Every day at noon and 6pm, on RTE, the Irish broadcasting station, there is time taken out for the Angelus. The sound of ringing church bells can be heard and images of people in their various professions and activities in the day taking a pause to pray or reflect can be seen on the television. These are two times during the day when all the people of Ireland are encouraged to pause and acknowledge God and refocus the pattern of their lives consistent with their faith.
Wow. I was completely startled to first experience this in none other than a pub with colleagues after work! Well, okay, here in Dublin, there wasn’t a complete observance of it. But those with me swore that when they were in Donegal (in the country, out west), men were around having their drinks and good craic, and then complete silence filled the room as everyone reflected, some pulling out their rosary beads, etc.
This is Ireland…but not for long. Every year there is a push to remove the Angelus from RTE’s broadcasting, but it gets swept under the rug. There have also been protests about having advertisements with a “crib” (a nativity scene—they call it a crib here), although on O’Connell Street, one of the main thoroughfares of Dublin, there is a large nativity scene next to the Christmas tree in the center section of the divided road.
No comments:
Post a Comment