The Opelousas journal. [volume] (Opelousas, La.) 1868-1878, 1873-10-31
ALL.sOULg DAY.

One of the most solemn and beautiful
festivals of the Roman Catholic church,
recurring on the Cd Of November, is
marked by masses and ceremonies APP
propriate to the occasion, designed for
the souls Of all the dead.
Odillon, abbot Of Cluny, in the 9Th
century, first enjoined the ceremony of
praying for the dead on this day in
his own monastery, and the like prac-
tice was partially adopted by other re-
ligious houses until the year 998, when
it was established as a general festival
throughout the Western churches.
This festival must have been cOnsid-
cred of pre-eminent Importance, for in
Brady's "Clavis CaIenlria," we read
that if All Souls day came Oh Sunday,
it was always kept on Saturday, in or
der that the church might sooner aid
the suffering souls. That the dead
might have every benefit from the
pious exertiOns of the living, the re-
membrance of this ordinance was kept
up by persons dressed in black who
went round the different towns ringing
a bell at the corner of every street..
every Sunday evening during the month
of November They. would cry aloud
to the inhabitants to remember the tor
ture of the ~expitiatory fires of purga-
tory and to pray for the repose of the
suffering souls. -, ~ ..
OF course, as a, Protestant, we have
our own ideas as to the efficacy of pray
ers for the dead, but the most rabid
dissenter must find something touch
ing and beautiful in the yearly memo
rial decorations of the graves of depar-
ted friends. &c. .st1
Even among the Pagans the festival
of Dii Names, of which All Souls day is
merely a Christian version, only proves
how interpenetrated are all creeds with
an eager, hungry desire to establish re
~lations between the present and future
worlds. To be sure, the feast of Dill
Names was a>propitiatory sacrifice, for,
W t1C 1S0u 4nAuuS uCubu was UIlO OnC
thing most cruel and terrible, and life
the most desirable boon the Gods could
bestOw. 81. ..-. ..'
When the unwilling soul left the
body, according to the Pagan creed it
became a tremendous Internal deity,
bent upon revenging its forced sewers
ance from its earthly habitation by mo-
Testing the peace of the happier living.
Thence the feast Of propitiation.
festival of Precipitation is also the
Christian version Of the Roman Dii
Names. The offerings of masses and
prayer are expected to shorten the pro
baton Of pu%rgatorial souls. '..
But as we said before, the touching
, feature in this celebration is its memory
of the dead. 1t is a law of nature tt
!, dread forgetfulness, and whether il
the gross features of the pagan rites OF
! the wealth of bloom on the Christian't
J, grave, we trace the yearning to be re,
membered by those we love. The
, shadow of the grave falls upon oul
daily path, but ten times worse than it
!, cold obstruction " is the fear that W
may pass from the memory of those WI
hold in our heart of hearts. r.
! To us there is attouehing pathos ever
in the Chinese offering of Din at thu
; graves of friends. Under the quaintes
J, and most absurd symbols, humanity ut
tiers its longings for Immortality o
some kind. even if it is an immortalit
of joss sticks and paper lanterns. w
0 crave to be remembered, and if we strey
s flowers ON the graves of the dead, it
Y with the half acknowledged hope, tina
d even should we lie down among stran
s gers, some pious hand will mark on
resting place with memorial offerings.