Forty Hours Devotion...

I didn't know anything about this devotion until I ended up attending one of the Masses at Corpus Christi, Maiden Lane. I mean, I'd heard of "Forty Hours" and knew that it meant the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for forty hours, but I didn't realise that there was a specific structure and particular rubrics to be followed.

We're about to have the Forty Hours at Blackfen - Thursday 22nd October - Saturday 24th October, to be precise. So I was keen to find out more.

It seems that the actual number of hours doesn't have to be forty, the devotion just has to happen over three days.

On the first night, there is a Mass of Exposition, followed by a Blessed Sacrament Procession around the church, and the Litany of the Saints is sung, imploring the intercession of the saints for all our needs. The Blessed Sacrament is exposed on the altar with at least 20 candles lit in honour. I have no idea why it has to be 20 candles...

On the second day, there is a Mass for Peace, and it is celebrated at a side altar rather than at the altar where the Blessed Sacrament is exposed.

After the second night, the devotion ends with the Mass of Reposition, the sung Litany of the Saints and a final procession.

Wow.

Anyway, at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, the whole thing will kick off with the Mass of Exposition (Extraordinary Form) starting at 8pm on Thursday 22nd October. On the Friday, there will be an English Mass for peace with hymns at 10am, and, at 8pm, a Mass for peace in the Extraordinary Form. Finally, it all ends on Saturday with the Extraordinary Form Mass of Reposition, Litany and Procession at 10:30am.

We need to make sure that there are people watching in the church the whole time the Blessed Sacrament is exposed, so there is a sheet in the porch for people to sign, or forms at the back of the church which can be filled in and posted through the Presbytery letterbox, or it is possible to email Fr. Tim with details of when you can attend... or, alternatively, people can just turn up!

It does help to have a few definite names down though, just to check that the devotion will be possible...

I snaffled the picture from Fr. Michael Brown's post on his own parish's celebration of the Forty Hours. Hopefully I'll soon have some pictures of my own to post!

Praying For Priests...

To celebrate the Year for Priests, Fr. Stephen Langridge, Vocations Director for the Archdiocese of Southwark, has organised a prayer "rota" with each priest of the diocese being assigned a particular day to be prayed for.

The calendar can be found on the resources page of the excellent Southwark Vocations website: it can be downloaded as a PDF file or as an Excel spreadsheet.

There's even a prayer:

God our Father,

we pray for ______ and thank you for his ministry and example. Give him a deep faith, a firm hope and a burning love. Fill him with your grace and consolation that he may serve you and those entrusted to his care. May he always be aware of our appreciation for the gift of priesthood in the Church. We ask this through Jesus Christ the eternal High Priest. Amen.

Our Lady, Queen of Clergy, pray for him.

St. John Vianney, pray for him.

This seems like a good opportunity to remind everyone about the Spiritual Mothers of Priests initiative, where women pray for a particular priest and offer up prayers, sacrifices and penances for him. This really is a fantastic idea, so do pop over and explore the blog.

Assisted Dying Opinion Poll

There's an opinion poll being taken by Bath University on the question of whether assisted dying should be legalised for the terminally ill.

"Assisted dying" is rather a chilling term...

Anyway, at the moment, the vote at the Bath University site is 97% against (with a total of 881 votes cast.)

Twitch of the mantilla to His Hermeneuticalness.

I'm A "Distinguished Author"... (heheheheh !)

I posted previously about writing a chapter on Saint Anne Line for a book on English Catholic Heroines.

I couldn't see any mistakes in the proofs I was sent (although my heart is now in my mouth, as I'm sure that something will have slipped through!) and so pretty much forgot about the whole thing. This evening I arrived home to find an invitation to the book launch, at the London Oratory.

Also included was a flyer for the book itself. The publisher's blurb was rather amusing:

In this book a group of distinguished authors with varying interests champion the achievements of twenty-three seminal figures in the history of the English Church, from the seventh century to the present day, who through their Catholic witness have made a contribution to the spiritual, intellectual, ethical and physical welfare of the nation which can be fairly described as "heroic".

Heheheheheh...

I checked out the publisher's website: the blurb for the book is now up, but it's not yet for sale - I think it actually becomes available from November. I have to say that I don't think much of the picture on the front of the book (it's on the flyer, but not on the website) but it might look better "in the flesh" so to speak! The book is edited by Joanna Bogle (of Auntie Joanna Writes) and Fiorella Nash and Sr. Andrea Fraile have also written chapters.

It's rather exciting... If I go to the book launch, I'll take lots of photos...

Briefly...

