November 2

All Souls Day

(A day of Prayer for all who have departed, not in heaven)

Purgatory is necessary so that souls can be cleansed and perfected before they enter into heaven.

Also know as: Feast of All Souls; Defuncts' Day; Day of Remembrance; Commemoration of the Faithful Departed

All Souls Day is a holy day set aside for honoring the dead.

The day is primarily celebrated in the Catholic Church, but it is also celebrated in the Eastern Orthodox Church and a few other denominations of Christianity. The Anglican church is the largest protestant church to celebrate the holy day. Most protestant denominations do not recognize the holiday and disagree with the theology behind it.

According to Catholic belief, the soul of a person who dies can go to one of three places. The first is heaven, where a person who dies in a state of perfect grace and communion with God goes. The second is hell, where those who die in a state of mortal sin are naturally condemned by their choice. The intermediate option is purgatory, which is thought to be where most people, free of mortal sin, but still in a state of lesser (venial) sin, must go.

Purgatory is necessary so that souls can be cleansed and perfected before they enter into heaven. There is scriptural basis for this belief. The primary reference is in 2 Maccabees, 12:26 and 12:32. "Turning to supplication, they prayed that the sinful deed might be fully blotted out... Thus made atonement for the dead that they might be free from sin."

Additional references are found in Zechariah, Sirach, and the Gospel of Matthew. Jewish tradition also reinforces this belief as well as the tradition and teaching of the Church, which has been affirmed throughout history.

Consistent with these teachings and traditions, Catholics believe that through the prayers of the faithful on Earth, the dead are cleansed of their sins so they may enter into heaven.

http://www.catholic.org/saints/allsouls/

http://www.catholic.org/saints/day-of-the-dead/

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_Souls%27_Day

https://www.thoughtco.com/what-is-all-souls-day-542460

The Harrowing of Hell

The Harrowing of Hell is a doctrine in Christian theology, derived from biblical exegesis and found in the Apostles' Creed and the Athanasian Creed, which states that Jesus descended into Hell before being resurrected in order to visit the realm of the dead to save those who came before his earthly ministry. In this way, the taint of Original Sin was remedied for the dead, which allowed Jesus to defeat Satan and throw open the doors of Hades for all eternity, allowing the souls of the faithful to ascend to Heaven.

The "Harrowing of Hell" doctrine was especially popular among the laity, as it provided a concrete image of salvation that was easily encapsulated in religious iconography (which was often their only point of entry into such discourse). It also provided a popular understanding of the atonement (the process of salvation) in the early Church.

The doctrine has a twofold usage: first, it refers to the idea that Christ descended into Hell, as expressed in the Creeds, and, secondly, it includes the rich tradition that developed in later centuries, asserting that he triumphed over inferos, releasing Hell's captives, particularly Adam and Eve, and the righteous men and women whose stories are recorded in the Septuagint. However, these medieval versions come more from the Gospel of Nicodemus.

In modern times, the Harrowing of Hell doctrine has been termed the most controversial phrase in the Apostle's Creed and has been removed from some modern versions and translations.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harrowing_of_Hell
https://youtu.be/oP8_Cx0Osd0

Prayer:

Tradition:
A day of praying for the souls in Purgatory

Priest praying for souls

All Souls' Day in Lithuanian

All Souls' Day in Germany

All Souls' Day in Philippines

All Souls' Day in Mexico

All Souls' Day at the largest cemetery in Rome with the Pope

All Souls' Day in Sweden

All Souls' Day in Poland

All Souls' Day in Hungary

All Souls' Day in Mexico

All Souls' Day in Bangladesh

Recipes:

Make some Dead Bread or Pan de Muerto

Pan de Muerto

1/4 c whole milk
3 c bread flour
1/4 c granulated sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
1 tsp fine sea salt
Zest of 1 orange
2 large eggs
Egg wash, as needed for finishing
2 TBSP orange marmalade or simple syrup (optional, for finishing)
1/2 c vanilla sugar, or as needed for finishing

Directions:

