Newsletter 13th October 2013.
Autumn days now, so outside lights on in the evenings and the heating on in the Church. If possible, do not leave the Church doors hooked back so as to keep some warmth in the Church.
Today is the feast of St. Edward the Confessor, though the Sunday Mass takes precedence. He is buried behind the high altar in Westminster Abbey.
There is a second collection today for the fund which helps the smaller parishes in the Diocese.
The Eucharistic Ministers meet on Thursday evening at 8pm.
Tuesday is the feast of St Teresa of Avila. Last autumn, when we were in Spain, we visited her convent in Avila and saw the staircase where she saw the Child Jesus. There is an imposing statue of Teresa outside, setting off across Castille on one of her many journeys. I remember it was a grey and wet autumn day but we went round the various places in Avila and had a wonderful time.
Thursday is the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch and Friday is the feast of St. Luke, the author of the third gospel.
Downton Abbey continues to provide a number of problems. Recently Carson’s friend left for Belfast. He departed from Horsted Keynes station, taking a train in a southerly direction towards Sheffield Park. It seems to me that he was taking a most complex route.
Now something curious:
Ruskin’s interpretation of Venetian history rests on two assumptions: the art of a nation is an accurate index of its moral temper, and this temper, more than anything else, determines its fate. But is the evidence of the arts that clear? And however gratifying to one’s sense of justice, however much one responds to the dramatic and aesthetic integrity of the patterning, is there a moral force in history which governs the rise and fall of nations? (This is from a book on Ruskin by John Rosenberg published in 1961.)
A simple recipe this week from Spain. Pan con tomate y Jamon. Cut some thick slices of bread and toast them on both sides. Rub one side with a cut tomato and sprinkle well with olive oil and salt. Place a slice of Serrano ham on each slice. We might have these with a pre-lunch drink – alternatives would be bread with chorizo, a small slice of manchego cheese or maybe an anchovy.
Que le aproveche.
A prayer for our families:
Lord, we ask you to bestow on our families the richness of your blessing. With the gift of your grace, sanctify us all, so that, faithful to your commandments, we may care for one another, ennoble this world by our lives, and reach the home that you have prepared for us in heaven. We ask this through Christ Our Lord.
My pot of basil has come back into the house for the winter. The leaves seemed to be suffering and to my distress I found that two fat snails had taken up residence in the pot. A great crop of parsley, more than I can use, but now I know how to do it and I will grow some more next year. Have you noted the late crop of raspberries at the bottom of the garden? So far the children do not seem to have discovered them. The rhubarb is doing well and I must harvest some more soon. The crop of apples varied – some very good but some small and withered. Also I think that the horse chestnuts, though plentiful, are small this year.
And here is Merton writing about the singing of the Office in the Abbey Church:
And the monks come down the cloiser
With robes as voluble as water
I do not see them but I hear their waves
It is winter, and my hands prepare
To turn the pages of the saints:
And the trees Thy moon has frozen on the windows
My tongue shall sing Thy Scripture.
Quite a lot of work to do at the moment as the Financial Year for the College in Spain ended on 30th September. I have to prepared the figures and the papers for the audit of the accounts of the English Trust and then marry these up with the activities in Spain. Thank God for the lap top –
Years ago it was very hard work. The problem now is that the accounting regulations change from year to year – the SORP regulations – and I have to take these into account in writing my annual report for the Trust.
Best wishes to you all
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon