And speaking of movies, Scary Movie 4 is ...well. What can I say. What we've come to expect of the Scary Movie franchise. Though I think one of the best scenes was when Ann Faris was talking to the Ju-on boy-haunt in a mixture of rubbish Japanese speak.
Ann Faris: Hello? *no answer* (with Japanese accent) Harro?
Ju-On boy: Konnichiwa Sayonara Honda! (I know how to stop the Evil invading aliens!)
Ann Faris: Toyota? Mitisubishi Konika Sukiyaki Ramen! (What? Tell me your secret!)
Ju-on boy: Tempura sushi sashimi! (The secret lies in my father's heart!)
Ann Faris: Fujitsu! (Wait!)
Or something nonsensical like that. Ah ok I seriously digress once again!
Yes. Father Richard Ambrose of Holy Cross Church. His talk entitled 'Is the Mass boring?' was very informative and I'm glad it helped demystify some things for me. Plus I now am in possession of interesting trivia. Haha. Like why the priest only wears Rose robes two times a year - the 3rd week of Advent and 4th week of Lent. Violet robes are donned in the first few weeks of Advent and Lent before the Rose ones. And then on Christmas and Easter itself, robes of pure White are exchanged for the Rose/Violet. From Purple to Rose to White, the progressive lightening of colours is a visual representation of how our preparations for Easter/Christmas time are supposed to draw us spiritually closer and and fill us with increasing joy at the Resurrection/Birth of Jesus. It culminates with the colour White which of course represents utmost purity and holiness, and its only worn on major occasions like the above two. Green (symbolizing Life) for ordinary masses. Something like that. I think I should've taken notes. But I'm quite certain that Red robes are worn during the feast days of saints who were martyrs (Blood!) and during Good Friday (Passion! Blood!) and Pentecost. Oh and also during Chinese New Year - though this is due mostly to local influence. Well, another piece of random info! The practice of having a relic (usually one belonging to a saint) stored underneath the altar is derived from the very old tradition of the persecuted Christians celebrating Mass in the catacombs using the tombs of martyrs (and there were many then) as their altar. Something else I didn't know: In ancient times when Christians were being persecuted, the symbol of the Fish was commonly used to represent Jesus because apparently the first letters of the words of the Greek phrase 'Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior' spelt Fish. So they'd clandestinely draw these Fishes on the ground to mark a gathering of Christians celebrating Mass or something cool like that. Hence, the original Greek phrase is sometimes seen emblazoned across the Priest's robes along with what seems like an amalgamation of the letters P and X. Its the first two letters of the Greek word for Christ not 'Pax' (Peace) which some people thought it was.
Anyways, Father Richard Ambrose is giving another talk on August 16th and 17th, 7.45pm at Holy Cross again...I believe they have a talk each month dealing with different areas of the Church. According to the schedule, August's talk is entitled 'Do Catholics Worship Mary? (Part I and II)'. I think these titles are meant to be rhetorical questions? Like 'Is the Mass boring?' because the answers all tend to be a resounding No. In fact he didn't even bother answering/justifying why we should believe the Mass is utterly fascinating at the last talk. He just cut through everything and showed us. Respect! So anyway. Is Mary worshipped? Father invites anyone interested to come, especially non-Catholics who may have misconceptions about Mary.
You know, I heard a really funny anecdote about Mary by Kimberly Hahn who, before she converted, was giving a talk about the Queen Mother in her former church. Feeling threatened by the subject matter, two pastors' wives stood up and sang 'What Child is This?' only they chose to change the last line of chorus 'The Babe, the son of Mary' to 'The Babe, the son of God', cause apparently like, they were afraid if they stuck to the original lyrics people might think she had something to do with it after all. @_@ Haha. But seriously if you have any questions about Mary, I'm happy to help answer any enquiries to the best of my ability :) And No we don't worship her. In the sense I mean our understanding of Worship isn't really songs, prayer and having sermons (which may be what it is for other churches), so maybe that's where part of the confusion arises. If I have been doing my homework correctly, Catholic worship is defined primarily by the celebration of the Eucharist, so you'll never see Mary being given up at the altar. But that's something else altogether.
Ok another announcement! 15th July at 6.38pm and 2 seconds (don't ask me why), the Faculty of Arts Reunion will be held in the Viewing Gallery of ACJC. Cohorts of '03 to '05 are invited. There's food and entertainment. Please come and please spread the word if you're from fART. Thank you!
(You should be getting a soft copy of this poster in your email accounts if you're alumni)
Its late so I'll tell the story of Wykid and Turner tomorrow or something. It was really weird but I felt quite bad about it in retrospect. Another time then, cya!
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