Lesnes Abbey Procession...

I was rather uncomfortable with the Eucharistic "Flash-mob" held in Preston. I did understand the thinking behind it, but I am firmly of the opinion that bringing Our Lord out in a hold-all is not the way to impress upon people that the Catholic Church teaches that the Blessed Sacrament really is God.

The more I think about it, the more uncomfortable it makes me.

So I was delighted that, last Sunday, we had our annual Blessed Sacrament Procession at Lesnes Abbey.

The ruins are in the middle of a park, rather than in the centre of a shopping area, but there are plenty of people who have gone to the park for a walk or a picnic, and they are left in no doubt that there is something special going on. We have First Communicants, altar servers, priests, deacons... there is music, prayer, readings... and Benediction.

There is much I dislike about the procession - the choice of music and the number of readings being my two main beefs - but it is a reverent occasion, and it is absolutely clear that we are there to worship Our Lord, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament.

We were certainly blessed as far as the weather went... the week before had been cold, wet and windy, and even the previous day had seen quite a bit of rain.

The beginning of the procession...

The procession goes round the park...

Benediction was given by Bishop Pat Lynch...

When it was time for the Blessed Sacrament to be reposed, the deacon (wearing a humeral veil) was accompanied by servers...

I've taken more detailed pictures of the ruins and given a little of the history in a previous post.

The Knights of St. Columba did a sterling job of marshalling the procession and providing first aid, and three of them agreed to pose for the blog...

Three of the First Communicants from Blackfen got to pose for photos as well, first with Bishop Lynch...

...and then with their Parish Priest, none other than Fr. Finigan (who has a much better understanding of photographic niceties, and who persuaded the girls to relinquish water bottles, put their hands together and stand over by the wall...)