All Soul's Day

This day, recently passed, occurs on November 2. Unlike November 1, All Saints Day, it is not a holy day of obligation in the Catholic church. It is, however, for me, one of the great holidays because it honors those of us who have died and are in Purgatory. It is a day to pray for  the departed average Joe's. Most people, I suspect, end up here after death. The concept of Purgatory is that this is the place for people who have done a little bad but not a lot of bad. The minor evils one commits, known as venial sins, accumulate and one goes to Purgatory for a spell. How long has never been spelled out for me. It is something like waiting at the doctor's office, not a pleasant place to be, but at least you don't have hot spears thrust through your pancreas like in the other domicile.

That dirty joke you told, that will get you into Purgatory. That time you aggravated your wife for the fun of it. That will also get you into Purgatory. That little kiss you got from that teenage waitress. Well you get the idea. Purgatory must be a crowded place. Like a doctor's office in a practice that accepts Medicaid.