..and a damp hillside in the darkness, and groups hurrying forward to claim places for the great Mass that was a few hours ahead. People made encampments and unpacked flasks of coffee and packets of sandwiches. It was all very British - people had brought rainwear and for those who hadn't, there were plastic macs in our Pilgrim Packs, and the latter could also double as waterproof mats on which to sit. As the dawn came up, the hillsides and valley were filled with people, and the altar at the heart of this natural amphitheatre was being made ready for Mass.
Few present had slept. Like many others, I'd travelled from London with a parish group. After the Vigil of Prayer (see below) I went to the house of friends and we swapped stories over hot soup and a lot of wine, and there was a lot of laughter and chatter and it was all hugely agreeable, and no one wanted to waste time sleeping. Straight on to the parish bus that was to drive through the night to Birmingham. People talked a bit at first but gradually succumbed to slumber - I recall a muddled dream about Cardinal Newman going ice-skating, and then woke as the rhythm of the bus changed after we left the motorway and trundled down side roads towards Cofton.
The Mass was glorious. Music surged,and Papa Benedict's voice - which had seemed hoarse at some earlier events but was now strong and confident, though still with that gentle tone - led us in the prayers. When he preached, he began with a touching reference to the Battle of Britain, and paid tribute to the heroes who had defended the country from the Nazis...and then in this most English of settings, in the heart of England, he pronounced a great Englishman on his way to sainthood...
At Holy Communion, priests stood with ciboria beneath large umbrellas in papal colours, held aloft, and people came forward reverently and silently, stepping over sleeping children or stacked backpacks...
We sang Newman's hymns, and Keble's "Love Divine, all loves excelling...and at the very end, standing with friends, filling the whole hillside with music as we poured our hearts into "For all the saints...", I felt that surely Heaven might be something a bit like this.
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6 comments:
What impacted me most about the Mass at Cofton Park was the singing afterwards: 'Love Divine, all loves excelling' and 'For all the saints'- these are great hymns and people were singing them feeling. Obviously you were too, Joanna! They are very powerful, emotional and moving.
It made me wonder if the Pope had actually ever heard these hymns before (they are 'Protestant'). I notice he closed his eyes during 'Be still for the presence of the Lord', which is probably in their class - in a 20th century way. It's a truly beautiful song and I bet the whole atmosphere was magical while it was being sung.
I hope I'm not being irreverent if I suggest that it was all a very British sound. Apparently British crowds have impacted foreign football players with their singing - which is unusual in Europe - and so I wondered if this sort of singing was unusual for Benedict XVI and may have moved him all the more.
The Mass was truly wonderful, as was the atmosphere, with the outpouring of love for the Holy Father.
But we didn't get macs in our Pilgrim Packs!!
We certainly got them in our packs at Hyde Park - and I found mine most useful. I've got a spare one, too,unused, from a friend's pack - you can have it as a souvenir if you like!
Auntie
It was daunting to start with wandering across the park in the semi darkness and light rain at 5:30 am, and wondering how we could survive until 10, but everyone was so welcoming and the event was so well organised. The choir and music was superb.
I thought the Mass was excellent, reverent and a good balance between English and Latin.
A wonderful day! Perfect! I do hope the Holy Father now knows the love we have for him in these Islands.
Ad multos annos, Papa!
No mac in my pilgrim pack! Truly an amazing experience, we arrived at 4.30am, and got very soggy, the singing was glorious and the sense of peace that we came away with has stayed with me all week, hard to articulate how wonderful was, it was lovely in that waiting time to get to know fellow parishoners better, those faces that you see every week in Mass but never get the opportunity to say more than a brief "Hello" to, my most vivid memory, the signer working with the deaf and blind priest,
My sister & I in Bronxville NY will forever treasure your Sept. 20 column, "The Moment Everything Changed." You enrich our lives with your EWTN appearances, books, and daily blogs. If only you could have joined me 09/23, the Eve of Our Lady of Walsingham, at the dedication of the shrine to Blessed John Henry Newman at the Church of Our Saviour, NYC, conducted by Rev. George W. Rutler [EWTN colleague and former Anglican}. Most hymns were those written by Newman for this Evensong & Dedication; the choir sang and reminded me, too, of what we all hope we shall hear in Heaven one day. The homily was so Fr. Rutler: eloquent, elegant, and to the point. What would any of us do without a Fr. Rutler to celebrate the Eucharist, and a Joanna Bogle to make sense of it all? Nancy & Sheila Waters USA
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