I was and I am dust : penitente practices as a way of knowing / David M. Mellott.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Mellott, David M.

Series:

Virgil Michel series

The Virgil Michel series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Spiritual life--Catholic Church.

Spiritual life.

Candles and lights.

Flagellation.

Hermanos Penitentes.

Physical Description:

xvii, 168 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Collegeville, Minn. : Liturgical Press, [2009]

Summary:

There are a variety of people, practices, and celebrations in the Catholic Church. At times some of these can be dismissed too easily as extreme, superstitious, or uninformed. Such is the Case with the Penitentes of New Mexico. In I Was and I Am Dust, David M. Mellott shares his experiences of the Penitentes as an outsider. He explains their struggles with the institutional church and some of the seemingly extreme rituals they facilitate during Holy Week. Through the voice of Larry Torres, one of the senior members of the Penitentes, Mellott poignantly provides readers with a more intimate picture of his community of practitioners.

Yet so much more than an analysis written by an outsider, this work attempts to understand the experience of those within a group whose practices are considered outside the mainstream. With Mellott and Torres, readers may be surprised to discover a depth of meaning in these practices-and to realize the beauty of being dust.

Contents:

Foreword / by Don E. Saliers

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Historical background

Holy week in Arroyo Seco

Era y soy polvo

Ethnography as theology

The Feast Day of Nuestra Señora de los Dolores

The first night of Las Posadas

Larry Torres' life stories

Larry's picture book.

Notes:

"A Pueblo book."

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780814662250

0814662250

OCLC:

318422945