELEBRATING Halloween? Whispering to the dead before burial? Looking for wandering souls?
Dominican priest Fr. Winston Cabading, O.P. called on Catholics to change how they deal with the dead by avoiding superstitions and firmly believing in the power of God.
Halloween, characterized by ghoulish symbols like demons, ghosts, and skulls, makes children look devilish, the former UST secretary general said.
“Halloween is a celebration of All Hallow’s Eve – the eve of all the holy ones of God. So, mas mainam bilang Katoliko, ang ating isusuot ay ‘yong gusto nating gayahin, ‘yong mga banal,” he said in a two-part question-and-answer video series produced by UST. “Kung gusto mo ang anak mo [ay] maging matino, damitan mo sila ng mga banal.”
(Halloween is a celebration of All Hallow’s Eve – the eve of all the holy ones of God. So, as a Catholic, it’s more appropriate to wear what we want to imitate, the holy ones. If you want your children to be good, dress them properly.)
Halloween has become widely associated with the supernatural. Children and adults imitate different characters and knock on doors to do trick or treat.
Pope Francis, however, once said the celebration had perpetuated a “negative culture about death and the dead.”
“This generation and many others have been led to believe that the devil is a myth, a figure, an idea – the idea of evil,” he said at a Mass in 2014. “But the devil exists and we must fight against him.”
On Sunday, Oct. 29, the Parish Youth Ministry of the Santisimo Rosario Parish organized a “Parade of Saints” where children were dressed up as saints, serving as a Christ-centered alternative to Halloween.
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