The Reformation is Over. Come Home, by Peter Wolfgang

By Peter Wolfgang, Catholic Culture, Oct 18, 2024

Peter Wolfgang is president of Family Institute of Connecticut Action, a Hartford-based advocacy organization whose mission is to encourage and strengthen the family as the foundation of society. His work has appeared in The Hartford Courant, the Waterbury Republican-American, Crisis Magazine, Columbia Magazine, the National Catholic Register, CatholicVote, Catholic World Report, the Stream and Ethika Politika. ….

To me, October 31st is Halloween. No, not the gruesome Halloween. Not the celebration of the occult that our culture has increasingly leaned into since at least the 1990s.

October 31st is, rather, the more innocent Halloween of my 1970s childhood. An opportunity for treats, not tricks. A fun time for our youngest, still in grade school, to dress up in a costume that gets no closer to the occult than, say, Casper the Friendly Ghost.

And most importantly to our family, it’s All Hallows Eve. The first day of a mini-Triduum that carries into All Saints Day and All Souls Day. A sacred time to think about—in a good way—what lies beyond.

For some of my Protestant friends, though, to say the very date “October 31st” out loud, well, them’s fightin’ words. October 31st is Reformation Day. The date on which they celebrate Martin Luther saving the Gospel from the corrupt institution that hid it away from its deprived members. …

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