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...)