Carmelite Rides

HAMMONTON -- The 16th of July is a special day in this predominately Italian town in western Atlantic County.

A tradition started 133 years ago continued here last Wednesday as a solemn procession paid homage to the Blessed Mother during the feast day of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel.
    
A statue of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel was ushered out of St. Joseph Church on Third Street shortly after 4 p.m., the last of more than a dozen statues wheeled through the streets.

For about three hours, the procession continued on streets surrounding the church.

Joe and Gina Mastazi of Paulsboro have come to feast day for the past 27 years. As in the past, they were easy to spot, clad in their red, white and green outfits.

"Ten years ago, my mother died on the morning of the feast day. The last thing she said to me was to put $10 on the Blessed Mother for me," said Joe Mastazi, who scoped out a nice shady area two blocks down from the church. "It makes it even more important."

Gina remembered coming to the festival as a child with her parents. She recalled enjoying watching the procession go by, something she enjoyed again this year.

"I didn't like the rides too much," Gina said.

Though the crowd for the beginning of the procession was sparse, the festival area quickly filled up around 7 p.m. as hundreds of visitors converged to enjoy the festivities and the 10 p.m. fireworks show.

"It was just unbelievable," said George Campanella, president of the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society, the group that organizes the weeklong celebration here each July. "Maybe it was the economy, the price of gas. It was just great to have that many people back here. Hopefully, they'll be back here when we have the 134rd celebration next year."

The feast is the longest- running religious celebration of its type in the country. It's a tradition around here and one that the Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Society, the group of 50 men that organizes the celebration, takes pride in keeping alive.

I for one would like to see some Carmel themed rides.

1. Dark Night of the Soul roller coaster.  This could be one of those indoor covered rides like Space Mountain and so totally dark inside.  I could easily imagine a purification of the senses section and to finish the ride you have to love God without any spiritual benefits.  Though the ride could be quite long for most of us.
2. Ascent of Mt. Carmel ride.  You ride to the top of Mt. Carmel with a light guiding you on a happy night where you leave your cares "forgotten among the lilies."
3. The Interior Castle Funhouse.  The seven mansions of the interior castle have quite the potential to offer interesting experiences.  Obviously the the gate by which to enter the Interior Castle Funhouse  is prayer and meditation. The first mansion is full of a thousand preoccupations and you slowly move onward to the last mansion if God has given you the grace to do so.
4. St. Therese Ball.  You enter one of those old American Gladiator steel cage balls where you get kicked, thrown to the ground, left in a corner, or pressed to Jesus' heart.
5. The concessions would obviously be Karmel Candy and Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity Chocolate *.

I would certainly invest in such an effort and would be sure to buy St. Simon Stock in it.

* Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity suffered from Addison's disease and as a result could only eat certain things.  One of them was quite a penance to her Carmelite soul in that she often had to sustain herself using chocolate.