Newsletter 3rd September 2017
Today is the Twenty second Sunday of the Church’s year.
It also the anniversary of the consecration of the Church in 1906 and the consecration candles will be lit at the 11am Mass. These mark the places where the walls of the Church were anointed with the Holy Chrism during the consecration Mass.
Welcome back to the organists and the choirs after the summer break.
I will be away in Venice from Monday to Friday this week. I am not sure if the Bishop will be able to help with the Masses on some of the days but I will let you know on Sunday.
Friday of this week is the feast of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Next Sunday there is a second collection for the Catholic Education Service.
The Angelus Room will be out of use from Monday for renovation works for about three weeks.
A reminder of the Open Day for the Church on Saturday 16th September. Thanks to all those who have offered to help. There will be a planning meeting at 5pm on Saturday.
First Communion classes will be starting at the end of the month so a final reminder for the return of application forms. The meeting for the parents is on 20th September.
I am not quite sure what happened to the small paddling pool in the garden. The inflatable ring developed a leak and I could not find where it was. I think the problem may have been caused by the foxes. They have caused quite a lot of damage this summer, digging up the grass.
With luck the major works to the railway will be completed by Monday. I will not be about to make an inspection until the following week. An interesting point is whether the additional platforms can be brought into use together with a reinstatement of the Thameslink services or whether we will have to wait until next year. Also will the trains from Blackheath begin to use the new dive-under at Rotherhithe. I suspect that some of these items will have to wait until Christmas.
The boy and his sister will be off to school next week. Much of the summer was spent working through a box of equipment and a book of science experiments so that he will be able to amaze his new teacher. The cricket bat has been put away and a rugby ball has appeared in the hall of his home.Â
A poem from Shelley reminds me of work in the garden:
Rose leaves, when the rose is dead,
Are heaped for the beloved’s bed;
And so thy thoughts, when thou art gone
Love itself shall slumber on.
(obviously I am not a romantic)
And now a night prayer:
Lighten our darkness we beseech you, O Lord, and by your great mercy defend us from all perils and dangers of this night, for the love of your only Son, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Amen.
Something to use up the apples from the garden. Cook some sliced apples until soft in some butter, sugar and a little water until you have a thick puree. Stir in some lemon juice and some apricot jam. Melt some butter and use it to coat slices of white bread and use them to line a mould. Add the apple and cover with some more bread and cook in a hot oven for about 35 minutes until it is golden brown. Turn out onto a flat dish and serve with cream or custard.
Finally, some useful information from Herodotus. “Otters, too, are found in the Nile; they, and the fish called lepidotus, and eels are all considered sacred to the Nile, as is also the bird known as the fox-goose.â€
Best wishes to you all,
Monsignor Nicholas Rothon
Â