Legends of the Dark

HALLOWEEN, 2013 C

Legends of the Dark

7:00 p.m. @ St. Peter’s Cemetery

Items: cassock, thurible, torches, vigil candles, portable speaker system, personal stereo with MP3 capability, costumes for visual aid. Procession gathers at the cemetery gate and proceeds along six stations in a cruciform path, with Scripture readings and brief homilies at each point of the Cross.

Participants: lector (reads everything in italics), homilist, thurifer, costumed beasties.

Opening Song: Camille Saint-Saens, “Danse Macabre”

Graveyard Gate: Introduction

Welcome, one and all, to our fifth annual graveyard Halloween! We gather on this night to welcome the three day-festival of the Hallowtide, a time for the Church to honor her sainted dead. We live in the midst of a society that fetishizes violence, yet shuns the reality of death. Christians have no such luxury. We are the people of a crucified God, Who suffered at our hands and for our sake. We confess that Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, descended to the dead, not as victim but as Conqueror, and there He shattered the gates of Hell!

Thus, for us, death is both very real yet completely false. Christ died that we might live; and we die, that we might rise again in Christ. The grave is no longer our end, but merely our beginning. In the midst of this graveyard, surrounded by the bones of our families and forebears, we proclaim with defiance that death has no dominion here!

That’s what the Hallowtide is really about—not about death, as such, but about the breaking of death’s back! Tomorrow morning marks All Saints’ Day, the Hallowmas, when we rejoice to know that the Church on earth thrives in eternal union with souls who gaze directly upon God in Heaven—souls who love us, pray for us, intercede for us, and, by the grace of God, come to our aid. The day after tomorrow, known as All Souls or the Day of the Dead, further commemorates those we love who have recently passed beyond the veil of death on their path to eternal glory.

And of course that makes tonight All Hallows’ Eve—a time of joy and frolic, of frightful fun, when we delight to laugh at darkness and death, at goblins and ghouls. For if death has been conquered, what have we left to fear? We are not afraid of the devil, we are not afraid of things that go bump in the night, for they are trampled under Jesus’ heel and we shall live forevermore! Alleluia!

But you know … these monsters of ours, so famous now in rubber masks and movie screens, were not always dismissed out of hand so easily. The fact that we proclaim the defeat of evil doesn’t mean that evil does not exist—quite the contrary! And so tonight, for your delight, let us peel back the mists of time and explore the roots of our fears, in the Legends of the Dark.

Opening Prayer

We gather on this sacred ground, amongst the mortal remains of our forebears, in the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit.  AMEN.

Lord, You are the Light Whom darkness cannot overcome.  Guide us through this vale of shadow, and raise us from loamy earth to everlasting life.  We convene tonight in order to remember and to intercede for all those here laid to rest: that whatever the state of their souls, we might at long last be returned one and all to Your eternal banquet.

We pray relief and comfort for those whom we may aid; and we pray that those who have achieved the beatific vision of Your glory might aid us—for You, O Christ, are eternal Judge of both the living and the dead.  Until that day when all are one in You, may the saints preserve us, the holy angels guard us, the Blessed Virgin pray for our souls, and Almighty God—Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—bless us now and forever.

In Jesus’ Name.  AMEN.

While Walking—James 2:19 

Tu credis quoniam unus est Deus; bene facis.

Et daemones credunt et contremescunt.

Station I: Ghosts

A Reading from the First Book of Samuel

[King Saul] said, ‘Consult a spirit for me, and bring up for me the one whom I name to you.’ The woman said to him, ‘Surely you know what Saul has done, how he has cut off the mediums and the wizards from the land. Why then are you laying a snare for my life to bring about my death?’ But Saul swore to her by the Lord, ‘As the Lord lives, no punishment shall come upon you for this thing.’ Then the woman said, ‘Whom shall I bring up for you?’ He answered, ‘Bring up Samuel for me.’ … The woman said to Saul, ‘I see a divine being coming up out of the ground.’ He said to her, ‘What is his appearance?’ She said, ‘An old man is coming up; he is wrapped in a robe.’ So Saul knew that it was Samuel, and he bowed with his face to the ground, and did obeisance. Then Samuel said to Saul, ‘Why have you disturbed me by bringing me up?’

As you may or may not know, New York Mills has more than its fair share of ghosts. Indeed, when people compile lists of the most haunted sites in Minnesota, Mills often claims more than one spot on the countdown. And so it seems appropriate that our first station this evening regards the fate the wandering souls.

