A different perspective . . .

Well, we've been and 'gorn' and done it, as the saying goes. For years I've been threatening to drag the family away for a few days at Christmas and after 30 years of hosting the family Christmas, we took the plunge and decided to spend Christmas away from home.

Not sun-soaked beaches for us, or alpine resorts but a lovely, comfortable, peaceful cottage a few miles from Salisbury and within driving distance of the New Forest for our Boxing Day walk.

Overall I think it was very much a success. Of course we missed being in the parish for Midnight Mass and exchanging Christmas greetings with all our friends there but we went to a lovely Midnight Mass in Salisbury and it was quite nice for a change to be the 'visitors' in the parish rather than the 'welcomers'.

We had booked the cottage on the internet but it was even better in reality than in the photos and description on the web site. We had lots of space for just the four of us and everything was provided - just down to us to provide and cook the Christmas lunch. Luckily all my 'menfolk' are always very willing and helpful in the kitchen so it worked very well.

I don't know that I would like to do this every year but it was the most relaxing Christmas for quite a while.

On the way home we stopped for a good look around Salisbury Cathedral and I couldn't help smiling to myself when the Cathedral guide took us to the tomb of St Osmond and explained what an important part he had to play in the building of the original Cathedral at Old Sarum and in the formation of the Sarum use and rite.

I say I smiled to myself, as the previous evening we had been to Midnight Mass in the Catholic church opposite the Cathedral which is dedicated to St Osmond. I wonder what the saint in question would have thought of the strange situation where his remains are laid to rest in the Anglican cathedral on one side of the road whilst Mass is being celebrated in the Roman Rite on the other side of the road in a church dedicated to his memory.

Rose vestments? . . . You bet!

Gaudete in Domino semper. (Rejoice in the Lord always)

I really enjoy Gaudete Sunday, as indeed we are supposed to. What's not to like about rejoicing?!

It does make a difference having the 'proper' rose-coloured vestments. We will have beautiful flowers in church again tomorrow after a bare-looking sanctuary for the past couple of Sundays, and I'm sure we shall have some lovely joyful hymns too.

It does us all good to have this Sunday of joyful encouragement to persevere with our spiritual preparations for the arrival of Our Saviour at Christmas

It's very tempting to get out the decorations and the lights etc. etc. and get into the full swing of Christmas as many of our neighbours here seem to be doing already but we still have two more full weeks to wait. I am happy to focus on Advent for a while longer. We have our Advent wreath at home and shall light the rose-coloured candle tomorrow.

I do like the quote from Pope Benedict in the CTS Sunday Missal that introduces tomorrow's Mass (at least it does in my version of the Missal. I assume it is the same for all editions).

"What does 'the Lord is at hand' mean? In what sense must we understand this 'closeness' of God? The Church, illumined by the Holy Spirit, already at that time understood increasingly better that God's 'closeness' is not a question of space and time but rather of love: love brings people together! This coming Christmas will remind us of this fundamental truth of our faith and in front of the manger we shall be able to savour Christian joy contemplating in the newborn Jesus the Face of God who made himself close to us out of love."

NB. Photo above is of last year's wreath as we shan't light our 'rose' candle until tomorrow, although as it's past time for Vespers I suppose we could light it now.

Updating my blog list . . .

I have just discovered that this little blog appears on the blog list of two other Catholic bloggers.

I naturally wish to repay the compliment and have thus now added two more excellent blogs to my own list. Do please pop over to Porta Caeli and Linen on the Hedgerow and see what they have to say.

The Angelus . . .

I always consider myself very fortunate in that we can hear the Angelus bell of our local church from inside our house.

This evening ours was a very quiet household, not that we're particularly noisy at the best of times. I was sitting at the computer, the Pater Familias was similarly quiet and Our Eldest was not yet home from work.

6pm and the bell rang out clearly three times. Occasionally I also hear it at midday on my day off if I'm at home or in the garden or walking around locally.

I love this sound. It sums up so much for me in just the three rings of the bell.

I love that it reminds me of the continuity of our faith. I always picture the famous Millet painting of the workers in the field pausing in their work to pray this simple prayer.

I too, can easily pause in whatever I am doing to spend the few minutes it takes to pray the Angelus prayer.

I was prompted to do a little research as I know very little about the origins of the Angelus.

The prayer in the form we know it today dates from the first half of the Sixteenth Century but the practice of reciting the Hail Mary three times in a row daily dates from at least the Twelfth Century. St Anthony of Padua strongly recommended it, and St Bonaventure, amongst others.

The ringing of a bell was introduced at this time so that all the faithful would know that after Compline it was time to recite the Hail Mary.

Pope Sixtus IV in 1475 endowed the recitation of the Angelus at noon with an indulgence, and this was extended by Pope Leo X to those who recited it in the morning, at noon and in the evening.

It is of course particularly relevant during Advent as we prepare for Our Lord's coming at Christmas as it is a devotion based on the Annunciation, the message of the Incarnation delivered by the Angel to Mary.