Pics From The Epiphany...

The start of term is always a hectic time, so blogging has been even lighter than usual. I have been so rushed off my feet that I even forgot my trusty camera on Thursday, despite knowing that we were having a Missa Cantata for the Epiphany. All, however, is not lost... I did have my iPhone with me, and, although the pictures are not quite up to my usual standard, it didn't seem quite right to let such a momentous occasion pass without some sort of memento...

Urgent Prayer Request...

The wonderfully entertaining Dominic Mary (of Libera Me fame) has been a little quiet of late. I've just heard from a mutual friend that he's been having some health problems, and they have rather put a crimp in his blogging (and facebooking) activities. He's due to undergo some sort of biopsy tomorrow - details are sketchy at the moment, but it is quite a serious procedure, and your prayers would be greatly appreciated.

I'll let you know more as soon as I am able...

Now There's A Problem With Blackberries...

Seems that Apple doesn't have a monopoly on glitches...



Mantilla-twitch in the direction of Matthew Warner (who actually tweeted it rather than blogged it, but even so...)

Start As You Mean To Go On...

After showing photos of what I considered to be the best possible way to see out the old year, I thought I'd post a couple of photos showing the best way to usher in the new one...

Before Mass, Fr. Tim led us in singing the Veni, Creator Spiritus...

And then we had Mass...

And then we had Exposition (followed by Benediction at the end of the Holy Hour.)

Beautiful!

Just To Make You Smile...

I have no idea what this is about, or what they are supposed to be singing, but for sheer joy and exuberance, this takes some beating...



Twitch of the mantilla to Ches.

Not The Best Of Starts...

One of my (many) New Year's Resolutions was to make much more of an effort to get up early, and especially to ensure that I spend half an hour in the church before Mass (I've been slacking of late!)

I was therefore not amused to discover that I'd slept through my alarms this morning. Fortunately, the kittens were hungry and amused themselves by reaching under the duvet to see if they could touch my toes. They could. But only if they extended their claws...

I have since discovered that this affected any iPhone users who had single alarms set. Fr. Z was almost caught out by it too, so I'm in good company.

I am getting ever so slightly hacked off with iPhone glitches... Oh well, only one more year of my contract to go...

Best Quote Of The Year (So Far...)

An interesting response regarding my recent change of hair colour:

"Well, I suppose if one can't have a church with Gothic architecture, the next best thing is to have Goth parishioners..."

"If I was Goth, my hair would be black!"

"Oh no... haven't you heard? Grey is the new, sophisticated Goth..."

Seeing Out 2010 In Style...

This is definitely my preferred method of bidding goodbye to the old year - especially as there is a Plenary Indulgence attached (and remember, one doesn't need to restrict the springing of Holy Souls from Purgatory just to the month of November!)

We started off with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, and the recitation of the Rosary...

Then we had some time for silent prayer, Fr. Tim reminding us that our prayer should consist of adoration of Our Lord, contrition for our sins during the past year, thanksgiving for all the many blessings we have received during the past year and supplication for the graces we will need during the coming year. I don't know about anyone else, but I really found that little reminder (more a reflection, actually) really helpful in keeping focussed!

We then sang the Te Deum - a little rapidly, I thought, but Fr. Tim maintained that the Te Deum should be chanted at a manly pace, akin to marching. I would have preferred it a tad slower - my Latin isn't quite up to speed!

Benediction proceeded along familiar lines - the Tantum ergo, the incensing of the Blessed Sacrament and the actual Benediction...

Rather beautifully, the camera recorded the time of the photo of Benediction here as exactly midnight! Outside we could hear fireworks exploding and cheers coming from the Parish Club...

We then recited the Divine Praises in reparation for blasphemies, the Blessed Sacrament was reposed to the strains of Adoremus in aeternum, and we finished up with the Marian anthem of the season, the Alma, redemptoris mater...

Finally, Fr. Tim invited all present into the small hall for a glass of wine and some chocolates, to celebrate the New Year... I managed to avoid the Cadbury's Heroes and stuck to the rather more interesting Guylian chocolates which were also on offer.

