At Messa in Latino we see images of the Vetus Ordo consecration of a new bell at Rome’s traditional parish Ss. Trinità dei Pelegrini. Very cool.
The consecration of a bell in the old rite, often called a “Baptism” is magnificent, long and complex. As in the rites of baptism, the bells is washed with holy water, anointed with (oddly) the Oil of the Sick and Sacred Chrism, filled with smoke from burning thyme (or really thymiama, the recipe for which – equal parts of galbanum, stacte, frankincense and onycha) is, given by God to Moses, is a little hard to make now… but that’s another story), frankincense and myrrh, and then solemnly given a name.
Bells move and speak to us.
They call us to joy, prayer and action.
They mark the passing of time.
They warn us when there is danger.
They cry to the heavens when we suffer.
They mourn when we mourn.
Their silence can be deafening.
The rite of the consecration or “baptism” of a bell speaks to their use. They are intended to thwart the snares of enemies, increase our devotion, avert hail and storm and mitigate the wind, and “lay low the powers of the air”.
“Lay low the powers of the air lay low the powers of the air, so that hearing this bell they may tremble and flee before the standard of the holy cross of Thy Son depicted upon it.”
Let all our churches ring their bells proudly and without fear of intimidating complaints… the tell-tale sign of a guilty conscience.
The new bell, close up, named “Lúcia… Lucy”.
One of several photos at Messa in Latino:
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What do you suppose the duties as godparents of a sacred bell might be?
@mulieribus I imagine they are to chime in if they notice any cracks forming or if she starts having a sharp tone.
Re: bells. One of the upsides of lockdown last year was that you could hear the Angelus bells from my territorial parish church three blocks away. Living in the city (of Cincinnati) I am blessed to hear church bells all day long.
Thank you! I made an off-hand comment about bells being blessed to scare off evil beings like Baba Yaga when we heard the bells in Ravel’s orchestration of the Great Gate of Kiev the other day. Now my toddler is obsessed with the Baptism of Bells. I shall have to show him these pictures when he gets up from his nap.
Inside the emblem of the bell is what appears to be a pyramid and the eye of horos.
A prayer for the bell if it has been desecrated by such a thing and may its peals bring punishment to the demons who desecrated it as such…
Unless (:
I am grossly ignorant on what I see.
I hope I am.
God bless and thank you for your ministry
t
[When I got the photo, I told the Great Roman to start a countdown for the first people who would liken that symbol of the Most Holy Trinity (and therefore of that venerable church dedicated by St. Philip Neri) to a Masonic symbol.]
I’m guessing the consecration of a loudspeaker system to be mounted in a bell tower is much shorter . . .
Seems most parishes, at least in southern California, have those embarrassing things. And it may not be easy to fix, if the structure of the tower wasn’t adequately designed to carry the weight of real bells.
I’m with Timothy Get. That looks like a Masonic symbol to me.
[No.]
Browsing the archives of our local paper here (Ireland) for information about various aspects of our parish church, I had come across this description of the consecration of the bells for the new clock tower, in 1906, which I kept:
“The ceremony of blessing the bells was very solemn and impressive… His Eminence the Cardinal, vested in cope with mitre and crozier and accompanied by [lists a number of clergy, the M.C. etc] preceded by cross-bearer and acolytes, proceeded from the sacristy through the sanctuary and the nave and outside to the new tower, where the bells were suspended. After he had intoned the “Miserere”, seven psalm were chanted by the choir of priests. The Cardinal then blessed the water with which the bells were washed, within and without, by himself and two assistant ministers, previous to them being anointed with the Holy Oils. He anointed each bell twelve times, eight times on the outside with the Oleum Infirmorum and four times on the inside with the Sacred Chrism. While he incensed the bells the choir sang the 76th psalm. Having blessed those present, His Eminence with his assistants returned to the sacristy in processional order”.
Catholics have been using the Eye of Providence symbol for a lot longer than the Masons have been using it. I suspect the symbol is traditional for bells considering the way they are up in the belfry “looking down” on the city but it is rare to see bells up close so I wouldn’t know for sure.
All: It’s a symbol of the Most Holy TRINITY.
Do anyone serious think that priests of the FSSP would put a Masonic symbol on a bell for their ROME parish?
Father
Thank you for the countdown honor.
re: “Do anyone serious think that priests of the FSSP would put a Masonic symbol on a bell for their ROME parish?”
No, I, mere laity, would not; Fr Ripperger is the bees knees and, hence my trust in the integrity of FSSP rests on that. However, I did miss that crucial detail. In defence of my fellow ignorants, I have no doubt that “the modernists” to include Pope Francis would do such a thing, and hence my gun-shy assumption.
On the positive side, this ignorance on my part would (will!) make a great essay of some depth on IPV and the Catholic Blogosphere.
You have certaintly piqued my interest.
Speculating, the ‘doctrine’ on this stuff is probably quite robust.
Consider that this blessed bell is already pealing good tidings for us laity willing to hear and learn
God bless!
t
Father
Thank you for the countdown honor.
re: “Do anyone serious think that priests of the FSSP would put a Masonic symbol on a bell for their ROME parish?”
No, I, mere laity, would not; Fr Ripperger is the bees knees and, hence my trust in the integrity of FSSP rests on that. However, I did miss that crucial detail. In defence of my fellow ignorants, I have no doubt that “the modernists” to include Pope Francis would do such a thing, and hence my gun-shy assumption.
On the positive side, this ignorance on my part would (will!) make a great essay of some depth on IPV and the Catholic Blogosphere.
You have certaintly piqued my interest.
Speculating, the ‘doctrine’ on this stuff is probably quite robust.
Consider that this blessed bell is already pealing good tidings for us laity willing to hear and learn
God bless!
t