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On Re-enchanting the World
1d sedan
Catholic
Lourdes
St Bernadette
Enchantment
Pilgrimage
1+

The world is charged with the grandeur of God.
It will flame out, like shining from shook foil;
It gathers to a greatness, like the ooze of oil
Crushed. Why do men then now not reck his rod?
Generations have trod, have trod, have trod;
And all is seared with trade; bleared, smeared with toil;
And wears man’s smudge and shares man’s smell: the soil
Is bare now, nor can foot feel, being shod

(God’s Grandeur, Gerard Hopkins)

We are not all superheroes, but we do all posses a superpower. The ability to perceive what is spiritually present in addition to whatever may be physically present is something we are born with and something that it takes a good deal of (misdirected) effort to drive out of us during the course of our childhoods. Since Westerners now inhabit a world in which nothing that cannot be weighed and measured is deemed to exist, naturally enough a counter-movement has emerged to argue in favour of the unweighable and the unmeasurable as being key to our existence. Among Christians this movement has already achieved the supreme accolade of having a podcast (Seen & Unseen) dedicated to it.

So, what is re-enchantment? Is it A Good Thing? If so how do we bring it about? I’m not going to be able to answer all these questions in one short post but I will do what I can. Previous generations of Christians would certainly have avoided the word ‘enchantment’ because it refers, strictly speaking, to magic. Words, though, can change meaning over time and now it seems to refer an understanding that the cosmos contains interpenetrating realities, of spiritual and material types, which are constantly interacting with each other.

The prefix Re- suggests that there was once a time when this sort of enchanted view of the cosmos was widespread and that somehow we lost it. So when was this the case? At an individual level, as I’ve already indicated, childhood is probably the time for most of us when our enchantment-radar was at its most functional. At a society-wide level in Christendom I would suggest that the period before Martin Luther began his work was an epoch of enchantment (as a Catholic I’m contractually bound to say that.) However, the Reformation is a necessary but not a sufficient explanation for disenchantment since in its aftermath writers like John Bunyan, John Milton, Shakespeare and Edmund Spenser clearly had access to enchanted realms. This may, perhaps, have been a dead cat bounce effect where the after-effects of Catholicism ran their course but it seems more probable that the West needed the Enlightenment in order to kill-off (if only temporarily) a widespread acceptance of the supernatural.

What we have gained is the scientific method, which has produced innumerable benefits like the technology I am using to write, and the technology you are using to read, this post. What we have lost is a living sense that the world of things and of thingness is not the only world in which we live and move and have our being. And there is no real reason why we can’t have both.

Of what does this sense of moving among spiritual realities consist? How do we experience it? What organs of perception do we use? Well, it’s a world not a book chapter so there are multiple ways in which it can manifest itself and multiple ways through which it can be perceived. Nor should we lose sight of the word ‘interpenetration’ because it is not the case of there being a realm of Spirit ‘up there’ which we can sometimes see, and a realm of matter ‘down here’ which is never caught up into this weird otherness. Christians at least know that God became fully Incarnate in this universe while remaining fully God so we know that either Spirit or matter is a false binary. An enchanted world, which is to say the only real world, has both together.

I’m illustrating this piece with a picture of the nightly torchlight procession at the shrine of Lourdes. Although those behind the aforementioned podcast may not be enthusiastic to have the re-enchantment project linked with visions of the Virgin Mary it seems to me that an enchanted world, in the Christian sense of the word, cannot be separated from the Saints and Angels who sometimes leave heaven to move among us on earth in order to point us towards the best ways to live in Christ. And Lourdes, together with its visionary St Bernadette, combine so many, as it were, enchanted elements that we can see in it and in her an effective summary of much of the gains to be had from an enchanted perception of the cosmos.