Having announced my return to blogging, I realised that posting today would be tricky: I usually go straight to church (from school) on Thursdays for Benediction. Contrary to popular belief (mostly among schoolchildren) teachers do not get to go home at 3:30pm. I'm usually at school until 5:30pm - 6pm, getting turfed out by the premises staff. Since Benediction starts at 8pm, and I usually help to open the church and prepare things, there isn't much point in my going home.

Sometimes I grab a portion of chips en route, and sit in the car (in the church car park) munching while listening to the radio.

This can be a bit of a mistake. Radio 4 has an anti-Catholic bias which is often bad for my blood pressure.

Having noted the phenomenon of St. Thérèse's relics attracting thousands of the faithful (and the not-so-faithful), the BBC decided that it was impossible to avoid comment, though they really had tried. But, since they had to say something, they made sure it was a disparaging reference to superstitious practices which many ordinary Catholics find quite embarrassing.

The reality, which I was privileged to observe for myself at Aylesford, was quite, quite different.

Ordinary people actually want to venerate the relics of the saint. There is a visceral "pull" - a real need to establish a physical connection as well as a spiritual one. That's what I love about the Catholic Church - she has always known that we are body and soul, and we need the physical side of our natures represented in our devotions: so we have medals, pictures, relics, bells, chants, incense, stained glass. It's real. It's touchable... and, as I discovered, once people realised that they were allowed to touch the relics, they couldn't stay away.

I did not go to Aylesford to see a miracle. I didn't expect to experience transports of joy, or any intense feelings. I went to venerate the relics of a saint, someone who has finished her earthly journey and achieved the ultimate goal: she is now in the presence of God and enjoys the Beatific Vision. She is, therefore, someone I want to emulate.

And, judging from the sheer number of people who have gone to see the relics of St. Thérèse around the country, I am not alone in this. Maybe a few people have gone out of idle curiosity. That's not a sin, and it's not to be discouraged, either: didn't Jesus himself say "Come and see" to some of his first disciples? And perhaps a few people have gone in the hope of experiencing a miracle. Miracles do happen, but only if you ask for them! The reason we see so few miracles, I am sure, is that people limit their prayers to what they believe is possible, and don't dare to ask for anything more.

I think this is what I have gained from venerating St. Thérèse's relics: the idea that I need to pray more trustingly, and more insistently, like a child who expects its parents to provide everything it needs and wants, and so just asks.

Two other very moving accounts from friends who venerated the relics at Westminster: Leutgeb has written her report in two parts (First and Second), and Patricius has also written a post.

And I want to include a message for Elizabeth: the relics are, as far as I can ascertain, the saint's femur (thigh bone) and some of the bones from her foot... I don't know what happened to the rest of her leg!

Saint Thérèse

I am not a devotee of St. Thérèse of Lisieux. Her autobiography was recommended to me soon after I returned to the Church, and I read it, eager to learn more about a relatively recent saint. I found it very hard to finish: the sentiments expressed were far too saccharine-sweet for my tastes. I preferred the acerbic qualities shown by St. Bernadette and St. Teresa of Avila.

However, it isn't every day that a canonised saint drops in for a visit, and when I heard that the relics of St. Thérèse would be coming to England, I knew that I would spend the rest of my life regretting it if I didn't make the effort to go and see her for myself.

Living on the outskirts of London, I considered going to see her relics when they were brought to Westminster Cathedral. However, I decided that this was probably not the best option for me, as I was sure there would be huge crowds, and I didn't fancy the idea of queuing for ages after having been on my feet all day at school.

Seeing the relics when they were at Aylesford seemed like a much better prospect. Aylesford is a relatively short drive down the motorway, and, even better, the relics would be there over the weekend. Although there were members of the parish UCM going early on Saturday morning (they'd been asked to stand watch over the relics for a while) and another group was going to attend the Mass on the Saturday lunchtime, I wasn't keen to get caught up with all the crowds. My knee and ankle have been playing up in the damp weather, and standing still for long periods of time, or walking in a slow-moving queue, is quite painful.

One of the Knights of St. Columba told me that there would be an all-night vigil on the Saturday night, and this seemed to be the ideal solution: I thought that there would still be lots of people, but a lot less than during the day.

Sure enough, the journey was an absolute doddle (no need to park a mile away) and, when I arrived at 10:40pm, although there were lots of cars in the parking area, the shrine itself was pretty empty...

I discovered that the all-night vigil had started with a Mass, and, on checking the programme, I realised that, since most people were at the Mass, this would be the perfect time to go to the Relic Chapel. The entrance to the Chapel was via the Rosary Way.

