How The Kittens Got On...

There was a somewhat anxious comment on a previous post asking what would happen to the kittens during my visit to Ampleforth.

I have to confess to being a little unsure how they would react to my absence. I had arranged for my neighbour to come in and feed them, and had left instructions as to changing of the litter tray, and how to ensure that Monsignor Furretti didn't eat all Monsignor Miaowrini's food. I knew that she would make a fuss of them, and would spend a bit of time playing with them, so I had no worries on that score. I just wondered whether the kittens would ever forgive me for abandoning them...

...another commenter had speculated as to the likelihood of "presents" being left in strategic positions - finding a hairball (or worse) in one's shoe can be most unpleasant...

Hooligan? Moi...?

On my return, the two kittens greeted me at the door. They were purring and affectionate. It was probably guilt. My neighbour had left me a note...

Dear Mac,

Thank you for the bottle of wine you left. I needed it. Your kittens are right little hooligans. They knocked over the hoover and dragged the attachment hose over to the door, so I nearly couldn't get in. They also chucked stuff off your bookcase. The chair in your bedroom was knocked over. I've tried to put everything back. They also chewed your mail.

The kittens didn't eat the Whiskas wet catfood, or the Felix, but they did eat the biscuits, and, although you said you didn't want them to have too many of the biscuits, because I was worried by them not eating the wet food, I gave in and fed them all the biscuits. Sorry.

I also had to give Miaowrini a wash under the tap, because she tried to jump onto the top of the washing machine and missed, and landed on top of the swing bin, and, although there wasn't much in the bin, it was a bit smelly...
Hope you had a nice time...

I have no idea what happened to the chair...

And I'm Back Home...

The Symposium was really great, and I'm extremely glad I went. Now, however, reality is setting in: I ache all over from the rather steep slopes (well, steep for someone with a dodgy ankle and two wrecked knees!) as well as suffering from the cold, damp weather. When the abbey wasn't shrouded in mist and fog, it was obscured by sheet rain. To add insult to injury, glorious sunshine made an appearance just as we were all preparing to leave...

I did succeed in obtaining photographic evidence that the sun does actually shine in Yorkshire...

The return of the abbey to its term-time routine meant that many of the activities were relocated or rescheduled - though, as I haven't managed to get to the symposium regularly, I wasn't affected by the change in arrangements. We had a holy hour in the evenings in the chapel in Alban Roe House as a result of these changes, and I got to see an altar by Robert 'Mouseman' Thompson - his work is, apparently, famous... or maybe famouse might be a better description...

I gather that all his work had a little mouse incorporated into the design somewhere... I should have been focussing on Our Lord, but I'm afraid that the little mouse caught my eye... Photoshop has allowed me to get a close-up, but it isn't a very good one...

I didn't manage to get many photos. There is a limit to the number of photos one can take of people attending a lecture. I'd have loved to walk round and take more photos of the abbey, but there just wasn't time - the afternoon break (which would have been the best time for me to go looking for photo opportunities) was spent updating my blog and checking my emails.

 I did manage to get a few photos of the speakers. Fr. Stephen Boyle gave an excellent overview of John Paul II's Theology of the Body - I mentioned in a previous post that he's Fr. John Boyle's brother... Fr. John's presence at the symposium was sorely missed. Fr. Stephen was responsible for introducing me to the Faith Movement when I was a parishioner in Camberwell, and he was the Assistant Priest. It was a bit of a shock to realise that this was more than 16 years ago! Tempus fugit and all that...

Fr. David Barrett gave two talks, on different aspects of the writings of St. Hilary - I understand that this is the subject of Fr. David's doctoral thesis, which should be finished some time in the summer.

Fr. David Standen (standing in the centre of the photo) was responsible for the organisation of the symposium, which ran like clockwork... Having organised quite a few retreats in the past, I recognise that such smooth running is due to a great deal of hard work behind the scenes, and he managed it all with patience and good humour... In this photo he's introducing Fr. Dylan James (to the right), who spoke on the meaning of sex and the difference between contraception and natural family planning.

