All Souls Day.

With no school or schedules to follow, All Souls Day was a different one this year. I've heard a little bit about plenery indulgences for souls in purgatory but don't fully understand it yet. I decided to visit a cemetery with the children and pray for the dead. We used to pass the Purewa Cemetery daily on the way to school and so it was a natural choice.

We wandered along the peaceful paths, examining the gravestones. We walked and prayed a decade of the Rosary and the Eternal Rest prayer.

Our little man was his usual boisterous self but he learned to walk carefully among the graves. 

Around us, native birds called out, and the occasional jogger or walker passed us.

At home, we made soul cakes for tea. In the past, children would go souling on All Souls Day to beg for soul cakes in exchange for prayers for the dead. If a household refused, it was believed that it would be cursed. Soul cakes truly are the original Trick-or-Treat treat.

Being in New Zealand has certainly pushed us to be more intentional about practising our faith and sharing it with our children. We are well aware that we are the best (and possibly only) people here for the job. Religion is quite out of fashion these days. 

Our little man, who often plays the fool during night prayer, now prays for our family while lying beside me at bedtime. This is obviously a result of listening to his older siblings pray the guardian angel prayer at bedtime on their own. I'm glad for the positive influence. :)

It has been a very blessed All Hallowtide; we've gone much deeper into faith and tradition than we thought we would.

And as the husband says, the tricky part is remembering all this and repeating it next year. 

Eternal rest grant unto our faithful departed O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. May they rest in peace, Amen.