Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian From: st0o+@andrew.cmu.edu (Steven Timm) Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian Subject: re: Benjamin Britten's pagan? carol Message-ID: Date: 24 Jul 90 08:06:22 GMT Sender: hedrick@athos.rutgers.edu Lines: 19 Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu I made the original post relating a few lines from Benjamin Britten's carol "Deo Gratias" from "The Ceremony of Carols" I understand the carols here for the most part are taken from ancient English and Latin texts. Part of the carol celebrates the fall of Adam. Some people have said that some Catholics do believe that we should praise God for the fall because it lead to the glorification and incarnation of Christ. (This seems to parallel Mormon thinking that the fall was a good thing, but I digress.) But this was not the original point of my question. The carol says that if Adam had not taken the apple "Then had not Our Lady a been Hevene queen." It's not celebrating Jesus--it's celebrating the exaltation of Mary. Do Catholics really believe this was the reason the fall happened? Do *you* sing "Deo Gratias" because sin came to exalt Mary? Are there similar sources in Catholic thought which echo this sentiment. Steve