These elements include, but are not limited to, the following-

Virgin of low estate encounters a beautiful apparition that only she can perceive.
The visionary sees the apparition with her (physical) eyes, hears it with her (physical) ears and enters into dialogue with it.
The visionary is seen as a credible witness because when the apparition is present her (the visionary’s) whole aspect is transformed into a thing of beauty in itself.
At the urging of the apparition the visionary discovers a (physical) spring of pure, clear water.
Miracles of (physical) healing occur in connection with the water.
The apparition reveals her identity with a mysterious title “Que soy era Immaculado Counceptiou” (“I am the Immaculate Conception”)
A shrine is built and pilgrimages begin.
As time passes a formalised liturgy is instituted including a regular Eucharistic procession (that is a Consecrated Host which Catholic believe to be the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of the Logos of God under the appearance of bread is solemnly carried through the throngs of pilgrims.)
The chief locus of miracles, which have never stopped happening, shifts from the waters of the spring to the procession. Its passing is an occasion for healing to take place.
A further source of miracles-physical changes brought about through spiritual actions-now happens hundreds or thousands of miles away through prayer invoking the name of the apparition, Our Lady of Lourdes, or of the visionary, St Bernadette, as intercessors with God.
The visionary retires to a convent far from her original home and herself becomes an object of pilgrimage while she lives.
After her death her body remains incorrupt and also becomes an object of pilgrimage.
Her relics go on world tours receiving rock star levels of adulation.
Meanwhile, the original shrine continues to receive literally millions of visitors every year and associated with virtually every pilgrimage is participation in the Sacrifice of the Mass, Confession, prayer (above all of the Rosary,) song (especially the Lourdes Hymn ‘Immaculate Mary’,) torchlight processions and, much to the amusement of the non-Catholic world, the purchase of souvenirs of sometimes incredible kitschness.
Away from the immediate vicinity of the shrine itself most Catholic pilgrims who are physically capable of doing so will follow the Lourdes Stations of the Cross, a physically demanding trail on a hill above the town which calls to mind the Passion, Crucifixion, Death and Burial of Our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
You will have noticed that I used the word ‘physical’ and its variants a lot in that list. This is to emphasise that enchantment and interpenetration of differing realities, material and spiritual, go hand in hand (which is, of course, a thoroughly physical metaphor in itself.) A visit to Lourdes, or any of the pilgrimage sites like Lourdes around the world is, or can be, an awakening to the reality that applies everywhere else too. The world is charged with the grandeur of God. And if you want to experience the sort of ‘magic’ that Christian enchantment brings about then spend an hour of your life standing at the basilica of Lourdes watching the torchlit procession, listening to the hymns and prayers, and thinking about the disregarded little girl living in the old town jail who saw the Mother of Jesus. And then, by the grace of God, your understanding will flame out, like shining from shook foil.

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The picture of the Lourdes torchlight procession is from the palaisdurosaire website.

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Varför firar vi valborgsmässoafton? — Högtider och traditioner

Kort svar: Valborgsmässoafton har firats lång tid och oftast som en fest för att fira sommarens ankomst. Skiftet april/maj markerar i många områden i Europa övergången mellan vinter- och sommarhalvåret. Människor har i alla tider och i alla kulturer haft ett behov att organisera och strukturera en kaotisk tillvaro. Ett sätt är att dela upp […]

Varför firar vi valborgsmässoafton? — Högtider och traditioner
Varför firar vi valborgsmässoafton?
25 apr 2008

30 aprilvalborgvalborgsmässoafton

Kort svar: Valborgsmässoafton har firats lång tid och oftast som en fest för att fira sommarens ankomst. Skiftet april/maj markerar i många områden i Europa övergången mellan vinter- och sommarhalvåret.

Människor har i alla tider och i alla kulturer haft ett behov att organisera och strukturera en kaotisk tillvaro. Ett sätt är att dela upp tiden i greppbara enheter såsom år, veckor och dagar. Men även åren kan delas in och det på ett antal olika sätt. Ett vanligt är att dela in året i ett vinter- och ett sommarhalvår. I norra Europa har det vanligaste varit att vinterhalvåret varat från november till april och sommarhalvåret från maj till oktober.

Valborgsmässoeld
I brytningstiden mellan sommar och vinter har det alltid funnits föreställningar om att onda och magiska krafter varit i rörelse – vilket också gäller andra brytningstider såsom ex. sommarsolståndet och skärtorsdagen. Till sommarhalvårets slut – 31 oktober – har i den anglosaxiska världen knutits firandet av Halloween – som har sitt ursprung i den keltiska festen Samhain. Då trodde man att döda människor vandrade och man tände ljus för att de skulle hitta tillbaks till sina gravar. På motsvarande sätt har 30 april i keltisk tradition firats som vinterns sista dag – Beltane. Ordet tros komma från Baal (Gud) och ett keltiskt ord för eld.

