The Pumpkin Prayer
This prayer illustrates that in order for us to live like the saints did, we need to let God change us so that His light can shine through us.Preparation for the Pumpkin Prayer
Carve a pumpkin and keep the pieces intact. Cut eyes, ears, mouth, nose and cut a circle around the stem. Remove the seeds and pumpkin pulp, put it in a plastic bag and return it to the inside of the pumpkin. Put the eyes, ears, nose and mouth back in the cut-out holes and replace the lid. Have a candle and long-stemmed lighter ready. Gather your family around the pumpkin and pray this prayer.
Carve a pumpkin and keep the pieces intact. Cut eyes, ears, mouth, nose and cut a circle around the stem. Remove the seeds and pumpkin pulp, put it in a plastic bag and return it to the inside of the pumpkin. Put the eyes, ears, nose and mouth back in the cut-out holes and replace the lid. Have a candle and long-stemmed lighter ready. Gather your family around the pumpkin and pray this prayer.
Prayer
Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about you and the world you created. (Remove the top of the pumpkin)
Remove the things in my life that don't please you. Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others. (Pull out the bag of seeds.)
Open my eyes to see the beauty you've made in the world around me. (Remove the eyes.)
Open my ears when I hear your word, so I may learn how you want me to live. (Remove the ears.)
I'm sorry for the times I've turned up my nose at people who are different from me, but who are your children, too. (Remove the nose.)
Let everything I say please you. (Remove the mouth.)
Lord, help me show your light to others through the things I do. (Place a candle inside and light it.)
Amen.
Lord, open my mind so I can learn new things about you and the world you created. (Remove the top of the pumpkin)
Remove the things in my life that don't please you. Forgive the wrong things I do and help me to forgive others. (Pull out the bag of seeds.)
Open my eyes to see the beauty you've made in the world around me. (Remove the eyes.)
Open my ears when I hear your word, so I may learn how you want me to live. (Remove the ears.)
I'm sorry for the times I've turned up my nose at people who are different from me, but who are your children, too. (Remove the nose.)
Let everything I say please you. (Remove the mouth.)
Lord, help me show your light to others through the things I do. (Place a candle inside and light it.)
Amen.
9 comments:
Thanks B-mama! We used Sharpies and no carving this year so our pumpkins would last longer, but this is worth keeping in the family treasury.
So... how ARE all you Catholic Supermoms celebrating or not celebrating Halloween anyway? I strongly dislike Halloween, partially from having grown up in a Protestant home where it's a particularly unpopular holiday. But also because of all the commercialism, consumption, grabbing, dark characters like witches and vampires and devils (like we need more of those) and too many bleeding heads in general. But most of all because I have found that it turns All Saints Day into a bad "morning after" unless I take great care to minimize Halloween and direct our festivities toward All Saints Day. We're trying to really play up the fall seasonal traditions and pumpkins this year and minimize all the dark things and candy grabbing. My kids are dressing up (a ladybug, Thomas the Train, and a pea in the pod) and of course we'll trick or treat. But also, I'm encouraging the kids to choose saints to dress up as on All Saints Day for a dinner party we're having here that night. I remember feeling a pit in my stomach last year on All Saints Day, partially I'm sure because of all the refined sugar eating away at my intestines, but most of all because I felt so completely unrecollected on the feast of ALL our beloved saints. God help us to honor them better this year!
Man, I hear you. I am so over Halloween as well. What does it celebrate that is actually good and why should I allow a bunch of high fructose junkola into my house that will only lead to begging and whining for the next month?
Spouse and I are trying to figure out whether we can get away with not taking anyone trick or treating. I see this as one of the major benefits of homeschooling for as long as possible - my 4 year old still thinks that two hour naps in the afternoon are the norm and is not aware that kids will dress up in inappropriate costumes and go door to door asking for candy on Friday night. Not bad. B-Mama thanks for the prayer, it is perfect. JM you have inspired me to do a special All Saint's brunch. I don't know what that will entail, but I will figure it out.
Okay, so here's a question...I also dislike Halloween, probably largely because my mother disliked it so much :), but my husband always points out that I can't so strongly dislike Halloween but then be fine with the Easter Bunny, which is also totally pagan, right? Thoughts??
Just out of curiosity, will those of you who will not be trick or treating, be entertaining trick or treaters at your door?
I grew up in a very secular household, Halloween was just another secular holiday and usually combined with my birthday (the day before). I understand the concern for excess candy and sugar that is often associated with the "holiday", but I am often puzzled by the desire, by some, to condemn it due to its seemingly pagan heritage.
I don't so much mind the pagan heritage, it's just the overemphasis on darkness and dark characters and devils and witches and gory death. Why are we entertaining darkness like this? When four-year-olds are telling you they're dressed up as Satan (and this has happened to me), something's off.
In other Halloween news, I'm already coaching my children to pick chocolate treats over the other options when they're trick or treating. We're going to do massive Halloween candy baking, just like you do when you go apple picking with apples. I'm talking whole wheat oat cookies w/crushed candy bar bits instead of chocolate chips; ice cream pie with Halloween candy bar bits inside the ice cream (this will be the dessert for aforementioned All Saints dinner party); the possibilities are limitless. Your mouths are watering, right?
Oooh JM, can we come for dinner too? Sounds awesom. Though after buying two huge COSTCO candy bags, we're already OD'ing on too much chocolate and sugar! I have decided that the candy will be around ONLY for this coming weekend and then its going. Does anyone know of a way to donate candy to a good cause? I can give the hard candy to a Christmas project my MOPS is doing. I also remember trick-or-treating my senior year in high school for our National Honor Society donation to a local shelter. Any ideas?
We will have a little candy but also have pencils, stickers, and goldfish crackers. Last year we did this and all the non-candy went superfast and we had candy leftover.
Seems like a bit of a trend because we just went to a few houses and managed to get almost no candy in my sons basket (he doesn't really like candy so we he was excited to get pretzels and things like that).
Um other then that, I love Halloween. I love dressing up and getting to pretend to be something else for one night. I love thinking about and planning our costumes for weeks. I love my sons joy that mama did indeed make him an "eel" costume and he will "glow" like a real electric eel (yes he did pick that, and yes he is odd). I love that my community gets so into Halloween and that visiting our older neighbors brings them so much joy (nothing cuter then a 2 year old hippopotamus---last years costume).
I even love the teenagers out mooching for candy. I heckle the ones who don't even try with the costumes and make them make up names for their non-costumes and I give double candy to those who try (we are usually trying to ditch candy at that point in the evening).
I really love the whole thing, just as an alternate perspective.
This organization accepts candy donations and sends them to troops overseas. Many local dentist offices also have buy-back programs where kids can get $1 for every donated pound of candy, and then they send the candy to the troops.
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