October 18-19, 2025
Dear parishioners,
Don’t forget that our women’s group, Kingdom Builders, will gather this Tuesday at 7pm in the Paulding church basement, concluding with adoration in the church. As previously announced, this group is open to all women of all faiths. Please consider coming to join a group of ladies who are looking to grow in their faith together, and to help each other at the same time!
Kindly note a few changes to our weekly schedule this week. Our normal Thursday morning Mass will be cancelled this week because I will be in Toledo for another conference at the diocesan Pastoral Center. We will have our usual Wednesday morning Mass, but we will not be having Gospel With Father after Mass because I will be leaving for the conference immediately after. Thanks for your understanding on this and my apologies for any inconvenience this might cause!
With Halloween approaching, I would like to offer something to consider before taking part in local festivities for the holiday. To start- because this question always seems to come up- there is nothing inherently immoral with participating in the secular celebration of Halloween. Whether your kids are wearing a costume for trick-or-treat, or whether you yourself might be picking one out for a party, there is nothing wrong with dressing up and having a good time. However, in either case we should always refrain from costumes and decorations that in any way glorify evil or make a mockery of the Catholic faith. For example, no one should be dressed as the devil or as a witch, as if to present evil as a matter of fun and games. The former needs no explanation, but regarding the latter, witchcraft is a real evil in the world, and it is contrary to Christian sensibilities to pretend to be one for an evening.
With regard to costumes that make a mockery of the Catholic faith, a few examples come to mind. Some common ones include costumes that present priests and/or nuns in a lewd or immoral fashion. Yikes! This should never happen! Similarly, it is sadly common to see costumes or decorations that portray hauntingly distorted figures who are supposed to be monstrous ghoulish nuns. I saw such yard decorations a couple weeks ago when I was at a Diocesan event in Fremont, Ohio- at a house right across the street from the Catholic church nonetheless!
However, I should clarify at this point that I am not saying we have to be puritanical about Halloween by rejecting the notion of costumes altogether. Nor am I saying that Catholics are only allowed to wear costumes of the saints (though you are welcome to do that if you choose to). Halloween can prove to be an opportunity for imaginative fun, which can include superheroes, athletes, book/movie characters, and even monsters.
However you spend the days leading up to Halloween, please stay safe. Please also keep in mind that it is in these days that the Church pays honor and respect to the dead. November 1 is All Saints Day, on which we honor all the saints in the heavenly court, including those individuals who are not on the Roman Calendar (i.e. everyone in heaven). November 2 is All Souls Day, on which we remember to offer prayers and sacrifices for the dead who are still in Purgatory, and are relying on our prayers for their release. This year, All Souls Day falls on a Sunday, which means that the prayers for All Souls Day will be prayed instead of the prayers for a Sunday in Ordinary Time. There is more to be said on that, but I will talk about that in next week’s article!
Blessings,
Fr. Ammanniti
