For a really good explanation of the Mass please go here:.http://frmartinfox.blogspot.co.uk/
.
And can any one explain to me what a "Praise and Worship Mass " is?
Monday, 20 August 2012
Friday, 17 August 2012
The Legion Of Mary.
"Faith must strain after all men with inextinguishable ardour.Sometimes that essential note is missing.People are not sought after,neither in the fold nor those outside it.But if the Ascension commandment(Go preach the Gospel to every Creature) be disregarded,it will be at a price.....the price of loss of grace,of diminution and decay even to the extinction of faith.Look round and see how many places have already paid that awful price."
(Handbook of The Legion of Mary).
As a young catholic,I understood that the great mission of the church was evangelization. That it was our duty if not our joy, to spread the words of our salvation to those around us and beyond.Most converts are fired up by zeal to begin with. I was no exception and wanted to share the pearl of great price with everyone.In those days The Legion Of Mary existed in most parishes in this area,all having a very healthy mixed membership and all as the name suggests, dedicated to Our Lady under a particular title.My local praesidium or unit (the Legion is organized on the model of the Roman army)was called "Our Lady of Grace",and I joined it a few months after my baptism.
The work undertaken was as the Parish priest prescribed.He attended every meeting ,led the Rosary and gave the allocutio or homily.One of the first assignments given to me and my fellow Legionary was to visit the local bowling alley.There the young gathered,their own meeting place.It was easy to strike up conversations there.They were my generation,and I was not afraid to ask them their thoughts on life and death.Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion, once said that if a man stops you in the street, and asks you for a light for his cigarette,within a few minutes he will be asking you for God.I think that that is true whatever veil covers the request.
Census work was undertaken,census of the whole parish.We knocked on every door,every mansion,every council house,every mobile home.Any dwelling where a lapsed catholic might be found(.It seems to me these days, that there are many lapsed Catholics waiting to be found....that no one searches for the lost).Hospitals and nursing homes were visited ,catholics and non catholics conversed with if they were well enough and always, always a prayer said before departure.The most lovely work undertaken was the taking of a statue of Our Lady to catholic families in the parish.The statue would be left with the family for a whole week,on the understanding that every day the rosary was prayed before her ,all the family together if possible.I loved transporting the statue and seeing the place made for her in their homes.A place usually decked out with the flowers of the season for Our Lady's honour.
Christmas day was not exempt from work for the Legionary.The old and the lonely were visited on that most holy day.Looking back I guess it required some level of commitment to be a Legionary.The weekly meeting was one and half hours more or less, and the work assigned at least two.Added to which the Legionary prayer had to be prayed daily,and you were required to attend the next level meeting,where all the local Praesidia from Parishes round about, would meet,usually once a month.
"The object of the Legion is the sanctification of its members by prayer and active co-operation,under ecclesiastical guidance,in Mary's and the Church's work of crushing the head of the serpent,and advancing the reign of Christ".(LegionHandbook).
I know that the Legion survives still in other parts of the country....I mourn its loss here.It seems that "Lay ministry" has taken the place of the lay apostolate ,that this" ministry" as applied here, has the effect of turning a parish community inward looking,instead of outward,making it exclusive instead of inclusive, of forgetting those outside the church gates who but for them, may never know the loving Christ.
(Handbook of The Legion of Mary).
As a young catholic,I understood that the great mission of the church was evangelization. That it was our duty if not our joy, to spread the words of our salvation to those around us and beyond.Most converts are fired up by zeal to begin with. I was no exception and wanted to share the pearl of great price with everyone.In those days The Legion Of Mary existed in most parishes in this area,all having a very healthy mixed membership and all as the name suggests, dedicated to Our Lady under a particular title.My local praesidium or unit (the Legion is organized on the model of the Roman army)was called "Our Lady of Grace",and I joined it a few months after my baptism.
The work undertaken was as the Parish priest prescribed.He attended every meeting ,led the Rosary and gave the allocutio or homily.One of the first assignments given to me and my fellow Legionary was to visit the local bowling alley.There the young gathered,their own meeting place.It was easy to strike up conversations there.They were my generation,and I was not afraid to ask them their thoughts on life and death.Frank Duff, the founder of the Legion, once said that if a man stops you in the street, and asks you for a light for his cigarette,within a few minutes he will be asking you for God.I think that that is true whatever veil covers the request.
