On the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  It began, appropriately enough, with Solemn Mass at the Ave Maria University Oratory, which Oratory has excellent acoustics.  The choir(s) are properly in the choir loft at the back of the Oratory (unlike children, choirs are to be heard and not seen) and aided by a sound cone (there’s undoubtedly a better phrase) behind them which projects their singing throughout the cavernous 1100 seat Oratory.  The Mass was celebrated by the Bishop Emeritus of the Portuguese Diocese of Fatima.  The Bishop speaks no English, so he brings with him a fine translator for the homily, a man whose grandparents actually saw the sun’s maneuvers on October 13, 1917.  Being a good and well-trained Catholic Bishop, it posed no problem that he spoke no English; rather, he simply said the Novus Ordo in Latin, which all in the near capacity congregation understood.  The Choir was, as usual, magnificent, the music simply glorious; it was a truly resplendent Solemn Celebration.  But there was to be some icing on this very delicious cake.  To be present for any Mass is to have one foot on earth and one in heaven.  But the icing happened after Mass.  For those who haven’t been to the town of Ave Maria, at the center is a piazza in the middle of which is the Oratory.  On the circular drive around the piazza there are various stores and businesses, one of which is an eatery called The Bean.  Since Mass began at noon and lasted until after 1:30, I decided to eat at The Bean.  Being in Florida, I sat outside in (another) glorious Florida day.  Soon I noticed an aroma I hadn’t been exposed to in years.  Could it be?  Was it really?  I followed my nose and saw the aroma’s source.  A cigar!!  How delightful!  And no ordinary cigar.  It was about six inches long, at least 3/4 inch in diameter.  Surely it must have been smuggled in from Havana.  I say “it.”  Actually, by the time I finished eating there were three such cigars being enjoyed, and one such smoker was also sipping a pint.  As if that weren’t enough icing on the cake.  There was a total of six men at this table, all AMU professors of, I think, theology and/or philosophy, discussing God, St. Thomas, and Catholic theology, unabashedly and thoroughly enjoying the give and take of their words.  As I say, I thought I had died and gone to heaven.  Incense in the Oratory and now cigar smoke at The Bean amid solid discussion about some very holy things. It gives new meaning to holy smoke. Can you imagine anything more grand?