Are there such things as ghosts? In short—yes. Ghosts absolutely exist. Every religion, every culture, every civilization throughout history has affirmed that human beings possess both a body and a soul, and that this soul, in whatever form, continues on after we have died. Entire societies have dedicated their combined economic and engineering might to keeping down the dead. There are many reasons why a soul might linger on earth after death as a wandering ghost. Christians of the East speak of people who die “a death not their own”—a sudden, violent, unexpected end. In these cases, it is said, a soul might remain on earth until the time of their natural demise. Others might haunt the living in the hopes of resolving unfinished business, or simply to say goodbye. And perhaps yet others simply do not realize that they are dead.

Christianity has never shied from ghostly encounters. Many Church traditions—mostly Catholic and Orthodox, but often Protestant as well—speak of a time of preparation for Heaven, when a holy soul must be trained, purified, and prepared to stand before the glory of God. Catholics call it Purgatory and Protestants sanctification, but the underlying idea is the same; some time on earth might be necessary to fit our dearly departed for their new heavenly home. On the one hand, this means that many hauntings may simply resolve themselves. On the other hand, if a ghost is haunting by the grace of God—well, there’d be little chance of shooing them away, now wouldn’t there?

Today we imagine ghosts draped in white sheets, but few remember why. It’s because we used to wrap our dead in a long winding sheet. They seem to wear their burial shroud.

Let us pray: Lord, You have joined us in our death, that we might join You in Your life.  Walk with us all our days in this broken world, and sustain us when our bodies fail and our souls rise up unto Your glory.  In Jesus’ Name.  AMEN.

While Walking—Revelation 20:9b-10 

Et diabolus qui seducebat eos missus est

in stagnum ignis et sulphuris ubi et bestia

et pseudoprophetes et cruciabuntur

die ac nocte in saecula saeculorum.

Station II: Demons

A Reading from the Revelation of St. John

And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him. 

A ghost is merely a soul without a body, but not all spirits we encounter are ghosts. The most powerful and malevolent, in fact, were never human at all. Far above and around us, guiding and guarding us at all times, soar vast cosmic intellects far beyond our own. These are the angels of God: beings of pure mind, without any bodies at all, freed from the constraints of material things and mortal time. They are so far beyond us, so completely different in every conceivable way, that angels stand as the true aliens, the true extraterrestrials—creatures not simply from another planet but from beyond reality as we know it. Thankfully, they are creatures of God, bathed in His love and His mercy, ever working for our benefit and blessing. They are powerful, they are alien, but they are truly, deeply, good—holy in ways we cannot currently comprehend.

And yet … angels, like men, also had a fall. They greatest and most glorious of their number—a being of such majesty and power that he stood second only to God—rebelled against the love and good order of our Creator. No one quite knows why. Some say it was because he could not stomach the honor God planned to give to humankind, going so far as to be born as one of us and to die on a cross for our sake. Others point to pure ambition, pure pride, as this highest of angels—Lucifer, the light-bringer—could not stand to be second to anyone, not even to God. And so he sought and strove to become his own god, regardless of the consequences, regardless of the futility of his rage. Many fell with him, angel and Man alike. And even now he prowls about the world like a lion, seeking to devour whom he may.

Yes, demons are real, beings of pure mind, pure darkness, pure rebellion. They have the freedom to work all kinds of wickedness in our land, so subtle, and yet so obvious, that we do not recognize evil even as we drown in it. Alone against such powers we would have no hope at all—yet in God’s world, good far outweighs evil. The lowest of the good angels puts to flight the most horrible of the bad. And the simple Name of Christ in prayer flings Satan himself into Hell.

Make no mistake: evil is real. The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world that he doesn’t exist. But God is infinitely more real, and His mercy will always prevail.

Let us pray: St. Michael, Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protector against the snares and wickedness of the Devil. May God rebuke him, we humbly pray. And may thou, O prince of the heavenly host, by the power of God, cast into Hell the Devil and all evil spirits that prowl about the earth seeking the ruin of souls. For who is like unto God? AMEN.

While Walking—Isaiah 14:9-11

infernus subter conturbatus est in occursum

adventus tui suscitavit tibi gigantas omnes principes terrae

surrexerunt de soliis suis omnes principes nationum

universi respondebunt et dicent tibi et tu vulneratus

es sicut nos nostri similis effectus es

detracta est ad inferos superbia tua concidit cadaver tuum

subter te sternetur tinea et operimentum tuum erunt vermes

Station III: Witches

A Reading from Deuteronomy

When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you must not learn to imitate the abhorrent practices of those nations. No one shall be found among you who makes a son or daughter pass through fire, or who practices divination, or is a soothsayer, or an augur, or a sorcerer, or one who casts spells, or who consults ghosts or spirits, or who seeks oracles from the dead. For whoever does these things is abhorrent to the Lord; it is because of such abhorrent practices that the Lord your God is driving them out before you. You must remain completely loyal to the Lord your God. Although these nations that you are about to dispossess do give heed to soothsayers and diviners, as for you, the Lord your God does not permit you to do so. 

