Fr. Jonathon's Ordination was extremely enjoyable, not least because I got to meet several old friends. I also got to meet a few new ones.
To my delight, I was tapped on the shoulder by EF Pastor Emeritus. I think he recognised the mantilla. Sadly I didn't get a chance to talk to him properly, nor take a photo - he was in the queue to receive a First Blessing from Fr. Jonathon after Mass, and I didn't manage to catch up with him before he left. It was, however, a real pleasure to be able to put a face to the blog...
I was very pleased to meet Brother Anselm (who used to serve Mass at Blackfen before he went to Douai Abbey) and Abbot Geoffrey Scott...
Sir Dan of the Blogosphere was in fine form. The main concern which he raised with Fr. Jonathon was the omission of Blessed Duns Scotus from the Litany of the Saints...
Sir Dan also told me that, should I persist in writing about my cats, he would be forced to stop reading my blog. Ouch! What a decision to have to make...
Fr. Stephen Bould, who recently joined the Catholic Church through the Ordinariate, and his wife Trish were spotted keeping some extremely dubious company...
Towards the end of the afternoon, Fr. Jonathon went to cut his cake (Oh no!! I just realised that I never got any!). There was a mad scrabble for cameras and mobile phones, and it was impossible for everyone to get a good photo at one go. This resulted in demands for a sustained cake-cutting pose to be held. The strain proved too much for the newly-ordained priest, who promptly suffered an attack of the giggles. I bet they don't warn them about that one in Seminary! Oh the pitfalls of parish life...
I also bumped into Andrew Taylor - I first met him when I was a helper on the Faith Summer Break (back when it was held at Folkestone) and he was an impish schoolboy. He hasn't changed much! He's posing here with Heather Rose, a lovely lady who crossed the Tiber with the Ordinariate group in Folkestone...
I was delighted to meet up again with Brother Richard Duncan, from the Birmingham Oratory, who gave me lots of inside info on Pushkin, the lucky cat who met the Holy Father. It seems that everyone wants to hear about Pushkin, and he gets fan mail too...
Brother Richard offered to introduce me to Pushkin should I visit the Birmingham Oratory.
Hmmmmn. That settles it. Sir Dan of the Blogosphere doesn't like cats. The Holy Father does (he made a beeline for the cat when he spotted Pushkin, and chattered away happily in German to it!) So there's no contest. Mulier Fortis remains a kitty-friendly zone...
Looks like a grand time was had by all. Nice to see Br Anselm, missed after he fell off the face of the earth for his Noviciate... Fond regards next time you see him.
ReplyDeleteSkype later, if you like? God bless. M.
very nice article
ReplyDeleteYayyy for kitty friendly - blogs and Benedicts!
ReplyDeletePushkin was working hard this morning. He caught a rat in the garden and offered to bring it into the refectory whilst we were having breakfast. He looked very crestfallen when we said no!
ReplyDeleteOh Boy, Bring on the kitties!. My blog is cat-friendly, too.
ReplyDelete