Sadly, I had to decline the wine, as I needed to drive home. I am, however, having a small glass of celebratory fizz (a rather good Christmas present) - I convinced myself that it was imperative to get the photos up on the blog as soon as possible, and so might as well have something to keep me going...

Having finished both the glass of fizz, and the blog post, I shall call it a night. There's another Plenary Indulgence available later on...

Happy New Year !

At the time this post goes up (assuming all is well with Blogger and the world in general) I shall be receiving Our Lord's Benediction at Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, having sung the Te Deum to see out 2010. I hope to take photos, but they might be delayed a little.

I would just like to wish all of my readers a happy New Year, with prayers and best wishes for 2011.

Sad News...

I received an email informing me that Southwell Books is closing down. This is a real shame, as they provided an excellent source of Catholic books, and everything they sold was in complete accord with the teachings of the Church.

They are in the process of selling off the remaining stock - most titles are sold out, but there are some books still remaining, with some splendid end of season sale offers on selected items. I suggest you pop over to the website and have a browse...

New Blog For A New Year...

I am delighted to announce that a great friend of mine, using the name Cazienza Puellae, has commenced (or rather, strictly speaking, recommenced) blogging.

The blog is called Vox in Rama audita est, and I have to say that the first post suggested a very interesting reason for St. Joseph taking Our Lady and Our Lord into Egypt. The thought of Our Lady facing off against Herod's slaughtering soldiers is something to ponder!! They say that hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, but I suspect whoever coined that phrase hadn't ever encountered a mother protecting her child...

Anyway, do go over and have a look. There's only the first post at the moment, but a few more visitors might persuade Cazienza to Puellae her finger out... (sorry about that pun, couldn't resist...*hangs head in shame*)

Quick Update From Stonyhurst...

Fr. Chris Findlay-Wilson emailed a brief report of the goings-on at the Faith Winter Conference. It felt really odd not being in the thick of things, but that's the way things go. I shall, however, pass on Fr. Chris' thoughts... (because I have a blog, and he doesn't, and it would be a shame for such a nice email to go to waste... )

He wrote:

Another extraordinary three days of great grace.

There were around 206 people not including all the day visitors: 31 priests, 2 deacons and 13 seminarians. But this year we ALSO had two bishops who celebrated Mass for us: newly ordained Bishop Mark Davies of Shrewsbury and also Bishop Philip Tartaglia of Paisley diocese!

The excellent talks were all on prayer, building from our faith vision of God's plan for us as spiritual creatures, through the meaning of the Mass and the methods of prayer to Our Lady's role.

The conference ran extremely smoothly thanks to the efficiency and generosity of the organising team.

Finally, this morning we were able to congratulate Dan Cooper on his 70th birthday...

I would like to add my own congratulations to Sir Dan of the Nesbitry... ad multos annos! I find it hard to believe that he has reached his three score years and ten, and I can only pray that he gets allocated a few more years! Faith conferences just wouldn't be the same without Sir Dan to bully everyone into buying pamphlets, books DVDs and magazines... all of which are available through the website... The photo, by the way, was from the Towards Advent event at Westminster Cathedral Hall this November (Sir Dan is the one on the right...)

Two bishops has got to be a record. I really look forward to hearing the talks when they're published as MP3 files...

Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow...

Those of my readers who have been following my blog for a while will know that I have a tendency to do silly things with my hair. Usually those silly things are pretty predictable, and happen when I lack the time, money or opportunity to go to my regular hairdresser.

I never seem to learn from these mistakes. I have had some pretty spectacular disasters over the years, the most impressive of which was when I went aubergine. Fortunately that episode predated blogs and phone cameras, and so no evidence exists, other than my scarred psyche.

An aversion to being photographed has distinct advantages.

However, yesterday I restrained my natural inclination to mess about with my hair, and went to the hairdresser. It was decided that, as it was in quite a bit of a mess colour-wise, it might be wise to bleach out everything and start from scratch. The hair equivalent of a tabula rasa, no less...

