Skip to main content

Gaudete in Domino Semper: Altar Flowers

A sad, leaky tent for the King of kings

"Rejoice in the Lord always..."

Whenever I hear this Epistle, my mind immediately rewinds three decades to the song, sung in rounds, that was popular during my Protestant upbringing.  It was a cheerful, monotonous, quasi-hypnotic ditty.  

"Rejoice, rejoice and again I say rejoice.  Rejoice, rejoice and again I say rejoice"... and on and on it went.

Lamentably joy is not one of the fruits of the Holy Ghost that seems to thrive in my spiritual garden.  Especially now.  To be quite honest, this year has driven anima mea to doubts, depths and dregs that I had never thought possible in my twenty-five years as a Roman Catholic. 

The spiritual fortification of two years of the Traditional Latin Mass is the only reason I am still standing.  God does indeed give us exactly what we need when we need it.  

After a month of Covid lockdown our TLM diocesan priest was transferred and overnight we went from multiple Masses per week to nothing (see Bitter Trials).  Now, thanks be to God, we have two Masses per month due to the tireless dedication of three diocesan priests who travel to say the Mass for our community (see Sursum Corda).  

And here we are in Advent with more lockdowns.  Do we head for the church door with a battering ram? Or do we don the mask and spatially distance in a parking lot?  Tomorrow our good priest will drive eight hours to say a Mass for us in the rain, under a makeshift tent, while the church stands empty and Costco is abuzz with "holiday" shoppers.    Always rejoice?  

My first real "Trad" friend  (I met her in the 90s in New York; she told me about the Traditional Latin Mass, la Salette, the Masons;  I thought she was simultaneously fantastic and crazy) always says to me when I am feeling downcast: "when you see these signs rejoice, Gemma"!  A locked church?  Rejoice!  No Sacraments? Rejoice!  And again I say rejoice! 

The Epistle of St. Paul continues: 

"...in every thing, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your petitions be made known to God.  And the peace of God, which surpasseth all understanding, keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Thinking back a year ago, this Gaudete Sunday I made the arrangements with less joy, but with more determination, petitions and trustful surrender.  I will be joyful, Lord, or die trying.  



Alstroemeria, spider mums, escalonia flower with redwood and camellia greens.

For more information on flowers for Gaudete Sunday, see Fleurs de Marie-Jacqueline's excellent post About church flowers during Advent.










Comments

  1. Marie-JacquelineDecember 14, 2020 at 11:12 AM

    IMO, this is what it is all about, Gemma. I sometimes call it "foot, foot, foot" meaning - in my private vocabulary - "just keep going". It helps me also to think about the persecuted Christians throughout the world and about Masses said on battlefields. The important thing is to be able to say with St. Paul at the end of it all, "I have kept the Faith".

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. GemmaDecember 15, 2020 at 11:36 AM

      "Foot, foot, foot!" I will remember that Marie-Jacqueline.
      Yes, we have to keep on moving and keep the Faith! Thank you for your encouragement and God bless you.

      Delete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Christ the King: Altar Flowers

Altar flowers for the feast of  Christ the King! The challenge with these arrangements was to incorporate the traditional colors of white, gold and red with the request from a dear friend to provide flowers for the church upon the celebration of her son's nuptial Mass.   The bride selected autumn colors for her bridal bouquet: burnt orange, dark red and rose.  I thought it would be best to select flowers that could be used for both the wedding (on the feast of St. Raphael Archangel) and the feast of Christ the King.  Let me know what you think!  Entry table arrangement Side altar arrangement Another entry table arrangement Main altar arrangement Roses and lilies with acacia, eucalyptus and blueberry greens. Christus vincit, Christus regnat, Christus imperat!
2 comments
Read more

Hydrangeas, Roses & Holly: Altar Flowers for Christmas

                      Unfortunately, this is the best picture I could get of the arrangements for the Latin Mass on Christmas Day.   However, it may serve as inspiration for what can be done in the most unlikely of spaces.   The architecture of the church is typical postmodern, with no vestiges of the past.  The crucifix was added and the tabernacle put in its rightful place only within the last d ecade.  Who would have thought that the Latin Mass would be making its debut here in our isolated, rural community when there are a handful of beautiful, century-old churches perfectly designed for the purpose not far away! The proliferation of fake poinsettias already present in the church set me in motion to find other examples of possibilities for the traditional altar.  My search led me to the liturgy guy's post Does this 1944 Christmas Eve Mass Look Anything Like Yours?   I was inspired by the Solemn High Mass featured in the movie Christmas Holiday and later horrified a
7 comments
Read more

Altar Flowers for Marian Feasts

For the feast of the Annunciation, we will have no Traditional Latin Mass.  Much the same as last year, yet different.  At the large brass doors of the church I left two small flower offerings for our good curé to place on the altar for his private Mass.  His Roman vestments were trimmed in sky blue.  Looking round the garden, forget-me-nots seemed appropos.  One year later, the forget-me-nots are back, but now the private Latin Masses are being canceled in the Vatican. Supernatural hope prevails.  Our Lady breaks through the spiritual darkness and the Lenten flower fast with her  fiat  at the Annunciation. For altar flowers, perfectly white roses would be my ideal choice.  Where white roses aren't available, alstroemeria, carnations and liles are good substitutes.  Daffodils, or "Mary's Star", would also add a beautiful touch of gold. For information on flowers traditionally associated with Our Lady, check out  Fleurs de Marie-Jacqueline's blog. Here are some arr
3 comments
Read more