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Father Delisi's Chronicles of his trip to Termini Imerese, September 2002
Chronicle #5
(My impression of the spirituality of Termini.)
This will probably be the final chronicle of my
recent visit to Termini
Imerese. For those who are not interested in my
views of the faith in
Termini, then I suggest that this chronicle be
omitted. Ken and others
might be concerned, for the Catholic faith has
been put of the culture
of our forefathers.
Bells! Bells seem to ring out during the day and
night. I imagine the
average person in Termini is deaf to these
sounds, but I kept hearing
them ring out as a call to prayer, be it at the
beginning of the day
with the Angelus, midday, or evening. The bells
could be heard at one
time coming from the Cathedral of Saint Nicola di
Bari, known as the
"Dioma,"and at other times from another part of
the city.
Twenty years ago I discovered master pieces of
art, busts of Our Lady
made of marble hidden back in the corners of side
chapels. No longer
did I find them. Where did they go? The plaster
of Paris statues
chipped and with broken pieces and missing
fingers made in the last
century still line the sides of the churches. A
sign of a devotion that
seems long to have died, and yet these relics of
plaster of Paris
remain. Many of the painting are of high
quality.
In some sense the faith seems very alive, and yet
in another it seems
like remnants of what once must have been a
vibrant reality.
The Mass attendance on Sunday seemed good.
On Sunday evening my relatives drove me to
Altavilla to visit once again
the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Milicia. The
church was filled to
capacity. There people ascend behind the altar
to touch the image of
Our Lady with the Christ Child and Saint Francis.
Three babies were
baptized during the concelebrated Mass. The
music was fair.
On Monday evening the Feasta for the upcoming
Feast of Saint Francis
(Oct. 4th) began. In front of the Church of San
Francisco was built a
stage and that evening a talented group of youth
performed their dances.
At the break the PA system blasted out American
music common for
teenagers.
With this I bring these chronicles to a close
hoping that Gloria and
Charles Otto will share with us their
experiences.
Chronicle #5
(My impression of the spirituality of Termini.)
This will probably be the final chronicle of my
recent visit to Termini
Imerese. For those who are not interested in my
views of the faith in
Termini, then I suggest that this chronicle be
omitted. Ken and others
might be concerned, for the Catholic faith has
been put of the culture
of our forefathers.
Bells! Bells seem to ring out during the day and
night. I imagine the
average person in Termini is deaf to these
sounds, but I kept hearing
them ring out as a call to prayer, be it at the
beginning of the day
with the Angelus, midday, or evening. The bells
could be heard at one
time coming from the Cathedral of Saint Nicola di
Bari, known as the
"Dioma,"and at other times from another part of
the city.
Twenty years ago I discovered master pieces of
art, busts of Our Lady
made of marble hidden back in the corners of side
chapels. No longer
did I find them. Where did they go? The plaster
of Paris statues
chipped and with broken pieces and missing
fingers made in the last
century still line the sides of the churches. A
sign of a devotion that
seems long to have died, and yet these relics of
plaster of Paris
remain. Many of the painting are of high
quality.
In some sense the faith seems very alive, and yet
in another it seems
like remnants of what once must have been a
vibrant reality.
The Mass attendance on Sunday seemed good.
On Sunday evening my relatives drove me to
Altavilla to visit once again
the Sanctuary of the Madonna of Milicia. The
church was filled to
capacity. There people ascend behind the altar
to touch the image of
Our Lady with the Christ Child and Saint Francis.
Three babies were
baptized during the concelebrated Mass. The
music was fair.
On Monday evening the Feasta for the upcoming
Feast of Saint Francis
(Oct. 4th) began. In front of the Church of San
Francisco was built a
stage and that evening a talented group of youth
performed their dances.
At the break the PA system blasted out American
music common for
teenagers.
With this I bring these chronicles to a close
hoping that Gloria and
Charles Otto will share with us their
experiences.
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