The mystery of the ritual...
So, what happened?
We know that, on Friday, Pope Francis was still entertaining
the idea of displaying the Pachamama "statues" at the closing Mass of
the Synod.
And we know that, in the end, the Pachamama carvings were
not displayed.
We know — or think we know — that some bishops were
murmuring that they would boycott the Mass if the Pachamama images were
present.
So we know that these bishops felt the Pachamama images were
problematic to the point of being idolatrous, images associated in some way
with a type of pagan worship which they wished not to associate with.
And we know, as a Vatican Press Office spokesperson told me,
that it was decided in the end that the Pachamama images would be "kept in
the Synod Hall," and not brought over into the Basilica to be present at
the Mass.
And yet, this final offertory gift, this bowl containing
soil and several plants, was not only brought up to Pope Francis, but it was
placed on the altar.
Somehow that seemed odd to me.
Is it usual to place an offertory gift on the altar?
I had never seen it before, or so it seemed to me.
What was that bowl, that collection of plants? What did it
signify?
=================
Late on Sunday, I started to read about the rituals
associated with Pachamama, the spirituality associated with Pachamama images —
for the Pope had made clear that these images did represent Pachamama.
Some during the Synod said that Pachamama represents
"Mother Earth," the source of all life, for indigenous Amazon
culture.
At first glance, this seems innocent enough.
This earth is where we live, we come from the dust of the
earth and return to it.
And we do burn and poison many things in nature, and clearly
this is radically reckless, imprudent, arrogant, foolish and, yes, evil, for us
to do.
It is not unlike going into someone's home and tearing up
the place.
This is our home.
But is there something more in this "Mother Earth"
veneration?
I found that a Spanish-born bishop in Brazil felt that the
Pachamama rituals were un-Christian and in some way spiritually dangerous.
(link)
“Mother Earth should not be worshipped because everything,
even the earth, is under the dominion of Jesus Christ," said Bishop
Emeritus José Luis Azcona Hermoso of the Brazilian city of Marajó in an October
20 homily at the cathedral in the state of Pará. “Pachamama is not and never
will be the Virgin Mary. To say that this statue represents the Virgin is a
lie. She is not Our Lady of the Amazon because the only Lady of the Amazon is
Mary of Nazareth. Let’s not create syncretistic mixtures... The invocation of
the statues before which even some religious bowed at the Vatican... is an
invocation of a mythical power, of Mother Earth, from which they ask blessings
or make gestures of gratitude. These are scandalous demonic sacrileges,
especially for the little ones who are not able to discern."
And he added: "Here in the Amazon region we know the
meaning of macumba or condomblè, which are quite prevalent here.”
LifeSiteNews writes: "Widespread in northeastern
Brazil, macumba and condomblè are afro-Brazilian cults that involve
propitiation of various gods and goddesses, dances, incantations and sacrifices."
(link)
And then I learned that Bishop Athanasius Schneider, whom I
have known for several years and who was here in Rome earlier this month —
allowing us a chance to greet each other — had on October 26 issued an
"Open Letter" calling on all Catholics "to offer acts of
reparation, protest and correction for the use of the Pachamama statues"
which he called "a new golden calf.” (link)
Schneider writes: "The example of Christ is of the
utmost importance for all people who desire 'the true God and eternal life'; as
St. John the Apostle exhorts us: 'Little children, keep yourselves from idols'
(1 Jn 5:20-21). In our day, this message has special importance, for syncretism
and paganism are like poisons entering the veins of the Mystical Body of
Christ, the Church. As a successor to the Apostles, entrusted with care for
God’s flock, I cannot remain silent in the face of the blatant violation of
God’s holy will and the disastrous consequences it will have upon individual
souls, the Church as a whole, and indeed the entire human race. It is therefore
with great love for the souls of my brothers and sisters that I write this
message."
