Had to go for a blessing this morning. It was a blessing of a place that never figured in any of the set blessing prayers that would be usually found in the Book Of Blessings. I had to bless an army compound comprising of 5 blocks of barracks including an officers' block.
The previous company vacated that place not too long ago and the one from Yishun is coming to take over somewhere in early December. However, before they begin to use the place they wanted it to be cleanse/bless first. Well, you know what they'd mean by that and I was under no illusion as to what this whole ceremony can come to. But a blessing they wanted, a blessing I gave to that place.
While musing over this the previous night over a cup of hot green tea with a friend, we came up with several probable scenarios:
a. Clint Eastwood meets Buffy, Vampire Slayer, Constantine.
The Eastwood character in gunslinger garb fitted with a poncho and a battered, half chewed-smoked cigar in his mouth. He stands outside surveying the surroundings of the camp. As he lifts his arms and puts them by his side, we see his sets of crucifixes, stakes, holy water-filled Super Soaker and water pistols, strings of garlic and vials of standby holy water strung across his body like a terrorist bomber. As he approaches the door to the block he goes in and the door ominously closes from behind him....
b. Go In There, Get The Job Done, Get Out!
A famous phrase that can be found in any army situation all over the world, we see this vision of a gurad of honour welcomes the priest who is then warmly escorted to the place for blessing, with some pomp and pageantry. Upon arrival at the block, the priest is then invited to the door of the block with gusto by one of the guard-of-honour. The door opens and the priest goes in. Immediately the door closes and is sealed shut leaving the priest to fend with whatever that is there. Then the guards positioned themselves areound the perimeter of the building with this order - no one gets in or out till the job is done... (throughout the time, the unfortunate priest was wondering whether he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that morning!)
Both these scenarios can very well come from the fertile mind of some Stephen Chowish fanatic ala Kung Fu Hustle. :)
In the end however, it was an anti-climax and turned out to be more a squeek than a roar. No complains there though. Still it was an interesting experience. When I arrived at the camp, I was a little surprise to see that there was a Buddhist monk and an Indian priest there. So, we each had our respective duties to do and did the necessary blessing of the 5 blocks and surrounding area. By the end, after walking all over the place, refilling with holy water from the two PET bottles I had to bring along, my hands were already feeling numbed from the sprinkling with my right hand and the carrying of the Book of Blessings on the other. :P
Just as the remaining block was about to finish its sprinkling, the tip of the sprinkler (aspergill/aspersorium) which contain the holy water chose to detach from the handle and literally flew away like a ballistic object hitting the floor a meters away! :P Embarrassing, indeed....
Anyway, all went well and the camp is now suitably and triply 'blessed'. :)
The previous company vacated that place not too long ago and the one from Yishun is coming to take over somewhere in early December. However, before they begin to use the place they wanted it to be cleanse/bless first. Well, you know what they'd mean by that and I was under no illusion as to what this whole ceremony can come to. But a blessing they wanted, a blessing I gave to that place.
While musing over this the previous night over a cup of hot green tea with a friend, we came up with several probable scenarios:
a. Clint Eastwood meets Buffy, Vampire Slayer, Constantine.
The Eastwood character in gunslinger garb fitted with a poncho and a battered, half chewed-smoked cigar in his mouth. He stands outside surveying the surroundings of the camp. As he lifts his arms and puts them by his side, we see his sets of crucifixes, stakes, holy water-filled Super Soaker and water pistols, strings of garlic and vials of standby holy water strung across his body like a terrorist bomber. As he approaches the door to the block he goes in and the door ominously closes from behind him....
b. Go In There, Get The Job Done, Get Out!
A famous phrase that can be found in any army situation all over the world, we see this vision of a gurad of honour welcomes the priest who is then warmly escorted to the place for blessing, with some pomp and pageantry. Upon arrival at the block, the priest is then invited to the door of the block with gusto by one of the guard-of-honour. The door opens and the priest goes in. Immediately the door closes and is sealed shut leaving the priest to fend with whatever that is there. Then the guards positioned themselves areound the perimeter of the building with this order - no one gets in or out till the job is done... (throughout the time, the unfortunate priest was wondering whether he had gotten up on the wrong side of the bed that morning!)
Both these scenarios can very well come from the fertile mind of some Stephen Chowish fanatic ala Kung Fu Hustle. :)
In the end however, it was an anti-climax and turned out to be more a squeek than a roar. No complains there though. Still it was an interesting experience. When I arrived at the camp, I was a little surprise to see that there was a Buddhist monk and an Indian priest there. So, we each had our respective duties to do and did the necessary blessing of the 5 blocks and surrounding area. By the end, after walking all over the place, refilling with holy water from the two PET bottles I had to bring along, my hands were already feeling numbed from the sprinkling with my right hand and the carrying of the Book of Blessings on the other. :P
Just as the remaining block was about to finish its sprinkling, the tip of the sprinkler (aspergill/aspersorium) which contain the holy water chose to detach from the handle and literally flew away like a ballistic object hitting the floor a meters away! :P Embarrassing, indeed....
Anyway, all went well and the camp is now suitably and triply 'blessed'. :)
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