Census work was undertaken,census of the whole parish.We knocked on every door,every mansion,every council house,every mobile home.Any dwelling where a lapsed catholic might be found(.It seems to me these days, that there are many lapsed Catholics waiting to be found....that no one searches for the lost).Hospitals and nursing homes were visited ,catholics and non catholics conversed with if they were well enough and always, always a prayer said before departure.The most lovely work undertaken was the taking of a statue of Our Lady to catholic families in the parish.The statue would be left with the family for a whole week,on the understanding that every day the rosary was prayed before her ,all the family together if possible.I loved transporting the statue and seeing the place made for her in their homes.A place usually decked out with the flowers of the season for Our Lady's honour.
Christmas day was not exempt from work for the Legionary.The old and the lonely were visited on that most holy day.Looking back I guess it required some level of commitment to be a Legionary.The weekly meeting was one and half hours more or less, and the work assigned at least two.Added to which the Legionary prayer had to be prayed daily,and you were required to attend the next level meeting,where all the local Praesidia from Parishes round about, would meet,usually once a month.
"The object of the Legion is the sanctification of its members by prayer and active co-operation,under ecclesiastical guidance,in Mary's and the Church's work of crushing the head of the serpent,and advancing the reign of Christ".(LegionHandbook).
I know that the Legion survives still in other parts of the country....I mourn its loss here.It seems that "Lay ministry" has taken the place of the lay apostolate ,that this" ministry" as applied here, has the effect of turning a parish community inward looking,instead of outward,making it exclusive instead of inclusive, of forgetting those outside the church gates who but for them, may never know the loving Christ.
Tuesday, 14 August 2012
The Angel at the Bus stop.
I felt particulary lonely last Sunday.
Lonely in my life,lonely in my faith,lonely in my spirit.Mass had seemed even more noisy than usual,which seemed to add to the humidity in the air.Before Mass I tried to bury my head in The little Office of Our Lady,which seems to put people off from trying to engage me in any conversation.I know that I must seem unapproachable to the people there.Not least because I refuse to take the magazine that is handed to me every month(I have a good reason for that)and refuse to wear a name tag.I am embarrassed by my refusals.I inwardly cringe as I run the gauntlet of the welcomers in the narthex knowing that they perceive me as unfriendly.That morning as I once again refused the magazine,I was told to take it and leave it on the bench if I didnt want to read it.What is the point in that!.
My solitary life is not by my design.Circumstances have made it so.I guess that it is God's will.If that is so,then my heart and mind says that I must embrace it, and bring forth with His grace, something beautiful from the desert. I make no secret of my traditionalist leanings.......I have been ridiculed because of them.......it matters not.It does not stop me loving those who do not agree.All of my life I have lived with people who did not agree.My own family, all non catholics at the time of my first conversion, were either seemingly indifferent to my new found faith,or, as in the case of my Father,rather hostile towards it, to put it mildly.That hostility he felt back then, did not stop him loving me,nor did I stop loving him.It was never a barrier to love,and that is how I feel about my fellow catholics now.The fact that I would wish to cover my head,to kneel to receive Him,to pray using the ancient beautiful language of the church is not a condemnation of them who do none of these things...far far from it,for most of the people at that little church have been more faithful than I.Rather, I think it is a case of honouring God , of recognising my own littleness before Him,of being concious of the holy ground that is The Mass.But these beliefs set me apart from my fellows,there is no traditionalist group in the area that I live......no Sunday Latin Mass whereby I might fulfill the obligation ,no chance to worship in the way that my heart, mind, and conscience tells me.There is great loneliness in that ,and great sorrow.
These thoughts consumed me as I stood at the bus stop after Mass, my lower self(who is my constant companion)told me that there was no point in going to Mass,where He whom the priest confects is not honoured.My higher self (who visits me now and again)told me that as long as Christ is present upon the altar there is no possibility of not going.My lower self, so persistent,,..you do not belong there,you are a pre-vatican 2 relic,remember what the priest says....we must move with the times,and so must the church.My higher self replies.......it does not matter that you are alone in your beliefs,it does not matter if you are rejected or laughed at...it really does not matter.
