Rosary Sunday

The dedication of the parish to Our Lady of the Rosary means that we usually get to celebrate our patronal feast twice over, once on Rosary Sunday and then again on the feast. This afternoon, as is our custom, we had Rosary, Procession and Benediction. This year, the procession was enhance in various ways. The President of the Union of Catholic Mothers suggested that I invite children to bring a flower to carry in procession and then leave as a token of devotion to Our Lady. We also took the procession outside for the first time for many years. In addition, we now have more servers for Benediction, so could have six torchbearers who are used to the ceremonies. Here is a picture at the "veneremur cernui":

My sermon at Mass focussed on Pope John Paul's wonderful explanation of the Rosary: we contemplate with Mary the face of Christ. I said also that Our Lady can help us in two particular ways today: in the upholding of the sanctity of human life from conception to natural death, and in the virtue of chastity which is undermined by material on the television and the internet. We call upon Our Lady both as Virgo purissima (Virgin most pure) and as Refugium peccatorum (refuge of sinners.)

On Wednesday, we will have an English parish Mass in the morning, a school Mass in the afternoon and a Latin (EF) Mass in the evening so I think we can say that we are observing the feast!

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