All Souls Day

All Souls' Day by William Bouguereau

All Soul's Day (sometimes called the "Day of the Dead") is always November 2 (November 3rd if the 2nd falls on a Sunday). In Western Christianity, All Souls' Day commemorates the faithful departed. This day is observed in the Roman Catholic Church, churches of the Anglican Communion, Old Catholic Churches, and to some extent among Protestants. The Eastern Orthodox Church observes several All Souls' Days during the year.

My beloved grandmother Annie Casey Niland died on All Soul's Day in 1981. Tradition has it that if you die on this day you go directly to heaven. I still miss her terribly.



My beloved Grandmother Annie Niland
(she was in a play called The Girl of the Golden West)

The Roman Catholic celebration is based on the doctrine that the souls of the faithful which at death have not been cleansed from venial sins, or have not fully atoned for mortal sins, cannot attain the beatific vision in heaven yet, and that they may be helped to do so by prayer and by the sacrifice of the Mass (see Purgatory).

All Souls' Day is also known as the Feast of All Souls, Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed. The day purposely follows All Saint's Day in order to shift the focus from those in heaven to those in purgatory. It is celebrated with masses and festivities in honor of the dead. While the Feast of All Saints is a day to remember the glories of Heaven and those there, the Feast of All Souls reminds us of our obligations to live holy lives and that there will be purification of the souls of those destined for Heaven.

Traditions and Customs
Visiting a Graveyard for a Picnic
Decorating Relatives' Graves
Remembering and Praying for Departed Souls
Giving Orphans Food, Clothing, and Toys
Leaving Doors & Windows Open on All Souls Night

Symbols
Any Symbol of Death
Any Symbol of Fire
Old Testament Typology Foreshadowing All Souls Day
All Old Testament Examples of Fire
All Old Testament Examples of Purification

The official Latin designation Commemoratio omnium Fidelium Defunctorum, on which this last name is based, is rendered more literally in Portuguese Comemoração de todos os Fiéis Defuntos and many other languages. Day of the Dead (Día de los Muertos or de los Difuntos) is used in Spanish-speaking countries, and Thursday of the Dead (Yom el Maouta) in Lebanon, Palestine and Syria.

info from...http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls_Day
http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315b.htm
http://www.churchyear.net/allsouls.html

All Saints' Day

All Saints' Day
[The vigil of this feast is popularly called "Hallowe'en" or "Halloween".]

This is a post about my spiritual beliefs which are as much a part of me as my art...I will be posting again later today about my gallery showing and about my newest favorite possession..."The Journey" by Miss Norah/Sharon...

All Saints' Day is a Christian holy day observed by many Western churches on November 1 and by Eastern churches on the first Sunday after Pentecost. The day now honors all saints of the church, even those not known by name. I thought I would share some history of the day and clear some misconceptions as to why Catholics pray to saints.

My All Saints' Icon
Christians have been honoring their saints and martyrs since at least the second century AD. The Martyrdom of Polycarp, probably written near the middle of the second century, attests to this reality. Initially the calendars of saints and martyrs varied from location to location, and many times local churches honored local saints. However, gradually feast days became more universal.

The first reference to a general feast celebrating all saints occurs in St Ephrem the Syrian (d. AD 373). St. John Chrysostom (d. AD 407) assigned a day to the feast, the first Sunday after Pentecost, where in the Eastern Churches the feast is celebrated to this day. In the West, this date was probably originally used, and then the feast was moved to May 13th. The current observance (November 1) probably originates from the time of Pope Gregory III (d. AD 741), and was likely first observed on November 1st in Germany. This fact makes the connection of the All Saints Feast with the pagan festival Samhain less likely, since Samhain was an Irish pagan feast, rather than German.

The vigil of the Feast (the eve) has grown up in the English speaking countries as a festival in itself, All Hallows Eve, or Halloween. While many consider Halloween pagan (and in many instances the celebrations are for many), as far as the Church is concerned the date is simply the eve of the feast of All Saints. Many customs of Halloween reflect the Christian belief that on the feast's vigils we mock evil, because as Christians, it has no real power over us. However, for some Halloween is used for evil purposes, in which many Christians dabble unknowingly.