It is a very remote bus stop.I have never, ever, been joined by anyone else in waiting for the bus.Most people I would guess are still in bed at that time on a sunday morning.The congregation usually stop for coffee after Mass,or jump in their cars and drive off into the distance.To my surprise,this morning was to be different.What appeared to be an elderly lady was crossing the road and walking towards me,intent it seemed on reaching the stop.She showed me her bus pass and asked me if it was valid for that particular route and as I answered her and looked at her face ,I realised that it was quite beautiful.Now I am not a fanciful, person,nor am I prone to holy imaginings,but there was something unearthly in her beauty, some goodness which radiated from her gaze and my loneliness so oppressive ,seemed to vanish as I looked into her eyes.She asked me if I had been to Mass and what were those labels that everyone wore.I answered that they were name tags worn to show everyone your name..............She was silent, waiting for me to continue,and I couldnt help it but the words fell out of my mouth.It was all about community I said,about being inclusive,you know, not leaving anybody out.....but.......,go on, she said, go on.Sometimes I said, I think that they have forgotten about the great God,that they praise and love themselves before God,that community means more to them than worship,and reverence,and consciousness of holiness.That if it is God's house,then it must be treated as such,not as a social meeting place,but a quiet sanctified place, where the Creator meets the created, and where the Son is sacrificed for the sinner.
I expected reproof.Or a polite disagreement.It did not come.Instead it was seven words,Seven words that lifted my spirit ,and which remain with me."I am so glad you said that".With that, the bus arrived.She only travelled for one stop.Hardly worth it I thought.Was it possible that she agreed with me?Am I not so alone in my views,did she understand that I meant that if you love God first and honour Him,the love of your neighbour would follow?
I have never seen her before.I dont know if I will see her again.As I sit here and remember that encounter,I wonder if she was a figment of my imagination.Conjoured up from my loneliness and dejection.A kind of self-justification.I am not a fanciful person.I do not have holy imaginings.I am sane,sensible,and normal ,no I do not have holy imaginings...................
Lonely in my life,lonely in my faith,lonely in my spirit.Mass had seemed even more noisy than usual,which seemed to add to the humidity in the air.Before Mass I tried to bury my head in The little Office of Our Lady,which seems to put people off from trying to engage me in any conversation.I know that I must seem unapproachable to the people there.Not least because I refuse to take the magazine that is handed to me every month(I have a good reason for that)and refuse to wear a name tag.I am embarrassed by my refusals.I inwardly cringe as I run the gauntlet of the welcomers in the narthex knowing that they perceive me as unfriendly.That morning as I once again refused the magazine,I was told to take it and leave it on the bench if I didnt want to read it.What is the point in that!.
My solitary life is not by my design.Circumstances have made it so.I guess that it is God's will.If that is so,then my heart and mind says that I must embrace it, and bring forth with His grace, something beautiful from the desert. I make no secret of my traditionalist leanings.......I have been ridiculed because of them.......it matters not.It does not stop me loving those who do not agree.All of my life I have lived with people who did not agree.My own family, all non catholics at the time of my first conversion, were either seemingly indifferent to my new found faith,or, as in the case of my Father,rather hostile towards it, to put it mildly.That hostility he felt back then, did not stop him loving me,nor did I stop loving him.It was never a barrier to love,and that is how I feel about my fellow catholics now.The fact that I would wish to cover my head,to kneel to receive Him,to pray using the ancient beautiful language of the church is not a condemnation of them who do none of these things...far far from it,for most of the people at that little church have been more faithful than I.Rather, I think it is a case of honouring God , of recognising my own littleness before Him,of being concious of the holy ground that is The Mass.But these beliefs set me apart from my fellows,there is no traditionalist group in the area that I live......no Sunday Latin Mass whereby I might fulfill the obligation ,no chance to worship in the way that my heart, mind, and conscience tells me.There is great loneliness in that ,and great sorrow.
These thoughts consumed me as I stood at the bus stop after Mass, my lower self(who is my constant companion)told me that there was no point in going to Mass,where He whom the priest confects is not honoured.My higher self (who visits me now and again)told me that as long as Christ is present upon the altar there is no possibility of not going.My lower self, so persistent,,..you do not belong there,you are a pre-vatican 2 relic,remember what the priest says....we must move with the times,and so must the church.My higher self replies.......it does not matter that you are alone in your beliefs,it does not matter if you are rejected or laughed at...it really does not matter.
