Holy Sunday?
That’s
right, ‘Santo Domingo’ means just that: ‘Holy Sunday’. When you come to think of it, this could be
the reason why even the week days seems to be like a weekend here!
The name “Santo Domingo” had nothing to do with the Dominic Fathers. In chapter 11 of the investigative work of GIL GONZÁLEZ DÁVILA with the title:
TEATRO ECLESIÁSTICO DE LA PRIMITIVA IGLESIA DE LAS INDIAS OCCIDENTALES, VIDAS DE SVS ARZOBISPOS, OBISPOS, Y COSAS MEMORABLES DE SVS SEDES (NUEVA ESPAÑA) TOMO I, which was published in 1649, we find:
«In the beginning it was called Holy Sunday, or because it was on a Sunday that they landed in this new region, or in memory of the father of Colón, honouring him with the first fruits of his discoveries, the memory of he who fathered him. It could be one or other of the two.»
For the average
Dominican, the idea of his country being named “Saint” is the most
natural thing in the world. The presence
of God is a palpable fact of everyday life, and it is unusual to find a home
that has no “Sacred Heart of Jesus” hung prominently where everybody can see
it. There could also be an illustration
of “Our Lady of ‘Altagracia’ ”, and perhaps even a big, family bible left open
at today’s reading.
It is well worth
the effort to try and understand the importance of the Church among the people
here in the Dominican Republic.
Christopher Columbus
The last couple of
years have seen an ‘open season’ on Christopher Columbus. All sorts of cheap shots have been taken at
this remarkable man. However, it is
doubtful if any of his critics spend even half the amount of time that
Christopher Columbus spent in prayer, every day of his life.
He was a man of his
times, and thus a man of deep and convincing faith. He believed in and trusted God, and
surrounded himself with men of faith. These
were the inheritors and victors of an eight hundred year war of the “reconquista’
against the Arabs in the south of Spain, which explains something of their
ambivalent behavior. That they expected
to recover their investment in the same way that they had done in the south of
Spain doesn’t detract from their profound religious feelings, and its
expression in the evangelization of the native population, and the construction
of churches, monasteries and hospitals.
From Colony to Independence
The history of the
Dominican Republic is as tortured and painful as most of the “New World”
countries. But a ‘constant’ can be
observed throughout the five hundred years of strife, bloodshed, heroics and
humiliations: the deep and abiding faith of the common people. The Dominicans are a deeply religious
people.
The feeling of
respect for their parents and grandparents is only equaled by their ingrained
feelings for religious traditions. There
is hardly a Dominican alive, wherever he might be, who doesn’t feel the annual
call, pulling him back to his family at Christmas time, to that walk down to
the parish church, with the whole family from grandparents through to
grand-children, to celebrate the midnight Mass, the “Christ Mass”.
It is no accident
that this is the only country in the world that displays an open bible at the
center of its national flag. (Dominican
tradition tells us that it is open at John 8, 20: “And the truth will make you
free”).
It is no accident
that there are more vocations to be priests and nuns than ever before. The Seminaries are absolutely full, and new
buildings are being constructed to house the overflow.
It is no accident
that His Holiness John Paul II has visited the Republic three times. Because this is where it all started. This is where the evangelization of America
was conceived and organized. More than a
hundred years before the Pilgrim Fathers arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts
(1620).
At the same time that
England was still catholic, under Henry VII (1485 - 1509), here in the island
of Hispaniola plans were being laid for the evangelization of the whole
continent. Plans that, five hundred
years later, have given the Church almost half the practicing Catholics in the
world.
Even today the local religious congregations
are still sending out missionaries. The
difference is that now a days they are going to USA and Europe.
[The latest figures
tell us that, with conversions and baptisms, there are a million new Catholics
in the USA every year. Another set of figures
tell us that half of all the people who go to church in England every Sunday,
are going to a catholic church.]
This is a country
where faith is an experience in which most people participate.
This is a country
where the Church may be loved or criticized (and no one loves criticizing the
Church more than the Catholics themselves), but no one can ignore it.
Mary
Most countries have
an avocation of Our Lady as their Patron.
Cuba has Our Lady of Charity of “Cobre”, Haiti has Our Lady of “Perpetual
Help”, Puerto Rico has Our Lady of “Divine Providence”, but the Dominicans have
two: Our Lady of “Mercedes” is the Patron, and Our Lady of the “Altagracia” is
the Protector.
Holy Week
As in every other
Christian country, Holy Week is a holiday, usually from midday Thursday through
to Sunday night. Of course a large
number of people take the opportunity to visit their folks “up country”, or in
other towns. And of course, people go to
the beach as well (The Dominicans don’t go to the beach in winter-time ... it’s
too cold for them!).
But the surprise is
that a large and ever growing number of Dominicans go to church, not just once,
but also every day throughout Holy Week.
In fact, the official police figures tell us that in the last five
years, the numbers of cars going to beach resorts seems to drop year after
year.
Meanwhile, all the
television channels turn their programming over to religion, as more and more
Dominicans take time out to stop, reflect, pray and listen to the voice of God’s
love calling to them, inviting them to make that step in faith which will take
them to salvation and eternal life.
Holy Week Programme in Santo Domingo
Palm Sunday
Palms are
distributed at Sunday Mass, and are blessed by the parish priest. The palms are in memory of those that were
laid under the feet of Jesus when he entered Jerusalem, triumphantly and for
the last time before his passion.