David Morrison explains the proper relationship between Christians and Halloween. Various customs have developed related to Halloween. In the Middle Ages, poor people in the community begged for "soul cakes," and upon receiving these doughnuts, they would agree to pray for departed souls. This is the root of our modern day "trick-or-treat." The custom of masks and costumes developed to mock evil and perhaps confuse the evil spirits by dressing as one of their own. Some Christians visit cemeteries on Halloween, not to practice evil, but to commemorate departed relatives and friends, with picnics and the last flowers of the year. The day after All Saints day is called All Soul's Day, a day to remember and offer prayers up on behalf of all of the faithful departed. In many cultures it seems the two days share many customs. See the Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church for more information.

Traditions and Customs
Visiting Cemeteries (All Hallows Eve)
Giving "Soul Cakes" to the poor (All Hallows Eve)

Symbols
Sheaf of Wheat
Rayed Manus Dei (Hand of God)
Crown
Symbols of Individual Saints


Frequently Asked Questions

1. Isn't Celebrating All Saints Day Idolatry?

Most non-Catholics assume that celebrating the saints means somehow worshipping them. The Church has always held, East and West, that worship (latria) is to be given to God alone, and that we give veneration (dulia) to the saints, the highest veneration (hyperdulia) being due to the Blessed Virgin Mary. If someone is treating a Saint as one should treat God, then yes, that is idolatry.

That being said, the Saints of God do have a role in our lives, as intercessors before God. The saints are continually praying for us and interceding on our behalf. God is the God of the living, not of the dead. As such, asking a saint for his or her intercession is perfectly legitimate and not idolatrous, no more than asking a friend or pastor to pray for you is idolatrous.

Remembering and honoring the saints are also beneficial, because to remember the heroes of the faith and follow their examples is a good thing! Many seem to have a great hatred of remembering and celebrating the lives of great Christian men and women, yet have no problem fervently celebrating the lives of secular heroes like George Washington. All Saints Day is simply a day to celebrate the lives of all the great heroes of the Christian faith, and to celebrate the deep communion we have with them as they intercede for us.

for more information visit here...information from www.churchyear.net

be fanciful...

Today's Intention...be fanciful...



In honor of Miss Fanciful herself...who seems to be as deep in the throes of creativity as I am this month...I find myself somewhere between the revenge seeking/broom riding/whacked out wicked witch and the uber nervous/clock watching White Rabbit..."Oh Dear, Oh Dear...what shall I do...so much to do...not enough time...Oh Dear, Oh Dear"...having violent mood swings...necessitating much chocolate...

If one wishes to be fanciful...imaginative it is....and inventive...and courageous...and, at times, laughing raucously at yourself...even if you, by choice, fall down the rabbit hole...2 or 7 times...

Not altogether fanciful am I...and though the physical appearance and attributes of such imaginary beings may have been, well um, overemphasized or just plain silly...the witch is in...for the time being...as the sign indicates...

You can see from the first photo that I have gone all out with Halloween decor this year...an upgrade from my usual bowl o' candy corn pumpkins...the shenanigans of miss fancy pants has rubbed off on me and caused me to go over the top...spending nearly 12 bucks...the teeny, tiny witch was $7...

above is the teeny, tiny paper witch I found in an antique store in Chicago...carried home in my carry on so as not to squish her skirt...but squished her nose instead...below is my usual h-ween decor...

I have reinvented myself for h-ween...the witch is in...tee hee...but she is determined to be a happy/positive being...

BTW...if you google fanciful...a fanciful twist comes in 3rd after fanciful.org and before roux fanciful hair rinse...not bad placement my dear...

not to make a living, but to make a life...

The point of your activities throughout the day is not to make a living, but to make a life; not to 'work' but to create joy. If you are doing what you are doing merely to 'pay the bills,' you will have missed the major reason for All Of Life.

The purpose of life is to know and express Who You Are. If you do other than that during the days and times of your life, you will have not used those days and times in a way that profits your soul. It is soul profit we are after here, not body profit.  from Neal Donald Walsh....I believe God wants you to know

We had a loss in out family last week...our 15-y-o maggie passed away, leaving a big maggie shaped hole in our hearts...we miss you and love you always...

making peace with my today will improve my future…

vultures after my spirit

for some time now i have felt as if vultures were after my spirit...it seems that they are coming from every direction...yes, it seems that way....

