CATHOLIC SPAIN

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XXXV, Issue 12, 21 March 1907, Page 13

CATHOLIC SPAIN

Among all the nations of the. world (say's a wri-" ter in the 'Catholic Magazine' for' South .Africa') Spain stands out " in the. front line of jLatholicit^, if sher does^ not occupy the premier position. /Persecu-. tion has been vehement everywhere against our "holy , religion, but not so severely in- Catholic ■ Spain. True it is that some years ago she banished the religious Orders, but she seems to have repented -of her ~ folly. , to some extent, as a few of'"' the Orders, are re-estab- * lished. Satan has been, and is, at work "there in the Qbrtes or Parliament, . but his machinations have been thwarted by that august and noble lady, Queen Christina, the mother of the present King Alfonso. Hailing from that other grand old Catholic nation, AustriaHungary, she is a second i Queen Elizabeth of Hungary.' Many a time the Cortes threatened to propose attacks against the Church, but the presence of the Queen in Council has stopped them. How ? By iheated harangues ? iNo, by a steadfast c ami -serene look, by silence and by prayer. We all know with what loving care she has nursed from the cradle the posthumous child of Alfonso the" Twelfth. Like a hot-, house j)lant in a conservatory, she has watched day and night his advancing years, until quite recently he ascended the Throne of Spain. And how has the boy King behaved since his accession ? Like a good son; he is devoted to his mother, though he be King and ' she no longer Queen Regent. It may be iii "the recollection of all that, when Alfonso was in. Paris prior to his visft to England, he was "accosted with the lemark r ' I presume your Majesty will be soon having a Queen of Spain ?' : His reply was : • There is a v Queen of Spain, my mother.' - Since then, it appears, iha't he has verified the, wish of the Frenchman, and has taken "unto himself as consort her Royr.l Highness Princess Ena oL Battenberg, niece to King Edward VII. Let us hope and - trust that the union will be .a happy one ; that he " will always cherish the prayers and good, advice he received at the knees of his august mcither, and provehimself to be a good Cathol'lc sovereign, and a blessing to our Holy Catholic Faith ; and that the lady of , his choice will prove herself a' good Queen, and help her husband to rule that nation that has given" so many saints to the C-liurch ; that nation" that is overflowing with Catholicity' in the villages^ if not in the cities ; and that nation that prides' -herself, and justly too, on being Ihe most loyal to the Holy "See, ' > So much for a general preamble of Catholicity' i n Spain. We will now proceed to a description of Holy Week, Corpus Christi, ,All Souls' Day, "and The Passing Bell. The speaker has never had the- blessing of witnessing Holy Week in any other Continental country but but he questions' if the observance* of HolyWeek and the other great feasts of the Church 'is maintained with greater solemnity* in any cither country than in . the land of the Cid. Hundreds may flock to Italy, to France, as she used" to' be, and as she ought to be, to Austria, to Portugal, and to other . places, and return with feelings of great joy ' and begotten of the grand- scenes they have had' the good-- fortune of being, present'- at. And' these same hundreds might go to sunny Spain, and*' there fill' . their souls with the. piety exhibited by the Spaniard. _ La Semana Santa, or Holy Week, commences on El Domingo de las Palmas, or Palm Sunday, the day of 'processions of palms, in all the principal churches. The ritual, prescribed by Holy Church- is minutely carried out in all its grandeur, - but without any instrumental ' music, "as" during. Lent the^ strict law of no organ -on Sundays- at Holy Mass is rigidly adhered to. The following Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday call not for any particular notice save that, from Wednesday evening all business is' suspended ' until ,;madday on Holy. Saturday. 'On Wednesday . evening hundreds of people are to be seen flocking to the '

