It Did Exactly What It Said On The Tin !

Wow! What an amazing day...

I felt a little awkward opening up my mobile phone every few minutes, but as Fr Tim had forgotten to hand over his snazzy camera (possibly a strategic decision on his part... I am a little clumsy with delicate electronic items), I had to make do...

(THAT, my blogging chums, is a cue for you to make lots of entries in the combox saying what wonderful photos they are...)

First of all, we have a cape and veil for the statue of Our Lady which had its first outing today... just so you can see the statue in situ, here is the Lady Altar with the statue in the new cape and veil.




The Day With Mary started with an entrance procession, and the crowning of the statue of Our Lady of Fatima.

...it can't be easy climbing a stepladder in cassock and cope...


There was a procession round the block, praying the Rosary and singing hymns. I stayed to pray in the church as my ankle is playing up. Here you can see the return of the statue...



The Mass was Novus Ordo, but ad orientem and in Latin (which gave me a chance to practice a few of the prayers I've been learning!) Fr Tim preached on the options facing us after we die... Heaven (via Purgatory) or Hell. Something of a no-brainer, but most people act as if there is nothing more than the here and now. We were given a teensy reminder that we are not absolutely sure of our eternal salvation. Hell is still a possibility. Cheerful chap, our PP !


At the end of Mass, it being the Feast of St Blaise, we had the blessing of throats. Here you can see Father blessing the candles. There were three priests doing the blessings as there were rather a lot of people at Mass!


Lunchtime was the much-anticipated opportunity for the TAN-fest. Two shots of some of the books on display:



I was in an ecstatic quandary... so many books, so little money (I deliberately left cheque-book and bank card at home so that I wouldn't be tempted to nip out for further resources...) Unfortunately, the book I really wanted ("The Spiritual Combat" by Dom Lorenzo Scupoli) was out of stock. However, in order to compensate for the devastating disappointment, I treated myself to a few acceptable substitutes...

"The Wonder of Guadalupe" and "Fatima: The Great Sign" (both by Francis Johnston)
"Guidance to Heaven" (Cardinal Giovanni Bona)
"Purgatory" and "Spiritual Conferences" (both by Father Frederick William Faber... chap who wrote some splendid hymns)
"Jesus Our Eucharistic Love" (Fr. Stefano Manelli - founder of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate... at least, I think so!)
And finally, "The Incorruptibles" (Joan Carroll Cruz)

So that should keep me out of mischief for a while... Ok, back to the Day With Mary...

We had Exposition and then the Blessed Sacrament procession (round the block again) and then the Rosary and a sermon on Our Lady by Fr George Roth (one of the Fransiscan Friars of the Immaculate) He's great, though his broad American accent takes a bit of getting used to!

After a break for tea, we had Stations of the Cross (done as a meditation and prayers... there were too many people to have a procession round the stations) another sermon on Our Lady (delivered by Fr Tim... very moving, I hope he posts it on his blog!) a final Rosary, and Benediction.


And a treat for the Traddies:


Finally, the statue was carried out of the church, and we all waved goodbye with white hankies (a tradition started in Fatima) while singing a farewell hymn.



The day was really wonderful. With the large number of people going to Confession I'm sure that several Holy Souls were sprung from Purgatory.