Tenebrae...

It has become something of a custom at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, to have extra Masses at the start of Holy Week for the benefit of those who are at work and can't attend during the day. The Monday and Tuesday Masses are in the evenings, but the Mass for Spy Wednesday is in the morning (at 7am, as the Gospel is a little on the long side...) so that it is possible to attend Tenebrae on Wednesday evening.

Tenebrae is the service of Matins and Lauds of the Triduum, and a candle is extinguished after each of the psalms, until finally all are out and the lights are turned out. The banging of books represents the earthquake (I think!) But the very last candle is only hidden from view, and it gets shown again at the end.

One year I went to Tenebrae and the last candle had actually been extinguished, which caused a bit of consternation for the MC when the time came for its reinstatement...

Yesterday I decided to make the effort to go to St. Mary Moorfields. As our Senior MC remarked, it seems like a trek to get there, but you realise it was worth it afterwards. The journey itself was simple enough, though finding a parking place in Finsbury Circus proved to be a very suitably penitential exercise - I think I drove around it six times looking for the exit nearest the church - all of the exit streets looked the same and all were named "Finsbury Circus" which didn't help. I had used my mobile phone as sat-nav, and the battery had gone flat as I haven't managed to get an in-car charger yet, though fortunately it got me as far as Finsbury Circus first.

The liturgy at St. Mary Moorfields had been organised by the Latin Mass Society who had arranged for Cantus Magnus to sing the polyphony.

Although the phone camera was out of action, I had my "proper" camera with me as well, and so I recorded a couple of the polyphonic responses sung by the choir. This one is from the third Nocturn of Matins: Gesualdo's Una Hora.

I didn't take many photos, as there isn't much going on around the sanctuary during Tenebrae. This meant I was free to record "Eram quasi agnus innocens" from the second Nocturn, and you can listen to that over on YouTube.

I also recorded the Benedictus - the canticle of Zachariah - at the end of Lauds where the final candle is "extinguished"... and here polyphony alternates with plainsong. I particularly like the contrast - remember that everyone, including members of the congregation, joins in with the plainsong parts, so it's not perfect, but that is its charm.

It was definitely the best way to start the Triduum... Perhaps one year we can celebrate it at Blackfen!

That 40 Days For Life Vigil...

I haven't been blogging very frequently and, although I thought I had mentioned the 40 Days for Life campaign this year, it seems to have slipped by without comment on my blog, which is annoying. I had meant to say something!

Then followed a lot of negative press given to the Vigil, particularly when Bishop Alan Hopes indicated that he would attend in order to lead the Rosary. One comment from the pro-abortion crowd really had me scratching my head in perplexity - apparently "Bishops have no business moralising about abortion..." Actually, they do, that is the main business of a shepherd, to warn the sheep when they are going off in the wrong direction, to protect them...

Not having said anything to that point, I initially decided to stay quiet, especially as I hadn't been there for the "showdown" on Friday, when the counter-demonstration happened. I understand that there was controversy over filming on a previous occasion, which some people had found intimidating. I agree wholeheartedly that filming women going in to the clinics is completely wrong. However, filming the people praying in the vigils has actually been beneficial in the past, to guard against false accusations of intimidatory behaviour. Remember the landlord of the abortion clinic who came out brandishing a chainsaw? In addition, the whipping-up of the anti-Vigil demonstration started well before the cameraman incident, in fact, it started as soon as Bishop Hopes' presence was announced. One lone cameraman filming on one occasion was a convenient excuse, not a cause.

I've spoken to people who were actually present at the Vigil on Friday. One of the most rational accounts I have read is that of Leutgeb over on Bara Brith, and I have a great deal of respect for her common-sense approach to life, so it's her report which carries most weight with me.

But the final thing which made me break silence is the fact that, arousing such vehement responses from the pro-abortion camp, suggests that the 40 Days for Life vigils are having an effect. There wouldn't have been the need to protest against some religious nutcases standing on street corners if that was all they were. Rather inconveniently, the people attending the vigils are just ordinary people, men and women, young and old. In fact, the very violence of the response indicates to me that the truth pro-life message is slowly trickling through, aided by ultrasound images of the unborn child which make it impossible to pretend that abortion is just the removal of an inconvenient blob of tissue.

