– Miguel Augusto
Last Saturday, March 2, the church of Sé Cathedral invited the faithful to gather in a prayer of vespers in communion with the Perosi Choir, on the theme: “O death, where is thy victory?” (1 Corinthians 15:55). The ceremony was presided by Reverend Father Cyril Law who also participated in the choir and reminded us that this was a time of preparation for Lent, a liturgical season lived and keenly felt by Christians. Lent began this past Ash Wednesday.
At the entrance of the church, the faithful who arrived received a small electronic candle and an A5-size booklet in Chinese, Portuguese and English with the choral pieces and the liturgy that accompanied the chants. Everything was prepared to welcome the cultural diversity of the Catholic community of Macau so that those present could have a more direct participation in their language.
As each person sat down, he placed the candle in front of him, and gradually the church was illuminated with these points of light: the symbolic presence of the Lord, the true Light of the world. However, many places were empty; these could have added light for the sacred space and the soul.
The event began at 8 PM, with brief words and a prayer given by Father Cyril Law and an introductory chant by the choir.
Then we read the Gospel of St John. Its first chapter of an enchanting beauty: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came to be through him, and without him nothing came to be. What came to be through him was life, and this life was the light of the human race; the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it” (John 1: 1-5).
After the reading of the Word (done in the three languages), the choir sang Requiem Op. 48, by Gabriel Fauré. The assembly became involved in this initial moment and closely followed the rhythm of choral chanting and the reading of the Gospel, which mainly touched on the “theme” of the Lord’s victoryover death, and the faith of all who die in Christ – the immolated lamb – to a resurrection in Christ. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose, so too will God, through Jesus, bring with him those who have fallen asleep” (1 Thessalonians 4:14).
There was a silence among those present, emotions directed to Heaven in a contemplative way, enveloped in the harmonious voices that transcended space and moment. The applause was kept for the end, for the Lord received praise through chanting, reading of the Word and prayer.
Vespers is the part of the “Liturgy of the Hours” (the universal and public prayer of the Church) that is performed at dusk (vespers) when the day declines to receive the night.
St John Mary Vianney said: “The treasure of the Christian is not on earth but in Heaven. Therefore, our thinking must be directed towards where our treasure is. If you pray and love, that is the happiness of man on earth.”
We recall that March is the month of Saint Joseph, patron of a good death and the Universal Church, celebrated liturgically on March 19. It is one day of Lent in which the priests do not don on purple vestments.
Those who couldn’t be present in these Choral Vespers can watch online through this link: https://www.facebook.com/voiceofmary/videos/804335073262834?sfns=mo.
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