I've never done that before, and visions of perfectly ash blonde hair glittered enticingly through my mind. I agreed that it was worth a go, and I wasn't in any particular hurry, so I could waste a few hours drinking cups of tea, chatting to the assistants about hair, nails, makeup and whatnot. Girly stuff.

I can hear the cry of "Photos, or it didn't happen...!" resounding across the blogosphere. Now, I really do hate my own photos, so I have edited these to remove my features, though there is enough left for you to get the general idea.

First of all, there is the state I was in to begin with...

Lots of honey tones in the hair, which really do not suit my colouring at all, as well as making it look as if I need a wash, even when I just have!

The first stage of the process involved bleach - lots of it. This was to strip out the reddish tones, as well as to remove any previous hair dyes.

This basically looked (and felt) like straw.

Next, came the application of the light ash blonde colour. I expressed reservations almost immediately as I noticed how light it was getting. The hairdresser dried my fringe off first so I could judge just how light it was, and whether remedial action would be required...

It was a beautiful shade, but more baby blonde than ash, and far too light for my complexion. The hairdresser liked it a lot, but we agreed that it just wasn't "me." I explained that I wanted to go more silvery, with a bit of grey thrown in... so, after perusal of shade cards, more hair dye was employed...

The final result was rather more grey than I had anticipated, and, to be honest, it was a bit of a shock. However, I am getting used to it, and I think it will tone down a bit after a few washes... I rather like it, though I don't think anyone else does...

I was quite thankful that I was able to wear my mantilla at Mass this morning! I suspect the real test will be in the Parish club after Rosary and Benediction this evening... I shall let you know if I'm greeted with stunned silence or hysterical laughter... Watch this space!!

Faith Winter Conference At Stonyhurst...

As I write this, the Faith Winter Conference is well under way.

I expect that reports will be posted via various sources, along with photographic evidence... Given the weather, I sincerely hope that there isn't a dawn fire alarm (as there has been a few times in the past... I remember one year standing ankle-deep in snow, in my nightdress and coat, waiting for the all clear... it was jolly cold!)

I can't wait for the talks to be made available - they should be up on the Faith website reasonably quickly. The talks from the Summer Session are available for free download in the meantime.

Time For A Blonde Joke...

I have been posting so much about cats of late that I have neglected the other thing for which my blog is famous... namely, blonde jokes.

A blonde and a redhead went to the bar after work for a drink, and sat on stools watching the 6 o'clock news. A man was shown threatening to jump from the Brooklyn Bridge, and the blonde turned to the redhead and said, "He's just seeking attention. I bet you $50 that he won't jump."

The redhead looked at the blonde, grinned, and agreed

As they continued to watch, the man jumped, so the blonde gave the redhead $50. The redhead, after a moment's hesitation, gave back the money, saying, "I can't take this, you're my friend."

But the blonde insisted, "No. A bet's a bet. You won fair and square. Take the money."

Then the redhead said, "Listen, I have to tell you that I knew he'd jump. I saw this on the 5 o'clock news, so I can't take your money."

To which the blonde replied, "Well, I saw it too, but I didn't think he would jump again!"

Tomorrow...

...if it doesn't snow, I intend to get Monsignor Miaowrini blessed. She doesn't know it yet...

Well, I want to disabuse the two kittens of the idea that the kitty-carrier is associated with the vet...

Interesting New Blog...

Ok, not new... new to my blogroll. I can heartily recommend Wheat & Weeds. Pop on over and check it out!

Liturgical Orientation...

Even in the Ordinary Form of the Mass, having the priest praying in the same direction as the rest of the congregation, IMHO, adds so much.

It struck me yesterday, as Fr. Finigan turned towards the congregation with the Host, saying "Behold the Lamb of God..." and it was as if Our Lord had been hidden from sight (apart from the Elevations) until that moment. You just don't get that same sense when the priest is versus populum for the Canon...

Just thought I'd share...

Midnight Mass...

I wanted to take a few photos from this evening's celebrations... but just a very few... Obviously, it being Christmas, I wanted to share!

Before the Carol Service started, I took a photo of the church, as seen from the back.