So, even if mistakes were made (we are merely human, after all), the 40 Days for Life endeavour deserves praise and encouragement for the good which has been achieved so far.

Colour Me Cynical...

As I drove home this evening after Benediction, I noticed a rather long queue at the local petrol station. It was much longer than normal for 9:30pm on a Thursday night, and stretched all the way back to the roundabout, causing quite a bit of disruption to passing traffic.

Obviously people are panicking about fuel shortages if there is a strike by tanker drivers..

This hasn't been helped by Government ministers telling people to keep a full tank and also to store petrol in their garages to help avoid strike disruption.

The effect of such statements on public behaviour is so easy to predict that one can't help but wonder why the Government didn't foresee it. You'd have to be really stupid not to work out that suggesting the possibility of fuel shortages increases the likelihood of panic-buying, wouldn't you?

I'm no fan of the Government but I find it just a little hard to believe that anyone could really be that stupid. Surely at least one civil servant would have made the obvious connection and told someone...

Which then makes you wonder if it wasn't deliberate. Get everyone really riled up, start the panic, see a few petrol stations run out of petrol because of the unusual demand, closed petrol stations fuel (sorry!) the panic and then the general public start screaming at the Government to send in the troops to cross the picket lines. This then undermines the bargaining power of the unions in the future. After all, if it's ok to break this strike, why not the next one?

Incidentally, the price of petrol has gone up even more. It's currently at £1.40 per litre. That's approximately 2.24 US dollars. A litre is 0.26 US gallons. So 1 US gallon of petrol is about 3.79 litres and it costs £5.31 or 8.45 US dollars...

Just saying...

Stational Churches...

In Rome, during Lent, it was traditional to visit a different church for each of the days - each church or chapel was a "Station." Plenary indulgences were attached to such visits, I presume under the usual conditions. The St. Andrew's Daily Missal has some information on each of the Stational Churches.

Zephyrinus (the blogger, not the deceased Pope!) has gone one better - he has combined the information from the Missal with other information and photos gleaned from Wikipedia and other sources - each day during Lent he has put up a post on the stational church associated with that day.

It's absolutely wonderful, so do go and browse...

Belated Thank-Yous...

I've been meaning to say thank you to a few people.

First I was sent a book about St. Luigi Orione, the founder of the Sons of Divine Providence and the Little Missionary Sisters of Charity. I'd never heard of him, and I said so during the Day With Mary. Kevin very kindly hastened to correct my ignorance, and I shall read the book over the Easter holidays.

The next present was from Sister Roseann, who knew of my appreciation of the St. Ninian Tartan - the one designed especially for the Holy Father's visit. I had already managed to get a shawl, but shawls don't really suit my rather more than generous proportions... so Sister Roseann presented me with a scarf. The weather has been unseasonably warm ever since, but I shall wear it at the first hint of a cold snap. Probably some time in June... or July... (British weather being what it is...) Mind you, I shall have to prise Monsignor Furretti off it first. She has decided that it's a very nice comfortable tartan...

One of my Confirmation candidates presented me with a lovely little "handbag saver clip" - I only knew that's what it was because someone had helpfully written it inside the box lid. It's a small hook that uses a cantilever effect to balance on a surface so you can hang your handbag under the table or shelf. It is a brilliant piece of engineering, but it took me ages to figure out how it worked. Mind you, His Hermeneuticalness couldn't figure it out either... but then I guess he doesn't have handbags...

I was also given a large box of Maltesers by another candidate, which was very nice. Unfortunately, it being Lent, I deemed it prudent to pass the chocolates on to someone with more willpower (or who hadn't given up chocolate)...

My final thank-you goes to the candidate who presented me with a Mass card. That was a very special gift indeed...

A Chip On His Shoulder...?

*Ahem!* I am very sorry for the awful pun, but someone was sure to make it sooner or later, and so I thought I'd get it over and done with. His Hermeneuticalness has been visiting the famous Chip Museum in Bruges. Hopefully he didn't eat any of the exhibits...

So it seems that Belgium is famous for beer (Blackfen's Senior MC would probably insist on it being termed Novus ordo Eurofizz), chips and chocolate. I'm very tempted to emigrate...