Fr. Hugh MacKenzie (seen in the foreground on the right of the photo) and Fr. Stephen Dingley both eluded my photographic endeavours - Fr. Hugh because his was the first talk, and it hadn't occurred to me that getting photos of all the speakers might be a good idea, and Fr. Stephen because his was the last talk, and I'd packed my camera away, thinking I already had a photo of him...

Oh well. I shall try to put that right in the summer...

The Symposium Continues...

Last night, we had a talk from Fr. David Barrett on St. Hilary of Poitiers - 'The Fore-Ordination of Man in Christ. Very, very good - I knew almost nothing of St. Hilary. I was very interested to discover that he was responsible for writing hymns in Latin for the Divine Office, that he was the first Latin Church Father to write a commentary on the Gospel of St. Matthew, and that he was nicknamed the 'Hammer of the Arians' and the 'Athanasius of the West'.

This morning's session covered Contraception and the Meaning of Sex. Fr. Dylan James gave the talk, which was as excellent as all the preceeding ones had been. The discussions afterwards are almost more interesting than the initial talks - no reflection on the speakers, but there is a real excitement in being present when some pretty hard theology is being bashed out, almost through people ruminating out loud!

I'm pretty sure that Fr. Tim will have a more in-depth coverage of the talks than anything I can manage - he appeared to be typing away furiously during this morning's session - so I shall refer you to his blog if you want more details and analysis.

This afternoon we are in for another dose of St. Hilary... this time considering 'Christ's Risen Body - the Future of Man. Tomorrow morning's session will be given by Fr. Stephen Dingley: Hawking, Relativism and Self-Creating Universes: A Critique of 'The Grand Design'. I'm really looking forward to that one, especially as Fr. Stephen entertained us by explaining some of the stuff concerning the relativity of time and space in the bar on Monday night...

Faith Theological Symposium...

Well, I have managed to find a computer with internet access for use by guests at the Abbey... and we're having a spot of free time, so I availed myself of the opportunity to indulge my internet addiction. Sadly, I haven't got a phone signal (thanks for nothing, O2!) so can't get my fix at regular intervals. I'm sure that a bit of time spent away from the computer will be good for me... at least, that's what I keep trying to tell myself!

The Symposium has been brilliant so far... I'm really glad that I made the effort to come along (on Sunday I was regretting my decision to spend Half Term doing anything other than sleep) and I am enjoying excellent company and wonderful discussions - the latter, I hasten to add, are happening around me, while I'm doing my best to keep my mouth shut and look intelligent... I think I have failed on both those counts...

The two talks we've had so far have been quite challenging for me - I'm not of a philosophical bent, and Fr. Hugh MacKenzie's talk last night on The Static Form: A virus that has become virulent rather lost me... fortunately, there were plenty of people around to help clarify things (a bit) and the use of the analogy of Michaelangelo's David to explain material, formal, efficient and final causality gave me plenty to think about.

Fr. Hugh later said that most of the stuff he'd covered in his talk could be found in the most recent issue of Faith Magazine...

I found this morning's talk was much more accessible (or maybe I was more awake!) - Fr. Stephen Boyle (brother to Fr. John) spoke about The Theology of the Body. I hadn't really paid any attention to any of the discussions on the blogosphere about Pope John Paul's work in this area, and it was, therefore, very interesting to hear Fr. Stephen's overview.

The talks are certainly more of an intellectual challenge for me than the ones we get at the Faith Summer Session (which is as it should be - after all, those talks are targetted at a very different audience) so I'm having to work quite hard to keep up. This is definitely good for me - it keeps the grey cells ticking away - and it stops me getting complacent and thinking that I understand the Faith!

I shall end there - I need to go and say some prayers before the next talk begins. I shall try to add some more tomorrow...

Time For A Short Break...

I'm off to the Faith Theological Symposium for a few days. I won't have access to a computer (at least I don't think so) and I am not sure what the phone reception will be like, so the blog might be hors de combat for the week.

I'm rather nervous about leaving the kittens in charge of the flat. I might not have any books or statues left when I return...