What Wh

What is a witch? To many, witchcraft is pure fantasy, the dream of idle and overly puritanical minds. To others, witchcraft is a nature religion miraculously rediscovered in the 20th Century. Alas, both opinions are contradicted by the clear account of the historical record.

Every society in every century has believed in wicked, evil spirits—that is to say, in demons. And every society in every century has recognized that these demons can cause mischief and horrors in our world. Those who willfully seek out such dark powers to make pacts with them have ever been known as sorcerers, warlocks, and witches. The ancient Greeks feared witches, as did the ancient Egyptians. The Code of Hamurabi, the Twelve Tables of Roman Law, and even the Five Books of Moses all list witchcraft as a capital offense, because of just how dangerous a witch could be. Throughout history there have ever been self-proclaimed witches who committed murder and human sacrifice for their dark faith, a reality more horrible than any Halloween fantasy. Even here in Minnesota we continue to find “black books” of witchcraft buried under altars—for once a family possesses such a black book, only the altar of a church can keep it at bay.

It seems crazy, I know, but we have found grimoires, spell books, hands of fate, and other tools of medieval witchcraft; these things really happened. Paranoia and superstition have fed the flames, but at the heart of this fire lies the awful kindling spark of truth. In a world where everyone believes in devils, there will always be a few—those foolish or wicked enough to purse power denied to them by other means—who try to make pacts with the devil. And the thing about Satan is that he always comes when you call. Maybe you don’t believe that they sold their souls for diabolic arts, but they certainly believed it, and their delusions led them to kill. But perhaps the most damning evidence of legitimate witchcraft throughout history is that there are still people claiming to be witches today.

Let us pray:  Come, Creator Spirit, come!  The foolishness of Man knows no bounds, and we throw ourselves at the mercy of Your loving promise. Banish darkness from our lives. Grant forgiveness for all sin. Bring the Light of Christ to illumine the world. In Jesus’ Name. AMEN.

While Walking—Isaiah 14:12-15

quomodo cecidisti de caelo lucifer qui mane oriebaris

corruisti in terram qui vulnerabas gentes

qui dicebas in corde tuo in caelum conscendam

super astra Dei exaltabo solium meum sedebo

in monte testamenti in lateribus aquilonis

ascendam super altitudinem nubium ero similis Altissimo

verumtamen ad infernum detraheris in profundum laci

Station IV: The Undead

A Reading from the Epic of Gilgamesh

Ishtar spoke to her father, Anu, saying: "Father, give me the Bull of Heaven, so he can kill Gilgamesh in his dwelling. If you do not give me the Bull of Heaven, I will knock down the Gates of the Netherworld, I will smash the door posts, and leave the doors flat down, and will let the dead go up to eat the living! And the dead will outnumber the living!"

900 years ago, the Twelfth Century English historian William of Newburgh wrote: “One would not easily believe that corpses come out of their graves and wander around, animated by some evil spirit, to terrorize or harm the living, unless there were many cases in our times, supported by ample testimony… Were I to write down all the instances of this kind which I have ascertained to have befallen in our times, the undertaking would be beyond measure laborious and troublesome.” He’s talking, of course, about the living dead.

Arabs call them ghouls. Eastern Europeans call them vampires. For the Vikings they were draugar, and kids these days love their zombies. But at root, they’re all the same: a human corpse, animated by some evil spirit, risen from the grave to prey upon the living. Descriptions of the living dead are remarkably uniform throughout cultures around the globe (with some flamboyant exceptions). Forget cultured counts that burn up in sunlight: these are modern Hollywood tropes. The revenants of folklore are anti-saints, people who in life consistently chose evil and corruption. The corpses of witches were considered almost certain to rise from the grave, which is why burning at the stake was often prescribed even for a dead witch.

Belief in zombies and vampires stretches back to ancient Babylon and Assyria. Jewish legend speaks of Lilith, Adam’s first wife, as the mother of all vampires. The living dead bring plague, and the surest cure is to wait until Saturday, when the undead must return to their graves—for on Saturday even God rested in His tomb. Then bring up their coffin, behead them with a gravedigger’s shovel, and burn the lot. Oh, it may be superstition, but people still dig up vampires in Eastern Europe to this very day. And as dear William wrote so many centuries ago, no one would easily believe in the undead—except that we keep running into them all the time!

Let us pray for the souls of all those who have died:

Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord.  Let perpetual light shine upon them.  May they rest in peace.  In Jesus’ Name.  AMEN.