Indoctrination Doesn't Always Work...

Successive governments here in the UK have been banging on about pollution, climate change, global warming, damage to the the ozone layer and greenhouse gases for at least as long as I have been teaching (and probably longer) to the extent that these topics appear with monotonous regularity on the school curriculum, particularly in Science. Rather in the way that the History curriculum seems to revolve around the trenches in World War I and the Nazis in World War II, this constant rehashing of the topics means that students "know" about it all, but they promptly switch off when they hear the key phrases.

This was demonstrated in answers to a test question I have been marking. The question was about the decline of a deer population over time. Suggestions for the cause of this decline were solicited...

In addition to the expected answers of "increased predation by wolves," "hunting" and "disease" I noted several mentions of "global warming" and "climate change." Not surprising, when these are such favourite buzzwords. But the answer which had me howling with laughter demonstrated the typical teenager's muddled thinking:

"The hole in the ozone layer is melting."

I would just like to add a disclaimer - I haven't mentioned any of these topics to the class in question!

Swapping Pulpits...

For Laetare Sunday this year, Fr. Finigan had arranged a "pulpit swap" with Fr. Christopher Basden, Parish Priest of St. Bede's, Clapham Park.

This was quite an undertaking, as, according to custom at Blackfen, we were due to have a Solemn High Mass, to make full use of our splendid rose High Mass set. However, Fr. Basden took it all in his stride, proudly reminding the parishioners of Blackfen that he had reintroduced the traditional liturgy at St. Bede's long before Fr. Finigan had done so at Our Lady of the Rosary!

Fr. Basden was celebrant, Fr. Bernard McNally was deacon, and Rev. John Harrison was subdeacon. Once again I had my phone camera to hand, and a small selection of photos can be found over at the Flickr page.

Day With Mary

The Day With Mary team visited Blackfen on the first Saturday of March. It was a wonderful day, and very well-attended.

You can see my selection of photos on the Flickr page for the set. Unfortunately I forgot my proper camera, but my mobile phone did quite a reasonable job, I think.

I think that one of my favourite photos from the collection was taken during the recitation of the Sorrowful Mysteries of the Rosary, in front of the Blessed Sacrament, led by one of the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate. The Sisters are wonderful - they always appear serene and joyful, and they just exude holiness...

I also paid the obligatory visit to the bookstall during the lunch break - though due to financial constraints I was forced to forego my usual spending spree... though I did manage to obtain a copy of Joan Carroll Cruz's Eucharistic Miracles - a book I'd read before (borrowed from someone) and had been meaning to get for ages for myself. Despite my lack of purchasing power, the ladies manning the stall were happy to pose for a photo opportunity...

Sodality Of The Five Holy Wounds...

The Sodality of the Five Holy Wounds held a Missa Cantata at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen on Friday. The Friday after the Third Sunday in Lent is traditionally the Feast of the Five Holy Wounds, which I hadn't realised before.

The unfamiliarity with this Feast meant that there was a bit of a query as to the liturgical colour in the Sacristy before Mass...

The Mass itself was beautifully sung. It was known as the Golden Mass, revealed to Pope Boniface II in 532AD and believed to have been composed by St. John the Evangelist himself.

I only took a few photos, and they can be seen on my Flickr page. The dates and times of future meetings are to be confirmed, but if you want to join the Sodality, you can keep an eye on events by checking out the Sodality blog. More information about the Sodality and its Constitutions can be found there too.

Photos From Brighton...

With shame, I realise that I didn't get around to posting any of the photos from the 150th Anniversary Mass of St. Mary Magdalen's, Brighton - the ones I posted directly from the phone didn't really count!

The Mass was really wonderful, as was the party afterwards. A selection of photos can be seen on my Flickr page for the event.

I got there early enough to get a shot of the choir rehearsing beforehand...

The church really did look beautiful...

And at the end, Fr. Ray Blake kindly allowed me to take his photo...

One advantage of having taken so long to get the photos up is that I can also link to Fr. Tim Finigan's sermon, as well as to the official photos page, and to recordings of Bruckner's Locus Iste and the setting of Tu es Petrus which Tom Bennett composed especially for the Anniversary Mass. Awesome. Clare, who runs the choir at St. Mary Magdalen's, has some fantastic posts also, so do go and check her blog.

