The True Meaning of Halloween

Turner tells it like it is.

"In Western society, the traces of rites of age- and sex-role reversal persist in such customs as Halloween, when the powers of the structurally inferior are manifested in the liminal dominance of preadolescent children. The monstrous masks they often wear in disguise represent mainly chthonic or earth-demonic powers -- witches who blast fertility; corpses or skeletons from underground; indigenous peoples, such as Indians; troglodytes, such as dwarves or gnomes; hoboes or anti-authoritarian figures, such as pirates or traditional Western gun fighters. These tiny earth powers, if not propitiated by treats or dainties, will work fantastic and capricious tricks on the authority-holding generation of householders -- tricks similar to those once believed to be the work of earth

Fig. 1. Endowed with the powers of feral, criminal autochthonous and supernatural beings, Diane prepares to manifest the powers of the structurally inferior.

spirits, such as hobgoblins, boggarts, elves, fairies, and trolls. In a sense, too, these children mediate between the dead and the living; they are not long from the womb, which is in many cultures equated with the tomb, as both are associated with the earth, the source of fruits and receiver of leavings. The Halloween children exemplify several liminal motifs: their masks insure them anonymity, for no one knows just whose particular children they are. But, as with most rituals of reversal, anonymity here is for purposes of aggression, not humiliation. The child's mask is like the highwayman's mask -- and, indeed, children at Halloween often wear the masks of burglars or executioners. Masking endows them with the powers of feral, criminal autochthonous and supernatural beings."

-Victor Turner, “The Ritual Process,” pg. 172

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Happy Halloween!

More photos of pumpkin fun with Williams Catholic at WSO's Photoshare.

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Chesterton Quote of the Day

Do you see this lantern? Do you see the cross carved on it and the flame inside? You did not make it. You did not light it. Better men than you, men who could believe and obey, twisted the entrails of iron, and preserved the legend of fire. There is not a street you walk on, there is not a thread you wear, that was not made as this lantern was, by denying your philosophy of dirt and rats. You can make nothing. You can only destroy. You will destroy mankind; you will destroy the world. Let that suffice you. Yet this one old Christian lantern you shall not destroy. It shall go where your empire of apes will never have the wit to find it.

'The Man who was Thursday' via Chesterton Day by Day

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Pope on a Pumpkin

WILLIAMSTOWN, MA- Just weeks after a Jackson, MI family spotted the likeness of John Paul II in a pancake, several Williams College students have reported a nearly identical image of the late pontiff on a pumpkin. "Such repeat apparitions are extremely rare," said Joe McDonough, local Catholic student. "The similarity of the papal profiles is unmistakeable. If I didn't know better, I would say that only the first is authentic- the second must be a forgery of some sort."

With the cause for John Paul's beatification already underway, continued McDonough, such apparitions could serve as crucial evidence towards proving the requisite miracles. Although appearances on foodstuffs have not been the norm among already canonized saints, grilled cheese sandwiches notwithstanding, "the Holy Father was known to have a sweet tooth during his lifetime. Perhaps this is merely his sense of humor still at work. What's next? Pizza, perhaps?"

The pumpkin is currently on display at the entrance to the Cardinal Newman Catholic Center in the basement of Thompson Chapel. There are currently no plans to sell it on EBay or elsewhere.

The chair of the Theology Department at Williams College was unavailable for comment.

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Happy Mole Day!

(to the tune of "Deck the Halls")

Deck the lab with moles and woodchucks, fa la la la la, la la la la
'Tis the season to earn mole bucks, fa la la la la, la la la la
Don we now our safety glasses, fa la la, la la la, la la la
As we measure weights and masses, fa la la la, la la la la.

See the blazing Bunsen burners, fa la la la la, la la la la
Dang'rous to unwary learners, fa la la la la, la la la la
Bunsen burners do require, fa la la, la la la, la la la
Supervision while on fire, fa la la la, la la la la.

Chemists all now join the chorus, fa la la la la, la la la la
Chemistry is not to bore us, fa la la la la, la la la la
It is fun and it is jolly, fa la la, la la la, la la la
Deck the lab with boughs of holly, fa la la la, la la la la.

