October 30: At This Time, Rolling Year, All Souls' Day

"At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said, "I suffer most.  Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode!  Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me?"

I know I have used this passage before, but on this first episode of "Saint of the Week," it is particularly apt to touch upon Marley's penance as a ghost.  Marley wanders the world, seeing all the suffering and anguish he could have helped alleviate while he was living.  It is a terrible eternal punishment, to be in a constant state of regret and mourning.

On November 2, the Catholic Church celebrates All Souls' Day.  On this day, people on this planet can offer prayers and alms for those who have died who are "being purified in the sufferings of purgatory."  By offering these sacrifices, we can help the Marleys of the afterlife pass through the pearly gates and enter heaven.  Now, whether you believe in Purgatory and punishment or not, most Christian churches at this time celebrate those who have died in the past year.  In Mexico, it's a national holiday.  Dia de los Muertos.  That's the day where everybody dresses like skeletons and makes sugar skulls and goes to visit grandma and grandpa at the cemetery, usually bringing them food and drinks.  It's sort of like Halloween, except the trick-or-treaters are dead.

No matter what tradition you celebrate, the end of October and the first days of November are reserved for remembrance, for reflection on those you have lost.  It can be a solemn time, or it can be a time of celebration.  It depends on the culture and traditions.

So, whether you're eating Milky Ways or sugar skulls, or lighting votive candles, I wish you a peaceful All Souls' Day.

Saint Marty will end with a traditional Catholic prayer for this time:  Eternal rest grant to them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.  Amen, Marley, amen.

Happy Halloween, Good All Souls' Day, Merry Dios de los Muertos

April 5: Rolling Year, Wise Men, Keeping Focused

"At this time of the rolling year," the spectre said, "I suffer most.  Why did I walk through crowds of fellow beings with eyes turned down, and never raise them to that blessed Star which led the Wise Men to a poor abode!  Were there no poor homes to which its light would have conducted me!"

The spectre in question is Jacob Marley, and, in this passage,  he is lamenting his eternal fate of wandering through the world, witnessing its needs and sufferings.  Marley is a victim of his own trivial concerns and selfishness.  Just like Scrooge.  Just like most of us.

I know, when I woke up this morning, my first thought wasn't about poverty or famine.  My first thought was more like, "I am so freakin' tired.  I wish I could just go back to bed and skip work."  Very rarely do I contemplate how lucky/blessed I really am to have jobs to go to, breakfast to eat, hot water to shower with.  No, I pretty much go through my life with blinders on, thinking about the things I don't have.  In some ways, it's a lot easier to be unsatisfied with life.  Think about it.  It's much easier to be envious of a person (of his job, her car, his home, her family, his this, her that) than to be happy with your job or home or car.  Gratitude is difficult to cultivate.

Modern society and culture foster an attitude of want.  I just got an iPad 2 for Christmas.  Apple just released the next generation iPad last month, and it's selling like crazy.  It's the newest "something better" every person wants.  I want a full-time teaching job at the university.  I want a bigger house.  I want to write a bestselling book.  (I wanted to win the lottery last Friday.)  We all suffer the same affliction as Marley--walking through life with our eyes down, focused only on our path.  Our journey.

I don't often think of the bigger picture.  For instance, I don't think of my neighbors across the street very much.  They're an elderly couple.  The husband is very ill.  I haven't seen him out much at all this winter.  The last time I said anything to his wife was last fall.  I had a box of blueberry doughnuts left over from a church function.  I gave them to the wife, mainly because I didn't want the temptation in my house.  The wife was thrilled with the pastry.  She kept saying, "Are you sure you don't want these?  Are you sure?"  It was a tiny gesture, made more out of selfishness (wanting to watch my weight) than anything else.  Yet, it made a difference in that couple's lives.

For a couple minutes, my eyes weren't focused down.  They were focused upward, toward that Star.

For a couple of minutes, Saint Marty was a wise man.

Just as good as gold, frankincense, or myrrh