churches, to ' be present -at ' Tenebrae ' ; and what a rendering is given to all . the sublime parts of .that Holy Oitice on the Wednesday, Thursday, and -Friday evenings I t On Holy Thursday morning the people are up betimes, and are present at the, Masses, in. the • different parish churches, which Masses are invariably in • time for the worshippers to be present at the grand function in the "cathedral.. One very remarkable item must ■be - mentioned here,- and that is that all, save the military^ ante dressett' in black. A lady or a genidemian who~ into a Spanish church on Holy Thursday or Good Friday, in any other color than blacky would run a great risk of being an occupant of , a bed in the nearest hospital. The Mass in the cathedtalj v commenoes, and at the ' Gloria, in ii«xcelsis ' the Bells • "are rung. A~t7" the end of the ' Gloria ' a signal is communicated to Artillery barracks, an>d presently. is heard the booming of a cannon. This is the signal to . all sentries in the city ' N to. dress mourning.' All miis- - ketry --corps reverse carbines and Lancers' sheathe their lances. It is a touching sight ~"to see this transformation,' this military salute to. -Our -Lord in E»is Week of Sorrows. Pass from one barrack to another, there you will see the sentry with arms'- reversed as if he were', gjoing to a funeral. And this will last con- ' tinuously, until- another ,boom of the cannon on \Holy Saturday morning gives, the signal 4to cease mourning.' "How Is the afternoon of Holy Thursday observed ? The whole city is thronged with thousands of people, good, pious Spaniards ; who are going here, there, and everywhere,- all'Tnaking for the sepulchres in the various churches. You get "to the door of a church, you- go |n with the throng, and you are fortunate if you v get within thirty feet of the Holy Sepulchre, sur- ' rounded by hundreds of candles. In the cathedral, as many as one thousand candles were kept burning. While "" at- your devotions you hear the measured tread of military, and then a body of troops enters, halts, ■ and *ali a given signal from the commanding > officer,' • . to- .adore "the King, its Sovereign,- the Sovereign" .before Whom all earthly Kings give way and submit 1 obedience.. • After about seven manutes' prayer, a. wgnal brings the men to their *feet, a wheel round, arid- the soldiers march, off to another church. Seven Sepulchres" at least mustj be . visited to gain the Indulgences. • Some people start at~ the' Cathedral and finish - at a parish church,.- and others _v ice versa. On one occasion the paptain -General "with" his full staff of- oftl- . oers, ' entered the. Cathedral, and knelt right in front of the Sepulchre. v lt was most edifying to- see these men ■of the world, these men of the' sword, these men of blood and- iron, kneel to 1 pay homage to the K*ing of • Heaven. - Good Friday dawns on a city of the dead. A morning of silence so to speak, indicative of the prevailing" sadness, for - is this not Our Lord s dying day ? The Holy Mass of the Presanctined is offered early in the parish churches for the same reason •as on^ Maundy Thursday. The^ Cathedral ,is packed; and let it, here be added that in ''• the generality of Spanish churches, there are no seats:' The men stand in the s£de aisles and the women sit on. the floor in the jiave. Rich and .poor, the grandee and the plebeian, all 'mixed together in the House of God. It is no uncommon thing for men to stand for four hours in the Cathedral with barely room to'kneel at the most solemn -parts of the Mass. , The Mass commences, the. Plain Chant singing by the ohoir is superb,, the rpndering of the hassion is. angelic, and the sermon by. the. ' Magistral*** or premier preacher of /the Chapter, is listened to with rapturous attention. The procession from the Altar of Repose^ to the High Altar is attewued with -difficulty, owing to the vast; assemblage dff worshippers. What can be said of the Adoration of the Cross? Simply that, about a dozen of the" clergy will be kept busy for about an hour. No rushing to the altar rails, -no unseemly behaviour. Marshals are there to see -that a proper, line is kept. The women- from, the- centre march first to the. rails and after their. Adoration flank off to the sides and out into the streets— by the side doors. The men glide into the space made vacant by the women and follow .by the same course. Thus, no confusion, no haste, and no panic. And .so some eight thousand persons will .move in a. quiet and orderly \ manner. Good •Friday afternoon is taken -up with The Customary Procession of, the P v assion. The line of route is guarded by the military with, as be.fore remarked, arms reversed. Looking from - bal Icony down a long street you will observe the soldiers leaning on the butt ends of their rifles. At three o'clock the procession starts from the Cathedral. Headed by a mounted body of «4« 4 Guardia Civil,' or gendarmes, come the various confraternities, sodalities,

and schools. Stalwart men bear immense statues of the different stages j)f the Holy \lia: Crucis,; conspicu? ous among them being the Calvary, "the Sepulchre, and the most touching 'La Madre Dolorosa ' Gur Lady of Sorrows. There she is in a% ~ recumbent . position pierced by Seven Swords. -As her" Divine Son on Calvary, His Sepulchre and Our . Lady follow, every pne kneels. Engraved on her pedestal are those beautiful and sublime words in Latin : 'O ,vos omnes qiA transitis per viam- attendite et videte si : est dolor similis sicut dolor meus' : Oh ! all ye who pass by " the way attend and see if there -.be sorrow like unto my sorrow.' The Spaniards have an indescribably innate devotion to Our Laidy, a~fc all times of the year,— but their love is strongest on this, day of her Seven. Dclors. The 1 procession passed, the soldiers" fall in and march quietly back to barracks. The populace go home sad but impressed with, the solemnity of ,the day- which ends with Tenebrae. Holy Saturday sees the transformation from death to . life, as /it were, notified by the ringing of church bells, the booming .of cannon and the reversion by the military of their arms to their ordinary position/ ' ' • (To be concluded next week.) . ,