I took a couple of photos of the Crib, before the baby was laid in the manger (obviously)...

...and then a close-up once the Christ-child made his appearance!

I managed to get a shot of the Blessing of the Crib at the start of Mass, but only from a distance... The zoom on my camera works pretty well, provided I keep it still!

Fr. Tim gave an excellent sermon...

We had a full complement of servers on the Sanctuary, plus a few extra...

And, finally, my favourite moments...

I know that we're very privileged to have Midnight Mass in the Extraordinary Form (actually at midnight, too.) I hope that the rest of you enjoy your Christmas Masses as much as I did...

A Merry Christmas To All My Readers...

...the three of you know who you are...

(Ok, ok... I do have a few more readers than that... though I am reaping the rewards of not posting stuff for a week, and hence numbers are a little down... Nothing a few blog links won't address! *ahem*)

Seriously, thank you for bothering to read my ramblings during the past year (even the bits about kittens), thank you for your prayers and words of encouragement (especially the bits about kittens) and be assured of my prayers and best wishes for you all on this special night.

Kitten Stuff...!

A few people have asked me how the kittens are getting along. It being the season of goodwill and all, I am delighted to report that the two of them are much more friendly towards each other since they came back from the vet. My decision to have both of them operated upon at the same time (despite a slight age difference) was obviously a good move... and I suspect that they united in the face of a common enemy.

Both Monsignor Miaowrini and Monsignor Furretti have received the tonsure... I was fascinated to note that Miaowrini has pink skin under her black fur, whereas Furretti has black skin.

Knowing that curiosity is the besetting sin of all feline life, I have been careful to keep the toilet lid down. I was slightly distracted the other evening, and failed to observe this little precaution. Sure enough, I suddenly heard a loud splash: Miaowrini had managed to fall in. Fortunately she managed to get herself out again rather quickly, without getting her stitches wet...

No Surprises...!

The bit by the Holy Father on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day was very nice, but hardly surprising - God becoming Man and dying on the Cross for our Salvation. Admittedly, I think that one or two people may have been caught out by the mention of the Cross at a time when we traditionally focus on the birth of a little baby, but it is pretty standard fare for us Catholics. It did help to keep the whimsical element at bay, as Damian Thompson so rightly pointed out.

There has never been quite so much of a fuss made over the Thought for the Day slot, however. The Today programme devoted much interview time before and after the slot to discuss it - it must have been a very slow news day.

The excellent Fr. Ray Blake was spot on with his criticism of the interview with Archbishop Longley: I yearned for him to just say that the Truth is never going to change, so of course the teaching of the Church is the same. Instead the Archbishop wittered on about the survival of the Church being due to its ability to adapt.

One of the best summaries had to be that by Leutgeb - I now have an indelible image of Polly Toynbee and Cristina Odone going head-to-head - handbags at dawn!

Anticipation...

As well as anticipating the Nativity, I'm waiting for the Holy Father's message on BBC Radio 4's Thought for the Day. Quite apart from wanting to hear the Pope, anything that annoys the National Secular Society has to be a good thing...

Of Gods And Men...

Yesterday I went to see "Of Gods and Men" - I hadn't heard much about it beforehand, I just knew that it was about a Community of monks who got themselves massacred.

Actually, it is much, much more than that. It is the story of a Community of Trappist monks - I gathered that they followed the Benedictine Rule - who worked with villagers in Algeria. They were eventually martyred by Muslim fundamentalists. It was a very intense film, despite being "slow" in the cinematic sense. There was so much more that I wanted to know.

I found it very moving: two scenes especially "grabbed" me. The first was the monk who, having arrived at the monastery only the night before (with messages and other stuff for the Community) protested "I've only just got here!" when the terrorists captured them. The second was Brother Amédée, who, having hidden under his bed, was left behind in the monastery after the attack...

It's on at the Picture House in Greenwich at the moment. It isn't typical "Christmas" fare, nevertheless, I would highly recommend going to see it.

A Word To The Wise...

I spotted this on Paulinus' blog yesterday. It is, indeed, a cautionary tale...