Making Peace with My Today Will Improve My Future... It may sound odd, but the fastest way to get to a new-and-improved situation is to make peace with your current situation. By making lists of the most positive aspects you can find about your current situation, you then release your resistance to the improvements that are waiting for you. But if you rail against the injustices of your current situation, you hold yourself in Vibrational alignment with what you do not want, and you cannot then move in the direction of improvement. It defies Law. In every particle of the Universe, there is that which is wanted - and the lack of it. - Abraham

Excerpt from from Abraham Hicks, The Vortex Where the Law of Attraction Assembles All Cooperative Relationships

so i make peace with my today...and i will do it again tomorrow if necessary...and each day that follows for my spirit still shines...it cannot help but shine as i choose to live fearlessly and consciously...and love...

may our collective lights shine brightly today....

"Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine. We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same." -Marianne Williamson, A Return to Love: Reflections on the Principles of "A Course in Miracles"

The Beloved Women Before Me...

A Mother's Dat Tribute - first posted in 2005...

"When I find myself in times of trouble Mother Mary comes to me. Speaking words of wisdom, let it be, let it be." -The Beatles, Let it Be.

Let us pray for all of those who have ever undertaken the profession of motherhood and all the women who have come before us who helped shape us into the women we are today.

This is my beautiful and spirited Mother in one of her musicals (circa 1945). She was a singer and a dancer. She loved music. She had a radio show for years. I used to listen as a baby with my beloved Grandmother Annie Niland. A tale from my childhood: When I was about three, I missed my Mother. I was precocious, to say the least. I thought if I could get her out of that radio box, she would come home. I sent Annie to the kitchen to get me some juice. While she was gone, I took the opportunity to knock the radio off the stand and break it. Annie came rushing back in and found me standing amidst the pieces of the radio. Looking up at her with wide-eyed expectancy I announced, "Mommy will come home now." She didn't come home.

Me with the said radio

Mother and I circa 1953

My beloved Grandmother Anna Rebecca Casey Niland 

(she was in a play called The Girl of the Golden West)

My Beloved Grandmother  Emma Constance Bledsoe White

My beloved Great Grandmother "Nana" Casey

My beloved Great- Great Grandmother Penrod

Today's Intention - Tell your Mother how much you love her - in person, by phone, or in a prayer lifted up to her by angels.

U Be Creative Today!

energy of incomplete work...

i invite you to follow this blog...just click at top right...

here are some paintings that are incomplete..or so i thought when i started this post...but the more i look at this top image the more sure that i am it is finished...so it is...

'a single tear' - 2009 acrylic, plaster on canvas

back to the topic...do you know the energy of incomplete work...

how many incomplete, half finished, or unstarted works are stealing your energy?

everything has energy...and things undone are thieves of creativity...they steal little bits of your energy by remaining in a state of limbo..subtly leaking energy...and the more little bits of energy that are being taken from you, the less creative energy you have to devote to the present works begging to be born...

i took a walk around my studio yesterday...i noticed several pieces that i have begun, with great intentions, yet abandoned somewhere along the way...they call to me every time i enter the space..."remember me?"..."help me" ..."finish me"...

if you have left some things unfinished in your life or your studio, perhaps they are using energy that could be better used in your present...for the present IS your life...

how to spot your energy stealers...attune your senses, mentally take orientations, be alert to negativity and energy stealers in your personal space...

then neutralize them by taking an action toward finalizing them or repurposing them or omitting them..undertake a mental and physical spring energy cleaning...

sometimes i even pick these unfinished works up and remember the moment that image came to me...the need to create it...other times i actually take it to my table and work at it...then put it away again...

i have come to understand that, if i did not stick with it until it was finished, perhaps it should be abandoned entirely...repurposed, reconditioned, reinvented...the materials used in another way...and when i do this i often find a remarkable work that developed out of fragments of other work from other times in my life...

so i am starting a series called 'fragments' that will use these old, unfinished works...in a different way, a new way...with new energy...i am also clearing away, simplifying my life...starting tomorrow i will begin selling my collection of art making supplies...please bookmark the blog or favorite it so you can see when new thing are added...it could be just what you need to finish a work...

Today's Intention...uncover the unfinished work in my life that is leaking energy...and finish or repurpose it...