7 Quick Takes, Halloweenie Edition

It's my favorite (secular) holiday, quickly followed by my two of my favorite holy days!  All in all, it's a good few days.

It vants to suck your blood and destroy your garden

1. Vampire Deer
Well, they're real guys. In case you needed another thing for your nope file, there are apparently fanged deer in Afghanistan.  The article doesn't explicitly state that they will suck your blood for sustenance, but I think we can all figure out what they do when the sun goes down.




2. Halloween used to be a lot scarier, guys. A lot scarier. We live in a world of mass produced costumes (seriously, count the Elsa's this year). But it wasn't always so. Want proof? Take a look-

For the love of all that is good do not answer the door
if they ring the bell!

A member of the most terrifying gang in the world

Seems Legit

In all fairness, everything is scarier in black & white.

3. On Wednesday we had a Halloween party for the high school students at church.  It included a scavenger hunt, "pumpkin" carving, music, contests, and candy.  You may have noticed that the word pumpkin had quotation marks around it.  Apparently there are no pumpkins to be found two days before Halloween. The grocery store did have an abundance of squash though.  #youthministerforthewin

4. For the scavenger hunt I wrote up clues that took the teens around the church. I'm not the best at rhyming (or things involving creativity, for that matter) but I was pretty proud of myself for this one: "You'll find me where the children play and the parents at mass pray." Literary gold right there, especially when you consider that one of the clues was simply: "You'll find me where St. Cecilia sings." Yeah...some were better than others.

5. Thursday I went to something called a Renewal Day for people who work in faith formation in our diocese. Archbishop Jackels was the presenter and it was fantastic. I seriously love that guy. His talks/homilies are always great. The only problem is that he has this really soothing voice and I was really tired, what with getting up early to drive to Dubuque and all. So Archbishop, on the off chance that you ever wander over to this corner of the interwebz, I'm sorry for dozing during your talks.

6. Here is a gif that will accurately depict my jumpiness this time of year:

7. All Saints and All Souls are two of my favorite holy days. One of the most beautiful about being Christian is belonging to the Communion of Saints. On these two days in particular we remember those who have passed on, especially those who are usually forgotten. On All Saints Day we remember not only those saints that we know and love, but also give thanks to God for all the holy men and women who have lived and are now praising Him in heaven.  On All Souls day we both remember and pray for our loved ones who have died, as well as all those who are forgotten and need our prayers. Even though All Saints Day isn't a day of obligation this year in the US and All Souls Day falls on a Sunday, we can still celebrate these days in our homes. Here's a few things that I like.

-Matt Maher's Litany of Saints
-A whole bunch of resources from Loyola Press on All Saints Day
-Celebrating Halloween, All Saints, and All Souls in the home
-A prayer for the dead that I've never seen before. Scroll down the website for more prayers

Feel free to leave the names of deceased loved ones in the comment box, we can all pray together! I would appreciate prayers for my grandmothers, uncle, and a family friend.

All You Holy Men and Women
Pray for Us