(Dug up from sophomore year of high school. "Mole bucks" were a form of extra credit. If I didn't get any for singing this in class, I should have.)

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The Second Humorous Mystery...

as many have guessed, is the Boanerges-

"James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James, whom he named Boanerges, that is, sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17, see also Luke 9:52-56).

One cannot help but admire the impetuous character of these two brothers upon whom Our Lord bestowed so evocative a name. "Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" Like Peter, James and John are admirable in their courage and lovable in their faults- even if we are understandably relieved when Jesus rebukes their more appalling suggestions. And indeed we see that they like Peter are particularly favored among the apostles, John in particular frequently being referred to simply as "the disciple whom Jesus loved." One cannot help but wonder, though, if Our Lord could not help having a little fun at their expense:

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee approached [Jesus] with her sons and did him homage, wishing to ask him for something. He said to her, "What do you wish?" She answered him, "Command that these two sons of mine sit, one at your right and the other at your left, in your kingdom." Jesus said in reply, "You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink?" They said to him, "We can." He replied, "My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." When the ten heard this, they became indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus summoned them and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and the great ones make their authority felt. But it shall not be so among you. Rather, whoever wishes to be great among you shall be your slave. Just so, the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Matthew 20:20-28)

Preceding this passage in Matthew's Gospel, tellingly, is the third prediction of the Passion: "As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve aside by themselves, and said to them on the way, 'Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and the scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day" (Matthew 20:17-19). James and John are blissfully unaware of what must have been to Jesus an almost painful irony. Expecting Christ to usher in an earthly kingdom, they had no idea that the places they coveted would be crosses on Golgotha- though perhaps John, who would be present at that hour, remembered when he heard the words of the repentant thief:

"Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
"Amen, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise." (Luke 23:42-43)

or perhaps in the garden of Gethsemane:

"My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will." (Matthew 26:39)

For the moment, Jesus seems to lead them on only to disappoint them- "Can you drink the cup that I am going to drink? My cup you will indeed drink, but to sit at my right and at my left is not mine to give but is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." Indeed it seems almost cruel- 'You can't have what you want, but you can pay the price anyway.' James, at least, was indeed martyred under Herod Agrippa (Acts 12:1-2) although John survived these early persecutions of the Church, living to write the Gospel which bears his name.

As for us, we should not be too smug about the benefit of hindsight as we chuckle over the disciples' frequent inability to understand what Jesus is saying to them. Taking the central events and indeed the purpose of Our Lord's life for granted, we forget how utterly unexpected and unthinkable was the Crucifixion and death of the Messiah to them, no matter how explicit the predictions. No doubt we too can be similarly thick when it comes to listening to Jesus, being too concerned with our own desires and agendas. Contrast James and John, who at the call of Jesus got up and left everything, abandoning their nets to become fishers of men (Matthew 4:18-22). Boanerges, ora pro nobis.

(The First Humorous Mystery)

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Mountain Day

Illos montes salutamus cantacis carminibus
Quibus echus recinantes silvosis culminibus
Cum cantacis admiscebunt ab ventis et fontibus
Dum resonant hilariter collibus et vallibus.

Okay, so I fudged a little bit on the meter. The Washington Gladden original, in a more suitably cheesy vein, can be found with background story here. For those not familiar with the idiosyncracies of Williams College, one of the first three Fridays of October is declared "Mountain Day", announced the morning of by the chiming of "The Mountains" from the bell tower, and celebrated- classes having been cancelled- by festivities held on Stony Ledge, featuring a spectacular view of Mt. Greylock and environs.

I began my fourth and final Mountain Day in the bell tower at 7am, having been given the coveted task of "ringing in" the festivities. Tensions were high this year as the first two Fridays of the month were passed over due to rain. This time, however, it seemed that Morty- that is, President Schapiro- had managed to placate the weather gods and a cloudy morning gave way to a gorgeously sunny, brisk autumn day.

