Allhallowtide: Our Shared Journey from Death to Life

As the end of October draws near, we near too the end of Cruxtide. The days are getting shorter, darker, and cooler in the northern hemisphere. Leaves are beginning to fall as Creation itself prepares for what is to come. We are in a time of transition, a season that reminds us that it is not only beautiful to let things go, but necessary - necessary for survival, a prerequisite for rest, renewal, and rebirth. For everything there is a season, after all. Nothing lasts forever this side of eternity.  

The Gateway from Cruxtide to Kingdomtide  

We are in a liminal, transitional season liturgically as well. The secular month of November marks the beginning of Kingdomtide, a sacred season that culminates in the last Sunday of the church year, Christ the Sovereign Sunday. But we’re not there yet. In fact, there’s a gateway we must pass through to get from Cruxtide to Kingdomtide. We must first pass through the veil of Allhallowtide to get to “the other side.” 

Allhallowtide is the Autumn Triduum, a sacred three-day “liturgical season within a season” that mirrors, albeit darkly, the Easter triduum that marks the transition from Lent and Holy Week to Easter. Both tridua signal a change in season, a change in a way or state of being. Both tridua mark the transition from death to new life. Both tridua ask us to die to ourselves in this world so that we may be raised to new life in Christ in the world to come. Both tridua remind us that it is not only beautiful to let things go, but necessary – necessary for our spiritual survival, a prerequisite for eternal rest, renewal, and resurrection.  

All Hallows Eve & the Pilgrim Church on Earth

The Autumn Triduum begins with All Hallows Eve on October 31st. On this day, the Church Catholic celebrates the Pilgrim Church on Earth as it labors until death. You may be surprised to learn that many modern Halloween customs are Catholic traditions corresponding to this Holy Day. On All Hallows Eve gourds or turnips were carved with ghoulish faces to ward off evil spirits. Children knocked on doors to beg for “soul cakes” in exchange for prayers for the recently departed. Statues were veiled with ghostly fabric to remind the faithful of the fleeting nature of this passing world and the veil between the living and the dead. Catholics dressed as angels, saints, demons, and even Death to participate in firelit parades and bonfire festivals that brought light and warmth to a dark, cold night when the veil between the living and the dead was thought to be at its thinnest. 

All Saints Day & the Church Triumphant in Heaven

All Hallows Eve celebrations often lasted until mass at dawn on November 1st when the Solemnity of All Saints was celebrated. On All Saints Day, the Church Catholic celebrates the great Communion of the Saints - the Church Triumphant in heaven that intercedes ceaselessly before the throne of the resurrected Christ for the Pilgrim Church on earth. On this Holy Day of Obligation, we gather around the Eucharistic table with all the Faithful Ones across time and space, both the living and the dead. We beg for the help of the heroes of our faith who have gone before us as we intone the Litany of the Saints. And we commit ourselves to following in their holy footsteps, the well-worn path that leads us from this mortal world into an eternity with the One who defeated death itself.  

All Souls Day & the Church Expectant in Purgatory

Allhallowtide comes to a close with the feast of All Souls on November 2nd. On All Souls Day, we remember the Church Expectant - our loved ones who have passed from this world into the world to come, and all those who are continuing their journey into the merciful arms of Christ through a time of purification and healing in Purgatory. On this day, we pray and offer mass for all Holy Souls, especially those who have no one to pray for them, trusting that the great storehouse of graces won by the Pilgrim Church on Earth and the Church Triumphant in Heaven will be poured upon all of God’s beloved children, especially those most in need of God’s mercy. On this day, we visit gravesites and columbaria, and bring pictures and tokens of our “personal saints” with us to Mass to place on or near the altar, knowing that our loved ones who have passed gather to pray with us in a special way on this sacred day. 

An Account of Our Days 

It has been the tradition of the Parish Church of St. Jerome to collapse Allhallowtide into a single “All Saints and All Souls Day” transferred to the first Sunday in November. While this local custom may be convenient, much of the spiritual, historical, and liturgical significance of this important triduum is lost when we reduce these distinct feast days into a single "Sunday Solemnity.” This year, as last year, we will be observing each of these feast days on their appointed dates. Is this inconvenient? Absolutely. That’s one of the graces of this sacred season. The Autumn Triduum interrupts our mundane routines, shakes us from our complacency, and reminds us of something we as a culture invest a lot of time, energy, and money in trying to forget - that one day soon we too will pass from the world of the living to the world of the dead. We too will stand before the great Judgement Seat of Christ and give an account of how we spent our days. 

Our Shared Journey Home  

Allhallowtide invites us to turn our minds and our hearts to that day sooner rather than later by calling us to reflect solemnly on our shared journey with the Pilgrim Church on Earth, the Church Expectant in Purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in Heaven. Make it a priority this year to join your brothers, sisters and kin, the living and the dead, as we pass together through the veil from death to eternal life in Christ this triduum. The path is well-trod, but narrow. The journey is long, but you need not travel alone. Allhallowtide invites us to join the Great Procession now, trusting that it leads us to the One in whom we live, and move, and have our very being. Join us we prepare, individually and communally, for this sacred journey. Join us as we gather to walk each other Home. 

A blessed Allhallowtide to you and yours,

Fr. Josh