An uplifting weekend . . .

It's been a full but very uplifting weekend. On Saturday I spent the day with more than 120 (at least; I didn't do a head count!) other Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion in a Day of Recollection.

I've been to several 'Quiet Days' like this organised by various groups and I must admit I have found some of them rather 'lightweight', padded out with workshops and the like without enough spiritual content.

I'm very pleased to say that Saturday was not at all like that. We began with a beautiful Mass and then after a brief coffee break we had an excellent talk on Cardinal Newman from Fr Michael Woodgate from St John's Seminary. He gave us a potted history of Newman's life and looked briefly at his spirituality and thoughtfully provided us with some material to use in our quiet time of prayer and reflection.

After lunch we were treated to a second talk by Fr Michael, this time looking at Our Lady based on some of Newman's writings and after more time for private prayer and an opportunity for Confession, we finished with Exposition, a brief rite of re-commissioning and closed with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

It was a beautiful day in glorious surroundings, even if slightly stifling indoors, and I came away really feeling as if I'd had a mini retreat. And I'm sure I'm not alone in feeling like that.

And to crown it all we celebrated the Feast of Corpus Christi today in our parish with a procession around outside the church assisted by our First Holy Communion children strewing petals before the Blessed Sacrament. You could tell they enjoyed their important role by the smiles on their faces . . . maybe even as much as the celebration cake and drinks in the parish hall afterwards!

Oh, and I nearly forgot to mention that we had a beautifully prayerful Rosary and Benediction this afternoon.

I feel like I'm floating on air at the moment!