Almost more fascinating than the talks was the opportunity to listen to the discussions after each session... the ideas were being bounced back and forth, and various aspects ironed out... normally I loathe after-talk discussions, but you got the impression that this was a genuine opportunity for developing trains of thought, not just stating entrenched opinion.
Fr Tim has put up several posts on the Symposium already (Benedictine Hospitality; Faith Symposium I; Views from Ampleforth; Symposium Ia; Faith Symposium II; and The Nature of the Faith Symposium) ...however, he cheated by posting from the computer in the Hospitality Office. To be fair, the availability of the computer was clearly stated in the notes to guests left in each room... but as I was fairly certain that Fr Tim would be hogging the machine, (and writing far more lucid accounts of the proceedings into the bargain!) I decided to take the moral highground, and declared my stay a "blog-free zone."
The twitchy fingers eventually relaxed, and I used my spare time to read one of my recently acquired books, the one describing the Marian Apparitions at Guadalupe. I'll post on it shortly.
Again, my photos are not as brilliant as the ones on Fr. Tim's blog - but I managed to capture one or two moments on the phone camera.
Fr. Nesbitt gave the opening talk. Discussion on where exactly angels figure in the grand panorama of Creation (before or after the Big Bang) proved to be an eye-opener for me...
It was Fr. David's birthday, and half a century is just too important to ignore... so here we can see Fr. Dylan presenting a chocolate cake, while we all sang "Happy Birthday." Unfortunately, I wasn't as quick off the mark as I'd have liked, so Fr. David blew out the candles before I could capture the moment for posterity...
A lack of communication meant that several people had brought cakes, which kept us going throughout our stay. I bagsied what I thought was a chocolate rose... a rose by any other name might smell as sweet, but while this one looked gorgeous, it was made of some sort of fondant icing, and tasted like cement...
I was privileged to get to a Traditional Rite Mass each morning. The St. George's Chapel had a window facing Eastwards; when Mass started the window was in darkness (7am) and it gradually filled with light... awesome!
I was delighted to be able to catch up with Brother Philip - we'd originally met at the London Faith Forum meetings when they were held at Spanish Place. I'd forgotten he'd shaved off his beard when he entered Ampleforth... Brother Philip is shown here talking to Sr. Andrea of the Sisters of the Gospel of Life... and one of the Faith priests can be seen in the background reading what must class as the orthodox equivalent of pornography...
...and then there are the opportunities for discussion: here Fr. Tim is talking to Fr. Stephen Boyle... Fr. Stephen (brother of South Ashford Priest) told me he wants to appear on as many blogs as possible without the trouble of actually running a blog himself!
Fr. Mike seen here talking to Fr. Luiz outside the Grange...
...and then there are the late night discussions over drinks...
Fr. Stephen (again), Fiorella and Fr. Greg (I didn't manage to catch them unawares... but you can hardly tell!!)
The South Ashford Priest himself.
...and finally, Fr. Stephen (a different one), Fr. David (also a different one) and Fr. Tim.
Just to prove that I did occasionally go outside for a breath of fresh air...
...the main abbey grounds seen from the Grange.
The Grange itself (where we had the talks, and where most of us were staying.)
The Abbey Church. I just loved the glimmers of sunshine through the trees...
This one shows the building more clearly, but misses out the sunshine!
The pictures look fantastic and the scenery looks lovely. It seems that it was a very informative week and everyone seemed relaxed.
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