• White Smoke

    Love and prayers to friends in the Roman Catholic church on the election of the new pope. It was lovely to see the people in Rome greet him.

    The airwaves are going to be full of speculation about what he will be like and full of things he has said in the past. The truth is, there is no knowing whether how he has been will be how he will be. It just doesn’t always work like that. Things happen.

    It is interesting to think about there being a Jesuit pope. Like many an Anglican I’ve received quite a lot from the Jesuits – in my case, retreats, spiritual direction, methods of prayer, friendship and massage. I’ve found most Jesuits I’ve encountered to be intelligent, funny and purposeful. They also are formed in quite a distinctive way spiritually. This pope is likely to think things through quite differently to some popes just because of that. It will be fascinating to see how it all pans out.

    He appeared to be a calm man and that will surely be needed. It was good to see someone call the people gathered in Rome to pray as his first act. He seemed to call us all to pray, Roman Catholics and others alike. Let us hope that he is indeed the great bridge builder (pontifex maximus).

    We’ll be praying for him. Just as he requested.

     

3 responses to “Last night’s joy”

  1. Fr. Ron Smith Avatar

    Greetings from New Zealand, St. Michael & All Angels, Christchurch, where we, too, enjoyed the benefits of a con-celebration of the Corpus Christi Feast. Worship of God in the Sacrament of the Mass is certainly the highlight of our life in the City of Quakes. Celebrated in the St. Michael’s School Hall, while the church is being re-decorated, Corpus Christi reminded us of the closeness of Christ our Redeemer among God’s people – whatever the circumstances. Agape!

  2. Zebabee Avatar
    Zebabee

    The way you swing the thurible is interesting. It looks like the basis of a good golf swing.

  3. Steven Avatar
    Steven

    What an absolutely wonderful picture. Joy in light and movement.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Previous Posts

  • Organ Delivery

    “I've just had o­ne of your digital organs delivered to the church I work in.””Oh yes.””And it has come locked””What, is there no key?””No, there is no key.””Ah, I think that we taped the key to the inside of the organ lid.””The organ lid that is locked?””Yes, that will be the o­ne.”

  • Ordination

    To the Cathedral in Perth last night for the ordination of the Rev Giles Dove. It was a splendid affair too. A good preacher and an organist [John Kitchen] who was playing to the gallery helped a lot. For some reason I ended up sitting in a gloomy corner in the north aisle, which for…

  • Reaping the whirlwind

    Whatever one might think about America and it leadership at the moment, it is hard not to feel for those people displaced because of the hurricanes. We have a visit every couple of years in Bridge of Allan from a pipe band from St Thomas Episcopal School in Houston, Texas. Inevitably today, I find myself…

  • Organ Case Commission

    For some reason, two Edinburgh companies become muddled in my head. I struggle to distinguish the excellent architects Simpson and Brown from the posh dress shop Droopy and Brown. I hope to goodness that the right company is being commissioned to redesign the organ case and frame. We could be facing something altogether too frilly…