It is a very remote bus stop.I have never, ever, been joined by anyone else in waiting for the bus.Most people I would guess are still in bed at that time on a sunday morning.The congregation usually stop for coffee after Mass,or jump in their cars and drive off into the distance.To my surprise,this morning was to be different.What appeared to be an elderly lady was crossing the road and walking towards me,intent it seemed on reaching the stop.She showed me her bus pass and asked me if it was valid for that particular route and as I answered her and looked at her face ,I realised that it was quite beautiful.Now I am not a fanciful, person,nor am I prone to holy imaginings,but there was something unearthly in her beauty, some goodness which radiated from her gaze and my loneliness so oppressive ,seemed to vanish as I looked into her eyes.She asked me if I had been to Mass and what were those labels that everyone wore.I answered that they were name tags worn to show everyone your name..............She was silent, waiting for me to continue,and I couldnt help it but the words fell out of my mouth.It was all about community I said,about being inclusive,you know, not leaving anybody out.....but.......,go on, she said, go on.Sometimes I said, I think that they have forgotten about the great God,that they praise and love themselves before God,that community means more to them than worship,and reverence,and consciousness of holiness.That if it is God's house,then it must be treated as such,not as a social meeting place,but a quiet sanctified place, where the Creator meets the created, and where the Son is sacrificed for the sinner.
I expected reproof.Or a polite disagreement.It did not come.Instead it was seven words,Seven words that lifted my spirit ,and which remain with me."I am so glad you said that".With that, the bus arrived.She only travelled for one stop.Hardly worth it I thought.Was it possible that she agreed with me?Am I not so alone in my views,did she understand that I meant that if you love God first and honour Him,the love of your neighbour would follow?
I have never seen her before.I dont know if I will see her again.As I sit here and remember that encounter,I wonder if she was a figment of my imagination.Conjoured up from my loneliness and dejection.A kind of self-justification.I am not a fanciful person.I do not have holy imaginings.I am sane,sensible,and normal ,no I do not have holy imaginings...................
Wednesday, 15 February 2012
Mac's Meme.
. (http://thoughtsfromoasisinfrenchcatholicism.blogspot.com/.)I have been tagged by my dear Friend Jane,with regards to a meme from Mulier Fortis.The subject of the meme is to suggest three books for Mac's newly aquired Kindle.and then to tag five other bloggers.My choices are as follows:
1.Literary Converts,by Joseph Pierce.(includes Chesterton,Belloc,Baring,Knox,Muggeridge and Alec Guinness.)
2.St Francis,by G.k.Chesterton.(I included this book because St.Francis must be the most misrepresented saint of all,and I feel Chesterton captures his true spirit.)
3.Louis and Zelie Martin,by Rev.Paulinus Redmond.(Written in the form of letters to their daughter ,St Therese,and an illustration of ordinary lives lived extraordinarily well)
.
My five bloggers are as follows
.
Bara Brith.http://bara-brith.blogspot.com/
Whitesmokeahoyhttp://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/.
Loved sinner.http://lovedsinner.blogspot.com/
That the Bones You Have Crushed.http://thatthebonesyouhavecrushedmaythrill.blogspot.com/
Ecumenical Diabloghttp://ecumenicaldiablog.blogspot.com/
For some strange reason cant get the links to work...however ,you get my drift....
Rules are as follows.
Post rules on Blog.
Tag five bloggers,and tell them they have been tagged on their blog.
No Ref.books,or prayer books.
Link back to the person who tagged you.
1.Literary Converts,by Joseph Pierce.(includes Chesterton,Belloc,Baring,Knox,Muggeridge and Alec Guinness.)
2.St Francis,by G.k.Chesterton.(I included this book because St.Francis must be the most misrepresented saint of all,and I feel Chesterton captures his true spirit.)
3.Louis and Zelie Martin,by Rev.Paulinus Redmond.(Written in the form of letters to their daughter ,St Therese,and an illustration of ordinary lives lived extraordinarily well)
.
My five bloggers are as follows
.
Bara Brith.http://bara-brith.blogspot.com/
Whitesmokeahoyhttp://whitesmokeahoy.blogspot.com/.
Loved sinner.http://lovedsinner.blogspot.com/
That the Bones You Have Crushed.http://thatthebonesyouhavecrushedmaythrill.blogspot.com/
Ecumenical Diabloghttp://ecumenicaldiablog.blogspot.com/
For some strange reason cant get the links to work...however ,you get my drift....
Rules are as follows.
Post rules on Blog.
Tag five bloggers,and tell them they have been tagged on their blog.
No Ref.books,or prayer books.
Link back to the person who tagged you.
Friday, 23 September 2011
Credo!
When I became a catholic all those years ago there was no hint of any council.Yet within a few short years I found myself in the midst of what was called "The Showcase of Vatican 2".I dont remember any explanation for the changes,it seemed to happen almost overnight.No guides to the New Mass,no discussions on the documents ,no help for our bewilderment .It seemed to me that our priests were silent,certainly sermons on the evils of "modernity"ceased.I was too new to question.Too new,too young ,too inarticulate.