A large white tent had been erected as a sort of chapel, where large votive candles were burning and I asked the friar to light a couple for me, while I said a prayer or two before the statue of St. Thérèse.

I then made my way into the Relic Chapel itself, and was surprised to find it almost empty, apart from a very few people praying around the edges of the room...

I took a photo or two, and, not wanting to disturb anyone, moved in a bit closer, saying a few prayers. I felt drawn to the reliquary, but wasn't sure what to do next: after all, no-one else was moving. I waited a bit longer, and finally decided to ask the Knights of St. Columba if I could touch and venerate the reliquary.

"Yes, of course you can," came the response, "that's what it's there for."

I didn't need any further encouragement, and promptly laid my hands upon it, praying a Hail Mary or two, and then I kissed the reliquary (well, the perspex dome covering it) before moving back to sit and pray. All of a sudden, everyone else in the room converged on the reliquary, as though they had been waiting for permission!

The atmosphere in the Relic Chapel was very prayerful, and I felt intensely moved by the experience, and extremely privileged to have been able to get so close. I went back to the tent and got another candle and a rose, and I placed these on the reliquary: I believe that makes them third class relics! More and more people started to enter the chapel, and I realised that Mass had ended, so I went out, in order that others could have some time with the saint.

I shall wait and see what the fruits of this visit are: both for myself and for the country as a whole. The outpouring of devotion among so many Catholics must surely produce great things.

OK... If You Insist...

I honestly thought that I should stop blogging.

A combination of tiredness, work pressures and some other stuff left me with a real reluctance to blog, and even reading anyone else's blog seemed like a tremendous chore. However, certain friends have told me (and in no uncertain terms, too) to stop being such a wuss, and to continue posting...

So, if you are one of the people who asked me to recommence blogging, you have only yourselves to blame...

Tired...

Right now I'm really tired... bone-achingly tired. Work seems to be expanding to fill all available time, and I haven't had the energy or the inclination to put up much more than the occasional post, most of which are apologies for not blogging... even worse, I haven't been reading blogs...

I have even (*gasps in horror*) been considering whether to knock the blogging on the head... the jury is still out on that one.

In the meantime, I'm off for an early night...

How Many Deaths Will Be Too Many...?

The HPV vaccine is being administered to schoolgirls in England right now.

Quite apart from the moral issues involved (though I feel strongly about these too) I think that the vaccination programme has been rushed through.

In the US, the vaccine, called Gardasil, has been associated with some adverse reactions - the Center for Disease Control & Prevention reports a rate of approximately 0.06%.

93% of these adverse reactions were what the CDC terms "non-serious" - that is, anything other than hospitalization, death, permanent disability, and life-threatening illness. Most of the adverse reactions were fainting, pain and swelling at the injection site (the arm), headache, nausea and fever.

There have been 43 reports of death among women receiving Gardasil. This was the official figure in the US up to June 2009. The authorities say that there is no evidence to suggest that these deaths were actually due to the vaccine...

There is no evidence to say that they were not due to the vaccine, either.

And now there has been a death of a schoolgirl in England following her vaccination with Cervarix, the vaccine chosen for use in the UK, though the post-mortem has yet to be carried out, so there isn't any evidence to prove that the vaccine was responsible.

Cervarix isn't licensed for use in the US. I haven't found out why. Speculation as to why the UK chose Cervarix over Gardasil suggests that it was due to financial considerations.

The figures quoted by the BBC (4,657 reported adverse reactions out of 1.4 million doses) suggest that the rate of adverse reactions for Cervarix is higher than that for Gardasil: 0.3%.

How much warped thinking is going on here, and why hasn't more been made of this in the media? They were quick enough to start screaming about swine flu.

Now, I am a scientist. I know that there is no such thing as a treatment without side effects. One has to weigh up the risks against the benefits. But this vaccine is being given because it reduces the risk of cervical cancer: it doesn't eliminate the chance of getting cervical cancer. Gardasil protects against 2 strains of the Human Papilloma Virus which cause around 70% of cervical cancers. The use of the cervical smear screening programme at 3 year intervals, on the other hand, helps to pick up 84% of changes which would, if untreated, lead to cervical cancer.

In addition, giving the vaccine in school is, I think, a big mistake. The girls at my school were been given their injection and sent straight back to class. None of the teachers were given any advice on what sort of adverse reactions to expect: and several girls reported headaches, nausea, soreness in their arms and dizzy spells - more so than would be expected compared to the BCG vaccinations, for example.

