As Fr. Chris Alar explains, the evening we now call Halloween began not as a pagan ritual, but as a sacred Christian vigil—All Hallows’ Eve, the holy night before the solemnity of All Saints’ Day. This feast, instituted in the 700s, has always been a time to honor the saints and pray for the faithful departed. The Church’s ancient practice of vigils reflected the truth that holy days begin at sundown, anticipating the joy of what is to come.

Lo, the day is coming, blazing like an oven, when all the proud and all evildoers will be stubble, and the day that is coming will set them on fire, leaving them neither root nor branch, says the LORD of hosts. But for you who fear my name, there will arise the sun of justice with its healing rays.- Malachi 3:19-20a

Father Chris Alar, MIC, walks you through exactly what to do to receive the grace of the extraordinary promise Jesus offers on this one day of the year.