We started the month celebrating Saint Joseph the worker, opening the doors for the month of May, the month of Mary, mother of Jesus and ours.
Impossible
not to remember my childhood days, in Belo Horizonte, with the
beautiful Virgin Mary coronation festivities, in Santa Helena church.
Although these events are not in my collection of nostalgic feelings
- this phase was accomplished in due time - I keep these memories,
affectionately, in homage to my mother, Esther, who embellished our
parish with her little angels, for the great love she had to Our
Lady. I am happy to have been able to serve in this way and to have
received this legacy of love. Already old today, I think it was an
enormous grace.
The festivities took place on Sunday after mass, in the morning and in the evening. On weekdays, after evening mass. We went to church, with our families and neighbours, legions of little angels in the streets. The long satin tunics, embroidered with tiny glass beads, sequins and other glittering stuff, shone in the dark, reflecting the dim streetlight. We used to take the way to the church singing, in a last rehearsal, before the event.
It was cold in Belo Horizonte at this time of the year. Wearing these clothes of the angelic imaginary was a battle. It had to be very neat, worthy of the beauty it should be to sing praises to Mary. Under the long satin tunics, we had to wear warm clothes. The hardest part was attaching the wings so they wouldn't fall back or sideways - my mom was good at that, the attachment was solid, the wings couldn't fly off on their own. And it was very windy! I think the weight of the coats was what kept us from taking off.
When I was scheduled to put the crown or the palm on the image of Our Lady, my mother preferred that I wear white mittens, instead of gloves, as many other children wore. The mitt, in these cases, was a fingerless glove. I admit that at the beginning, I was ashamed that the other children thought my gloves were torn, that there were pieces missing. And my mother explained to me that it was more respectful to touch these objects with bare fingers.
There were rows of pews reserved for the angels at the back of the church, to attend mass. I don't remember if I paid attention to the ceremony, given the level of anxiety, while waiting for the coronation. We were under the control of a lady who directed the activities. She had a firm hand, she managed to maintain order in this restless little crowd.
The little angels who were not programmed to lay the crown, the palm or for any other function on the altar, carried with them baskets full of rose petals and threw them upwards, to Our Lady, at the moment of the chorus of the song and at the end. The scent of roses in the church was amazing. I get emotional just remembering it. It was beautiful! Unforgettable moments !
I am so grateful to my parents for making such high experiences possible for me! I can't say more about it, because I run the risk of bragging about the education we received and ending up doing the opposite of what they taught us: to be humble.
~~~~~~~~~
♪♫♬
Flores, flores a Maria
Cuja glorificação
Nesta noite de alegria
Enche o nosso coração
♪♫♬
~~~~~~~~~
Related links (in Portuguese):
Coroações na Paróquia de Santa Helena
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