No doubt the post-mortem on the schoolgirl in Coventry will show that she had some underlying medical problem which predisposed her to an adverse reaction. I'm sure that is how it will be explained. But no-one in school has been advised of any medical problems which would constitute contra-indications for the vaccine. I'd be very surprised to hear that parents were told of specific risk factors.

In the meantime, I fear that there will be more deaths before anyone takes action.

Jesus Loves Me...?

I thought he was crucified rather than being thrown to the lions, but...

Not quite as good as the I Can Has Cheezburger? site, as there aren't any witty captions, but cat-lovers will still enjoy this one!

Deanery Mission Year...

The Deanery of Bexley is having a Mission Year, and to start us off, we had Mass in Blackfen on Friday evening. I arrived from work, feeling totally shattered, as I'm still getting to grips with my new timetable (it's a two-week timetable, and I'm teaching in nine different rooms with ten different classes, so "getting to grips" is a lengthy process!) and the start of the school term is always a hectic time.

Not being a breakfast person (yes, I know) and not having time to stop for lunch (I know, I know!!) I was delighted to see that some of the UCM were working incredibly hard to ensure that we had some light refreshments available after the Mass...

Walking through the church to get a hymn book, I suddenly saw the most massive spider suspended above a pew. Any big building will have spiders, but this one appeared just to be suspended in mid air... and then I saw it was actually sitting in the middle of an enormous web which stretched from the roof of the church down to the pew. I wish I'd had some hairspray handy, as it was the most beautiful construction, and I tried to take a photo, but there wasn't enough dust around for the web to show up...

I tried to get a close-up shot, but I was worried that the "Beast of Blackfen" might be a little camera-shy, and I didn't want it trying to crawl over me at some point during the Mass: Beastie has got rather long legs...

Knowing that the web (because of its position) had only been made in the space of a few hours, it almost broke my heart to have to destroy it. But only almost... this spider had ambition, and would probably have spun its web right across the aisle if I'd left it.

The refreshments seemed to be well-received. I'm afraid that I was incredibly greedy, and wolfed down about 10 of the most delicious cheese and onion sandwiches... Not a bad start for the Mission Year. Watch this space for details of further events...

Mini-Blognic In Blackfen...

Last Sunday, Mike Forbester (Rudgate Ramblings) happened to stop by in Blackfen for Mass. Afterwards, I persuaded him to pose for a little photo with the Blackfen Posse...

We have quite a few bloggers in Blackfen: from left to right Patricius, Zephyrinus (who only comments), His Hermeneuticalness, Mike and Leutgeb.

While I'm about it, Mike mentioned that regular Extraordinary Form Masses are to recommence in York, starting from Sunday 11th October, at the Church of the English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace in York. It will be at 6.30pm, and for the time being, it will be a Low Mass. The celebrant will be Fr Stephen Maughan. This is definitely good news.

Memory Lane...

Something or other reminded me of this song by Luther Vandross,

and that in turn triggered the memory of this other song by Mike and the Mechanics...

Of course, what I had forgotten was the reason that I stopped listening to these two excellent tracks: they each reduce me to a blubbering wreck within a few bars. They are, however, very good songs, if you can get past the emotional baggage... or is it because of the baggage?

Blogging is still sporadic because of work pressures, and I'm feeling a teensy weensy bit neglected and unloved... has anyone even noticed my absence from the blogosphere...?

*sniff*

Extending A Very Warm Welcome...

...RJW has posted the occasional comment on this blog. I am delighted to see that he has decided to start his own blog, and that he has excellent taste - I am on his blogroll.

Do pop over to The Accidental Blog and say hello!

Twitch of the mantilla to Adrienne.

The Holy Father To Visit Britain!

It seems that the Holy Father is planning to visit the UK in 2010. I have been busy teaching all day, and only heard a one-line snippet on BBC Radio 4 as I drove home.

Obviously a visit from the person we Catholics consider to be Christ's representative on Earth only merits a passing comment taking up around 30 seconds-worth of valuable air time... after all, the Lib-Dem Party Conference ended today, and that is of far more importance. Mind you, this could be a blessing in disguise, given the anti-Catholic bias of Auntie Beeb.

Damian Thompson has suggested the autumn as the most probable timing for the visit... Radio 4 said January in the aforementioned snippet. And the BBC news website just says 2010, but thinks that there may be a link to Cardinal Newman's beatification, and suggests that it will be a six-day visit.

Fr. John Boyle just pipped me to the post by getting his report done before me: obviously he heard the news while near his computer! He gives a list of all the papers which have reported the impending visit. And, as he so rightly says, we need to start our spiritual preparation now...