Presents...

My next-door neighbour accosted me as I returned from Mass this afternoon. Had I received any more presents from the Monsignori? she wanted to know. I replied in the negative, and she warned me that Furretti had succeeded in catching a squirrel the other day, but when my neighbour intervened, the cat dropped the squirrel which then made its escape.

On entering the flat, both cats came to greet me in a manner which I have learned to distrust. It's a sort of "We're here, and we love you, and we want you to come with us now because we have something to show you..." manner. Warily, I followed the cats into the living room. There was a live pigeon on top of the curtain track. Miaowrini was miaowing like mad, running between me and the pigeon, as if to say "I want that one, can you get it down for me, pleease..."

Well, it wasn't easy. The pigeon was too high up for me to drop a towel over it, and when I went to open the curtains it flew back across the room, much to the cats' delight. I managed to open the window, but it blew shut again just as the pigeon tried to fly out, so the poor thing stunned itself on the glass. I got the towel over the bird at that point, and waited for it to calm down (its heart was hammering so hard I could feel it, and Miaowrini's cries of excitement didn't help!) before I let it fly off. The poor bird had been a bit chewed up before it got away, and the state of the living room floor gave testimony to the epic battle which had occurred.

I still marvel at how they got the bird up to the catflap in the first place...

Back Again...

I appear to have had a blogging break for the past two weeks. It feels a lot longer. Nothing to do with Lent - I just seemed to be too tired, or too busy, or too uninspired... or a combination of all three.

Every now and then I get the urge to give up blogging for good, but I do enjoy it... I've just been out of sorts. And I have lost a lot of readers too... I suspect that I have been given a dose of my own medicine - dead blogs are expunged regularly from my own blogrolls, so it wouldn't surprise me if my lack of output has led to the blog being culled.

Anyway, I shall attempt to get back on the straight and narrow - blogging shall recommence forthwith!

The Most Beautiful Thing...

The Most Dangerous Time For The PP

... the Crowning of the Statue while wearing a cope...

Day With Mary At Blackfen

It starts with prayers...

Happy Feast Day !

Yes, daffodils. I'm not that fond of daffodils, and I definitely don't know why that Wordsworth chap was wittering on about them. I vaguely associate them with Wales... and the alternative was leeks. I'm afraid that I really don't like leeks. So, today, it has to be daffodils...

A very happy St. David's Day to all my friends of Welsh extraction, particularly Leutgeb (I do hope she gets to have some spotty bread) and the Reluctant Sinner.

A Fun Quote...

"Of course, just when you get a decent MC trained up, he leaves. We're losing about three soon... That's the trouble with the Old Mass... it keeps causing vocations...!"

Just Back...

I'm just winding down after the really wonderful Mass at St. Mary Magdalen's, Brighton (Fr. Ray Blake's parish), this evening. The bun fight in the hall afterwards was pretty impressive as well.

I enjoyed hearing the new composition of Tu es Petrus, but must confess that I preferred the one by James MacMillan. MacMillan's version was reminiscent of the victorious Church - the Church Triumphant - "You are Peter, and on this rock, etc." (at least it was for me, but I'm a musical ignoramus.) I thought that the setting tonight was filled with the terrifying and awe-ful (as well as awful) responsibility which accompanies the office of Pope. MacMillan's piece made me think "Yay! Pope Benedict!" whereas tonight's piece sent shivers down my spine and made me think "Oh, no... poor Pope Benedict!"

I've taken a few more photos, and will try to load them later in the week.

The only disappointment of the evening for me - Genty came and said hallo, but I was conscious of not wanting to disturb people around us. Unfortunately, in the crush, I lost contact... hopefully we can have a chat at the next Bloggers' event!

A Closer Look At The High Altar...

At St. Mary Magdalen's...

After a fraught emergency dental appointment after school today, I decided that I needed spiritual solace in the form of the 150th Anniversary Celebration Mass, and drove down to Brighton. It took much less time than I thought, so, after a cup of tea with Fr. Ray Blake, I thought I'd get a few photos of the newly restored nave and sanctuary. Sublime...

The Reluctant Sinner's Less Taken Path...

