It was a day like today.
It was on October 31, 1517 that Augustinian friar Martin Luther nailed a notice containing his so-called 95 “theses” on the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in Germany. The preface to the theses reads, “Here I take my stand: I can do no other, so help me God. Amen.”
Today is also known as Halloween in English-speaking countries, which is a corruption of “All Hallows’ Eve” – the day before the observance of All Saints Day when Western Catholics commemorate the holy people of their faith who have gone on before them. It is followed by All Souls, when believers pray for the salvation of their ancestors. In England and Ireland it has long been the observance to make lamps of turnips, gourds or pumpkins and for children to cadge sweets and coins from adults. In the United States, the influence of Mexican customs has become more notable. Known popularly in Mexico as “Dia de los Muertos” (Day of the Dead), All Saints Day there features garish depictions of death, along with the practices of pious Christians who go to cemeteries to visit and pray at the graves of their ancestors in the faith. In recent years, the cult of “Saint Death” – which has pre-Colombian origins – has taken root among criminals, narco-traffickers, and corruption politicians. These devotees of Saint Death invoke her skeletal protection so as to commit their crimes with impunity.
Eastern Catholics commemorate St. Epimachus of Egypt on October 31. A native of Alexandria, he was imprisoned, tortured, and burnt to death for his faith during the persecution of Christians by the Emperor Decius. Four women were also tortured and martyred with him. They were Ammonaria, Mercuria, Dionisia, and another woman who may also have borne the name Ammonaria. They died in approximately 250 AD.
Words of Wisdom: Archbishop Fulton J. Sheen wrote in his book Footprints in a Darkened Forest the following, “Eternity is without succession, a simultaneous possession of all joys. To those who live toward Eternity, it really is not something at the end; it is that which influences every moment of the ‘now’”.
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