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Of Exorcisms, Pentecost and Malibu Rum

 

May 23rd was Pentecost that year. Canon Sigros had his usual fun of printing the list of who was doing what, as well as a sort of "program" for the Mass.

Je suis l'organiste! :)

There were 12 catechumens to be baptized that day, so on Saturday afternoon, Canon Sigros performed the ceremony of exorcisms that is traditionally done before baptisms. All 12 of them were children or teenagers, but as they had all achieved the age of reason, these would be considered "adult baptisms".

The whole thing took more than an hour. There were many, many prayers, questions posed to each catechumen, placing exorcised salt on the tongue of each one, the Our Father recited three times (first for the boys, then the girls), Canon blowing in the face of each one (symbolizing the Holy Spirit), leading them into the church, more questions, the Apostles Creed, another Our Father, anointing each one... 

As a general rule, I don't take pictures during liturgical functions. However, as a lot of this was the same thing repeated 12 times, I felt I could reasonably take some pictures and videos (videos are linked at the end of the post). 

Exorcised salt, holy water, chrism oil

Each child had his chosen baptismal name on a paper, as that is how they were addressed during the ceremony.







The next day was Pentecost. We got started at 9:30 since it was going to take a while. I felt like I was seeing St. Francis Xavier, watching Canon do so many baptisms. 12 new souls for Christ, Deo gratias!

Afterwards there was a little reception, giving me the opportunity to photograph all the white outfits. 




Since Pentecost was a major feast day, we had an aperitif before lunch. There was a new drink to try:

Canon took a can of Coke and asked Dieu-Vivant to get the bottle of scotch from the pantry. He came back with a bottle of balsamic vinegar.

After letting us think he was insane, he pulled the bottle of scotch from a side pocket of his cargo pants.

Canon had wanted us to make a cake with Malibu rum for Ascension, but we had run out of eggs. Since we did have eggs by Pentecost, I asked Canon if I could make a cake for Sunday. He gladly handed over the bottle of Malibu (I assume he bought it in town, though I couldn't say where). 

I recorded everything in my journal:

"I had found a simple yellow cake recipe (w/ oil instead of butter) [we didn't have much available in the way of butter but had plenty of oil] and a cooked frosting recipe (for which I had to use margarine...); I doubled the cake for two layers (had to do one 8" and one 9") and replaced the vanilla with Malibu [we didn't have vanilla]. For the frosting, I again used Malibu and also a little coconut flavoring. 

"With unbelievable good fortune, I found a plastic container in the pantry w/ a '1 cup' mark; that is helpful. [The things you learn to appreciate!] The baking powder comes in packets and I couldn't tell how much was in each one (I needed 2 1/2 tsp. total), so I "risked it" with two.

"For the bottom (9") layer, I put sliced bananas in the pan before the batter. Both layers were done perfectly in 30 minutes -- so light and spongy! (Did I use too much baking powder..?)

"With the frosting, I was convinced the sugar would be grainy no matter how long I beat it w/ the margarine, and oh-well. But I added the flour/milk mixture and flavorings and... it was smooth. Not too sweet, either; very buttery and a little rich (sort of like Swiss meringue buttercream). 

"The bottom of the 9" cake layer became the middle of the cake. I brushed both layers w/ Malibu and spread the frosting on (I had made way too much), then decorated it w/ banana slices. I was hoping to do a coconut sugar glaze/drizzle, but, 1. as I expected, it made the frosting melt, and 2. when I needed it, it had hardened, and when I reheated it, it turned to sugar. The result was coconut sugar crystals, which I put on the bananas and sprinkled on top."

Action shots courtesy of Martha


Ta-da!

Angelique ended up with some sort of pulmonary issue that evening and had to be taken to the hospital (she was fine in the end, though gone from the mission for a while), which meant Canon Sigros left right after dinner and we decided to save the cake in the freezer for Monday after lunch. It froze very well and was roundly appreciated. The end result was that I would be the cake baker of the mission for the rest of my time there!

Exorcism videos:

https://youtu.be/D5_MBM-kP80

https://youtube.com/shorts/EYY9jA60axw?feature=share

https://youtube.com/shorts/RADT4VFJlpQ?feature=share

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