Mary and Dylan insisted that I get a "blogging exclusive" photo... So, happy to oblige, courtesy of my Android phone, I thought I'd post this one...

Don't Upset The Chefs...

I wanted to take a photo of Trish and Phyllis who are doing the cooking for the Guild meeting. I was warned off, but was told that I could get a preview of dessert...

Never upset the chef...

Guild Meeting Underway

Mary O'Regan steps into the breach to speak to the Guild meeting...

A Warm Welcome...

The kitties appeared to be very pleased to see me when I returned from the Faith Theological Symposium yesterday evening. Furretti wanted to curl up close, and she purred a lot. Miaowrini was also quite welcoming, but, once she realised I was in for the night, she was happy to curl up on the cat bed on top of the wardrobe.

This morning, both cats made a fuss of me.

When I returned home this lunchtime, after Mass and a chat with a friend over tea and biscuits, I found that Miaowrini had brought me a present... the living room floor was covered in feathers, and a large pigeon lay in the midst of the mess.

I'm not sure if this is a "welcome home" present, or a warning of what the cats will do to me if I leave them again...

Anniversary Celebrations...

Fr. Ray Blake is celebrating the 150th Anniversary of St. Mary Magdalen, Brighton, with an impressive series of events. I am almost tempted to relocate to Brighton for a short while... though I doubt that my cats would be able to cope. Monsignor Miaowrini would probably be abducted by the first seagull she attempted to snaffle, and would be dumped mid-Channel. Monsignor Furretti would possibly die from salt-poisoning as a result of licking sea-air encrusted fur...

However, the programme of events is mouth-wateringly good. It will start off with a special celebratory Mass on 27 February, at 7:30pm. Schubert's Mass 2, Bruckner's Locus Iste and a world premiere of Tom Bennett's Tu es Petrus all feature. His Hermeneuticalness will be preaching.

There will be a blessing of the "Mother Riccarda" bus after the Sunday Mass on 4 March, and a series of talks will kick off on Friday 9 March, 2012, at 7:30pm with a talk by James MacMillan.

As Fr. Ray said, everyone is welcome...

Just Because...

I haven't got much time, as someone is waiting to use the computer, and I have no idea if I'll get a chance to use it again later... but, since I'm missing my kitty cats...

Fantastic News About Ramsgate Auction...

A couple of weeks ago there was an announcement about a sale of sacred vessels by the monks formerly at Ramsgate. There were serious concerns that the monks were planning to auction off some beautiful sacred vessels. The possibility of profanation had been mentioned.

Now it seems that common sense has broken out all around. The Bishops' Conference has published a Press Release to announce that the sale of these treasures will not be going ahead, and that the items will remain in Catholic hands, through a private treaty. Some items are being returned to St. Augustine's Church, Ramsgate, while others are being sent to Farnborough Abbey.

This is seriously good news. You can read the full statement here.

Kindle Conundrum...

I have just been given a Kindle as a present, and it's left me with a bit of a dilemma.

Faced with all the hundreds of books I could possibly wish to download and read, I find that my mind has frozen in sheer horror, and I'm unable to do more than gibber quietly at the screen.

Something similar happened to me before - when I went to work in France, I started off by visiting a supermarket to buy some essentials. I was fine until I approached the shelves of cheese. What I really wanted was a nice piece of cheese to go on toast. Unfortunately, faced with what looked like a whole wall of cheese, none of it labelled "cheddar," my brain did somersaults and I fled.

I've downloaded the Douay-Rheims Bible, Hugh Benson's Come Rack, Come Rope, and that's it. So, now we come to the challenge. Rather than leaving this one to moulder in the com-box (because, let's face it, my lack of literary output has left my combox in a pretty parlous state) I think I'm going to start a meme...

So, here are the rules. You post the rules and a link back to the person who tagged you. You also tell them that they've been tagged on their own blog, rather than just hoping they'll discover it for themselves. Then you decide what three books are essential reading for anyone with a Kindle. Reasons would be good, but not essential. Then you tag five people.

If you haven't got a blog, you can use my combox instead. If you are worried you might not get tagged by anyone, do the meme anyway, and link back to me here, leaving a message in the combox... I'll tag you retrospectively...

They are supposed to be reading books, mind you, not reference works or prayer books.