While Walking—Isaiah 34:14

et occurrent daemonia onocentauris

et pilosus clamabit alter ad alterum ibi cubavit

lamia et invenit sibi requiem

Station V: Werewolves

A Reading from the Book of Daniel

A voice came from heaven: ‘O King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: The kingdom has departed from you! You shall be driven away from human society, and your dwelling shall be with the animals of the field. You shall be made to eat grass like oxen, and seven times shall pass over you, until you have learned that the Most High has sovereignty over the kingdom of mortals and gives it to whom he will.’ Immediately the sentence was fulfilled against Nebuchadnezzar. He was driven away from human society, ate grass like oxen, and his body was bathed with the dew of heaven, until his hair grew as long as eagles’ feathers and his nails became like birds’ claws.

What can I say about werewolves that you don’t already know? Like the undead, shape-shifters—skin walkers—are found in every culture and society on earth. They don’t always turn into wolves. Coyotes, jaguars, and other predators are just as common. Even killer whales! But skin walkers are always malevolent sorcerers, witches, who seek out power from demons and devils. Ointments and animal hide, even belts of human skin, are said to facilitate the transformation, but the authorities of the Church have always held that no diabolical power can ever really change one manner of creature to another.

The Devil cannot change a man into a wolf! But certainly the Devil can make a man think that he is a wolf, and even make others think the same. The greatest of Viking warriors were said to take the form of bears in battle, thus earning the name “berserker,” or “bear shirt.” The full moon is not necessary to make a skin walker, nor silver bullets to kill them. Any man who seeks to become a god inevitably becomes instead a beast.

That said, there is a legend of godly werewolves. One night in ancient Ireland, St. Patrick was walking along a highway by the light of the full moon, when he was confronted by a band of cackling, laughing ruffians. In response to their threats, Patrick said, “If you wish to howl and laugh like wolves, then from now on you shall howl every time the moon is full!” Thus they became the infamous Wolves of St. Patrick, transformed into beasts by God whenever the moon grew full. A tall tale certainly—but for centuries thereafter, priests in Ireland reported encountering wolves on the road who begged for Communion and forgiveness.

While Walking—Romans 8:38-39

Certus sum enim quia neque mors, neque vita, neque angeli, neque principatus,

neque virtutes, neque instantia, neque futura, neque fortitude,

neque altitudo, neque profundum,

neque creatura alia poterit nos separare a charitate Dei,

quæ est in Christo Iesu Domino nostro.

Station VI: St Patrick’s Breastplate

A Reading of St. Patrick’s Breastplate:

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through the belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness

Of the Creator of Creation.

I arise today

Through the strength of Christ's birth with his baptism,

Through the strength of his crucifixion with his burial,

Through the strength of his resurrection with his ascension,

Through the strength of his descent for the judgment of Doom.

I arise today

Through the strength of the love of Cherubim, In obedience of angels,

In the service of archangels, In hope of resurrection to meet with reward,

In prayers of patriarchs, In predictions of prophets,

In preaching of apostles, In faith of confessors,

In innocence of holy virgins, In deeds of righteous men.

I arise today

Through the strength of heaven:

Light of sun, Radiance of moon,

Splendor of fire, Speed of lightning,

Swiftness of wind, Depth of sea,

Stability of earth, Firmness of rock.

I arise today

Through God's strength to pilot me:

God's might to uphold me, God's wisdom to guide me,

God's eye to look before me, God's ear to hear me,

God's word to speak for me, God's hand to guard me,

God's way to lie before me, God's shield to protect me,

God's host to save me

From snares of devils, From temptations of vices,

From everyone who shall wish me ill,

Afar and anear, Alone and in multitude.

I summon today all these powers between me and those evils,

Against every cruel merciless power that may oppose my body and soul,

Against incantations of false prophets, Against black laws of pagandom

Against false laws of heretics, Against craft of idolatry,

Against spells of witches and smiths and wizards,

Against every knowledge that corrupts man's body and soul.

Christ to shield me today

Against poison, against burning,

Against drowning, against wounding,

So that there may come to me abundance of reward.

Christ with me, Christ before me, Christ behind me,

Christ in me, Christ beneath me, Christ above me,

Christ on my right, Christ on my left,

Christ when I lie down, Christ when I sit down, Christ when I arise,

Christ in the heart of every man who thinks of me,

Christ in the mouth of everyone who speaks of me,

Christ in every eye that sees me,

Christ in every ear that hears me.

I arise today

Through a mighty strength, the invocation of the Trinity,

Through belief in the threeness, Through confession of the oneness,

Of the Creator of Creation.  AMEN.

Go in peace.  Serve the Lord.  Thanks be to God.

Closing Song: Jake and the Fat Man, “Skeletons in My Closet”