I Tyskland har 30 april firats som Walpurgisnacht – den natt då häxorna for till Blocksberg (motsvarande vår skärtorsdag då häxorna far till Blåkulla).

Även i Sverige har valborgsmässoafton firats som vinterns sista dag (varpå man sjunger ”Vintern rasat ut..””) och således en dag då man firar ut det gamla och in det nya halvåret.

Sedan åtminstone medeltiden har valborgsdagen (alltså första maj) varit första dagen på det administrativa året. Så här skriver Bringéus:

Hantverkarna följde köpmännens mönster och sköt under 1400-talet upp årets stora sammankomst från fastlagen till valborgsdagen. Sedan tiggeri förbjudits under fastlagen, försköts även djänkarnas (skolgossarnas) fetsfirande till majdagen.

På så vis blir valborgsmässoafton en typ av nyårsafton (egentligen inte mindre logisk än 31 december). Firandet av valborgsmässoafton är alltså ett firande av sommarhalvårets början och traditionerna som knutits till firandet är av blandad härkomst. Att tända eldar på valborgsmässoafton är en sed som kan ha sitt ursprung hos tyska köpmän som importerade sedan till Sverige under 17- och 1800-talet. Swahn skriver dock:

Men troligt är dock att den här vackra seden ändå har ett äldre, inhemskt förflutet. Somliga folklorister har hävdat att det ytterst skulle röra sig om keltiskt, närmast irländskt ursprung, I det fordom keltiska Västeuropa var 1 maj sommarhalvårets första och firades inte minst med bål.

Även Eskeröd är inne på samma linje då han menar att valborgseldarna har andra, rent praktiska, orsaker. Skiftet april/maj var det vanligt att djuren släpptes ut på bete och då användes eldarna för att skrämma bort rovdjur. Vidare röjde man slåttermarkerna på våren och var då tvungna att elda upp allt ris varvid stora bål blev nödvändiga.

Det omvittnas också ofta att man till valborgsmässoelden tog allt det torra riset från vinterns lövfoder. Då djuren släpptes ut och det inte blev mer ris, var det en praktisk åtgärd att elda upp det. /../ Med tanke på de magiska spekulationer, som ofta knyts till ingångsdagar för nya perioder av året, ligger det nära till hans att särskild skyddsmagi inför djuren betesgång kommit att tillämpas här.

Oavsett om det är tyska köpmän eller svenska bönder som ligger bakom valborgseldarna torde det vara klarlagt att firandet av sista april som vinterns sista dag finns i en rad olika kulturer och epoker. I Sverige kallar vi dagen för valborgsmässoafton eller ”sista april” (i Uppsala) eller siste april (Lund).

Skrivet av Mattias Axelsson (2008-04-25)

Källor: Bringéus, Nils-Arvid (1999) Årets festdagar Carlssons Bokförlag: Stockholm