As I'm the one starting this meme, and I'm also genuinely in need of advice, I'm not going to give my three books. Not yet. I'll reconsider when I've finished loading up my Kindle... However, I shall start by tagging The Curt Jester (because he got me started on Librivox Audio Books), Jane from the Oasis (because she's a "proper" author), Ttony out of the Muniment Room (because he's just started blogging again), Paulinus (because I like his off-the-wall approach to life) and Annie Elizabeth (because, as well as being one smart cookie, she's got a houseful of books which she's actually read...)

While We're On The Subject Of Bishops...

I don't really understand the kerfuffle about Obama's Healthcare plan. As the saying goes, when it comes to U.S. politics, I know little and I care less. But I have noticed that there appears to be some sort of problem when it comes to the rights of Catholics (and others) to object to something on moral or religious grounds.

The U.S., Bishops are refusing to acquiesce to the spirit of the age. This is excellent, and their Lordships are to be highly commended for the stand they are taking. They have realised the truth, perhaps, that, once you compromise on a matter of faith and morals, it starts up the whole slippery slope scenario...

Bishops of England & Wales take note. This is how Bishops are supposed to behave...

A New Bishop For Lourdes...

Rather nicely timed for the Feast of the Apparition of Our Lady at Lourdes, it seems that Tarbes & Lourdes is to get a new bishop. He's something of a traditionalist, I think, and Fr. George Byers (who spent some time as a Chaplain at Lourdes) appears to be rather happy about the appointment, so I guess that it must be another of what Leutgeb would call "A. Good. Thing. "

I doubt that we'll notice any changes when we go on the parish pilgrimage to Lourdes later this year (I guess we have to give him time) but it will be interesting to see what effect this appointment will have on attitudes to the usus antiquior being celebrated in the Domaine.

My one regret? That Lourdes can no longer boast of a "Bishop Perrier" in addition to being in possession of statues of St. Remy and St. Martin!

Feeling My Age...

Confirmation classes are upon us once more at Blackfen, and I suddenly realised that I'm getting a little long in the tooth.

Trying to explain the basis for knowing the history of the Church and the evidence for the existence of Jesus Christ, I discovered that none of the girls in my group had ever heard of Julius Caesar...

*sigh*

Seasonal Sufferings...

I have been conquered by some loathsome microbe and am sneezing, coughing and spluttering a lot. My eyeballs ache, which means that sitting in front of a computer screen is not my idea of a fun pastime just now.

This has coincided with the onset of snow. There wasn't very much, but neither of the Monsignori had encountered it before (they were too young this time last year!) Also, if you are only 30cm tall, then a few centimetres of snow is rather uncomfortable. On Sunday morning I was awakened by two very confused cats, who appeared to want me to remove the nasty, cold, wet stuff. I selfishly remained in bed, nursing my cold, until it was time for Mass, and then trudged through the snow in order to clear the catflap ledge and the chair below.

Miaowrini was then happy enough to venture out for a very brief spell, though she returned to warm her paws before too long. Furretti opted to stay in, and has transferred her attentions to the litter box.

Both of them have started to sleep on my bed for warmth... I shall upload photos soon.

The Book Of Wreckovation...

Paulinus has been at it again. He wrote some terrible liturgies back in the day, some of which had me crying with laughter. I'm delighted to see that he's turned his attention to re-writing the Book of Leviticus (at least I think it's Leviticus) for the modern age...

Check it out...

Religious Flash-Mob...

Chris Gillibrand thinks that they've watched Sister Act just once too often. Personally I think it would have had far more impact if all of the Religious involved had been in their full traditional habits... the inclusion of track-suited and pink-fleeced nuns rather spoiled the effect. After all, there was nothing to show that they were actually nuns...

Flashmob "Brother & Sister Act, missionnaires de... by corref

Card-Carrying Catholics...?

"If I were to be arrested tomorrow, and charged with being a Catholic, would they find enough evidence to convict me?"

I can't remember where that quote comes from - it's paraphrased a bit - but it has always struck a chord.  It seems that the Bishops of England & Wales have been thinking similar thoughts, because they have come up with the idea that Catholics should actually carry a card which states clearly that they are Catholics, and which explains what being Catholic actually entails.