The Dominicans
usually makes a cross with their palms, and keeps it till the following
Lent. (The ashes of the “Ash Wednesday”
ceremony are made from burning last year’s palms).
The gospel for
today is a reading of the whole account (usually shared by three readers) of
the Passion of the Lord (Lucas 22, 14 - 23, 56). It is a fitting introduction to the solemnity
of “Holy Week”.
Monday through Wednesday
There is an open
retreat every night in the “Casa de la Anunciación”, in “Evaristo Morales” just
after the crossroads of the “27 de Febrero” Avenue, and the “Winston Churchill” Avenue, given by the “Siervos de Cristo Vivo”
community.
Holy Thursday
This is the day of
the “Chrismal Mass”, when each bishop gathers all the priests of his Diocese
around him in his Cathedral, and in the morning Mass, blesses the Chrism (the
oil mingled with balm which will be used in all baptisms for the coming year)
together with the oils that are used for anointing the sick.
In the afternoon
every parish in the country celebrates the “Mass of the Last Supper”. This is the Mass where we remember the
institution of the Sacred Eucharist and the institution of the Priesthood, and
the Lord’s commandment to love one another, expressed in the ceremony of the
washing of the feet of twelve men by the priest (as Jesus washed the feet of
his disciples).
Afterwards the “Tabernacle”
is emptied and left open.
Each church uses it
own creativity to design a “monument” that commemorates the institution of the
Eucharist.
These monuments are often very well done, and
really bring home the reality of the presence of the living Christ Jesus in the
Eucharist. It is the custom to “visit
the monuments”, going from church to church, praying in each of them.
Holy Friday
There is no Mass
today. The altar should be left bare. No cross, no candle holders, no mantle ...
nothing.
Instead, normally
around three o’clock in the afternoon, there is the liturgy of the “Lord’s
Passion”, with the solemn reading of the whole account (usually shared by three
readers) of the Passion of the Lord (John 18, 1 - 19, 42).
This is followed by
ten special prayers, the most interesting of which, on Good Friday, are the
petitions for the unity of all Christians, for the redemption of the Jews, for
those who don’t believe in Christ, and for those who don’t believe in God.
This is the liturgy
in which the Cross is venerated, and Jesus is adored. The faithful are invited to make a reverence
to the cross, bowing or kneeling before it, or perhaps kissing the foot of the
cross, as a symbol of their faith in Jesus.
Although the
Eucharist is not celebrated, there is an “Administration of Communion”.
Many churches and
most Cathedrals conduct the ceremony of the reading of the “Seven Words”, in
which each of the last seven words of Jesus are used as a starting point by a
different preacher.
The ceremony of the
“Seven Words” in the Cathedral of Santo Domingo is usually preached by seven
outstanding preachers and is broadcast nationwide.
Holy Saturday
There is no Mass
today.
Jesus is dead.
This is a day in
which to stop, and reflect. Only the
foolish run away from the silence of thought.
Only a coward tries to avoid hearing the noise of the silence.
Easter Sunday Vigil
He is risen!
Easter starts with
the Vigil on Saturday night.
Fire
First there is the
blessing of a bonfire in the church grounds. Then a large, liturgical candle
(with the sign of the Cross, the Greek letters “alpha” and “omega” and the year
2023) is blessed and lit from the bonfire.
The faithful, in turn, light their candles from this Paschal Candle as a
symbol of the “Light of the World” spreading to the far corners of the world,
and proclaim that “Christ is risen!”.
Then everyone enters the church in procession.
Liturgy of the Word
Secondly there is
the “Liturgy of the Word”. On this very
special night the Church meditates on the marvellous wonders performed by the
Lord God, from the very beginning, on behalf of those who believed in His words
and His promises.
This Liturgy can be
nine readings long, seven from the Old Testament and two from the New
Testament. Although in some cases a few
of the Old Testament readings may be omitted.
However, chapter 14 of Exodus is always included (the dramatic crossing
of the Red Sea).
Liturgy of Baptism
The third part is
the Liturgy of Baptism.
Traditionally this
is the night when the “Catechumens” are received into the Church by way of the
Sacrament of Baptism. Normally, in the
Cathedral of Santo Domingo there are baptisms of adults in this vigil,
celebrated by our Archbishop, Mons. Francisco Soria.
Eucharist
Finally the
Eucharist is celebrated.
All of this Vigil
should be over before dawn on Easter Sunday.
Easter Morning
However, the Church
allows us to receive the Eucharist again, at the Easter Sunday Mass which, as
can be imagined, is a celebration incorporating all the local colour and
imagination of the celebrating parishioners.
Today is the
greatest festival of the whole year.
Jesus lives! Today we celebrate
the central miracle of our faith. If
Jesus didn’t rise from the dead, then everything is a lie.
But if he did
(although common sense tells us that it impossible), then... Jesus is God,
because, for God, nothing is impossible!
This, of course,
provokes further questions:
— If Jesus is God,
then why did He come to earth?
— What does it mean
for the world?
— What does it mean
for me?
— Am I expected to
do something about it?
— What am I
expected to do about it?
— What does Jesus
expect of me?
_________________________________________________________________
I wrote this for a local
English language news weekly on tuesday, April 4, 1995 and have updated it since.
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