The first of November has been the date for this feast since Pope Gregory III, though the feast itself is
older than that. The National World War I Museum notes the
significance of both this feast day and tomorrow's, the Feast of All Souls, especially in those areas of Europe where that war was fought. Ironically the armistice ending that war did not come until the 11th of November, which here is now Veteran's Day; those wishing to honor the departed had to wait a little longer to enjoy the safety and peace that would enable them to build monuments to the dead.
"Remember, remember the 5th of November. Remember Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder plot. "
ReplyDeleteWhich is at least a partial explanation for the anti-Catholic sentiments of the British Protestant part--a very substantial part--of my family roots. It wasn't something my father harped on, but his occasional comments helped explain where mine had come from. As we lived in a town with a lot of Roman Catholics and some Orthodox Catholics--unlike the flyover towns my parents grew up in--I realized I needed to come to terms with that anti-Catholic sentiment. At least I had the smarts to keep my mouth shut while I came to terms with my family's anti-Catholic sentiment.
I once attended a Christmas Eve mass in Guatemala with friends. I am not sure how I would describe it, but I really liked it. It helped me understand why people went to mass.
I once attended a Latin Mass in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. It was also something I really liked, and that helped me understand. Masses in English are often less moving, partly because the homily tends to remind me of how far apart the priest and I are in our understanding of the divine.
ReplyDeleteWhen I attended Mass in Vienna, the liturgist did the Mass proper in Latin, because they did not have the necessary number of interpreters on hand. I could follow along and recited the responses, most of them, because of singing Masses. I suddenly understood a little of what we lost, now that we no longer have a universal church language.
ReplyDeleteA week later, I attended the high mass at Stephansdom, on the Feast of St. Stephen. It was ... quite something, in part because the music was the Sankt Nikolas Mass by Hayden. Very different, and very moving in its own way.
LittleRed1
Orthodox Catholics?
ReplyDeleteI once attended a Christmas Eve mass in Guatemala with friends.
I attended one in Mexico once, although it was so packed I couldn't get inside. As I remember, they left the doors open and I could hear much of it and see some of it. I think that was the only Mass I've ever attended.
Orthodox Catholics?
ReplyDeleteI put "orthodox catholic" into a search engine, and got out Roman Catholic and Orthodox. No "Orthodox Catholic." I stand corrected.
As part of the comparative religion approach of the Liberal Religious Youth (Unitarian) group I belonged to in high school, I once attended a Russian Orthodox service. Or was it the Ukrainian version? (From work, I knew a Ukrainian couple who had experienced the 1930s famine.) (LRY eventually got disbanded. It was too far crazy lefty for even the Unitarians.)
I once attended a Latin Mass in the Christian Quarter of Jerusalem. It was also something I really liked, and that helped me understand. Masses in English are often less moving, partly because the homily tends to remind me of how far apart the priest and I are in our understanding of the divine.
I remember nothing about the priest's sermon/homily in Spanish, though I understood what he was saying. My liking the mass was a reaction to the visual aspect, such as the elaborate robes, and to the music. Was there incense? Don't remember.
The church was of recent construction in a small town. As such, it had nothing in common with the Baroque glory of many cathedrals in Latin America. Inside, its plainer appearance had much in common with Protestant churches.