Sometimes people ask me if I am busy. My stock answer is to say that I don't get bored. To youngsters asking what it is like to be a priest, I say that I have good days and bad days but that I have not yet had a boring day in nearly 25 years of priesthood.Yesterday was a particularly full day. In the morning, I celebrated the Requiem Mass for Sarah Keenan who had died at the grand age of 92. One of her American relatives had the good idea of recording some of her thoughts on tape and so after receiving her body into the Church on Thursday afternoon, I sat in my study and listened to her talking about Lourdes, Fatima, the Holy Land, the Rosary Procession in London and how she continually prayed for all her family and for all the Holy Souls.
The burial was at St Patrick's Cemetery, Leytonstone. Unusually for England, this is a Catholic cemetery. Some of my own relatives from the East End are buried there. It was a beautiful day and we spent some time going around, blessing graves and praying.
I then had to drive to Purley to talk at the John Fisher School Faith Group about the Martyrs in the life of the Church. I dug up some gruesome stories of the Roman Martyrs from St Alphonsus, the English Martyrs from Sebastian Bowden, and the life of St John de Brebeuf to illustrate some of the torments that they endured. I tried to make the point that what we have to put up with by way of ridicule is pretty trivial compared to their sufferings and that if we are called to martyrdom, we must be ready through prayer and the sacraments to call on God's grace which alone can help us in such a time.From there I drove over to New Addington where Fr Stephen Boyle, (the brother of the South Ashford Priest) was in the middle of a Forty Hours devotion with a pro-life theme. I heard some confessions, then said Mass and preached on chastity as the only real guarantee of the sanctity of human life. Then we had some time before the Blessed Sacrament, during which I led the Rosary, said the pro-life Litany and some other prayers.
Meanwhile, the Mulier Fortis has been busy posting photos. Here is one from the High Mass last Tuesday for the feast of Our Lady of the Rosary:
And here is a video from our recent Mass for the feast of St Francis of Assisi. It is quite fun because it is a bit like those little books that you used to get with successive pictures that looked as if they were moving if you flicked the pages. (Just to be clear: this is a slideshow with photos - the music was added afterwards from another source.)Looking through my phone (isn't it funny that you can do that!) I found this photo from the Coal Hole after Mass at Maiden Lane. I thought that the gloom and the traditional jugs of ale suggested a rather conspiratorial gathering.
7 comments:
I have heard it said somewhere that only boring people get bored.
Well, there is nothing boring about this diary, and many thanks to Father for sharing it.
Is there still room in Leytonstone ? My father's family has relatives buried there.
I once knew a Canadian priest, a relative of the Brebeuf family, one of whom suffered ghastly tortures at the hands of the Huron (?) tribe. I don't mind the idea of a bullet or something quick, but nothing like that !
It's very good to hear news of the other Fr. Boyle. I can't think of a better way to spend one's time than in front of the Blessed Sacrament. Except, perhaps, for attending the old Mass. It was once said of Gueranger that he lived, breathed and loved the Roman liturgy. There's a fine epitaph ! Many thanks to Mac for the photos.
Not to change the subject, but I wonder what it is about the word "jug" of ale which to me always suggests the potency of the ale in a way that the word "tankard" or "glass" doesn't.
And yes, I love the final photo. Very cloak and dagger. It has about it a whiff of Robert Catesby, Guido Fawkes, and Oliver Wright (a rather distant ancestor of mine).
A most enjoyable post. Thank you very much.
Leyton looks interesting. Our son's house is in Bow so another time I might go and have a loo around. Liz.
Clearly you folks were all plotting to restore Our Lady's dowry ;)
I would like to be buried in a Catholic Cemetery. One of my two brothers died just over a year ago and he is buried in a Catholic Cemetery. I was with him up to the last three weeks before he died and one of the journeys which we made was to the cemetery where he pointed out where his grave was to be. The cemetery is in the grounds surrounding the residence of the Bishop of Salford. Google Earth has a very clear satellite image of the cemetery and I have his grave marked on my copy of Google Earth.
I was unable to stay in England up until his death and funeral so this is the best that I have of his final resting place here on earth.
It pleases me greatly to have this.
We all know that this life is but a temporary thing and the real life we look towards is not on this earth. Nevertheless, our bodies have been the tent in which we have gone through this life and eventually we will be re-united with the partner we all have, to see us along the journey towards our final destination.
Slightly off topic, but not quite, Fr. Mildew had a series of questions on his blog recently. One question was "What did St. Paul do when he first arrived in Cyprus?"
-Answer!! He took Courage!
In the light of your final picture above, one can see others "taking Courage"!!!!
Cheers!!
(goes to the fridge for a similar beverage!)
JARay
Peter - there is a new section of the cemetery where there seems to be some space but I know that it is in demand (as one old funeral joke has it - people are dying to get in there!)
Thanks, Father, for the information about Leytonstone : I had heard that it was more or less "full", and that it is difficult to get in even when you are dead !
With regard to JARay's comment, I should have thought the only way these days to ensure burial of one's mortal remains in a Catholic cemetery is to buy a burial plot in advance.
My parents did this, and so are buried in the cemetery in the grounds of a Catholic church in rural Lancashire. The church is dedicated to Our Lady, or rather to "St. Mary", and they get a mention each year in the parish newsletter.
Of course, if I die in my beloved Ireland (which I might), there is no shortage of Catholic cemeteries there !
Equally, if the scientists at CERN create a black whole into which the entire Earth will be sucked, then there will be no need to bother.
Remember Remember The Fifth Of November- Gunpowder Treason And Plot- Should Never Be Forgot
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