It Just Got Better & Better...

Well, it's over. I managed to stay for the second night. I'm shattered, but in a good way, and my main concern at the moment is staying awake long enough to avoid a completely messed-up sleep pattern...

It's hard to describe the effects of the Quarant'Ore, but, at the end, after Our Lord was reposed in the tabernacle, many people said that they had experienced a slight twinge of regret that He was no longer "out in the open." That really sums it up: as Fr. Tim said in one of his sermons, "What people is so fortunate as to have its gods as close as our God is to us?"

The Real Presence never seemed so real, or so present, until, having had the opportunity to get "up close and personal" by spending time with Him, His Presence was withdrawn from me, (though only as far as the tabernacle) and that tiny distance left an emptiness, a sense of absence, a sense of loss. Not the sort of loss and emptiness associated with death; more the awareness that one is not with one's beloved.

I'm aware that I'm blathering on, and probably not making any sense at all. However, if you get the opportunity to attend a Quarant'Ore, just do it. Trust me on this one.

In the meantime, a few more photos...

With the Blessed Sacrament exposed on the High Altar, Mass on the second night was celebrated at the Lady Altar...

There was considerably less space available, and so the number of servers was reduced... and the angle from which I attempted to take the photo was terrible, so I couldn't "get" all of them in the shot anyway. I did manage to get this one during the sermon...

Some members of the parish Youth Group had stayed in the church all night, and so breakfast was arranged for them in the small hall... one of the mothers snaffled my camera to take this photo, so I'm afraid that makes it fair game blog-wise...

Later on, two of the regular servers passed on a few helpful tips to the newest (and tallest) recruit...

His Hermeneuticalness took the opportunity to catch up on praying his Office...

Mass on the Saturday, being the Mass of Reposition, was celebrated at the High Altar.

My favourite moment of the Mass...

We then had the Litany of the Saints and a procession around the church...

And the whole thing concluded with Benediction.

I am sure that our parish will gain many graces from having this devotion, and I'm delighted that Fr. Tim has decided it was so successful that it will become a regular part of our parish life.

Now I think I need to catch up on some sleep...