What’s that? You ask. The Novena Of Grace is a annual event dedicated to our own St Francis Xavier and is celebrated all over the world. Our most local celebration was in Gardiner Street Church and has been going on there every year since the church was opened in 1832. Today some of us Belvederians had the honour of going down to the church for the so called ‘super mass,’ which happened around midday on March 5th.
The Church was packed as if it was Christmas Eve the preacher was introduced as Father Guiney. Mass unfolded as usual but with much greater energy than that of your average Sunday morning. Many people were not lucky enough to find a seat and were instead found standing in all corners of the church as the congregation united in song on several occasions. Most notably for me, when the psalm was revealed to be Only in God.
Father Guiney, a priest who had his fair share of travels, shared with us some of his stories during the homily, and later, after communion, we were led in silence into one of the key moments of the Novena. A period of silence for the whole church, (a bit like meditation) for a few moments of quiet prayer.
The Novena happens in Spring every year for a period from March 4th to the 12th. The amount of energy and devotion given by the congregation in particular was something I would not have usually expected. We sounded more like a full on choir than a regular, more silent, congregations.
Some people who attended this mass have been coming to the same event in the same church for over sixty years. Something which I think brings out the importance it has on the lives of many people throughout the city. I think a visit to Gardiner Street during early March would definitely be worth the journey.
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