Ok, so if my count is
right this is church number 9 for me and technically my second catholic church.
Goodie. :P this is one of those ones that I have been eager to go to just for
the sheer size and large domed roof.
I got there in good
time, did my regular sit at the back and get out the note pad type deal. The
place was pretty big, lots of seating space on the floor and even more up on
the sides of the building with the attached balconies. Walking in the door this place was
immediately familiar to me with the strong sent of incense used in
worship. Went to a Ukrainian orthodox
summer camp as a kid, and in all honesty the services were almost
identical. The only noticeable thing
that I really saw to be different was the acknowledgement of the pope in the
prayers and some nuns.
When we all stood up
to start the worship there was a pleasant surprise. Church bells. The big loud
bellowing kind that one would think to be in old cathedrals, I like it, was a
nice touch. I counted 80-100 people-ish. Almost everyone was retirement age
with a few exceptions. Once again, a church with beautiful art. Including a
massive Greek style tile mosaic on the wall directly in front of us with Christ
on the cross displayed on it. Seen below this monstrous wall of art was 30 feet
worth of 7 foot high gold gates running along the front of the church all
mounted with framed images of a variety
of important figures from the bible. ( be honest with ya, I couldn’t tell you
the identity of a single one. Lol. )
This church is a good
place for someone that just needs the world to be quite. And on this particular
Sunday that is exactly what I needed ( I was still recovering from the party
the night before.) But if anything my
hands were busy, and if they were not partying then they were over to my side
taking notes. I had allot of questions in the service, A LOT. So let’s get this
list rolling.
#1. There was a piece
of art at the front of the church with Moses and the burning bush , which
seemed odd to me because you have Moses on the ground laying there freaking out
while inside the bush there is a image of Madonna and child. I know what you’re
thinking…. How the heck did Mary and baby Jesus get in there? The explanation I
got apparently has to do with some old long standing practice and the split of
the church etc. And apparently somewhere in the bible they mention merry to be
“like the burning bush”. I will let you know in my readings when/if I see it.
There was a lot of
talk about merry in this service including the fact that there was a quote
brought up in the service saying “o a virgin before childbirth, a virgin in
childbirth, and still a virgin after the childbirth”. How the hell dose that
work? According to father Mark it is all true, Mary experienced no pain in this
child birth and her hymen was not broken. I’m quoting the priest here. Lol. But
if any of this is even half true it must seriously be an act of god. :P
There was also
mention of the death of Joseph on the service today, talking about how Jesus as
a boy needed to be strong even in witnessing his father’s death. I remember
asking about this in bible camp and from what I gather, Joseph is there when he
is born and thru part of his childhood and then just drops out of the picture,
so people just assumed he died. I also remember asking about Mary’s death and both
summer camp and this church basically gave me the same answer; she “fell asleep
in the lord” and suffered no pain.
And as if we haven’t talked
about dear Mary enough I have one last tidbit for ya. Ok so Mary is sometimes referred
to as the root of Jessie. Apparently this was her great grandfather or
something, and he is not really mentioned in the bible. The only reason this
Jessie dude is important is that he is a descendent of King David, which apparently
is a big deal. Not all sure why, but it’s a big deal. :P I know reading thru
mark they always refer to Jesus as the “son of David” meaning that King David was one of his far
back ancestors. (Which according to
Farther Tim at summer camp is not 100% true, if you look back apparently Jesus descended
from David’s brother? I think? And not actual King David himself.)
Next thing was the
girl’s choir. so it was 8 girls between 8-11 years old and they had an
interesting uniform for sure. They had little capes, in baby blue and they were
wearing veils, mid back length with a blusher attached. ( I sell wedding
dresses for a living, that’s how I know this stuff) . I inquired about the
colour and apparently blue represents Mary, I asked why and apparently it just
dose. So fact of the day, Mary’s favorite colour was blue and that’s how she
rolls :P . But what can I say I have always been a purple girl myself. lol.
They were led out by
an order of nuns, and I am told that this particular bunch on nuns was from the
order of the Sister Servants of Mary the Immaculate. Better known as SSMI for
those of you those are nun-knowledgeable.
Final note, took communion,
the wine was real, and white???? First time I have seen that one. The bouquet was
robust and had lovely fruity after tones. Yes I am well aware it might be a sin to analyze the
flavor of the wine used in communion, but I was trained to be a pastry chef at
one point so what do you expect?
Stay tuned for next
week when I visit my first Tao Buddhists temple and I’m bring some of my friends
along for the ride! J
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