VTMBH Article: Body
The Virgin is going to Ground Zero, said the devotees from the shore, as they spied the ferry carrying the statue of the Madonna of the Martyrs heading out to sea, rather than Frank Sinatra Park.
Every year, for the past several years, the statue of the Madonna visited Frank Sinatra Park. This year, she paused, facing the park to allow those on the shore and those aboard the boat to exchange greetings. The benediction of the sea was held on the boat, just like in Molfetta, the small city in the Italian province of Bari where the Molfettese, the originators of this festival, trace their roots.
Then, the boat returned to land at the end of Newark Avenue and was brought to the entrance of Frank Sinatra Drive, which winds along the riverside, where innumerable kiosks, booths, stalls, tents, and stands were lined up neatly on the two sides of the road leading to the park. In this area, the Madonnas journey ended with refreshment stands, games, and amusements, with carousels, roller coasters, and mini-car racetracks for innocuous racing contests.
Everyone was startled by the rather noisy sounds of the fireworks when the Madonna was hoisted on boardwith properly cautious maneuversby her carriers, who were flanked by Italian sailors on leave from the National Association of Italian Sailors Group.
On board was Monsignor Dominick Anthony Marconi, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. As soon as the boat stopped at the dock near Ground Zero, he asked for silence and said a prayer for God, with the intercession of the Virgin, to grant New Yorkers the power to live without fear. He prayed that faith and good sense would prevail over those who, with demonic ingenuity, struck at a vulnerability that New York did not recognize in itself. This made New York a martyr of love, a victim of its own innocence. The city is like the Virgin, because it never fails in its mission, the invitation in the words of Emma Lazarus at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The attackers, individuals motivated by an irrational fanaticism, abused this generous invitation, eager for a revenge that finds no justification through its contempt and mockery for dignity and human life, bringing about a holocaust of innocents, said Marconi.
In his prayers, Marconi asked God, with the intercession of the Virgin, to heal the hearts of those who still suffer the memory of irreparable loss, and give peace to those who reached Him prematurely. And to those that caused the end of an era of tolerance and initiated an era of violence, he asked that they realize that one never rectifies situations in the pursuit of vengeance. Nor can one redress real or alleged injustices with the distribution of worldly goods.
Because only love can solve the problems that torment the world, everyone must try to hold hands rather than clench [their] fists, Marconi said.
This celebration was originally conceived as a religious outlet for the faith of the American Molfettese and a salute to their Madonna from the Atlantic shores. It has now turned into a celebration by Americans of every ethnicity of something even greater.
Frank Sinatra Drive was full attractions for devotees of the Virgin, and visitors of every ethnicity were drawn in, fascinated by the spirituality and imagination of the people of Italian descent. The engineer Sal Scardigno, president of the Molfettese Federation of America, which is based in Hoboken, said that the crowds numbered up to 55,000 visitors in past years, for the four days of the festival of the Virgin and San Corrado, patron saint of Molfetta. How many attended this year with the yearning for peace that urged their souls to breathe prayers even more heartfelt, with a more intense spiritual ardor, suffering from crises of love and sorrow?
For the record, two musical bands followed the procession. At the front, in addition to S. E. Marconi, were Reverend John Scarangella, spiritual advisor to the Society of the Madonna of the Martyrs, and Father Giuseppe De Candia, who came expressly for this purpose from Molfetta. Songs and hymns were sung while the procession moved on land and at sea. It ended with the patriotic God Bless America, sung passionately by everyone.
Every year, for the past several years, the statue of the Madonna visited Frank Sinatra Park. This year, she paused, facing the park to allow those on the shore and those aboard the boat to exchange greetings. The benediction of the sea was held on the boat, just like in Molfetta, the small city in the Italian province of Bari where the Molfettese, the originators of this festival, trace their roots.
Then, the boat returned to land at the end of Newark Avenue and was brought to the entrance of Frank Sinatra Drive, which winds along the riverside, where innumerable kiosks, booths, stalls, tents, and stands were lined up neatly on the two sides of the road leading to the park. In this area, the Madonnas journey ended with refreshment stands, games, and amusements, with carousels, roller coasters, and mini-car racetracks for innocuous racing contests.
Everyone was startled by the rather noisy sounds of the fireworks when the Madonna was hoisted on boardwith properly cautious maneuversby her carriers, who were flanked by Italian sailors on leave from the National Association of Italian Sailors Group.
On board was Monsignor Dominick Anthony Marconi, auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of Newark. As soon as the boat stopped at the dock near Ground Zero, he asked for silence and said a prayer for God, with the intercession of the Virgin, to grant New Yorkers the power to live without fear. He prayed that faith and good sense would prevail over those who, with demonic ingenuity, struck at a vulnerability that New York did not recognize in itself. This made New York a martyr of love, a victim of its own innocence. The city is like the Virgin, because it never fails in its mission, the invitation in the words of Emma Lazarus at the base of the Statue of Liberty.
The attackers, individuals motivated by an irrational fanaticism, abused this generous invitation, eager for a revenge that finds no justification through its contempt and mockery for dignity and human life, bringing about a holocaust of innocents, said Marconi.
In his prayers, Marconi asked God, with the intercession of the Virgin, to heal the hearts of those who still suffer the memory of irreparable loss, and give peace to those who reached Him prematurely. And to those that caused the end of an era of tolerance and initiated an era of violence, he asked that they realize that one never rectifies situations in the pursuit of vengeance. Nor can one redress real or alleged injustices with the distribution of worldly goods.
Because only love can solve the problems that torment the world, everyone must try to hold hands rather than clench [their] fists, Marconi said.
This celebration was originally conceived as a religious outlet for the faith of the American Molfettese and a salute to their Madonna from the Atlantic shores. It has now turned into a celebration by Americans of every ethnicity of something even greater.
Frank Sinatra Drive was full attractions for devotees of the Virgin, and visitors of every ethnicity were drawn in, fascinated by the spirituality and imagination of the people of Italian descent. The engineer Sal Scardigno, president of the Molfettese Federation of America, which is based in Hoboken, said that the crowds numbered up to 55,000 visitors in past years, for the four days of the festival of the Virgin and San Corrado, patron saint of Molfetta. How many attended this year with the yearning for peace that urged their souls to breathe prayers even more heartfelt, with a more intense spiritual ardor, suffering from crises of love and sorrow?
For the record, two musical bands followed the procession. At the front, in addition to S. E. Marconi, were Reverend John Scarangella, spiritual advisor to the Society of the Madonna of the Martyrs, and Father Giuseppe De Candia, who came expressly for this purpose from Molfetta. Songs and hymns were sung while the procession moved on land and at sea. It ended with the patriotic God Bless America, sung passionately by everyone.