This is being written on Hallowe'en, before the young people come calling to the door. The day brings back vivid childhood memories for everyone, I'm sure. We can only do our best to provide some nice memories for the children of today when they 'go round' calling, so that they too, when grown up, will be able to recall with fondness and gratitude the generation of their parents and their neighbours down the road.
One major aspect of Hallowe'en that has changed a lot is the religious one. Priests in the 50s and 60s would talk about the indulgences to be gained by visiting a graveyard and saying the prescribed prayers. The true meaning of all this might well have been lost in the details of the various obligations to be followed, but we can still appreciate the abiding value of what it was all about: the idea of reaching our loved ones through our poor prayers. And so our thoughts this month will be on our family and friends who rest in peace in the earth, both here in Saggart and in other graveyards around the country, as we say for them as well as for ourselves:
I look forward to the resurrection of the dead and the life of the world to come.
