Have you heard the one about the elephant and the mouse?

If not you will, at the end of this carnival Mass in Austria.

Cathcon brings you the full text of a Carnival Mass. Sadly, its in German, but for starters

In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit
The God of Joy be with you!
Humour is, when one nevertheles laughs!

The Penitential Act is a piece of doggerel verse about dreams and clowns.

Heaven is confused with the Land of Smiles. ("land of smiles' refers to the Chinese trait of smiling, whatever happens in life.")

The sermon is replaced by a play including as charectors, Inge Always Cheerful, Mr Happy and a Dr Painless.

The Kiss of Peace - we give one another our most beautiful smile.

The joke about the elephant and the mouse prefaces the Final Blessing.

Comments

Anita Moore said…
The only good thing that can be said about this is that at least the Kiss of Peace is only a smile, instead of the mutual stranger-pawing that goes on at so many Masses these days.
That's a coincidence I had "dein ist mein ganzes herz"playing on my blog about a week ago. Well I never. Are you or your wife going to translate this....throw some red meat to the blogosphere.
William said…
The penitential rite, as a sampler - there's no point in translating the entire mass. It's too silly.


Dreamers and clowns come into power.
Those who act important will be mocked.
The whole divided, doomed world
is turned upside down at carnival.

Closed hands open up.
Life takes a new direction.
Already now, when the festival of fools begins
among all who are of good will

The Bible sings of a new earth.
Of a herd united peacefully.
of lions, that lay next to lambs,
of wolves, that nestle with sheep.

These beautiful dreams are not yet true.
Not even during carnival in February.
But still, that comical world reminds us
of that, which is yet to come - and what really counts.

Lord, have mercy on us.
Michael Leggett said…
If I want Clowns, I'll just attend Red Sox-Yankees in The Bronx:

Of course, those people are forced to do penance by being EJECTED from The Stadium.