All Saints and All Souls days embraced by many Catholic cultures, But this season also holds a character of nostalgia and melancholy. The days begin to shorten and the shadows lengthen as the earth seems to glow in a golden hue, almost sepia-toned. The social reformer/American author Henry Ward Beecher eloquently describes it this way, “October is nature’s funeral month. Nature glories in death more than in life. The month of departure is more beautiful than the month of coming-October than May. Every green thing loves to die in bright colors.” In the Northern Hemisphere, the Autumnal Equinox occurs around the same time as the harvest season, but the harvest also brings to mind the sickle, the grain of wheat that must fall to the ground and die in order to produce fruit (Jn 12:24).

As we approach the end of the liturgical year… (Read More)