Newsletter 14th October 2018.
Today is the Twenty-eight Sunday of the Church’s year.
Monday is the feast of St. Teresa of Avila. We have visited her convent, below the walls of the old city on several occasions during out visits to Spain.
Wednesday is the feast of St. Ignatius of Antioch and Thursday is the feast of the Evangelist, St. Luke.
A word of thanks to all who have helped to make both the First Holy Communion classes and the Confirmation classes possible. I need your help and it is greatly appreciated.
Very busy with work for the College in Spain at present. Our financial year ends on 30th September. I have to make sure that everything is in order before our visit to the College next week. This year seven people are coming with me and we look forward to it very much. We will be there for the solemn feast of the College Martyrs on 25th October.
By now I hope that the new boiler will be in operation to heat the Church. The work was more difficult than we thought but it was well worth doing.
Some of my basil plants survived the summer and I have risked planting them out in one of the flower beds. It will be interesting to see how they survive. I sowed some late herbs. The cress grows in no time but it is more difficult to make the parsley grow outside. I am reluctant to grow them indoors. You probably noticed that the tomatoes grew to a great size but remained green. I think they needed some more sun if they were to ripen.
Something from St. Teresa
Embrace the cross well,
And we will follow Jesus,
Who is our way and our light,
Full of all consolation,
Sisters of Carmel.
I was overoptimistic about the opening of Crossrail a couple of weeks ago. It has now been delayed until next year. Recent travels show that visible works, such as the new station at Liverpool Street are far from completion so that it is no surprise that the opening has been postponed. It will provide an opportunity to test the new trains and to ensure that there are no faults. There were a number of problems with the Thameslink services but the trains themselves seem to be very reliable.
I will bring back some recipes from Spain. In the meantime, you might try this. Cook a small chicken with some herbs and some carrots. When cool remove the meat from the bones. Make a sauce by mashing some hard boiled eggs with vinaigrette and chopped parsley and a pinch of salt. Pour over the chicken and carrots and serve with some lettuce, some olives and some sliced hard-boiled eggs.
The boy is enjoying his days at school. Now he is in a Junior class he has to work harder, but settles to his reading. Harry Potter has been left far behind and I think that he is starting on John Buchan. I must see if I can find some Dornford Yates
A prayer for you today:
Gracious God, in whom we live and move and have our being, be with us throughout the course of our journey through life, so that under your protecting hand, we may reach our destination in safety, through Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Time now for a verse from the Snark;
‘I said it in Hebrew- I said it in Dutch-
I said it in German and Greek:
But I wholly forgot (and it vexes me much)
That English is what you speak!’
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon