Mon Feb 5th
Not sure if I have mentioned before - anyway I am now mentioning again - the beautiful little book "THE MASS - illustrated for children" published by Second Spring. It costs just £5 and would be a boon to any family. The booklet makes the Mass easy to follow - has the full text, with the priest's words in red - but what makes it a joy is the beautiful quality of the illustrations, which have a gently Medieval feel, and also express theological concepts very well. Thus, in the Canon, the words "We pray that your Angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in Heaven...." are written into the wings of an angel who with downcast eyes and reverent look, is there beside the Chalice and Paten....and there is a wonderful picture of the Church on earth, with all sorts of people, led by the Holy Father and including old people, babies, sick people, a bishop, nuns, daddies with children held aloft etc etc all facing Heaven where Our Lady and the saints are waiting....every turn of every page is a quiet joy. Yours to enjoy, too. Includes extra prayers such as the "Hail, Holy Queen...."
PROBLEM MORNING
Bike had two punctures. Foot functioning badly. Lots to do. Bike to mender's. Doctor's appt. Various parcels to Post Office. Shopping. Finally settled at bus stop (£2 for one ride! Golly. Can't wait to get bike back!). Shopping slithered off narrow bench and bottle of olive oil shattered on pavement. As I mopped it up, cutting my hand in the process, the bus came. Oil everywhere, complete mess, shards of glass difficult to grasp with pages torn from back of Daily Telegraph (didn't want to spoil interesting bits of the paper - brilliant feature by Janet Daley and some amusing letters re Blair)....
But life has its pleasures. As I settled back, gripping the rest of my shopping with one hand while staunching blood from the other, a passenger next to me said thoughtfully "I can imagine throwing the Guardian or Independent on the ground, but it does seem such a waste to do it with the Telegraph, doesn't it?". I did so agree with him, and we had a pleasant and amusing chat, and by the time the next bus arrived everything seemed much funnier and more enjoyable....
3 comments:
"We pray that your Angel may take this sacrifice to your altar in Heaven...."
Worrying, if it is as you describe because Christ is that Angel or Messenger. He, as in Hebrews, enters the sanctuary with his offering his own blood.
Fr Blake should not be worried. The quotation, as I'm sure he knows, is from the traditional Roman canon. The prayer is directed to God the Father and is part of the formula for the Re-Presentation (in an unbloody manner) of the Son's (bloody) sacrifice on Calvary. The image of of the oblata (in this case the Son's immaculate body and precious blood (i.e. his human existence) being borne up to heaven as a propitiatory sacrifice by an angel (or accompanied by an angel or angels because, of course, the Word did not NEED the assistance of angels for this)is very poetic and moving and theologically sound.
Never mind the newspapers, what a waste of Olive Oil absolutely a must for roast vegetables, salads etc
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