practicing pilgrimage at home and abroad
To celebrate, in today’s new Pilgrim Podcast Episode I’m talking with Christine Valters Painter of Abbey of the Arts about one of her favorite spiritual practices—ancestral pilgrimage. In it, we discuss her own journey to uncover her ancestry, how she’s experienced healing in her relationship with her father even though he passed long ago, practices to honor and connect with ancestors in this liminal season, and more.
It’s likely that no trick-or-treaters have plans of stopping by, either—we live on an arterial route, and it seems the kids tend to stay on the quieter streets. While I have a soft spot for anything festive and do love seeing kids in costume (and eating my share of the candy), that’s okay by me. Since spending time in Ireland and learning more about the Celtic tradition and the invitations of the liturgical year, Halloween and the days that follow have taken on new meaning for me.
Although today Halloween is a family-centric folk holiday focused on costumes, candy, and light-hearted frights (a healthy opportunity to play with our fears, I might add), when we think of the origins of the holiday a spookier era comes to mind—a time rife with witch trials, hauntings, and superstition. In truth, though, the roots of Halloween, far removed from today’s manifestations, stem from quite ordinary places.
The beginning of November calls us to do just that, with the Feast of All Saints falling on the first of November and the Feast of All Souls following on the second. Both feast days invite us to remember the “great cloud of witnesses” mentioned in the twelfth chapter of Hebrews—both for the Church as a whole as well as for us individually—honoring their memory and reflecting on their impact on our spiritual journeys.
Traditionally, the period around All Saints’ Day and All Souls’ Day (as well as their predecessor, All Hallow’s Eve) is a liminal one—a time when the veil between heaven and earth is thin. When we apply this intention to this season of turning inward, calling forth the memory of the great cloud of witnesses that surrounds us, those who have gone before us can seem especially close.
As we turn our attention to those who have passed, including the saints of the Church who live on in practice and or our own ancestors who live on in memory, I find it important to also remember those who might be still with us and have contributed to our own personal journey, helping to shape who we are today.
Here are 10 ways to remember those who have gone before you on All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day, and throughout the month of November and the season of remembrance:
As you practice remembering the saints, remembering your ancestors, and remembering your mentors and guides, create an altar of remembrance somewhere in your home that you pass regularly, placing on it images and artifacts that will call you to remember those who have gone before you each day.