Lent

I'm trying not to spend too much time on the computer this Lent and so there won't be very regular posts - though, you might say, there haven't been very regular posts for some months now. Anyhow, here is a video from Chicago's Fr Robert Barron to provide some seasonal reflection until I post again...

Semana Santa

So, we enter Holy Week once again. It will be a busy week for priests but at least admin and other responsibilities (such as, in my case, the diocesan archives) fade into the background as the focus is firmly on the Sacred Liturgy, hearing confessions, preparing the church, etc.

Of course, in Spain - and most famously in Seville -Holy Week (Semana Santa) is a time for elaborate processions and communal devotion.

Here is a short video showing various floats going through the streets of Seville (including one of Jesus entering Jerusalem). Despite the chaos and screechy music, it's an impressive sight and the crowds obviously see it as more than just a spectacle. Being one of the costaleros (who carry the huge floats) is no joke and is seen as a good Holy Week penance.

The processions are organised by the various hermandades (brotherhoods), in their imposing robes. A fortnight ago, when I was in Valladolid, I passed a shop selling bedclothes, and they had arranged the fabrics in the window to resemble the Nazarenos (members of these confraternities who follow the processions in their pointed hoods, often carrying a cross).

Well, I've decided to 'withdraw' from this blog during the coming week, so that I can concentrate on more important things - so God bless and have a fruitful Semana Santa!

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Passion of the Christ - Director's Cut

For many people watching Mel Gibson's The Passion of the Christ forms part of their Holy Week observance. Yesterday the new double-DVD Director's Cut came through my letterbox and, unlike the previous edition, contains loads of special features. This is definitely a good investment for priests, teachers and catechists - there are features on the history of crucifixion, for instance, or what happened to the main characters after the passion, which could be used in classes.

Most amazing is the fact that this movie blockbuster has, amongst its options, a 'theological commentary.' This is provided by Fr William J. Fulco, S.J. of Loyola Marymount University, who translated the script into Aramaic and Latin; Fr John Bartunek, L.C., a former actor and author of Inside the Passion; and Gerry Matatics, who describes himself on his website as 'Founder and President of Biblical Foundations International, an apostolate that demonstrates to Catholics and non-Catholics alike the scriptural case for Catholicism and provides a critique of the sham neo-Catholicism that has captured the hearts and minds of so many contemporary Catholics.' I only listened to a short part of this commentary and the panel were explaining how the Real Presence is demonstrated by John 6 - so, it's unlike any other movie DVD I've come across! I'd be interested to know what effect it might have on non-Catholics.

The perfect DVD companion to the drama of the Sacred Triduum...

SVP Passion Play

Tonight our parish hosted a powerful Passion Play, The Road to Calvary, performed by a cast of 2o, most of whom belong to the SVP of St Benedict's church in Clydach (Swansea Valley, Wales). They've been doing this since 1984 and travel all around the country each Lent.

Jesus is played by William Facey, a lecturer at Neath College. According to the programme:

William has played Jesus for the past 15 years. Giving up to 15 performances during the six weeks of Lent is a tremendous strain both physically and mentally and during the run of the play William will lose over half a stone in weight. He will also suffer many bruises and cuts during the realistic scenes of Christ's passion.

The play was performed in the church. Purists might disapprove (don't worry, the tabernacle was emptied beforehand) but I think it provided a powerful lesson to all those that were there - because just as the actors brought St John's Passion so vividly to life in our church, so these events are truly renewed everytime we celebrate Mass and are made present during the dramatic ceremonies of Holy Week.

It's good to see the medieval tradition of 'Mystery Plays' continue - and now that I've seen the play and spent the afternoon veiling statues in the church, Passiontide has indeed begun!

Feria IV Cinerum

And so we start our spiritual springtime. 'Lent' is an old English word meaning 'spring' and we hope that, through our prayer, fasting and almsgiving over the next six weeks, we will turn our back on darkness and walk towards the light.

Today is the busiest holyday that is not of obligation (with the possible exception of St Patrick!) - the churches are packed although, as I journeyed to the diocesan archives by tube and bus this morning, I only spotted one other person with an ashen forehead. Although
today's Gospel warns against parading our penances, Ash Wednesday does provide an opportunity to publicly witness to the Faith as we walk about bearing the sign of the cross on our heads.

Lent always makes me think of the Station Churches, which I used to try to visit when I was a seminarian in Rome. Today's station is the Dominican basilica of Santa Sabina and it is here that the Holy Father celebrated Mass this evening, accompanied by the friars singing the traditional chants. The Pontifical North American College has been a great pioneer of reviving this custom and they have a wonderful set of pages describing the daily stations. It is worth following them each day of Lent.

A blessed and holy Lent to you all!

Quinquagesima

Today is not only the Seventh Sunday in Ordinary Time but also the Sunday before Lent and the fiftieth day (quinquagesima) before Easter. Some sources refer to today as 'Shrove Sunday' - these days before Lent ('Shrovetide') were a good time to go to confession and thus begin Lent 'shriven' and in a state of grace (my parish is continuing this custom by having extra confessions on Shrove Tuesday).

Of course, it was also a time for merry-making and carnival - getting any excesses out of the system before the discipline of Lent. Venice took the idea to the extreme by having a carnival that lasted six months in total: first Sunday of October til mid-Advent; St Stephen's Day or Epiphany til Shrove Tuesday, plus a fortnight in Ascensiontide (with the famous ceremony of Venice's Marriage to the Sea). Everybody from doge to servant dressed in bautta (mask) and tabarro (long cloak), creating anonymonity, equality and endless (often immoral) possibilities (see the painting by Pietro Longhi above). Montesquieu recalled the scandal caused when someone asked for a blessing from the masked nuncio (shocked not that the Pope's representative was enjoying himself but that somebody had dared pierce the Venetian disguise). The collective party reached its peak on Shrove Tuesday and then, as the bells of Santa Francesca della Vigna struck midnight, everybody passed immediately from feasting into fasting - and their stomachs and livers were probably grateful for the respite.

It is little wonder the Church tried to attract people to more wholesome activities during the carnival, most notably the Quarant'ore - the Forty Hours adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, with splendour and music to compete with the carnival celebrations plus generous indulgences.