Requiem At St. Mary's...

This afternoon saw the annual Requiem Mass at St. Mary's, Chislehurst, held for the repose of the souls of all those who are buried in the church graveyard.

Fr. Charles Briggs, the Parish Priest, was the celebrant, Fr. Tim Finigan was the Deacon, and Rev. John Harrison was Sub-Deacon. I appointed myself photo-czar: Fr. Briggs has complained at the lack of photos when I attended previous events, and the church is beautiful, so I was keen to try out my new camera... well, ok, it's four and a half months old! Mindful of the subdued lighting in the church, I brought my monopod along as well.

And then, having so many photos to choose from, I put them all into a slideshow "video" on You Tube...

I figured that the catafalque was absent because the coffins of the departed were actually just outside the church - and, sure enough, there was a procession outside with blessing of the graves after Mass had ended. I wasn't quite sure why there was no humeral veil for the Sub-Deacon, and didn't get a chance to quiz those in the know. I expect that, if no-one enlightens me via the com-box, I shall be able to find out the reason after Mass tomorrow.

New Blog On The Block...

Catholic With Attitude has drawn my attention to a new blog, Religious Freedom, which has been set up to catalogue articles online which demonstrate a restriction of religious freedom in the European Union. If you have any articles you are asked to email Catholic With Attitude, as he's helping to set up the blog.

Gregorian Chant CD

I received an email from Nick Gale, advertising a new series of CDs on Gregorian Chant, and I'm very happy to post the following information:

GREGORIAN CHANT TEACHING DISCS

This week sees the release of the first of three discs of Gregorian Chant produced to assist musical directors, cantors, choirs and congregations learn a Chant repertoire for use in the Liturgy. The discs were recorded by Signum Records, London, and the Chant is sung by three members of the Choir of St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, London, UK and recorded in the Cathedral’s beautiful Lady Chapel under the direction of the Cathedral’s Organist and Master of the Choristers, Nick Gale.

The first disc, Chants of the Ordinary, contains a selection of Mass ordinaries (Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, Ite and Benedicamus Domino) – including complete recordings of Masses I, VIII, IX, X, XI, XV, XVII & XVIII, the Ambrosian Gloria, Credos I, III & VII and a selection of Alleluias. The second and third discs will be released next month and will contain chants for the entire Liturgical Year – all four Marian Antiphons in simple and solemn tones, the Te Deum, chant hymns, antiphons and responses for Advent, Christmas, Candlemas, Lent, Holy Week, the Easter season, Pentecost, Trinity and Christ the King – as well as some more general material and a selection of manageable Communion Antiphons from the Graduale Simplex for general use.

The Discs are priced at GBP £!0 plus £2 P&P (£3 for orders outside the UK), payable by cheque or by PayPal. To place an order or to ask for a full track list or any other details email Nick Gale. Courses and workshops in Gregorian Chant in the UK and abroad can also be booked through this site.

One Sentence From Fr. Z...

Wow. The inimitable Fr. Z wrote one sentence on his blog. If you don't count the actual link, it was two words!

Thanks Father!

My Name In Lights...

... Well, ok, that is way too much of an exaggeration. However, this evening saw the official launch of the book, English Catholic Heroines, edited by Joanna Bogle, for which I wrote a chapter on St. Anne Line.

It was a lovely event, held in St. Wilfred's Hall at the London Oratory. I had left my car at home in the morning, and so was able to have a glass of wine (or two) while chatting to people.

It was fascinating to meet some of the other contributors - as well as contributors to the companion volume, English Catholic Heroes.

His Hermeneuticalness was in attendance, with camera, but he was too polite to try to snap me unawares - I really do hate my photo being taken. I, on the other hand, had no such reticence...

And here is what my name looks like in print...

Even though I'm not on commission, and don't get any royalties (honest!) I recommend this book (and its companion volume) as a little stocking-filler for anyone who wants to know about the witness of faithful Catholics in this country: there are many striking parallels to our own times too!

UPDATE: I thought I better point out that there is another page to the contents list - there are actually around 21 chapters!!

Monday Fun...

Monday cat post... Enjoy!

Pining For The Fjords...

I was chatting to Leutgeb over a cup of tea this evening, when she mentioned fjords. I couldn't help exclaiming "Pining for the fjords??" in a silly voice, and proceeded to mutter things about dead parrots. The sketch here has been edited somewhat - the version I recall ends with the offer of a slug as a replacement.

"Does it talk?" asks Cleese.

"Errr... yeah!" is the reply from Palin.

To which Cleese says: "Right, I'll have that one then."

The ending in this clip is rather less satisfactory, but the main part is still good stuff...

Very Remiss Of Me...

I did see this when it was first published, and even bookmarked it for later posting, but then I got distracted. Still, better late than never.

Parishioners at St. Mary Magdalen's, Brighton, were treated to a Solemn High Requiem Mass for All Souls Day. Clare filmed the whole thing and then cut the images with the music - I am very impressed with both the singing and the video itself. I particularly liked the black-and-white film effect!

Clare's video definitely wins over my slideshow... though I think Blackfen had the edge when it came to vestments!!