In the same way as cards already produced by other groups such as the Association of Catholic Women, it asks for a Catholic priest to be contacted in an emergency. In the current climate, I'd have thought a statement about not stopping food and fluids under the guise of "stopping unduly burdensome medical treatment" might also be rather necessary!

I like the idea of carrying some form of indication of my Catholic identity... but I did think that my rosary was a pretty clear statement...

Candlemas...

Tomorrow sees the feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, more popularly known as Candlemas. It's one of my favourite feast days, and happens to be the anniversary of the arrest of my patron saint, Anne Line.

St. Anne, as I've mentioned before, was arrested and charged with harbouring a Catholic priest - although the priest managed to escape, the presence of the Mass vessels and vestments was considered sufficient evidence for a conviction. Feisty lady that she was, she declared boldly, first at her trial, and later on the scaffold, that her only regret was that she couldn't have helped a thousand priests.

The feast day is now more commonly referred to as the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, partly because of a misguided attempt to downplay the idea that "purification" was needed after childbirth, because the Church thought of sex and birth as something shameful and unclean.

Nothing could be further from the truth, and this is borne out by the phrase used to describe the cleaning of the chalice and paten after Communion: purifying the sacred vessels. It doesn't mean that the vessels are dirty after having held Our Lord's Body and Blood. The purification is removing all traces of the Sacred species, so as to allow the return of the vessels to "normal" use - I use inverted commas because the sacred Mass vessels aren't used for any other purpose, but they are placed in a safe or cupboard to await the next Mass.

The Purification of Our Lady can be seen in the same way - pregnancy and childbirth were considered so special that a woman needed to be brought back into everyday circulation, so to speak, and this was even more true for Our Lady, who bore the Body and Blood of Our Lord and God within her womb for nine months.

We've got a Missa Cantata tomorrow night, starting at 8pm, at Blackfen, so I shall try to get some photos. I'm also looking forward to getting a blessed candle to go with my blessed chalk...

Time For Dessert...

I like to eat out. Unfortunately, since watching this clip from Smack the Pony, I have developed a tendency to score the waiters and waitresses on their "dessert faces" and try to assess whether they've been on the training course...

...This has the unfortunate consequence of making me dissolve into fits of giggles when I'm asked if I'd like to see the dessert menu.

Women Drivers...

It is a well-known fact that women are terrible at parking cars. Obviously, this is a huge generalisation, but like the so-called "old wives' tale" about wet and windy weather sending children round the bend (even recognised by teaching unions and mentioned in their literature when I was training!), there is enough truth in it to cause insurance companies to offer lower-cost insurance to women. Female drivers are more likely to have low-cost bumps and scrapes when parking, whereas men tend to go in for the higher-speed collisions.

I'm not brilliant at parking. I'm convinced that it is something genetic - women's brains are just wired up differently. We're less spatially aware than men. We are, however, much better at everything else...

Each morning, I walk through a car park (belonging to another organisation.) At the time I walk past, there are no cars parked yet. On two occasions this week, a car has actually driven in, and parked up. Each time something very close to the following scenario actually happened...

Yes, it was a woman driver. Yes, she actually got out to check the lines, and got back in again... She did succeed in parking eventually...

Evangelium 2012...

I see that Evangelium have uploaded a very good video trailer to advertise their Summer Conference. The conference is to be held at the Reading Oratory School Friday 3rd - Sunday 5th August, 2012. The theme is explaining the Catholic faith in the modern world.

You can book online or download a form by visiting the Conference Booking page. It looks marvellous, and I'd love to go, though I doubt I could convince anyone that I fitted into the target age-bracket...

A Chant Training Day & Mass

I've been asked to let people know that the Southwark branch of the Latin Mass Society is having a Mass offered for the intentions of all local LMS members. It will be a Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Apparition of the Blessed Virgin Mary Immaculate in St George's Cathedral, Southwark on Saturday 11 February 2012 at 10:30am, with Gregorian chant sung by the Cathedral Choir.

