St Blaise, Hansel and Gretel, and Englebert Humperdinck

By -



When I was a child growing up in Dublin the blessing of throats on the feast of St Blaise took place only in the Franciscan and Capuchin churches, as I recall. Apart from my memory, the only evidence I have been able to find of this is from a bulletin of the Augustinian church in Limerick, Ireland, a year ago: For many centuries devotion to St. Blaise, a fourth century Armenian bishop, had almost completely disappeared. It was kept alive in some Franciscan churches. On the 4th February 2004 the Limerick Chronicle published a picture in its memory section, a clear photograph of a long queue in the local Franciscan church lining up for the blessing of the throats on the Feast of St Blaise. The Friars stood in the sanctuary for the entire day ministering the healing of this popular saint to those who streamed in and out of their church on Henry St. 

I have a vague recollection of red flannel, a sort of rough cloth, and of oil being associated with the blessing. The Wikipedia entry on the blessing of throats mentions oil.



Now the blessing of throats is widespread again with the priest holding two unlit candles to the throat of each person while praying this formula: Through the intercession of St Blaise, bishop and martyr, may God deliver you from every disease of the throat and from every other illness: in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.


St Blaise is one of the Fourteen Holy Helpers, saints invoked against various illnesses. That's where the connection with Englebert Humperdinck - the German composer, not the English singer whose real name is Arnold George Dorsey - comes in. In his opera Hansel and Gretelcontains this song, The Evening Prayer, when Hansel and Gretel are lost in the forest:

When at night I go to sleep,
Fourteen angels watch do keep,
Two my head are guarding,
Two my feet are guiding;
Two upon my right hand,
Two upon my left hand.
Two who warmly cover
Two who o'er me hover,
Two to whom 'tis given
To guide my steps to heaven.

Full post, including a video of The Evening Prayer, here.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

The Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary

By -
Image
This is the image most often associated with the writings of the Belgian mystic Berthe Petit. She promoted devotion to the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary. During my preparation for the retreat I am giving at the end of the month in Pantasaph, North Wales, I began reading a book by the late John Haffert (once the lay leader of the Blue Army of Fatima). His theory in the book, which speaks of God's "last effort" to convert the world before the coming chastisement, is that we are now living in the third or fourth "day" of the Fatima week. At this time, according to Haffert, we should be promoting devotion to The Immaculate Heart of Mary. I also consulted another book by Dr. Courtnay Bartholomew (whom I have been privileged to meet) which also speaks of the importance of this devotion, linking it with the writings and visions of the mystic Berthe Petit, and the importance of the full title of the Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart. These things will feature in
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more