Samhain According to the Order of Franciscan Clareans

Samhain According to the Order of Franciscan Clareans

A Feast of Holy Thresholds

For the Order of Franciscan Clareans, Samhain (pronounced SOW-in) is not a time to fear the dark — it’s a time to become friends with it. The turning of the seasons, when autumn’s final breath gives way to winter’s stillness, is a sacred threshold — a liminal space where the seen and unseen touch hands.

We do not approach Samhain as superstition or spectacle, but as a contemplative pause — a Franciscan honoring of Brother Death, Sister Darkness, and the Communion of Saints who walk with us still.

The Theological Heart

Samhain, occurring at the end of October, aligns beautifully with the Christian observances of All Saints’ Day (Nov. 1) and All Souls’ Day (Nov. 2). For Franciscan Clareans, this is the Triduum of Memory and Mystery — when heaven feels near and eternity whispers through fallen leaves.

We remember:

The poor and forgotten who died unnamed.

The ancestors who carried us in faith and tenderness.

The creation itself, entering its time of holy rest.

We recognize that just as the earth “dies” to be reborn, so too our lives move in rhythms of surrender and resurrection.

Our Practice

On Samhain Eve (October 31), members of the Order may:

Light a simple candle for each soul they wish to remember.

Set a place at the table for those who have gone before, not to summon but to honor.

Pray the Canticle of Brother Sun, giving thanks for the full circle of life.

Spend time in silence, letting the veil between worlds become a teacher of peace rather than fear.

We do not invoke spirits or seek omens — we practice remembrance as love’s continuation. Samhain becomes a Franciscan moment of ecological and spiritual harmony — a quiet nod to God’s eternal cycles.

A Franciscan Blessing for Samhain

“Blessed are you, Sister Night,
who teaches us to rest and release.
Blessed are you, Brother Death,
who opens the door to new creation.
Blessed are you, Holy Memory,
weaving heaven and earth together
in the quiet fire of God’s love.”

🌾 The Franciscan Clarean Liturgy of Samhain

A Service of Holy Remembrance and Threshold Grace

October 31 – November 2

---

Purpose

This liturgy honors the turning of the seasons and the Communion of Saints.
It celebrates God’s presence through creation’s cycles of death, rest, and rebirth.
We gather not to conjure the dead, but to remember them in love — joining all creation in hope and renewal.

---

🕯️ Preparation

A small table or altar with:

A candle (representing the Light of Christ)

A bowl of autumn leaves or acorns

A photo or token of those being remembered

A simple cross

Optional: a small loaf of bread and cup of cider or wine (symbol of the harvest)

Keep the space dimly lit — simple, contemplative, earthy.

---

Opening Invocation

Leader:
In the name of the Creator, the Redeemer, and the Spirit who breathes through all creation.

All:
Amen.

Leader:
As the veil of the year grows thin, we gather in gratitude —
for the turning of the seasons,
for the memory of those we love,
for the quiet wisdom of the earth.

All:
We bless this holy darkness, where life begins again.

---

🌙 Canticle of Creation and Passing

Reader: From the Canticle of the Creatures by St. Francis

Praised be You, my Lord, through Sister Moon and the stars,
in heaven You formed them clear and precious and beautiful.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Mother Earth,
who sustains and governs us,
and produces varied fruits with colored flowers and herbs.

Praised be You, my Lord, through our Sister Bodily Death,
from whom no one living can escape.
Blessed are those whom death will find in Your most holy will.

Moment of silence.

---

🌾 Scripture Reading

John 12:24

“Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies,
it remains just a single grain;
but if it dies, it bears much fruit.”

Leader:
In God’s rhythm of love, nothing is lost.
Even the falling leaf returns to nourish the soil.
Even death is folded into resurrection.

---

🕯️ Ritual of Remembrance

Leader:
We now remember those who have walked before us —
family, friends, saints, and all who carried light into our lives.

As each name is spoken, light a candle or place a leaf in the bowl.

(Participants name their beloved dead.)

After all names are spoken:

All:
May their memory be a blessing,
and their presence a quiet joy in our hearts.

---

🌬️ Prayer of Thresholds

Leader:
Loving God,
You dwell in the turning of the seasons,
in the hush before dawn,
in the breath between this life and the next.
Help us to trust the holy dark —
to rest, release, and rise again with all creation.

All:
Grant us peace with the passing of time,
and courage to walk in the mystery of Your love.

---

🍁 Act of Thanksgiving

Leader:
Let us give thanks for the harvest of the year —
for what has grown, what has faded, and what remains.

All:
We give thanks for all that has been,
for all that is,
and for all that shall be renewed in God.

(If bread and cider/wine are present, share them silently or with a short blessing.)

---

🌌 Closing Blessing

Leader:
May the darkness be gentle upon you.
May memory guide you with kindness.
May the light of Christ rise anew in your soul,
as the sun returns in due season.

All:
Amen.

“Blessed are you, Sister Night,
who teaches us to rest and release.
Blessed are you, Brother Death,
who opens the door to new creation.
Blessed are you, Holy Memory,
weaving heaven and earth together
in the quiet fire of God’s love.”