And he continues: "On October 4, 2019, on the eve of
the Amazon Synod, a religious ceremony was held in the Vatican Gardens, in the
presence of Pope Francis and of several bishops and cardinals, which was led
partly by shamans and in which symbolic objects were used; namely, a wooden
sculpture of an unclothed pregnant woman. These representations are known and
belong to indigenous rituals of Amazonian tribes, and specifically to the
worship of the so-called Mother Earth, the Pachamama. In the following days the
wooden naked female figures were also venerated in St. Peter’s Basilica in
front of the Tomb of St. Peter."
And he continues: "The second-century apologist
Athenagoras said about the veneration of material elements by pagans: 'They
deify the elements and their several parts, applying different names to them at
different times. They say that Kronos is time, and Rhea the earth, and that she
becomes pregnant by Kronos, and brings forth, whence she is regarded as the
Mother of all. Missing to discover the greatness of God, and not being able to
rise on high with their reason (for they have no affinity for the heavenly
place), they pine away among the forms of matter, and rooted to the earth,
deify the changes of the elements' (Apol. 22)."
So I recalled again that, as lovely as this world is, and as
much as we must be good stewards of it, it is not our eternal home, for we look
"for that which is above."
============
An offering to Pachamama
Then, after further searching, I learned that a bowl of soil
with plants in it is often connected with ceremonial rituals involving
Pachamana.
There is one among many websites that describes the ritual
(link):
"If it is difficult for you to move to a natural space
to offer to Mother Earth, do not worry, you can perform your own ritual at
home:
"- Use a bottle or flower pot full of dirt, there you
proceed to make a hole, it is recommended to do it with your hands to connect
with the energy of the ritual.
"- A kind of well is made, and food and drinks are
poured for the enjoyment of the Pachamama.
"- The food option is extensive, one can place anything
from fruits to Creole foods and seeds. In the case of drinks, chicha, natural
juices, honey, wine, even coca leaves are suggested.
"- Then we proceed to cover it with dirt and flowers.
"Every year more people join in and they learn to leave
our daily work and reflect and realize who we are, where we are and have this
gesture of recognition and thanks to Mother Earth, which we say is humanity,
the earth, the air, the animals, the water, the fire, which is everything that
makes our life."
Also: "You should never miss something red, it is the
favorite color of the Pacha!
So it seemed that the bowl of flowers presented at the
offertory of the final Synod Mass, and then placed on the altar during the
consecration, may have been connected with a ritual of veneration, and thanks,
to Mother Earth, known as Pachamana...
So the images were not in the basilica, but perhaps an
offering to Pachamana, in a bowl, was...
=====================
Several questions
On Monday I prepared an email of questions for Monsignor
Guido Marini, the Master of Ceremonies for the Vatican.
I wrote:
Dear Monsignor Marini,
I would like to ask for a clarification, please.
At the closing Mass for the Synod, a small green plant was
brought to the Pope for the offertory, by the last person, a lay woman. The
Holy Father received the offer and then gave it to you. The Holy Father
indicated with a couple of words (as one gathers from the video of the Mass) to
bring the plant to the corner of the altar and leave the plant there during the
ceremony, during the consecration. You then placed the plant there, at the
corner of the altar.
I wanted to ask:
1) Is it a usual thing to place offerings on the altar
during Mass? Has it happened in the past, in St. Peter's or anywhere else? Can
you tell when, on what occasions? (Because it seemed unusual to me; I don't
remember other similar occasions.)
2) Can you explain why this plant remained on the altar, but
not the other offerings?
3) Did you know beforehand that this plant should be placed
on the altar? Was the idea previously agreed upon with the Holy Father?
4) Can you tell what this plant was, what kind of plant,
what it represented? A type of fruit or food or ...?
5) Can we know what was written on the container of the
plant, and if there were other signs, and what those signs mean?
6) Can you tell where this plant and the container are now?
Have they been preserved?
And here is the reply I received yesterday:
Dear Sir,
In reference to your e-mail, we wish to inform you that
there is no particular information about the plant; we only know that it was
planted at the beginning of the Synod and delivered to the offertory to adorn
the altar.
Wishing you every good in the Lord, we send cordial
greetings.
The Office of Liturgical Celebrations of the Supreme Pontiff
(to be continued)
