Monday, May 08, 2006

On things liturgical...

I note the following aside at Shouts in the Piazza about the feast of Corpus Christi:
The Pope still celebrates it on the Thursday after Trinity Sunday while everyone else (including the rest of the diocese of Rome) celebrates it on the Sunday after Trinity Sunday. So...which one?
The explaination is simple - the Italian Episcopal Conference have moved the celebration to Sunday. However, the change doesn't apply to the Vatican City. That's why the Pope still celebrates on Thursday, even though the Papal Corpus Christi procession is on Italian soil.
And from the Telegraph:
Home owners worried about crime in their street, the problem of rising damp or lacklustre sex in the bedroom can now call on divine assistance.
The Church of England is going into partnership with estate agents to offer blessing services to people moving home.
From this week, house buyers in a number of dioceses will be offered the services of a vicar, who will say special prayers to cover almost every eventuality.
Clergy behind the scheme want to tap into the explosion of interest in New Age practices such as feng shui as a way of tempting people back to church.
The Rev Chris Painter, a vicar in Eccles, Greater Manchester, has helped to pioneer the initiative. He is confident that it will show that Christianity can adapt to an increasingly secular age.
"There is still a huge interest in spirituality and this is a way of our meeting that, but not in a traditional way," he said.
"The current trend in New Age spirituality is aimed at self-fulfilment, people wanting to be happy and achieve things. We are trying to focus on Christianity and show people that God has an interest in our lives."
Many Christians will be familiar with blessing services. In the case of non-churchgoers, clergy will spend time with them to ensure that they are happy about the process before the blessing is given.
As the vicars go from room to room, they will lay hands on everything from the bed, praying for a healthy sex life, to the lavatory, asking for "good health and to give thanks for sanitation".
*cringe*

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