Ave Maria and superstition
Bryan Patterson
A FUNERAL celebrant recently wrote of how people with little religious belief often request religious songs to be played at farewells to loved ones.
He was celebrant at a funeral where there was no acknowledged religious belief in the grieving family.
The chapel was packed, with people standing in the aisles.
In the discussions about the funeral, the man's son had asked for the song Ave Maria after the eulogies. The funeral director expressed surprise, because he had been given strong instructions to include nothing religious in the service.
The son's comment was, "Well, I like it and they play it at weddings".
"A colleague of the father, an older man, and his son gave simple, heartfelt tributes," said the funeral director. "Then, we played Ave Maria. There was, a stillness in that room. I don't know whether it was the music, the effect of the two eulogies or whatever.
"But I have had this experience with a reciting of other traditional prayers in non-traditional settings.
"All I know is that in sacred moments in human life, bereft of a religious context, the traditional prayers, the well-worn, half-forgotten words still work."
We humans are a funny lot. When I was growing up, even the non-religious carried little St Christopher medals in their cars as superstitious protection from harm.
Even after the Vatican desainted Christopher, on the ground he had never really existed anyway, the medals still sold well.
In India, owls are in danger of becoming extinct because the superstitious believe wearing parts of the bird around their necks will ward off bad spirits.
A recent Associated Press poll found that one in five people in western nations admit to being at least somewhat superstitious.
Another poll showed that traditional Christians were about four times less likely than agnostics/atheists to believe in superstitions such as astrology, pseudo science and "luck".
The New Age movement teaches that crystals have all kinds of powers when, in reality, they are pretty paperweights.
Jesus recognised that superstition was all about ignorance and fear. He met the superstitious religious leaders of his time and said, "Don't be afraid".
A belief in superstitions gives people an illusion of control in an uncertain world.
True faith is not about bringing you luck. It is about sharing in the loving relationship that exists between God and his creation. It requires an open mind.
It involves trust but also evidence; it is not, like superstition, blind faith. It is objective faith the most centred act of the human mind.
True faith is not to protect people from the nightmares of existence, but to awaken them to their greatest dreams.
No comments:
Post a Comment