After Mass and a quick breakfast, 10:15am found me assembling in the Field House in gaudy floral attire, along with three others similarly garbed, in order to take part in what the Outing Club called the "Eco-Challenge"- a combination climbing wall traverse, mountain bike route, and run/hike to the summit of Stony Ledge. Representing the Williams College Choir, the letters "SATB" emblazoned in duct tape on our backs, we led off the competition at around 11am and were the first to arrive at Stony Ledge with a time of 1:57, though we were ultimately edged out time-wise by subsequent arrivals. We did, of course, claim the award for best costumes, which turned out to be vintage pewter plates from the 1996 winter carnival (in case you're ever wondering how I came to possess the 2nd place award for the Women's Giant Slalom).

The highlight of the Eco-Challenge itself, besides my utter inability to traverse the climbing wall, was biking down Stone Hill Road and glancing at an oncoming Jeep only to be momentarily stunned by an apparently empty driver's seat staring back. After the first second of shock we realized that the driver was on the right, and the jeep was apparently an unmarked mail delivery vehicle, at least judging from the frequent stops it made at mailboxes after turning around and passing us again. After that rather surreal experience the rest of the course passed relatively without incident.

After hanging out on the ledge, downing doughnuts and apple cider, witnessing performances by a capella groups and singing with the Choir, we headed back down to our bikes at the foot of the mountain only to encounter the "other" Team Choir who had unfortunately become lost en route and never made it to Stony Ledge, having wandered up and down the wrong mountain for several hours. Thankfully they were all right, albeit rather tired and hungry. Biking back to campus, I grabbed dinner before attempting (lamely) to start some homework and instead ending up collapsed on the Newman couch for a pre-Friday-night-Adoration nap. Sic transit Mountain Day. May it continue long after I have passed into crusty alumhood.

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Flippin' Sweet!

I guess you could say this is one of the "batter" apparitions to appear on the news lately. Msgr. Oder, are you reading this?

"This Sign Will Convert the Nations" -Mark Shea

"I wonder if backyard apparitions (you know, the Polaroid stuff... it's always a Polaroid) ever inspire Protestants to convert. After all, when was the last time you saw Calvin appearing in a foodstuff?" -Andrew of Holy Whapping

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The Humorous Mysteries

VATICAN CITY- The unpublished notes of John Paul II reveal that he was planning to announce yet another set of Mysteries for the Rosary this year, just a few years on the heels of the groundbreaking Luminous Mysteries introduced in 2002. The Humorous Mysteries (Mysteria Iocorum) are a meditation on that most elusive and sadly neglected facet of the character of Our Lord: His sense of humor. It is often said of God that He must possess a sense of humor- did He not create the platypus? -yet we often overlook this in considering the character of Jesus (concerned, poor sinners that we are, by more pressing matters such as His justice and mercy). The Humorous Mysteries, devoutly contemplated, should bring the faithful to a deeper understanding of what G.K. Chesterton was getting at when he wrote:

Joy, which was the small publicity of the pagan, is the gigantic secret of the Christian. And as I close this chaotic volume [Orthodoxy] I open again the strange small book from which all Christianity came; and I am again haunted by a kind of confirmation. The tremendous figure which fills the Gospels towers in this respect, as in every other, above all the thinkers who ever thought themselves tall. His pathos was natural, almost casual. The Stoics, ancient and modern, were proud of concealing their tears. He never concealed His tears; He showed them plainly on His open face at any daily sight, such as the far sight of His native city. Yet He concealed something. Solemn supermen and imperial diplomatists are proud of restraining their anger. He never restrained His anger. He flung furniture down the front steps of the Temple, and asked men how they expected to escape the damnation of Hell. Yet He restrained something. I say it with reverence; there was in that shattering personality a thread that must be called shyness. There was something that He hid from all men when He went up a mountain to pray. There was something that He covered constantly by abrupt silence or impetuous isolation. There was some one thing that was too great for God to show us when He walked upon our earth; and I have sometimes fancied that it was His mirth.

The first Humorous Mystery is the Petrine Pun.

