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Sepolcri at the Shrine Church of St. Bernadette in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn
Photos by New York Scugnizzo |
Following Thursday’s Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Shrine Church of St. Bernadette in Dyker Heights, Brooklyn, my friends and I visited the Altar of Repose for adoration. After spending time in quiet prayer and meditating on Christ’s loving sacrifice, we moved on to nearby St. Francis Cabrini Church in Bensonhurst and St. Finbar Church in Bath Beach.
At each church we visited the Altar of Repose, said our prayers, and offered traditional southern Italian sepolcri and donations. Sepolcri, or lavureddi, as they are called in Sicilian, are potted wheat or lentil sprouts divested of their color by growing them in the dark. Often decorated with ribbons and flowers, the pallid plants symbolize death and rebirth, and herald the Resurrection on Easter Sunday.
While we were only able to do three churches, it is customary to visit seven on Holy Thursday in remembrance of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane; Jesus bound and taken before Annas; Jesus taken before the High Priest, Caiaphas; Jesus taken before Pilate; Jesus taken before Herod; Jesus taken before Pilate again; and Jesus given the crown of thorns and led to His Crucifixion at Golgotha.
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Before Mass, Salvatore helps his father and grandfather
bring the sepolcri to Saint Bernadette's |
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| The Altar of Repose at the Shrine Church of Saint Bernadette |
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| Devotees offer candles and flowers at the foot of the Altar of Repose |
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The sanctuary was beautifully decorated
before the stripping of the chancel |
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| After "the watching," when the Eucharist is processed to the altar of repose, hundreds of parishioners lined up to light candles and for adoration |
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| Sepolcri were placed by the Pietà inside St. Francis Cabrini Church |
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| The Altar of Repose at Saint Francis Cabrini Church |
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| The Altar of Repose at Saint Finbar Church |
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| Sepolcri beneath the Altar of Repose at Saint Finbar Church |