I survived for ten years.I worked in the parish,joined the Legion of Mary considered a religious vocation.But underneath there was a growing, undeniable ,conviction that what was happening in the church was not what I had signed up for.Central to my faith however and something that never wavered, was the belief that this was indeed the church that Christ founded.I held on to that belief then,and in the years that followed.I hold on to it now.
It is about three years since I returned.I have had a lot of solitude,a lot of deep thinking a lot of soul searching.I have read the Vatican 2 documents...well most of them.I have read about the"Ottiavani Intervention"and the subsequent letter of loyalty. I have compared the church we have now and what it was like before.What I was like then,and what I am now.I have read liberal blogs,traditional blogs,protestant blogs.I have tried to bend my mind to what some call nu-church, and what follows are my conclusions.
I believe Blessed John Paul's words,that "It is the privilege of the ordained to touch the sacred species".(I have seen instances of self -communicating,and lay people who"Do Exposition".)
I believe that the use of Extraordinary ministers should be just that.Extraordinary.
I believe that our priests should take Our Lord to the sick and the housebound(who hears their confessions?)
I believe in the validity of the Novus Ordo.
I yearn for The Mass of Ages.
I believe that The Blessed Sacrament reserved, should not be kept in a hole in a wall,but in the most prominent position .
I believe in the use of the Latin language in the liturgy.
I believe that men and women have their own separate place in the life of the church(I guess that means men only on the Altar )
I believe that the Extraordinary Form should be available in every parish(difficult as yet I know,but I still believe it should be so).
I believe that the priest should celebrate Mass facing God, together with the people.
I believe that Mass is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary,and not the celebration of The Last Supper(I have met those who think it to be so)
I believe that true participation in Holy Mass consists in the reception of Holy Communion in a state of grace.
I realise that I am just as orthodox or traditional or whatever you may wish to call it, now, as what I was when I was just a slip of a girl.I have not moved on.I cannot move on.Was I wrong then?Am I wrong now?And what I believed then and what I deemed holy ,and what the church taught me was holy, is it any less holy now?And if it is less holy how can that be?
So I ponder upon these things and generally keep them in my heart.....unless I am asked of course....oh if only someone would ask!
I survived for ten years.I worked in the parish,joined the Legion of Mary considered a religious vocation.But underneath there was a growing, undeniable ,conviction that what was happening in the church was not what I had signed up for.Central to my faith however and something that never wavered, was the belief that this was indeed the church that Christ founded.I held on to that belief then,and in the years that followed.I hold on to it now.
It is about three years since I returned.I have had a lot of solitude,a lot of deep thinking a lot of soul searching.I have read the Vatican 2 documents...well most of them.I have read about the"Ottiavani Intervention"and the subsequent letter of loyalty. I have compared the church we have now and what it was like before.What I was like then,and what I am now.I have read liberal blogs,traditional blogs,protestant blogs.I have tried to bend my mind to what some call nu-church, and what follows are my conclusions.
I believe Blessed John Paul's words,that "It is the privilege of the ordained to touch the sacred species".(I have seen instances of self -communicating,and lay people who"Do Exposition".)
I believe that the use of Extraordinary ministers should be just that.Extraordinary.
I believe that our priests should take Our Lord to the sick and the housebound(who hears their confessions?)
I believe in the validity of the Novus Ordo.
I yearn for The Mass of Ages.
I believe that The Blessed Sacrament reserved, should not be kept in a hole in a wall,but in the most prominent position .
I believe in the use of the Latin language in the liturgy.
I believe that men and women have their own separate place in the life of the church(I guess that means men only on the Altar )
I believe that the Extraordinary Form should be available in every parish(difficult as yet I know,but I still believe it should be so).
I believe that the priest should celebrate Mass facing God, together with the people.
I believe that Mass is the re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary,and not the celebration of The Last Supper(I have met those who think it to be so)
I believe that true participation in Holy Mass consists in the reception of Holy Communion in a state of grace.
I realise that I am just as orthodox or traditional or whatever you may wish to call it, now, as what I was when I was just a slip of a girl.I have not moved on.I cannot move on.Was I wrong then?Am I wrong now?And what I believed then and what I deemed holy ,and what the church taught me was holy, is it any less holy now?And if it is less holy how can that be?
So I ponder upon these things and generally keep them in my heart.....unless I am asked of course....oh if only someone would ask!
Wednesday, 4 May 2011
Home Thoughts From Home.
I think if you live alone,the natural world outside your window becomes important.You become more aware of the changing seasons ,concious of shifting winds, sense dampness before the rain clouds gather.