First, a 51 year-old health food nut advocate:

Next, a 50 year-old cook who loves butter, cream and meat:

Admittedly, the 50 year-old is unique. I, too, love butter, eggs, cream and meat, but I don't look as good as her. Sadly, I'm not even as good looking as the 51 year-old... but that's another story!

Another Neat Christmas Video...

Similar to The Digital Story of the Nativity, this Christmas video is produced by Igniter Media - they also did the fantastic "That's my King! Do you know Him?" and the "I am Sin" videos.

Harnessing the internet to spread the message. Definitely the way to go...

Feelings Of Guilt...

My kittens are quite sensible about food. They don't wolf it all down just because it's there... they will eat what they want, and then leave the rest until later.

Tomorrow, I am taking them to the vet, to ensure that I don't find myself being presented with more kittens. To prepare them, I have to ensure that they don't eat after a certain time.

I fed them a little later than usual, and sat with them while they ate their fill. Then, when they wandered off, I emptied the bowls. Suddenly I was confronted by two irate kittens, who realise that their food has been removed. The fact that they're not hungry appears to be immaterial... the bowl are empty, and this is most definitely not a good thing...

And I am left feeling guilty... Someone suggested I get them this little toy...



...or maybe this one...



Now, I'm not feeling quite guilty enough to buy them an iPad. But I'm sure that the two of them will be working on that...

O Christmas Tree...

They were apparently attempting to get into the Guinness Book of Records for the most expensively dressed tree. At £7 million, I suspect that they succeeded...



Two things spring to my (oh-so-shallow) mind: first, am I the only person who thinks that the tree looks, well, a bit drab? I mean, aren't diamonds and stuff supposed to shine and sparkle? They really should have added a few more coloured fairy lights.

Secondly, I bet my two kittens would have fun with that tree... my guess is that they'd trash it in, oh... ten minutes...

Twitch of the mantilla to His Hermeneuticalness.

New Deacons...

On Saturday, I was very privileged to be invited to the diaconate ordinations at St. John's Seminary, Wonersh. From the dizzy heights of the organ loft, I was able to take one or two discreet photos, though they aren't my usual close-up-and-personal shots, and I've uploaded a few of the photos to Flickr...

During the investiture of the Ordinands with the stole and dalmatic, the seminary schola, led by Fr. Stephen Dingley, sang Holy Child by David Palmer - a piece I haven't heard (or sung) in years, and it was a great favourite of mine, so quite a treat to hear.

I found the ceremony incredibly moving; the atmosphere among the seminarians is really great, and it was very encouraging to reflect that these young men are our future priests.

If you are wondering why, despite being on crutches, I was tucked away up in the organ loft, it was because I had been invited to sing a hymn after Communion - a tremendous honour! The acoustics in the chapel were amazing, and covered a multitude of sins, which was just as well, because I have the remnant of a chesty cough which I haven't quite been able to shake off... fortunately, Fr. Gerard Bradley played the organ accompaniment beautifully, which also helped disguise my imperfections! In any event, my contribution seemed to go down reasonably well.

I'd like to offer my congratulations to the Ordinands: Revv. John Chandler (Portsmouth), Daniel Kelly (Brentwood), David King (Arundel & Brighton) and Jonathon Routh (Southwark).

Gaudete Sunday...

Yes, I realise that I'm a week late with the photos from Gaudete Sunday, but I've been busy playing with the kittens. It is extraordinarily difficult to concentrate on uploading photos and stuff when two kittens are trying to chomp on one's toes. I look as if I'm self-harming... my arms are positively covered in scratchmarks! Nothing vicious or deliberate - the kittens are just learning the finer points of how to retract their claws...

Anyway, once again, the rose High Mass set made an appearance. After all, it seems a shame not to use it! We had Deacon John Harrison and Fr. McNally to assist Fr. Tim Finigan with the Mass...

It looked as if the UCM had been busy with an embroidery needle or two, embellishing the humeral veil...

I thought I'd show a few of the other photos...

If It Had Happened 2000 Years Later...

This made me chuckle...