This past Sunday, August 6th, was Transfiguration Sunday, where the Catholic Church celebrates the event detailed in Matthew 17:1-9, where our Lord was transfigured before Peter, James and John: "His face did shine as the sun and his garments became white as snow. And behold, there appeared to them Moses and Elias talking with Him."
"And as he was yet speaking, behold a bright cloud overshadowed them; and lo, a voice out of the cloud, saying This is My beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased, hear ye Him."
For the two previous Sundays, there had been an announcement that mass on the 6th would be followed by a blessing of the grapes. Well, I never bothered to look into exactly what that meant. I assumed that you bring some grapes, have them blessed, and take them home to eat. Looking back, I wish I had taken the time to learn more about this custom.
A medieval document called The Golden Legend notes that, “In some churches, on this day, the Blood of Christ is consecrated from new wine—when new wine can be made and is available—or at least a ripe grape is squeezed into the chalice. Also on this day clusters of grapes are blessed.”
Apparently this tradition was more widespread in the past and is now celebrated mostly by Eastern Catholics where it is primarily connected to late summer harvest festivals. From what I've been able to learn, it is especially popular in Armenian churches, where it occurs around the Feast of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, on August 15th. But it also has a spiritual connection to the Transfiguration of our Lord.
Here is the blessing as taken from the 1964 version of the Roman Ritual:
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
Lord, bless + this new fruit of the vineyard, which in your benevolence you have ripened by heavenly dew, an abundance of rainfall, gentle breezes, and fair weather; and have given us to use with gratitude in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns with you, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever.
All: Amen.
They are sprinkled with holy water.
Prayer Source: Roman Ritual, The, Complete Edition by Philip T. Weller, S.T.D., The Bruce Publishing Company, Milwaukee, WI, 1964
After mass, Father processed to the narthex, where parishioners had placed their grapes to be blessed.
My grapes are in the white grocery bag. Note the bottle of brandy in the paper bag. I lagged behind leaving mass and missed the blessing, but I was able to talk to Linda, the woman who brought the brandy. I learned that the grapes are not just to be taken home and consumed. Instead, they are to be prepared and stored to be our food during the dark times of the Apocalypse.
Apparently, it's customary to use the large, green grapes. The grapes are to be cut with scissors, trying to leave a small piece of stem attached to each grape. A single grape, blessed by a priest, can function as the Mother grape and pass the blessing to other grapes by touching them together and making the sign of the cross. You should try to have 180 grapes for each family member, a six month supply.
The blessed grapes are to be placed in canning jars and covered with brandy. Each grape will sustain one person for the whole day. When we are forced into hiding without access to other food, the grapes will nourish us and the brandy will be a healing wine against disease.
They have been announcing that next Sunday, August 13th, there will be a blessing of herbs after mass. I better look into that before Sunday morning...