During my year in the noviciate, we made a pilgrimage to Spain to visit some significant places in the life of our founder, Saint Dominic. During the pilgrimage, we stayed at the Dominican convent of San Esteban in Salamanca. On the final evening of our stay, after dinner, the brothers brought us outside to have a Queimada. At the time, I had no idea what it was. The brothers told us that it was a tradition in Northern Spain to share this fiery drink with friends for good health and as a token of love. I was impressed by the ceremony. And the resulting drink was fantastic.
Picture: Fray Bernardo Sastre Zamora OP
Some years later, we introduced this little ceremony in the Dominican convent of Rotterdam to welcome new brothers into our community. There was a slight change, however. Instead of enchanting some heathen spirits according to the Celtic proclamation that comes with preparing the drink, I composed a proclamation that turns into a prayer. And so, this week, we celebrated in Leuven the beginning of our new community with a Queimada and a new proclamation. The text of which you will find below:
Dominican Queimada of Louvain (2022)
Toads and bats and half-blind cats,
Groundhogs, goblins, and evil elves,
Dragons and crows, some very big rats,
Trolls, werewolves, and hellish demons themselves.
Festering ulcers, warts on your hands,
Maddening lice in your bed and your hair,
While your soap is being eaten by pharaoh ants,
To begin in such a place is really not fair!
Black magic, gossip, and backbiting,
Outside, students are shouting or doing even worse.
Virus variants that keep autumn exciting,
Translation stress and study without remorse.
A dirty habit from walking in the streets.
The uneasy feeling when a teacher greets.
Prayers where singing seems to have been banned.
How on earth could this be our promised land?
And as the season of darkness comes near,
And a severely cold winter that we truly do fear,
As building works will start soon, or may be not,
Depending on asbestos or other sorts of rot.
We pray
That the hellish flames of this simple pot,
May be blessed amidst worldwide wroth.
That through this drink, we may come to share
In true fraternity and brotherly care.
So that in heaven, earth and under the earth, every knee shall bow,
When we profess solemnly, in his moment, here and now,
Our faith, our love, and our hope for the future the most,
In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
Amen.
© RAJS 2022
Picture: Fray Bernardo Sastre Zamora OP