Dear Parishioners,
Guten morgen! Or, as they
say in Bavaria: Grüß Gott (a form of “God
bless you”).
Maybe some of you will recall the
movie from 1969 about a bunch of American tourists in Europe entitled “If It’s Tuesday, This Must Be Belgium.” I’m going to have
to watch it again. I understand there is
a sequel. I don’t need to watch the
second film. We just experienced it on
our own.
Last night I slept in my own bed
at the rectory. I was exhausted after
being up from about 5 AM (Central European time) in Munich. The flight home from Germany to Philadelphia was
rather uneventful and it arrived on time. Getting through customs was another story. I don’t want to throw anybody under the bus,
but, as a friendly reminder, don’t try to bring the uneaten fresh fruit (apples,
pears) that you were served for breakfast back into the country. It can cause certain “problems” with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.
Continuing
with my report of the pilgrimage (saga) from last week, we spent only a few hours in Bratislava (Slovakia) and then two days in Vienna (Austria). Vienna's highlights included seeing its cathedral (St. Stephan) and attending an orchestra concert. Later, we visited Altötting
(Bavaria) where there is the famous statue (Black Madonna) of Our Lady of Altötting and a Capuchin
Franciscan friary housing the relics of St. Conrad of Parzham, O.F.M. Cap. Both
of these are worth investigating.
Pope Benedict XVI has great
devotion to Our Lady of Altötting and
even gifted his episcopal ring to her from his time as Archbishop of Munich. The
ring was then placed on the statue itself.
St. Conrad of Parzham had a
story similar to St André Bessette in
our part of the world (Montreal). Both were
humble porters (doorkeepers) who became saints.
Our pilgrims later attended the
famous Passion Play in Oberammergau
(Bavaria). The play which is performed in
a covered, open-air theater takes around six hours to complete. All of the many participants are from the
village. There is a magnificent, large choir
and an orchestra. Naturally, the
dialogue and songs are completely in German, but we were given a book with
the complete translation into English. Because
of its great length, we were allotted time at the intermission to have a meal
in a local restaurant.
The Passion Play is an event I had heard about in my youth but never
realized I would eventually experience for myself. The
play was not a performance but a faith-filled event to be experienced. The current interpretation showed how the Old
Testament (Hebrew Scriptures) were fulfilled in the life of Jesus. There was some obvious artistic creativity
and poetic license employed during the performance. I was disappointed,
however, by the portrayal of the Last
Supper as it omitted the most important words of consecration spoken by Jesus (“This is My Body. . . This is My Blood”). Perhaps, it may be just another indication
of how many people do not truly grasp the Real
Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy
Eucharist.
Finally, it was on to the city of
Munich with its famous Glockenspiel (clock)
and many biergartens. Fortunately, we just avoided the crowds of the Oktoberfest.
While we didn’t lose anyone permanently during the trip, there were a few moments of separation-anxiety. Some items (backpacks, passports) were lost but then found. The tour bus, unfortunately, took off with my cell phone. I don’t know what it wanted with my phone. Thanks to modern technology, I was able to track the phone on my computer and it was returned the next day. (You didn’t actually think that I was going to blame myself for this mishap, did you?)
I am certainly glad to be home!
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
