This made my day!

I was browsing the blogosphere when this fab story popped up on Trail of Flowers about how a cuddle saved a baby's life.

Low Mass in Bexhill

A Low Mass at St Mary Magdalene's Bexhill had been long awaited by parishioners there, and they weren't disappointed! There was a tremendously good turn out for a mid afternoon Mass on a sunny Bank Holiday, and it was really great to see. Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith was the celebrant and preached a thought-provoking sermon on how charity and law are complimentary, not an either/or choice.

It was only the second time I'd been in St Mary Magdalene's, and took a few pictures.



Here's a photo of the impressive Pieta.



And one of the Lady Chapel.




Very many thanks to Fr Spain the parish priest, and to Fr Lucie-Smith.

Now I'm very much looking forward to the next one, next Sunday, 3.00pm at Our Lady of Ransom, Eastbourne!

I shall offend no more...

...Here, courtesy of John, a new all improved view of the High Altar at OLOC!

Sunday 30 August

A huge reminder that at St Mary Magdalene's, Bexhill there will be a Low Mass at 3.00pm. Details here.

Anniversary Mass

On Thursday 24 September at 7.30 at St Peter's Shoreham there will be a High Mass, celebrating the 20th Anniversary of Fr Sean Finnegan's ordination.

No Low Mass ...

...at St Peter's Shoreham Saturday 29 August as Fr Sean is away.

Low Mass at Our Lady of Consolation this afternoon

Another lovely summer afternoon, and a trip to West Grinstead for a prayerful Low Mass at Our Lady of Consolation. Grateful thanks to Fr Agley who celebrated.

Conversation over tea after Mass was as entertaining as ever, and also provided another opportunity to let people know (again!) about the upcoming Masses in Bexhill and Eastbourne - but more of that another time...

(About the photo: Yes, I know it's still the one with the mobile altar in front of the high altar, but cropped it looked wrong, so I'll take a better one next time!)

Low Mass at Our Lady of Ransom, Eastbourne

There will be a Low Mass on Sunday 6 September at OLR in Eastbourne at 3.00pm. The church is easily accessible from the station and there is a car park and on-road parking. It's opposite the Town Hall and you can't miss it! Here's a google map.

The Assumption

Today we tootled off to Shoreham to Fr Sean's parish of St Peter for the Assumption. We didn't get lost this time, but the traffic was awful (when isn't it?). I love this feast, it's so full of hope and happiness, puts a real smile on my face.

I've been tagged by Jane from the Oasis...

...to think of seven favourite things. A mere seven! Well, after considerable deep thought, they became broad categories. So:

1. All things Catholic
2. Family and friends, of course
3. Music, from chant and motets to industrial
4. Our brilliant weather and countryside, especially the sea
5. Imagination
6. The internet/computers
7. Fruit (but not bananas)

The tough part now is to tag seven other people who haven't been tagged already, but as I don't know who has and who hasn't, here are 7 anyway! So, OTSOTA , Bernadette, Philip, Ukok, Jane, Seraphic, and Pastor in Valle, you're tagged.

Better still, any readers who would care to share, put your Big 7 in the combox, and I'll post them!

Today at West Grinstead

The traffic was so awful getting to Our Lady of Consolation this afternoon I wondered if we'd get there before the Gospel. Luckily, we arrived just before Mass started. Today the celebrant was Fr Ray Blake, who gave a thought-provoking sermon on how we are all called to sainthood. I can't possibly say it as well as he did, but briefly, however sinful and unworthy we may feel, in all humility we have to rely on and trust the graces God gives us, and that it isn't impossible for us to be Saints because, after all, that is what we are called to be.

EF at St Mary Magdalene's, Bexhill

There will be an EF at St Mary Magdalene's, Sea Road, Bexhill, TN40 1RH, on Sunday 30 August at 3.00pm.
Grateful thanks to Fr Spain.


