Linda came with me to St Andrew´s for the Ash Wednesday Eucharist. Nineteen people were present. After the service I socialised for an hour, then worked on Lent material in the office until it was time to go back for lunch.
While looking for something to watch and fall asleep in front of on TV, I found a channel relaying the Pope's Ash Wednesday Mass at Sta Sabina with a large number of the College of Cardinals present. The church is the earliest intact example of the Roman basilia form as it developed out of the domestic forum lay out. It's the mother house of the Dominican Order of Friars Preacher, so the black and white of their garb was in keen contrast to that of the red and white worn by the Cardinals against the pale grey marble of the building.
The service was sung using all the traditional material for Ash Wednesday with the odd motet that sounded more contemporary. I hadn't at all intended to watch, but the atmosphere held my attention, very unfussy, and contemplative, with a homily from the Pope of classic simplicity and depth. I don't watch any of the God TV channels, and there are so many - evangelical, muslim, sikh, hindu - they´re all talk shows, or else forms of worship that resemble highly polished pop concerts. Watching something live from a real church is about as much as I can cope with, and that, not too often. Sorry guys, it's wasted on me.
No comments:
Post a Comment