Marco Carvalho
The Macau Catholic Family Advisory Council will organize in the coming months four workshops on the symbolism of flowers and the way they can be used to decorate the local churches and other Catholic temples. The first event takes place on January 29th, focusing on the Lenten period.
Flowers have their own language, an undeniable beauty and are rich in spiritual symbolism, and form part of the decoration of churches and other Catholic venues. The Macau Catholic Family Advisory Council wants to clarify the rules on the use of flowers to decorate altars and churches and will organize, in the coming months, a series of four workshops on the symbolism of flowers and the how they can and should be used to embellish and adorn the local churches.
Generally speaking, different flowers serve different occasions. The Catholic Church has very specific rules on the use of flowers and the symbolism they are associated with. The General Instruction of the Roman Missal specifies, for instance, that “floral decoration must always show moderation and be set out around the altar and not on the altar table.” The same document also clarifies that, in certain liturgical times, flowers should not be used to decorate the churches and other Catholic venues.
These are some of the aspects in which the Macau Catholic Family Advisory Council will focus on the four workshops it will organize in the coming months: “This is the first attempt made at our Center to use art therapy to relieve stress. Apart from these flower arrangement workshops, we will also promote two other workshops, one on harmony pastel and the other on dance movement therapy,” Veronica Pou told O CLARIM. “Our aim with this workshop is to provide opportunities for the Catholic faithful to learn how to use the flower arrangements in the church, so as to enhance them to serve the parish,” the secretary-general of the Macau Catholic Family Advisory Council added.
The first of the four workshops will take place on January 29th and it will explore the rules that apply to the decoration of churches and other Catholic venues during Lent, a period in which the altar should not be embellished with blossoms.
Flowers are an expression of joy and their use should be moderated both in Advent and on Lent, as indicated in the General Instruction of the Roman Missal. But flowers also help to remind us of the mystery of Creation and the beauty of God’s work.
The way flowers are used during the Easter period sets the tone for the second workshop, on April 9th. The two remaining workshops should take place on October 8th and December 17th. During the Advent season “the floral decoration of the altar must be marked by a moderation appropriate to the character of this time of the year, without expressing in advance the full joy of the Nativity of the Lord.”
The price varies from training course to training course due to the cost of the different flowers used in each session, Mrs. Pou told O CLARIM: “Prices are different in each session due to the different flowers used in each workshop. The students will only pay for the materials,” the Secretary-general of the Family Advisory Council stressed. “The teacher is a professional floral designer that is currently also learning gardening therapy. She’s also responsible for flower arranging services in our local Churches,” Veronica Pou said.
For more information (in Chinese) about the Family Advisory Council, please follow this link: http://mcaf.wjisc.net/.
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