The little house that I live in is surrounded by ancient oak trees, that are, at the moment, dressed in their bright green foliage.This particular green lasts but a few magical days and after, darkens to the steady verdant green of summer.Unusually this year, roses are in bloom,wayside dog- roses as well as the home grown cultivated ones, at least one month earlier than the norm.
Hedges are crowned with May blossom,the green sward aglow with buttercups,and in places there are banks of the common field poppy,their scarlett, delicate, heads nodding in the gentle breeze.The world seems to me, to be a kaleidescope of greens,a tapestry woven by nature empowered by God.Visits to my bird table have slowed since the desperate search for food of the winter months.Natural food is in abundance,and most wild birds now, are sitting on their eggs or the tardier ones still searching for a mate.The song of the wood thrush wakes me every morning ,glorious sounds from that tiny throat and however much I try, I cannot get a glimpse of him,shy little creature that he is.Not so the smart blackbird who has graced my garden for two years or more.I am familiar with his comings and goings,his penchant for dry dust baths in my vegetable garden ,his alarm call at the sight of a cat.
My garden,apart from the vegetable plot, is wild.My attempts to tame it have sometimes succeeded ......for a time.But it once was part of a wood,and that ,in truth, is what it reverts to.I can weed and cultivate as much as I like.Plant herbaceous borders,mow the pasture like grass,prune and snip continually,but every spring the yellow celendine appears,wood sorrell grows up in my borders,wild violets and bluebells and the natural woodland plants make their appearance, and I have not the heart nor the desire to destroy them.So I leave it in it's wildness,and on my less conventional days I rejoice in the beauty of the uncultivated ,and marvel at the work of the Creator.Out there in the natural world,the troubles and cares of this life recede for me.It has always been so.
Oh Lord.our Lord:how wonderful is thy name in all the earth!
For thy greatness is exalted above the heavens.
For I will behold thy heavens,the works of thy fingers:the moon and the stars,
which thou hast founded.
The birds of the air,and the fishes of the sea:that walk through the paths of the sea.
O lord,our Lord:how wonderful is thy name in all the earth!
The little house that I live in is surrounded by ancient oak trees, that are, at the moment, dressed in their bright green foliage.This particular green lasts but a few magical days and after, darkens to the steady verdant green of summer.Unusually this year, roses are in bloom,wayside dog- roses as well as the home grown cultivated ones, at least one month earlier than the norm.
Hedges are crowned with May blossom,the green sward aglow with buttercups,and in places there are banks of the common field poppy,their scarlett, delicate, heads nodding in the gentle breeze.The world seems to me, to be a kaleidescope of greens,a tapestry woven by nature empowered by God.Visits to my bird table have slowed since the desperate search for food of the winter months.Natural food is in abundance,and most wild birds now, are sitting on their eggs or the tardier ones still searching for a mate.The song of the wood thrush wakes me every morning ,glorious sounds from that tiny throat and however much I try, I cannot get a glimpse of him,shy little creature that he is.Not so the smart blackbird who has graced my garden for two years or more.I am familiar with his comings and goings,his penchant for dry dust baths in my vegetable garden ,his alarm call at the sight of a cat.
My garden,apart from the vegetable plot, is wild.My attempts to tame it have sometimes succeeded ......for a time.But it once was part of a wood,and that ,in truth, is what it reverts to.I can weed and cultivate as much as I like.Plant herbaceous borders,mow the pasture like grass,prune and snip continually,but every spring the yellow celendine appears,wood sorrell grows up in my borders,wild violets and bluebells and the natural woodland plants make their appearance, and I have not the heart nor the desire to destroy them.So I leave it in it's wildness,and on my less conventional days I rejoice in the beauty of the uncultivated ,and marvel at the work of the Creator.Out there in the natural world,the troubles and cares of this life recede for me.It has always been so.
Oh Lord.our Lord:how wonderful is thy name in all the earth!
For thy greatness is exalted above the heavens.
For I will behold thy heavens,the works of thy fingers:the moon and the stars,
which thou hast founded.
The birds of the air,and the fishes of the sea:that walk through the paths of the sea.
O lord,our Lord:how wonderful is thy name in all the earth!
Sunday, 1 May 2011
An Alternative view of The Wedding.
One of my favourite Blogs is The Transalpine Redemptorist site,way up there on Papa Stronsay.Please go there http://papastronsay.blogspot.com/ to read their beautiful post on the Royal Wedding.I must admit I did not get the trees bit in the Abbey,but after reading their post and their view of it all I have been converted........
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