Heat the milk with a few blasts in the microwave until it reads about 85-95° F on a thermometer.
In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, mix the flour, sugar, yeast, salt, anise seed, orange zest, warm milk, and eggs on low speed for 3 minutes.
Raise speed to medium and mix for 4 minutes more. Transfer the dough to a medium greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1-1 1/2 hours. It won’t quite double in size.
Remove 5 ounces (about 1/8 of the total dough) from the dough. Divide this piece into five 1 ounce pieces.
Roll the remaining large piece of dough gently into a round. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Press your thumb gently into the center of the loaf to make a deep indentation in the surface.
Roll one of the 1 ounce pieces into a round and place it inside the indentation. You can use a little water to brush onto the dough ball to help it adhere.
Take the remaining 1 ounce pieces of dough and roll each into long ropes that are thicker at the ends than in the center. The idea is to make them kind of look like bones (but no need to go crazy—it will look cool no matter what).
Brush each of the dough “bones” lightly with water and arrange in a circle around the dough ball on top. The pieces should wrap around the sides of the bread.
Cover the dough with lightly greased plastic wrap and let it rise for 40 minutes to 1 hour, or until noticeably larger and puffy. Towards the end of the rise time, preheat the oven to 350° F.
Remove the plastic wrap and egg wash the loaf all over. Bake the loaf until golden brown, 35-45 minutes. The internal temperature of the loaf should read at least 190°F on a thermometer.
While the loaf is still warm, toss the vanilla sugar evenly over the outside. If you do it while the loaf is warm, it will adhere easily. If you have trouble, you can brush the loaf lightly with 2 tablespoons of orange jam or simple syrup, then sprinkle again to make sure it has something to stick to.
Let the loaf cool completely before slicing and serving.

Bones:

Italian traditions

Ossa dei morti: Bones of the Dead

This recipe is a traditional version of the Veneto region, where these cookies are shaped like bones are eaten by dunking them in sweet wine, so as to soften them and make them more tasty.

Ingredients

200 gr of hazelnuts and / or chopped almonds
400 grams of sugar
200 grams of AP flour
1 tsp cinnamon powder
1/4 tsp cloves
Marsala wine

Directions:

First mix all the ingredients.
Mix everything with the Marsala until the compound becomes crumbly.
Shape the dough into bone shapes by rounding the ends.
Place the bones of the dead on a baking tray covered with oven paper/or foil and bake at 170 degrees for 25 minutes.

Or Recipe #2

Ingredients

400 grams of flour 00
100 grams butter
120 grams of sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of baking powder
100 grams starch
200 ml of white wine
Salt

Directions:

Soften the butter at room temperature, cut it into pieces, place in a bowl and knead until it became creamy using a wooden spoon.
Stir in the sugar, the eggs, a pinch of salt, flour and baking powder and starch.
Finally, mix little by little the wine necessary to obtain a fairly soft dough.
Divide the dough into pieces, obtained the cylinders as big as finger and cut into pieces about 10 cm long; press them at the center with open hand leaving the ends a bit thicker, so that they take the typical form of a bone.
Arrange the bones on a plate lined with baking paper keeping them slightly apart and bake for about 30 minutes at 180°. Let them cool.
To make it sweet put them in melted chocolate, a true goodness!

Art:

Make some crafts for this amazing day.
Sugar Skull candies or face mask.
Make a day of the dead doll.

I have to show you my amazing art.

The artist's name is Myriam Powell and she is just so gifted.

Her art makes me smile & it brightens my day when I see it.

https://www.etsy.com/shop/MyriamPowellDesigns

Make a Cake!

Craft:

People everywhere, in many countries around the world, will be at the graves of loved ones.
Thinking about the ones that they love by lighting candles, cleaning grave stones, telling stories, leaving gifts.
This is a beautiful day of remembrance that should be honored by all.

My son's family tree

The Mexican tradition for this day is so amazing & such a beautiful gift that it should be cherished by all.
On this day it is taught that death isn't feared but rather it is the next chapter of one's story.

A fun project for families would be to make their own family tree.

Learn their roots. Call or visit loved ones and listen to their stories.

For my family, I have shared with them our family tree.

I have taught my son, and even my husband, the family members who fill our family tree.
This is such a priceless gift to pass down, so on this day we will work on our family tree.