Dear children and grand children,
I am in awesome wonder! Never in my life have I seen the feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother the Virgin Mary being celebrated as I saw it today in Mauritius! Yes in Mauritius! A predominantly Indian and Islamic country, freedom of religion exists to such an extent that August 15th is a national holiday in honor of Our Blessed Mother!!!
By comparison, is it not amazing how in predominantly Christian, 'In God we Trust' America, the so called 'freedom' champion of the world, this feast, as many other religious feasts, is ignored by most and by a government which has succumbed to atheistic pressures and segregated cultural forces and recriminations.
Here without grand standing, grand claims or much fanfare, the government and the population deeply and reverently respect and set time to honor ALL the various religious faiths. It is most edifying! America could learn a lot about faith fellowship, the brilliant politics of the non-discriminatory Government of Mauritius.
My introduction to Assumption day celebration began yesterday. I was surprised when the maid wished me "Happy feast day for tomorrow, Mr. Louis" before she left! Today on my way to church I quickly understood that here the feast of the Assumption shares the stage closely with Easter and Christmas! Most shops were closed. But street vendors offered gorgeous
tropical bouquets of anthuriums and roses as well as all kinds of blue and white birthday cakes (see picture of the one Godda bought) with devotional decorations adorning the cakes! The people, all dressed in their Sunday's best, were joyfully greeting each other and wishing each other 'A blessed feast day'!
There must have been about a thousand people at the 5:30 vigil mass yesterday evening at Sainte Therese in Curepipe. So I thought that there would be lots of room at the 9:30 mass this morning. By the time I got there at 9:10, the church was already virtually full! By 9:20 it was standing room only with people filling the aisles and overflowing outside! There must have easily been two thousand people there. I do not know how many were at the two previous masses or at the 11:00 o'clock mass? But judging by the crowd coming out of the 8:00 mass and the crowd rushing in to attend the 11:00 o'clock mass as I was coming out of the 9:30 at 10:40 I would not be surprised if all masses did not have a minimum crowd of 1500!!! Godda tells me that the 11:00 o'clock maas was even fuller with Cardinal Margeot present!
Neither words, nor pictures could describe the atmosphere. But I am sorry I did not have my camera to show you the crowd. It was the 40th anniversary of the priest's ordination and also the 40th birthday of the organist. So someone addressed a few words to both. The priest's goal at his ordination was: "I will make you fishers of man". Apparently during his 10 years at Sainte Therese and at other parishes he has fulfilled his ordination day commitment to the utmost. This is very apparent. It is reflected by the involvement of parishioners of all ages and the time they dedicate to the church. Ever since I have been here, I have been edified to see how from six years old up, the parishioners participate actively in the vibrant life of the church. Six year olds sing in the children's choir and sometimes join the teenagers as they mime and recite their parts of the gospel every Sunday! This deep involvement from a tender age obviously pays off. Today we heard how the organist has been consistently been involved with the Sainte Therese parish from the age of 8!!! This morning there must have been at least 50 teenagers processing up the main aisle leading the priest to the altar!
Would it not be wonderful to see such involved devotion some day in the mostly secular America of today!
I thank God for giving me this opportunity to witness how much He is still very much alive, growing and reaching out to the youth in some parts of the world!
I pray that if you never get to experience such an August 15th celebration in America, you get some day to experience it or any other feast day involving Catholics and or any other religion in Mauritius. I do not believe that atheists and or other culturally segregated groups have much room to feast here or to impose their agenda on our truly freedom committed government!
For your sake I pray that 'God bless America' again. I also thank Him to have abundantly blessed the family He gave me and my beloved country and its pro-freedom government.
God bless you ALL,
Hugs and kisses from Bopbops.
I am in awesome wonder! Never in my life have I seen the feast of the Assumption of Our Blessed Mother the Virgin Mary being celebrated as I saw it today in Mauritius! Yes in Mauritius! A predominantly Indian and Islamic country, freedom of religion exists to such an extent that August 15th is a national holiday in honor of Our Blessed Mother!!!
By comparison, is it not amazing how in predominantly Christian, 'In God we Trust' America, the so called 'freedom' champion of the world, this feast, as many other religious feasts, is ignored by most and by a government which has succumbed to atheistic pressures and segregated cultural forces and recriminations.
Here without grand standing, grand claims or much fanfare, the government and the population deeply and reverently respect and set time to honor ALL the various religious faiths. It is most edifying! America could learn a lot about faith fellowship, the brilliant politics of the non-discriminatory Government of Mauritius.
My introduction to Assumption day celebration began yesterday. I was surprised when the maid wished me "Happy feast day for tomorrow, Mr. Louis" before she left! Today on my way to church I quickly understood that here the feast of the Assumption shares the stage closely with Easter and Christmas! Most shops were closed. But street vendors offered gorgeous
tropical bouquets of anthuriums and roses as well as all kinds of blue and white birthday cakes (see picture of the one Godda bought) with devotional decorations adorning the cakes! The people, all dressed in their Sunday's best, were joyfully greeting each other and wishing each other 'A blessed feast day'!
There must have been about a thousand people at the 5:30 vigil mass yesterday evening at Sainte Therese in Curepipe. So I thought that there would be lots of room at the 9:30 mass this morning. By the time I got there at 9:10, the church was already virtually full! By 9:20 it was standing room only with people filling the aisles and overflowing outside! There must have easily been two thousand people there. I do not know how many were at the two previous masses or at the 11:00 o'clock mass? But judging by the crowd coming out of the 8:00 mass and the crowd rushing in to attend the 11:00 o'clock mass as I was coming out of the 9:30 at 10:40 I would not be surprised if all masses did not have a minimum crowd of 1500!!! Godda tells me that the 11:00 o'clock maas was even fuller with Cardinal Margeot present!Neither words, nor pictures could describe the atmosphere. But I am sorry I did not have my camera to show you the crowd. It was the 40th anniversary of the priest's ordination and also the 40th birthday of the organist. So someone addressed a few words to both. The priest's goal at his ordination was: "I will make you fishers of man". Apparently during his 10 years at Sainte Therese and at other parishes he has fulfilled his ordination day commitment to the utmost. This is very apparent. It is reflected by the involvement of parishioners of all ages and the time they dedicate to the church. Ever since I have been here, I have been edified to see how from six years old up, the parishioners participate actively in the vibrant life of the church. Six year olds sing in the children's choir and sometimes join the teenagers as they mime and recite their parts of the gospel every Sunday! This deep involvement from a tender age obviously pays off. Today we heard how the organist has been consistently been involved with the Sainte Therese parish from the age of 8!!! This morning there must have been at least 50 teenagers processing up the main aisle leading the priest to the altar!
Would it not be wonderful to see such involved devotion some day in the mostly secular America of today!
I thank God for giving me this opportunity to witness how much He is still very much alive, growing and reaching out to the youth in some parts of the world!
I pray that if you never get to experience such an August 15th celebration in America, you get some day to experience it or any other feast day involving Catholics and or any other religion in Mauritius. I do not believe that atheists and or other culturally segregated groups have much room to feast here or to impose their agenda on our truly freedom committed government!
For your sake I pray that 'God bless America' again. I also thank Him to have abundantly blessed the family He gave me and my beloved country and its pro-freedom government.
God bless you ALL,
Hugs and kisses from Bopbops.
2 comments:
In Belgium too, the feast of the Assumption is big and one that is respected by many. I am very happy to be in a country where Mary is loved and prayed to. I join Daddy in praying that one day America will enjoy the right freedoms.
God Bless
Lou
I would love to be able to participate in such a celebration! Thank you so much for sharing how Mary should be honored!
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