By Georgina Protheroe Beynon

In November the Feast of All Hallows falls the day after Hallowe’en and is itself succeeded by the Feast of All Souls. Our Hallowe’en practices are the rags and tags of the ancient pagan "Samhain" rites. So why do we celebrate saints? What does it mean to be a saint? What is it that singles a person out from the mass of humanity to become a public example of achievable holiness or virtue?

Holy people have always been and still are revered for their sincerity and search for truth. One of the most damning indictments against adherents of any faith is that they are all talk and no action. This is as much a challenge for us now as it was in the early days of the Christian church. Saints are witnesses who teach us about the infinite love of God for whomever and whatever we are. Ever since Stephen, the first martyr or witness to Christ Jesus, saints have been an integral part of our lives because of the way that they lived. ("Be holy." Lev, 19:2 "Seek the Kindom.." Luke,12:31, the Beatitudes, Matt, 25:31-46, "Love.." Mark 12:34) Their names are familiar and resonate in place names such as St Ives, St Kilda, St Albans, as well as in the habit of allotting a Christian name to a child at Baptism. In 1975 Pope Paul VI wrote "Modern men and women listen more readily to witnesses rather than teachers, and when they do listen to teachers, it is because they are witnesses."

In times when adult literacy was restricted to the Court and the Cloister, those who led a life of sanctity and good works often became popular local "saints." Shrines attracted many pilgrims and healing experiences whether actual or psychosomatic enhanced their value to entrepreneurs both religious and secular, which led to pious exaggerations. After the Council of Trent, proclamation of sainthood was formalised. A saint’s "cause" was subjected to rigorous scrutiny, greater precision and intense legal research.

When foreign missionaries came to convert the heathen Britons, we inherited their saints such as, St Ives, (a Persian) St Lawrence, (a Roman) and St Paul (a Turk). In 1969 there was a major "Spring Clean" of the Calendar of Saints. Many early saints for whom there was only oral tradition, or at best, contradictory material evidence of sanctity, were eliminated. There followed a great recognition of innovators, martyrs, and of ordinary men and women who have witnessed by their deeds and words in their lifetime. The late pope John Paul II canonised more saints than were on the entire Roman Calendar hitherto.

Where does that leave us? For those who find the majesty of the Trinity too mystical to approach directly, it is a comfort to ask a saint to help us make our prayers. For others the saints lives provide maps through the thorny paths of life, always leading to "Our Man" at the right hand of the Father, Jesus Christ.

THE RECIPE:
COMFORT & JOY BROWNIES are the very thing to help cheer a dark November day. Just a touch of sensual delight before the austerity of Advent, or to add a New World touch to Diwali or your post Ramadan get-together.
340g/12oz dark chocolate
255g/9oz unsalted butter
3 medium eggs
255g/9oz dark muscovado sugar
110g/4oz plain flour
1 tsp baking powder
pinch of salt
For variation:
55g/2oz raspberries, unsalted pistachios, hazelnuts or white chocolate pieces

Method
1.Preheat the oven to 170C/325F/Gas 3 and butter a 23cm/9in cake tin.
2. Sift together the flour, salt and baking powder.
3. In a bowl, over a pan of hot water, melt the chocolate and butter together.
4. Whisk the eggs and slowly add the sugar. Beat in the chocolate mixture and gently fold in the flour.
5. Pour into the cake tin and bake for 45 minutes until the surface is set but a skewer comes out with a little of the mixture clinging to it.
6. Remove and cool slightly before cutting in squares. When cool, dig the pieces out and arrange, shaking a little cocoa powder mixed with icing sugar to finish them off. Protect from the wolf pack and hide until you unveil them with pride and..enjoy

Variations:
1.Follow the recipe until stage 4.
2. After you have folded in the flour, add your chosen ingredient.
3. Proceed as with the base recipe