...is all part of the experience of the Chrism Mass at Westminster. Vast crowds, every seat gets taken long, long before the Mass begins at 12 noon, and every side-chapel is packed out too, in addition to every spare corner at the back, or around a pillar...I usually find a corner of the chapel at the back, which has a pleasing mosaic of St Gregory the Great and the Saxon slave-boys in the Trajan Market ("Non Angli sed Angeli..." etc) and sit there on the marble step, next to where Bishop Richard Challoner is buried...
Our team of ladies with our "Thank you to our priests" placard, plus a young team from SPES at St Patrick's, Soho, arrived at about 11 am to greet the clergy as they arrive, and give them our small thank-you cards. Without every really planning to do so, we have become part of the Tradition of Holy Week. Our placard announces "THANK YOU TO OUR PRIESTS" and this year's thank-you card, produced by Patti Fordyce of the Association of Catholic Women, carries a Eucharistic picture and some words from soon-to-be-saint John Paul.
Part of the tradition is that it is always cold standing in the shadow of the cathedral on a chilling Spring morning, but the atmosphere is warm and it is fun being part of a great event as hordes and hordes of people stream in across the piazza. Clergy arrive from various directions, and we run up to them to give them our cards, and it is great to meet old friends and swap news and jokes...
Then we gather around the Cathedral steps as the great procession of clergy makes its way up Ambrosden Avenue. "Is this something special?" asked an American tourist, guide-book in hand "We just dropped by...what is happening?" Some one started to explain that these priests were all gathering to renew their vows and to receive the sacred oils for anointing the sick etc in the year ahead.... "So this great line of priests is all the priests of England? Wow, there are a LOT..." No, we assured her, this is just the priests from London. (And only half of London at that - the Southwark ones have their Chrism Mass at St George's tomorrow)...
The Chrism Mass is always glorious. Solemn choir-boys chanting, the beautiful prayers recalling the dove that came back to Noah as the flood receded, and God's promise brought to fulfilment in our baptism...the deep roar of voices as the priests affirmed their vows, the soaring music, the lines of priests fanning out to distribute Holy Communion, and then the final hymn and the procession down the aisle with the Cardinal dispensing blessings...we are at one with Peter's successor in Rome, and it is good to be part of the Church, and it is springtime and Holy Week.
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