Yes We Can...

All Soul's 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

We Desperately Need George Baily...

Our country, alas most of the world, is in desperate times. While the people in Washington try to decide if we are in a recession, you have only to look at main street in any town to see that it is much worse than that. Stores that you once shopped in are disappearing everyday because they cannot 'afford' to keep the doors open. If you drive down any residential street, you will see many homes for sale with signs like reduced, foreclosure sale, banked owned...because they cannot 'afford' to make the payments...because they have lost their jobs because the companies cannot 'afford' to pay the workers...and so it goes on and on...it is trickle down economics at its worst...it has more than trickled down...it has crashed down..hard......

We Desperately Need George Baily (It's a Wonderful Life)...and the Bailey Building & Loan Association. The Building & Loan Association was essential to many of the people in Bedford Falls. And we need fewer Mr. Potter's (Wall Street, big business, etc.) who will seize the opportunity to gain more control and end the "sentimental hogwash" of home loans for the working poor. 

The real American dream is a home of ones own...and a job which allows you to pay for it. I daresay most Americans want to work and are tired of hearing all the stories of the poor Wall Street stockholders who have lost everything....especially when you are too poor to own any stock...you are lucky to stock your refrigerator...

I encourage our politicians who are trying to decide if there is a recession, to walk down main street in their hometown...talk to the shop owners, talk to the people who live in the homes with for sale signs...ask the priests and ministers what they are seeing in their own churches...ask us what we need...Then go back to Washington and make a real bailout plan for the Americans who have no way to bail themselves out this time....

This is the letter I am sending to all my state representatives in Congress...I invite you to join me...

Boutique Cre8Tiva...

Open For Business

Wedding Extraordinaire...

come in...we're ready for a wedding...

I promised...here are shots of the wedding...

Casey and me with our veil around us






our whole family



callanwolde




the grits bar - grits served in martini glasses with toppings like turnip greens
no southern wedding should be without one

my sisters and me

mama sings janis joplin

my three sons singing "A Family Tradition"
Michael, Chip, Matthew

casey joins her brothers

casey sings "Hey Jude" and wows the crowd

all the parsons' women led by 85 year-old Nannie
sing "Love and Marriage"



It was a magical time...congratulations to the happy couple...

All photos were shot by Seitz Photography in Atlanta...click here to see all the wedding photos...click on enter site...then client gallery...then weddings and engagements on the left...then scroll to casey and chris...

The Best Things in Life are Free...

I promise wedding photos soon...

My little prayer for the tough times...

"foggy morn"
It is so easy to get caught up
with the trappings of wealth in this life.
Grant, O Lord, that I may be free
from greed and selfishness.
Remind me that the best things in life are free.
Love, laughter, caring and sharing.And...my beautiful, calming sea.
Today's Bible reading is:  Luke 12:1-7

Meanwhile, when the crowd gathered by the thousands, so that they trampled on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, "Beware of the yeast of the Pharisees, that is, their hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be uncovered, and nothing secret that will not become known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark will be heard in the light, and what you have whispered behind closed doors will be proclaimed from the housetops. I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that can do nothing more. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten in God's sight. But even the hairs of your head are all counted. Do not be afraid; you are of more value than many sparrows."

"morning flight" 
Thought on the financial crisis from Sacred Space

Lord, all this financial turmoil seems to touch my prayer in two ways.

Sometimes I feel moral indignation at the greed of the fat cats whose desire for ever-greater profits has exploited the weak. I hope that they may move from blindness to a sense of the real world of people, and realise the futility of their greed that wants more and more money. "What does it profit to gain the whole world and suffer the loss of your soul?" (Mark 8:36) But I know that such indignation is not always from the good spirit; it may be mixed with Schadenfreude in which there is little charity. I need to watch it.

At other times I feel fear and insecurity for myself and my loved ones. This pushes me to look at myself. Does insecurity make me more self-seeking and less caring about the needs of others, lessening my humanity, clouding my sense that people matter more than money? Or does this worldwide turmoil strengthen my compassion? Poverty is not good in itself, but where it leads to a deeper dependence on God and coexists with generosity it can be a rare grace - remember Jesus marvelling at the widow's mite (Mark 12:41-43).

‘Trop est avare à qui Dieu ne suffit.'
You're too greedy if God is not enough for you.

I wear a widow's mite around my neck at all times. It is over 2,000 years old and was found near the Dead Sea Scrolls.

A column of the Copper Scroll, one of the Dead Sea Scrolls found in Cave 3.
from Columbia University Libraries


This little coin contained in a silver cross reminds me to be grateful and peaceful in the very stormy uncertain and unpleasant times. When so many are loosing everything materially, we must look inward to what we are spiritually. The banks and our creditors may take our worldly goods from us...but they cannot remove or deplete who we truly are...deep within. Our souls remain, egos dented, but soul intact.

"stormy morn" as a tropical storm passes

Unless otherwise noted, all photographs and images are the copyrighted property of Rebecca E. Parsons and cannot be reproduced in any way without written permission.