A beautiful Mass . . .

Well, where to start? I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the special Mass at Westminster Cathedral today in Thanksgiving for the Anniversary of Pope Benedict's visit to the UK.

I say 'fortunate' but I also felt very privileged to be there. We were luck to have excellent seats with a very clear view of the altar. Not being particularly tall, to put it mildly, I was quite prepared for having to sit behind some fairly tall people, or even 'women in hats' as we were advised that the dress code was 'smart'.

We were seated for about an hour and half before Mass began and I was impressed with the reverent silence all around. Sadly, this isn't always the case, I've found, when large groups of Catholics gather.

Before the clergy processed into the cathedral we were treated to a procession of Knights (and Dames) and other dignitaries; a splendid spectacle. Instantly recognisable are the Knights of the Holy Sepulchre and the Knights of Malta. Who are the Knights in dark green uniform? Are they the Knight of St Gregory?

It's always encouraging to see so many young seminarians. They moved around the cathedral giving out programmes before Mass, smiling and courteous, naturally. A marvellous sign of hope for the future.

We were wondering about the music for the Mass; would we hear any of the new Mass settings? As it happened we were treated to Mozart's Spatzenmesse and, one of my favourites, Mozart's Ave Verum Corpus, at Holy Communion. I think I floated on air all the way back to Victoria station.

It was frustrating as I had a fantastic view to take photographs but naturally didn't as I couldn't have done it unobtrusively. Maybe I'll have to think about getting a 'serious' camera that I can use to take photos inside without using a flash. Do such things exist? I do like taking 'snaps' with my little 'point and shoot' camera but it is very basic.

I did manage to take one sneaky picture before Mass began but the external shot is one I took on my last visit.