Day of the Dead: Can We Get a Straight Answer?

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FossilResin

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Two priests have said two different things about the Mexican custom “Day of the Dead” here on Catholic Answers. This is very confusing and frustrating. My gut feeling tells me that Day of the Dead is not holy or acceptable for true Catholic Christian faith because it does not focus on our Lord Jesus, but I am trying to honestly compare this gut feeling to Church teaching and get a straight answer.

First priest:

“…they like to pretend that it is an indigenous Native American celebration, when in point of fact the day has nothing to do with Native American culture but is a Catholic observance that Native Americans celebrated in their own way…”

at

www.catholic.com

Church’s Stance on Dia de Los Muertos

“Dia de los Muertos” is simply a popular name in Latin American Spanish for the Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed, which takes place each N...
www.catholic.com www.catholic.com

VERSUS

Second priest:

“…it is not a Catholic celebration…”

at

www.catholic.com

May Catholics Celebrate 'Dia de Los Muertos'?

Día de los Muertos, or “Day of the Dead,” is a popular celebration in Latin America. Despite the title being in the singular, the celebration usuall...
www.catholic.com www.catholic.com
 
Both articles seem to be saying the same things. In some ways though, they both also seem to ‘talk past each other’.

But both of them say that, as currently practiced, there is nothing wrong with celebrating the day as described.
 
It is not a Catholic celebration, should not be celebrated in the Church at all. It is a regional custom in parts of Mexico.
 
The Latino parishioners locally here made a nice little Day of the Dead display in the cafeteria of the parish elementary school. It has little decorated skulls and dressed skeletons, food items, a big cross at the top, and pictures of deceased family members which I’m guessing the kids were invited to bring in. There are also other Day of the Dead decorations hanging up. I thought it was a very nice way to introduce children to another culture as well as encouraging prayers for the deceased.
 
I understand the concern of the dark side of it, the worship of Santa Muerte. Yet we still celebrate the Feast of All Saints, despite the whole Halloween hijack.
 
Unfortunately the celebration known as El Dia de Los Muertos, has morphed into more of a secularized celebration and often times has very little Catholic belief incorporated into it.

Where I live there is a large following but in recent years there has been a large push to include more pagan themes to it. Usually out of a sense of cultural pride, you find more symbols and themes which reflect Aztec beliefs and practices.
 
:grinning_face_with_smiling_eyes: I’m a white girl from Fresno CA!!!
 
Focus on All Souls Day! There is no argument there. Crystal clear. Let local and cultural customs remain what they are, where they are. You need never observe them.
 
As long as there is no “santa” muerte veneration going on, it is a fine remembrance of those departed. Wether they be apart of the Church Triumphant or the Church Suffering (or worse) it is good to remember the impact they had on our lives and to pray for them.
 
Care to clarify your post? Are you saying that “santa” muerte is something we should be venerating? The picture in your post is giving me a hecking big concern.
 
FossilResin said:
“…they like to pretend that it is an indigenous Native American celebration, when in point of fact the day has nothing to do with Native American culture but is a Catholic observance that Native Americans celebrated in their own way…”
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It is both at once. The date is All Souls’ Day, which is the day after All Saints’ Day, aka All Hallows’ Day, aka Hallowmas. The day before Hallowmas is All Hallows’ Eve or Hallowe’en. Just as our present-day Hallowe’en fun and games can be described as a folk festival that has developed out of a Catholic feast day, or has been grafted onto a Catholic feast day, so also is the Dia de Muertos. It’s a Mexican Hallowe’en.

 
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Well for starters her post doesn’t seem to condem the practice. In fact it seems like a defense of the practice. Secondly, there is an idol of the reaper on the top of the alter. This idol looks like a woman. Thirdly, I don’t see Jesus or Mary or any of the saints on the alter. Just three bare crosses and lots of skulls.

This is why I was hoping to get some clarity on the post. It seems like it is calling us stupid for not knowing anything about “Dia de los Muertos” or the the practice of “santa” muerte veneration, as if we don’t know that the Vatican condemned the veneration of the reaper for devil worship.

I’m giving @AnimaSola the benefit of the doubt and not outright accusing her, but I think clarity would be good in such a scandalous topic such as this.
 
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CarmeliteKnight said:
As long as there is no “santa” muerte veneration going on, it is a fine remembrance of those departed.
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That strikes me as a very carefully considered opinion and exactly correct. The angry reaction heaping scorn on @CarmeliteKnight can only be read as a defense of Santa Muerte. Whether that, in turn, amounts to a deliberate insult to the Catholic faith I can’t be sure. I agree that we have to give @AnimaSola the benefit of the doubt, but it’s a question that might usefully be cleared up.
 
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If Mother Church had not embraced the culture of the Hellenistic Jews, and the Romans, there would be no Church today, nor would the Gospel have been accepted throughout the corners of the Earth that the Savior commanded us to spread the word too.
 
Dia de los Muertos is fine. It is a remembrance of the departed that is totally in line with Catholic theology concerning the church suffering and the church triumphant. Its cultural expression is certainly different than many of us westerners are used to, but different =/= bad.

Santa Muerte is a later innovation of questionable origin and is not at all in line with Catholic teaching. It should be avoided.
 
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You are forgiven friend.

Im just concerned about that person. Veneration of death opens you up to the occult. Pray for that user, and hope for the best.
 
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