Parking can be challenging, but the station is opposite the church if you fancy the train, there are side roads near the station and the seafront is not far if you are coming by car. Parking on the seafront is free. A google map can be found here.

It's a start!

There will hopefully be two one-off EF Masses in the very near future coming to a parish near you, if you are in the east of the Diocese. Watch this space for confirmation!

Today, the Feast of the Transfiguration at St Pancras, Lewes

Well. Wow. Sung Mass. Incense. Latin. Fr Andrew Southwell. And a huge number of servers.
Yes, it was the St Catherine's Trust Summer School. A church -and sanctuary- full of kids. If anyone ever tells me again that young people can't 'do' long masses, or that they get nothing out of them (admittedly that's harder to gauge, but as none of them were fidgeting particularly and it was so hot in church, I think that's saying something), I shall tell them not to be so patronising.

Bayham and Scotney Revisited

I forgot my camera the last time we went to Bayham and Scotney, but I remembered this time. Talk about the perfect summer day, it was just beautiful. First to Scotney.


A view across the moat towards a ruined doorway and the house. The water looked very inviting and swimmable today, unlike the middle of winter when St Richard Blount escaped across it.



Here's one of the house from the bridge across the moat. It has to be the most fairytale building in the most fairytale setting I have ever been to (and of course, at this time of year the horrible rhododendrons are merely looming and brooding greenery).


Once inside the house, you climb the stairs and on the highest landing there is a cupboard in the wall, behind which is this hiding space.



As I had nothing for scale, you'll have to take my word for it that the snug space beneath the wire grill is very small indeed.




There is a lovely shady walk around the moat, and here's a view from the other side of the house.




And so to the Norbertine Bayham Abbey. We again had the place entirely to ourselves and like Scotney, it's so photogenic you could get carried away, as I did: the camera died on me!
It's an extraordinarily peaceful and poignant place to visit. It's very Romantic and Gothic in the late eighteenth/early nineteenth century poetic way - there are two babies from the family who came to own it buried in the chapel off the quire (something I find quite incomprehensible), and some added buttresses to the cloister. It's very beautiful. But it makes me uneasy, because it's not actually a 'gothic ruin', nor is it the amusing folly at the bottom of the garden which it became.



Towards the Abbey church and cloister from the Kent (north) gate. The high wall in the centre is the nave, and to the far left the north transept. On the right, the low wall is all that remains of what was probably a guest house or the abbot's quarters.







The nave is long and narrow. The High Altar has a very large tree growing in the wall just behind it.





A view across from the south, with the warming house on the far right, the parlour and slype in the centre and the undercroft to the left. Through the slype and ahead is the cloister, and the high wall of the nave.

I have a couple more photos of Bayham which I might add in a bit. If you're in the area, have a visit, it's lovely.

The Curé d'Ars

I have been thinking about the Year for Priests of late. In our Diocese, every priest is being prayed for throughout the year (thanks to the Bevans for the idea and organisation and the internet and facebook etc for making it possible! Where would we be without the web?). So I was browsing my favourite blogs for inspiration, and over the last three days Fr Mark of Vultus Christi has been putting up the most wonderful reflections on the priesthood and St John Mary Vianney leading up to the 150th anniversary of his death. Here are the links to the first, second, and third evenings of the Triduum. This quote from the Curé is just amazing: "Oh, how great is the priest!" he said. "...God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained within a small host." I also have a lovely book about St John Mary Vianney, full of quotes and prayers, and I particularly like this one: "We do not have to talk very much to pray well." There are times when there is so much to pray about I don't even know where to start, and find this so encouraging. Please, though, follow the links above for a really good and inspiring read!

Mass at Lewes this Thursday!

Just a reminder about the Mass at St Pancras, this Thursday at noon.
I know with work and kids etc and the extraordinarily atrocious parking, Lewes can be a bit of a haul, but please try and make it. If any reader knows folk who would be interested, but are not blog readers, would they be kind and let them know as I don't have phone numbers or e-mail addresses for everyone (which is actually a real bind).