Status Update...

No, I haven't given up blogging...

I've had a very busy week, and I've been feeling under the weather and out of sorts all week, culminating in a very unpleasant day today.

Just how under the weather and out of sorts can be calculated (if you know me well) by the fact that I had a lovely chocolate bar with which to celebrate the Feast of St. Joseph, and I was unable and unwilling to do anything more than stare at it.

Another indicator of my physical state (but only for those who know me really well) is that I actually drove home on Friday night with my car windows open because I felt too hot. Those who don't know me well might understand that last statement a little when I explain that I wore rollneck jumpers all through the summer last year, with a jacket on top, and my one concession on really warm days (there were not many) was not to wear a t-shirt under the jumper as well.

What made today so very unpleasant is not suitable blogging material, so I shall draw a discreet veil over it...

Quote Of The Day...

... to brighten up my evening, after a very trying day: BBC Radio 4 presenter interviewing the bomb disposal expert who was awarded the George Cross.

Interviewer: (voice edgy with concern, keen to draw out the horrors of war) Your job... What's it like...? (or words to that effect)

Bomb disposal expert: It's a bit of a giggle, actually...

Those Rose Vestments Get Another Outing...

Those infamous rose vestments (courtesy of The Tablet) made another appearance today. They really are rather splendid! Many, many thanks to Fr. Z and Damian Thompson for their campaigns to raise the funds!!

Anyhow, I decided that I wanted some more photos, especially as we were once again privileged to have a Solemn High Mass...

Truly sublime...

Those Pesky Questions About Rubrics...

We are extremely fortunate, at Blackfen, to have a senior MC who is very hot on the rubrics of Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and sundry other liturgical events. He isn't infallible, but I would tend to assume he was right until someone could prove otherwise.

In my post about Fr. Koch's Requiem Mass, Dominic Mary (of Libera Me fame) questioned the arrangement of the biretta and stole on the catafalque, pointing out that the "head" end should have been nearest the altar, as is usual for a priest's coffin.

Well, the MC has spoken: a priest's coffin is placed with the head nearest the altar, but not when the body of the priest is absent (as for the Mass at Blackfen) ... and what's more, Jonathan was able to substantiate his claim with chapter and verse from O'Connell... (The Celebration of Mass
Volume III, Chapter XVII, High Mass For The Dead: Appendix, The Absolution For The Dead, p178...)

I have to say that I am a little puzzled by what is meant by a body being "morally present"...