On the same day, there will be a Gregorian Chant Training Day with tutors Nick Gale and Mark Johnson. The schedule will be as follows:

11:45 Course begins, registration, plenary session with Nick Gale
13:00 Lunch (bring packed lunch)
13:45 Chant Course afternoon sessions (Nick Gale and Mark Johnson)
15:30 Break
15:45 Rehearsal for Vespers
16:30 First Vespers of Sexagesima
17:00 Ends

Cost for Gregorian Chant Course: £15 (£10 LMS members)

To register interest for the Gregorian Chant Training Day please send an email.

Picking The Brains Of The Brethren...

Zephyrinus (the blogger, not the Pope) needs a little help in tracking down some information, and I was sure that someone "out there" in the Blogosphere would be only too eager to share their expertise.

I took the photos with my Galaxy Nexus phone camera, but they're quite good quality, and you can get a proper close-up look by clicking on the photos themselves (I loaded them up onto Flickr, again with my snazzy phone, not a USB cable in sight...)

Zephy acquired the vestments some time ago, and he can't remember where, and doesn't know anything of their history. He has a suspicion that they might be French in origin, but that's it. They are rather fine vestments, and he's keen to find out anything he can...

Any ideas? If you have, pop them in the combox...

The Next Guild Meeting...

The next meeting of the Guild of Catholic Bloggers is to be held on Saturday 18th February 2012, at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, Blackfen.

Details of how to get to Blackfen are on the Parish website. Details of the day can be seen by clicking on the poster...

I love the fact that we're in Blackfen again (it's rather convenient for me, obviously, and we've got everything "on tap" so to speak!) However, we might need to think beyond London for the next meeting. In the interests of ecumenism, I shall suggest a trip to Husborne Crawley, to visit the Beaker Folk. I have a hankering to see what colour the Moot House door actually ended up...

Teacher Talk...

Teachers often get to hear the weirdest things... and sometimes repartee between students and staff can elicit a chuckle or two.

Occasionally things descend to pure slapstick.

For example, I had to help supervise an AS Biology practical when a girl put up her hand for assistance. As I approached, I noticed that she was standing with crossed legs, and appeared to be in some discomfort. I assumed she needed to go and "powder her nose." After all, the practical had been going on for two hours.

I had failed to take modern fashions into account.

"Miss!" she hissed, "Help! My boot chains have become locked together, and I'm stuck..."

I'm afraid that I couldn't help sniggering...

Illegal Activity...

It seems that I am breaking Austrian law...

...I like to tell blonde jokes, which is apparently a no-no in Austria, just in case hordes of blondes feel marginalised and resort to terrorist measures.

Matthew Archbold's view: "Just imagine an army of Miss South Carolinas plotting your demise. Just imagine the fun of what they'd come up with."

It rather reminded me of the old joke: What do you do if a blonde throws a pin at you?
Simple - run like hell, because she's holding the grenade...

Ooops. I think that makes me a repeat offender. I better hope that we don't have an extradition treaty with Austria...

A few more photos...

I took these photos from the monthly Missa Cantata on the first Saturday of the year - the photos are extremely clear compared to ones I've taken on the iPhone, as I said, though these ones are helped by the fact that they were taken in daylight...

The more I play around with the new phone, the more I like it. I did like the iPhone, and I miss the wide selection of apps, but I am just so relieved that iTunes is no longer something with which I have to battle...

Epiphany...

The Epiphany was celebrated over a week ago according to the EF calendar, but that is actually only just over a week ago, so I feel that I can still put up a few photos from the Mass we had at Blackfen...

Given that work has been extremely hectic, I forgot to pack my camera, therefore, I took photos on my dinky new Android phone. The Galaxy Nexus camera is only 5 MP, but the "instant capture" facility it boasts means that the picture is miles better than any of the ones I took on my iPhone...

The first one is taken on the zoom setting, so is slightly blurry...

The Schola Sanctae Scholasticae (that's their unofficial title, as the one they've been using was actually grammatically incorrect) sang the Mass propers - and very beautiful they sounded too.

We were delighted to be able to welcome Fr. Simon Heans. Fr. Simon is a priest of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, and he'll be celebrating Mass at Blackfen every now and then...

After Mass there was the blessing of chalk. The chalk then becomes a sacramental which can be used to bless one's house by writing the year and the initials of the wise men - 20 M+C+B 12 being this year's inscription - while saying some prayers.

I made sure we had plenty of chalk at Blackfen...