The above group of happy people was taken on Friday at the St Joseph’s Oratory, Montréal. All three levels of French classes, together with our teachers and monitors, took the trip to this famous and extremely frequently visited landmark, to better understand the place the church and religion in general have shaped the society we are slowly integrating with.
Although the week had boded ill, with rain instead of snow, and a cloudy start, the sun came out for our entire voyage and we were able to enjoy the bracing air high above the West of Montréal. To see the church and basilica, and to explore thoroughly, requires a lot of standing and walking, and the huge variations in temperature (for example in the chamber of candles, the heat was suffocating, but in other parts the cold of the mountain penetrated to our very bones!). We learned much more about the history of Saint Frère André, and the importance in the local culture of this representative of humility. I didn’t know what to say about the miracles attributed to this undoubtedly influential man, but if the numerous crutches discarded by those who had been healed were anything to go by, he certainly had many successes to his credit. It reminded me somewhat of Notre Dame de Paris, with all the amazingly well worked pieces of architecture, paintings, windows, and fittings; even though this church is quasi modern, I didn’t find the decor to be extravagant ad nauseum. It did illustrate again for me (as if there was a need!) the power and influence that religion has over people, and how this power does not disappear overnight, even with a tranquil revolution.
The fondness of the Catholics for their relics always amused me, though of course I respect that they have a right to attach a belief to an inanimate object; the relic comprised of the heart of Brother André was slightly bizarre, especially the history of its loss and later discovery in a basement just a few miles away. Always fascinated by the history of people and their effect on society, it was a great experience also to walk around the Crèches (nativity scenes) which were donated by countries around the world. It was especially interesting to note that both Palestine and Israel had contributed relatively conventional figurines, and that these were in fairly close proximity. I was interested to note that the United Kingdom had contributed a nice painting, and close inspection of the detail gave me fresh confidence in my own painting ability and the motivation to continue.
After the tour of the Oratory, I parted company from the rest of the school apart from one classmate, who took the Metro back into Montréal with me. I applied for my Chemistry courses for the January semester and was relieved to note that I had plenty of time to sort these out, though I will face a difficult period when I have to rush from French classes to get to my night classes in Montréal. At least I will be significantly headed towards my goal of eventually taking the nursing course, as long as I can successfully make it through into the programme before my equivalence arrives. Later in the evening, I met with Sylvie and we treated ourselves to the IMAX experience, to watch Harry Potter. We were most impressed, and now obviously eagerly awaiting the last part of the film!
Today has seen a lot more rushing around, buying decorations and putting them up. We have not swamped the apartment with decorations, and kept the tree pretty much the same as last year, with the important addition of real candy canes to be true to tradition. This Christmas, I hope I will be able to do more than just talk about the traditional things we planned to do last time; visit the midnight mass, hear a choir, etc. I love the ambience of Christmas, though like most, I hate the commercialism and also the hypocrisy of people who don’t normally behave generously, clamouring for recognition for making one paltry donation to charity or being sociable for one day.
I doubt we will be disappointed in a white Christmas, but it may not turn out to be very white; today we had a whole centimetre of snow, which partly melted; this evening, the melted crust has frozen into a sheet of ice, and as I type this I can hear the sliding of cars whose drivers have not yet bought winter tyres. The purchase of crampons to put on my boots will prove to be a necessary evil, I believe. Tomorrow we are to make our way to Montréal for brunch, but I can’t see a few millimetres of snow stopping the buses and Metro.
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