When Jesus went into the region of Caesarea Philippi he asked his disciples, "Who do people say that the Son of Man is?" They replied, "some say John the Baptist, others Elijah, still others Jeremiah or one of the prophets." He said to them, "But who do you say that I am?" Simon Peter said in reply, "You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God." Jesus said to him in reply, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah. For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but my heavenly Father. And so I say to you, you are Peter and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." Then he strictly ordered his disciples to tell no one that he was the Messiah. (Mk 16:13-20)

In Aramaic, of course, the words for Peter and for rock are one and the same: kepha. Our Lord's sense of humor is apparent not only in his play on words, but in his paradoxical choice of Peter, who will later deny Him three times, as the foundation of his Church against which the gates of the netherworld shall not prevail.

When Christ at a symbolic moment was establishing His great society, He chose for its comer-stone neither the brilliant Paul nor the mystic John, but a shuffler, a snob a coward--in a word, a man. And upon this rock He has built His Church, and the gates of Hell have not prevailed against it. All the empires and the kingdoms have failed, because of this inherent and continual weakness, that they were founded by strong men and upon strong men. But this one thing, the historic Christian Church, was founded on a weak man, and for that reason it is indestructible. For no chain is stronger than its weakest link. (G.K. Chesterton, Heretics)

The final punchline, of course, is the literal fulfillment of Christ's promise; excavations beneath St. Peter's basilica have discovered what is very likely the tomb and mortal remains of the Apostle himself, Pope St. Peter. "On this rock..."

To be continued...

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white founts falling in the courts of the sun

Remember Lepanto.

Our Lady of the Rosary, ora pro nobis.

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Chesterton Quote of the Day

Feast of St. Francis of Assisi

For most people there is a fascinating inconsistency in the position of St. Francis. He expressed in loftier and bolder language than any earthly thinker the conception that laughter is as divine as tears. He called his monks the mountebanks of God. He never forgot to take pleasure in a bird as it flashed past him, or a drop of water as it fell from his finger; he was perhaps the happiest of the sons of men. Yet this man undoubtedly founded his whole polity on the negation of what we think of the most imperious necessities; in his three vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience he denied to himself, and those he loved most, property, love, and liberty. Why was it that the most large-hearted and poetic spirits in that age found their most congenial atmosphere in these awful renunciations? Why did he who loved where all men were blind, seek to blind himself where all men loved? Why was he a monk and not a troubadour? We have a suspicion that if these questions were answered we should suddenly find that much of the enigma of this sullen time of ours was answered also.

from 'Twelve Types' via Chesterton Day by Day

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Sundry

Check out Dappled Things, a new Catholic literary magazine founded this summer by a friend of mine from the 2004 COMPASS fellowship. We hope to publish our first online edition this Advent and a printed issue by the end of next year. There's still time to submit before our October 20th deadline!

Update from home
My silly sister:

[Diane] was funny in the museum too. I showed her a painting of the sunset and commented on how the artist had captured the brilliant colors. She asked, "how did he CAPTURE them?" So I reminded her how fast the colors disappear when you watch the sunset....and said he took his paints and put the colors in the picture so he could look at them forever. So she immediately looked around and said, "I don't see him looking at them NOW...!"

Over the hills and far away

Went hiking the Saturday before last- my habitual route west to the Taconics via RRR Brooks and Shepherd's Well, north along the crest and then back through Hopkins forest. By delaying my departure until after lunch, I was able to persuade a few friends to come along, and we had a great time hunting for blazes on the elusive Birch Hill trail'k, wading through the shoulder-high goldenrod of Shepherd's Meadow, admiring the view from the Shepherd's Well overlook (still smelled like blueberries!), and chatting about anything but homework. Perhaps I'll post pictures at some point.

Conspiracy Theory of the week

Upon returning from the hike, we were eating dinner at Greylock and someone commented that the dining hall seemed unusually empty, even for a Saturday night. "That's probably because less Williams students are choosing to take on human form this year" replied another. I didn't know we had a choice, but evidently the "other three thousand" Williams students have elected to "live in holes in the mountains". Perhaps this is not unrelated to the recent preponderance of squirrels and chipmunks in the Odd Quad, subject of many a Driscoll conversation? Shades of the Blue Potato...

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