We had our "May Devotions" on Sunday. In this parish it consists of a procession to the outdoor shrine after Mass. We had quite a lot of children for the procession. In many parishes these days it is rare for large groups to come out to Sunday afternoon devotions. Here, if I put on anything on Sunday afternoons I have only a small number of parishioners (no more than five or six) but people come from elsewhere - mainly from Bradford which is 20 minutes away by car. At least having the May Devotion(s) after Mass means that many more people are encouraged to honour Our Lady. The statue in church will remain for a while to remind people that this is a special month for Our Lady. Hopefully some will say the Rosary now and then. A plus was having children from the school next door. They led the singing with three of the teachers. it was all very enjoyable. I just wish I could get people to come out on Sunday afternoons!
In a different context, I have been wondering about why people do not come out on a Sunday afternoon. I suspect part of the answer lies in there not being a sense in parishes of taking part in devotions/Liturgy outside Mass at all.
ReplyDeleteThese last few days, though, I have wondered whether Sunday afternoon is as appropriate a time as it once was. Have the workings of family life and society changed now, so that another time of the day or week would be more successful? I don't really know the answer to this.