Corpus Christi...

Maybe I am being uncharitable, but, when the Bishops of England & Wales decided to cancel (sorry, transfer) the Holydays of Obligation, I'm sure that they didn't realise that this would result in so many Extraordinary Form Masses happening instead...

You see, the usus antiquior follows the traditional calendar, and the various Holydays are therefore celebrated on their proper days... and, since the extra Masses (which would have been held to allow he faithful to fulfil the obligation) are no longer being celebrated, there are plenty of priests around who are only too happy to oblige the more traditionally-inclined members of their flock by offering a TLM.

This is the case in Blackfen. Since the obligation of Corpus Christi has been transferred to the Sunday, we were free to hold an extra Mass on Thursday. And since, in the usus antiquior, Thursday was the Feast of Corpus Christi, we had a Missa Cantata with all the trimmings: and, as the weather was rather fine, that meant an outdoor procession.

I have to confess to a slight trepidation as the procession passed the Parish Club - quite a few people were inside watching the World Cup match between England and Uruguay, and I did wonder what might happen if someone scored...

There are a few more photos over on Flickr...

Forty Hours...

Blackfen celebrated the Forty Hours a week ago, but, although I managed to load up my photos, I was first too tired and then too busy to blog about it.

We started off with a Solemn High Mass...

I had to work on Friday, so couldn't stay long on Thursday night. I did manage to take a quick photo before I left...

However, after Mass on Friday evening, I was free to spend some quality time with Our Lord...

And the Quarant'Ore finished with Mass, the Litany of the Saints and a Procession (and Benediction) on the Saturday morning.

There are more photos over on Flickr, including one or two of my more "arty" shots, so do go and have a browse.And, if you should be in a parish which puts on the Forty Hours' devotion, do make the effort to attend, even for a short while - it's definitely a spiritual booster!

Kitty Killing Spree...

Some of you might be wondering about how Monsignor Miaowrini has been getting on since her accident. I have to confess that I thought she would find it slightly more difficult to catch mice, and almost impossible to catch birds. That knee was pretty badly wrecked, and she limps quite badly when the weather is damp.

One look at the Kitty Kill Count in the sidebar should give you a clue. Cardinal Furretti is happy to chase mice when they are presented to her, but she seems to be rather indolent, and rarely spends time outside. The majority of live captures (and therefore, I assume, the majority of kills) are down to the predations of the feisty Monsignor.

I don't know what is happening, but she seems to be ramping things up. It's a rare morning when I don't discover a little something left out for me to find. Fortunately Miaowrini likes to leave things by the front door, so I haven't been unfortunate enough to tread on the offerings as I stagger barefoot and bleary-eyed to the bathroom. One night I rescued a live mouse from under her nose, and the next morning I found two birds and another dead mouse. On Thursday morning I found three dead mice.

I'm considering loaning her out for a small fee...