Peter, that is an example of Eliot's respect for genuine spiritual  
devotion.

He might not call a contemporaneous devotion worship due to dogmatic  
restrictions. Do you think though that Eliot would allow that  
primitive or ancient believers worshipped their pagan gods? Please  
answer this seriously as it is very important to understanding his  
treatment of these belief systems in his poetry and plays.

Diana

Sent from my iPod

On Mar 11, 2010, at 7:59 AM, Peter Montgomery <[log in to unmask]>  
wrote:

> Almost enough has been said on the Virgin Mary,
> but it is fitting to give some consideration to Eliot's
> own words. Apparently E. had in mind the Church
> of Our Lady of Good Voyage in Glouscester ,Mass.
> I would think that prayer of petition is not worship.
>
> Lady, whose shrine stands on the promontory,
> Pray for all those who are in ships, those
> Whose business has to do with fish, and
> Those concerned with every lawful traffic
> And those who conduct them.
>
>    Repeat a prayer also on behalf of
> Women who have seen their sons or husbands
> Setting forth, and not returning:
> Figlia del tuo figlio,
> Queen of Heaven.
>
>    Also pray for those who were in ships, and
> Ended their voyage on the sand, in the sea's lips
> Or in the dark throat which will not reject them
> Or wherever cannot reach them the sound of the sea bell's
> Perpetual angelus.
> =============================================
>
> It is useful to remember that in the Jewish Kingdom,
> the person crowned as Queen was the mother of the King,
> not the wife. Given the strong focus on David as a type of
> Christ then, it is natural that Christ's mother is the Queen of  
> Heaven.
>
> P.
>