Eskeröd, Albert (1973) Årets fester LT Förlag

Swahn, Jan-Öjvind (2007) Svenska traditioner Bromma: Ordalaget Förlag

Joy, Margaret (1982) Highdays and Holidays Faber & Faber

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Vem har skrivit texten till ”Vintern rasat ut bland våra fjällar”?Kort svar: Herman Sätherberg skrev texten till ”Vinter rasat ut” 1838 och sedan tonsattes den för manskör av Otto Lindblad. En av de populäraste sångerna för…
Varför eldar man på valborgsmässoafton (30 april)?Kort svar: Valborgsmässoafton var förr vinterns sista dag och därmed började sommarhalvåret, då man trodde att onda krafter var i rörelse. Därför tände man…
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lottalotta6 mar 2012mycket bra information om Valborg! :-* använder det till skol grejer mvh eleverna ❤Svara
David26 apr 2012Ingen bra information =(Svara
Mattias AxelssonDavid29 okt 2012Vad saknar du?Svara
JonasJonas5 maj 2013Bra sammanställning, de jag saknar är ett stycke om Heliga Valborg som också bidragit till vårt valborgsfirande, se http://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heliga_ValborgSvara
Mattias AxelssonJonas24 apr 2014Heliga Valborg har för svensk del väldigt lite med valborgsmässofirandet att göra.Svara
Valborg | Teater är mitt liv – Magnus30 apr 2014
Valborgsmässoafton – en mångsidig högtid | Kulturminnet26 apr 2017
suzanamonikajust nufridayssabatt 28.4 -2023
Why I love being Catholic
·“Let those who think their work has no value recognize that by fulfilling their insignificant tasks out of Love of God, those tasks assume supernatural worth. The aged who bear the taunts of the young, the sick crucified to their beds, the street cleaner and the garbage collector, the chorus girl who never had a line, the unemployed carpenter – all these will be enthroned above dictators, presidents, kings, and Cardinals if a greater love of God inspires their humbler tasks than inspires those who play nobler roles with less love.” Archbishop Fulton SheenLord, I do believe, Help my unbelief.s inläggLord, I do believe, Help my unbelief.2 tim·MYSTICAL ROSE🙏🌹The Blessed Virgin Mary has shown us that the rose is her favorite flower. Through the mysterious roses that St. Juan Diego picked and wrapped in his tilma and presented to the bishop, the Blessed Mother imprinted her image on St Juan Diego’s cloak( tilma) when the roses fell out.Roses were associated with Mary from early times. The thirteenth century Saint Dominic is credited with spreading the familiar devotion called the Rosary of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a series of prayers to Our Lady, symbolised by garlands of roses worn in Heaven.Roses were also significant in our Blessed Mother Mary’s apparitions at La Sallette, Lourdes, Pontmain, Pellevoisin, Beauaing and Banneaux.There is no rose comparable to the Blessed Mother and she has made Paradise ever so much more beautiful. But if you call her a rose, white is the color of her purity; gold, the tint of her royalty; red, the hue of her suffering.The rose grows out from a stem of thorns and in the heart of this flower, the red of the Cross of her Son (Jesus Christ our Lord).Indeed, without thorns, a rose is not a rose, and without the thorn of great suffering, the Blessed Virgin Mary could not have become the Mystical Rose of God’s Paradise.It is believed, for every Hail Mary we say, is like placing a rose at her feet.🙏🌹I love you Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God – help of Christians, please pray for us! Please be a mother to us now. Amen🙏🌹All the angels and saints of God, please pray for us.🙏🌹JESUS, I TRUST IN YOUThank you Lord for giving us your Blessed Mother!facebook.com/ROSA2288/videos/2345105112444968/Dj 9, 1-20On mi je oruđe izabrano da ponese ime moje pred narode.Čitanje Djela apostolskihU one dane: Savao sveudilj zadahnut prijetnjom i pokoljem prema učenicima Gospodnjim, pođe k velikomu svećeniku, zaiska od njega pisma za sinagoge u Damasku, da sve koje nađe od ovoga Puta, muževe i žene, okovane dovede u Jeruzalem.Kad se putujući približi Damasku, iznenada ga obasja svjetlost s neba. Sruši se na zemlju i začu glas što mu govoraše: »Savle, Savle, zašto me progoniš?«På upita: »Tko si, Gospodine?«A on će: »Ja sam Isus kojega ti progoniš! Nego ustani, uđi u grad i reći će ti se što ti je činiti.«Njegovi suputnici ostadoše bez riječi: čuli su doduše glas, ali ne vidješe nikoga. Savao usta sa zemlje. Otvorenih očiju nije ništa vidio pa ga povedu za ruku i uvedu u Damask. 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När du stiger upp på morgonen, kom ihåg vad som väntade mig hela dagen efter nattens fruktansvärda plågor.När du är på jobbet, begrunda korsets väg och tänk på att jag inte hade ett ögonblick av vila. Helt utmattad tvingades jag bestiga Golgataberget. Det finns mycket att begrunda. Jag gick till gränsen, och jag säger er, ni kan inte gå för långt när ni gör något för Mig. Från middagstid till 3:00, tillbe Mina Heliga Sår.Förhoppningsvis kan du fortsätta fasta tills Min Heliga Kropp togs ner från Korset. Om du accepterar att offra dig själv, Min dotter, kommer du att få ett ännu större överflöd av nåd.”P24 i Elizabeth Kindelmannsandliga dagbok Läs mer vimeo.com/491359795#flameoflove #immaculateheartofmaryfacebook.com/100000213325835/videos/684743713382692/