I don't read much steam punk either. I read it from Blaylock before it became a genre, but mostly I look for good writers, and worry about the sub-genre later. I had a thought, though, about the complaint: It may be that the issue is that a religious ritual worked in 'the real world' as opposed to in the Onyx Court. That took it out of the fantastic and made it seem as if you were making the religion have real power.
I'm not tSophie Playle, so I'm guessing, but this makes more sense to me than some other ideas.
Seems to me, though, that the logic you used in the novel still applies: Catholic (most effective, Protestant somewhat less, as Michael saw) ritual works against faerie magic, wherever it is, the 'real world' or Faerie.
As for the Mass - most people didn't take Communion in that era- it hadn't been a weekly habit for most lay & religious in centuries.
Eventually, in 1905/6 the then Pope (Pius X, IIRC) started pushing for people to take it more frequently.
Taking it without Confession would not have been done, according to my understanding. And certainly no wine. That's a modern thing, it is only since the 1960s that some Catholic parishes do that.
Not a professional, but read a lot and a practicing Catholic with a liking for history including religious history.
Actually I blame Dan Brown. People kept telling me they'd learned so much from him, and I looked and said but that's all wrong (starting with high art history memories, actually)....So I had to explain, and got into the habit of paying attention to Catholic history and ritual and things.
I'd originally gulped down WFC, and am now rereading more slowly and savoring. It is beautifully constructed, and the awesomeness of the ending is .. AWESOME.
It also occurs to me that finally Francis and Suspiria's construction is such as would have lifted her curse.
Re: too much...?
I'm not tSophie Playle, so I'm guessing, but this makes more sense to me than some other ideas.
Seems to me, though, that the logic you used in the novel still applies: Catholic (most effective, Protestant somewhat less, as Michael saw) ritual works against faerie magic, wherever it is, the 'real world' or Faerie.
As for the Mass - most people didn't take Communion in that era- it hadn't been a weekly habit for most lay & religious in centuries.
Eventually, in 1905/6 the then Pope (Pius X, IIRC) started pushing for people to take it more frequently.
Taking it without Confession would not have been done, according to my understanding. And certainly no wine. That's a modern thing, it is only since the 1960s that some Catholic parishes do that.
Not a professional, but read a lot and a practicing Catholic with a liking for history including religious history.
Actually I blame Dan Brown. People kept telling me they'd learned so much from him, and I looked and said but that's all wrong (starting with high art history memories, actually)....So I had to explain, and got into the habit of paying attention to Catholic history and ritual and things.
I'd originally gulped down WFC, and am now rereading more slowly and savoring. It is beautifully constructed, and the awesomeness of the ending is .. AWESOME.
It also occurs to me that finally Francis and Suspiria's construction is such as would have lifted her curse.