Nettl and I often have the Catholic channel (EWTN) on during the weekend because we enjoy the musical programs they have. Where else on telly can you watch a Bach cantata, or a Mozart Mass? Last week they aired a concert of Haydn's The Seasons. Bravo no longer airs operas and concerts like they did when they first appeared (does anyone remember those days?) and A&E? Forget their early dedication to the arts, they've gone entirely into entertainment, and even that's iffy.
Anyway, this morning we flipped across the Pope's service in Mariazell, Austria, at the 850 year-old Shrine of Our Lady of Miriazell. Now that I'm learning more about the Viennese dialect, my ear immediately discerned the Pope's distinct German. What helps is that in the daytime I listen to Radio Stephansdom, a station that broadcasts live from Vienna. In fact, we're listening to Mozart's Lo sposo deluso as I write this. I'm in heaven!
But back to the Pope. Because I'm not a visually oriented person, Nettl first noticed the Pope's robes and called my attention to them. They were yellow and blue tie dye. His mitre was yellow and blue and the archbishop or cardinal next to him wore the same robe and a pink skullcap. It looked like Easter!
What I want to know is, what's the significance of the tie dye robes? Does anyone know?