I Won An Award...!

Quite a sweet one to win, actually! Fr. Anthony Ho awarded the Loyal Friend and Visitor Award to me, and now I have to pass it on.

The rules are as follows:

1. Copy the loyal picture above and post it on your blog.

2. Pass it on to those whom you think is / are deserving.

3. Leave a message for them.

4. Pass it on to as many people as you want.

5. Leave a comment with the person who originally gave you the award.

Ok, now, I would like to pass on this award to:

1. Leutgeb (because she occasionally reads my blog, but is too good a friend to tell me that I blog too much about cats and blonde jokes!)

2. Karen (because she reads my blog far too often... usually from work, and the time difference means she is often the first one to comment...)

3. Patricius (because he reads my blog so carefully that he knows what I'm going to tell everyone in the Parish club before I open my mouth!)

4. Fr. Tim (because he reads my blog occasionally, but, when I'm telling everyone in the Parish club what I wrote, he pretends he hasn't read it already... then again, maybe he hasn't read it...)

5. Mike (because he visited the Parish and said nice things about it... the photo's going up soon, just been a bit busy...)

I know How It Feels...

The I Can Has Cheezburger? Team have started a related blog, Dreaming of Kittens, for pictures and videos of cute napping kittens. Slightly less compulsive viewing than the LOLcats (there are no witty captions) but definitely "up there" in the "ahhhh" stakes.

Having crashed out for five hours this evening (ooops) I can sympathise with this little one...

God In The Dock...?

Some of my students really have a weird outlook on life.

Handing out some worksheets to one of my new Year 8 classes, I was stopped by one boy who wanted to know why, if I was called "Miss," I wore a wedding ring.

I explained that I had taken vows. "So, you're, like, married to God then?" queried another student.

This caused some consternation: "What? So does that mean you can't get a divorce?"

I hope that the fleeting consideration which flitted across my mind of how one could possibly go about claiming any alimony doesn't constitute a mortal sin...

The Seven Dolours of Our Lady...

This morning started badly - the shower attachment on my bath taps gave up the ghost in most spectacular fashion, resulting in my bathroom floor being completely awash, while my hair wasn't. Not wanting to be late for work, I decided to deal with it all when I got home...

So, after a fairly hectic day, I abandoned the pile of books waiting to be marked, and high-tailed it out of school in order to get to one of my local shops which sells householdy-type things. Being home much earlier than usual, I washed my hair, stuck something prepackaged in the microwave, and settled down in front of the computer for a quick browse through the blogs.

Patricius has a beautifully reflective post on the Stabat Mater, in which he mentioned that his favourite version was the one by Aniero. I checked the (small) collection of classical CDs in my possession, and then went on to You Tube in the hopes of finding it there, but no joy. Instead, I found the following version by Palestrina...

I used to have a Rosary of the Seven Dolours: I acquired it soon after I returned to the Faith, seventeen years ago (I don't remember the exact date, but it was some time in September: the 24th Sunday in Ordinary Time, Year C to be precise... this meant that the Gospel was the one which read "There is more rejoicing in heaven over one repentant sinner..." and, having just been reconciled to the Church, I sat and sobbed through the sermon. Very moving!) I was drawn to Traddy devotions and prayers before I actually realised that they were Traddy.

Anyway, the Seven Dolours Rosary (or chaplet, actually) consists of seven groups each of seven beads, separated by seven medals, one for each of Our Lady's seven sorrows. There are also three extra beads, representing the tears shed by Our Lady at the foot of the Cross, and a medal of Our Lady of Sorrows.

The seven sorrows of Our Lady are:

1. The prophecy of Simeon.
2. The flight into Egypt.
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the Temple.
4. Mary meets Jesus carrying His cross.
5. The Death of Jesus
6. Mary received the body of Jesus from the cross
7. The body of Jesus is placed in a tomb.

Still Alive, Still Blogging...

I don't seem to have much in the way of blogging time at the moment. However, today was the second anniversary of the Promulgation of Summorum Pontificum, and I sort of felt that I couldn't allow it to pass without comment of some sort...

The best comment is actually to be found by watching Fr. Tim's video...

We had an extra Mass in the parish this evening, in the Extraordinary Form, which was fortuitous.

It also happened to be the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross... and, as Fr. Tim has a Relic of the True Cross, those of us present were able to venerate it.

I feel as if I've been crammed full of blessings... that sounds all wrong, but you know what I mean, I'm sure... My cup truly runneth over...

On that cheerful note, I'm off to bed. More soon.