Today is All Souls Day and is celebrated in many parts of the world
On This Day
On Nov 2nd 1936 the BBC begins the world’s first regular high-definition TV broadcast service from London
On Nov 2nd 2020 the cartoon series called ‘Baby Shark’ becomes the most-watched video on YouTube with over 7.04 billion views
Birthdays Today
Paul Galvin (GAA and Fashion Designer) is 45
KD Lang (Singer) is 63
Significance of Today
All Soul’s Day. Today we remember with love all those who have died whether recently or going back over the years. It is not a strange or a morbid thing to do. It beautifully connects us with them in some way and most important it is our way of saying we haven’t forgotten them. They will always be remembered with love.
Yes light may be scarce during this month but we remember all the beautiful light these people brought into our lives. It is our belief that God also celebrates this beautiful light and love. The darkness melts away in front of God’s light and love. Nothing else matters. Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord. May they rest in peace. May their souls and the souls of all the faithful departed, through the mercy and love of God, rest in peace Amen
Interesting Quote For Today
“Death leaves a heartache no one can heal, love leaves a memory no one can steal.” ~from an Irish headstone
Did You Know
Did you know that grief is normal. Grief is not a disease. It is the normal, human response to a significant loss. Admittedly, saying that grief is normal, does not minimize its difficulty.
My Latest Video 🎥
I share this video that I put together to remember our loved ones who have died. It is called ‘A Halloween Prayer’
During the week to mark Halloween I put together the following prayer called ‘A Halloween Prayer’
The video below I had up last week and it is called – ‘The Floods 1 Year ago – Then and Now’. If you would like to see a selection of my other videos on Youtube you can click this link here. https://www.youtube.com/@JamesMcSweeneyFr/videos
Thought For The Week
We celebrated Halloween during the week. So why do we have Halloween and why is it so popular? Halloween has its origins in the pre-Christian festival of Samhain which was always celebrated on November 1st. It was a sacred day where the spirits of those who had died were allowed and given permission to pass safely on to the next world. Bonfires were lit and gifts of food and drink were provided so that any wandering spirits did not wander or go hungry.
Samhain was mainly a pagan festival and it marked the Celtic New Year, the end of summer and the end of the harvest season. For farmers this time of year was a time to celebrate, to bring the cattle indoors, dig the last of the potatoes and make sure all the oats were in dry storage before Halloween.
Christianity then put its stamp on all of these activities by bringing in the feast day of All Saints on November 1st and All Souls on November 2nd. Halloween puts us very much in touch with the mystery of life and that there is often a struggle between light and darkness, between good and evil and between life and death. It puts us in touch with the passage of time and the cycles of nature which we so often take for granted.
Halloween reminds us that we sometimes need to respect mystery and the unknown. We won’t always have the answers to everything we would like to know. The start of November allows us to remember with love all our loved ones who have gone on before us. It is a sacred time, it can be a sad time but it can also be a hope filled time too.
Thought For The Week is updated each Monday
