Back in London...and First Communion Day...

...at a very overcrowded church. So much so that after squeezing in  I had second thoughts, and pondered briefly the possibility of going to Mass elsewhere. But it was going to be too difficult to get out of the church again due to the press of the crowd, so I stayed put. Modern London is mission territory: there were a number of baptisms as well as First Communions, and it was an impressive Mass. Then followed a great Corpus Christi Procession through the streets....for this, I joined the team of volunteers handing out small cards to passers-by explaining what the procession was about. I found that the quickest way to introduce it was simply to say "It's First Communion Day" and then to proffer the card.Most took it with a smile and a thank-you, a few refused, a few looked baffled...but the intriguing thing is that a great number said "Oh yes..." or words to that effect, and seemed vaguely to know what it was all about. Whereas words like "Corpus Christi" or "Blessed Sacrament" would not have any effect, somehow "First Communion" strikes a chord: is it because these days the white dresses and other trimmings  are are a much bigger feature than they used to be, and so there is a commercial element which attracts attention? Even some local pubs make a feature of the thing, as families hire rooms for the celebration...

As J. was away for the weekend, I stayed in central London for the day, enjoying a lingering pub-and-chat lunch with friends, and then made my way to St Patrick's, Soho, for the annual International Procession through Soho's streets, with Benediction at St Giles-in-the-Fields. I walked to Soho Square from London Bridge, along the river and then across, and up through Seven Dials and along the Charing Cross Road. The tide  was out along the river, and people were down on the beach, one group building a cairn from rocks and pebbles, others just pottering about. A lovely cool summer day, London busy and noisy but without the scorched heat of July/August and the full tourist crush.

The tradition in the Soho procession is to distribute medals and holy cards as well as leaflets, and I was given a large packet of all of these. Here, among the crowds spilling around pubs and clubs and bars and restaurants, the "It's First Communion day..." introduction proved even more effective in establishing contact. Lots of people said "Oh yes..." and there was a sort of nostalgia, or vague sense of involvement, or a cheerful instant recognition ("We're all Catholics - give me a couple more medals for my friends!") or a fleeting, slightly sad sort of "Oh...um...yes..." indicating mild regret...it's fairly rare to get a direct snub, and even refusals are mostly just people who are busy, or baffled.

Benediction in the churchyard at St Giles, the Tantum Ergo wafting up above the traffic noise.  Then lots of talk over wine and  fruit juice offered by the local (Anglican) clergy and team, much enjoyed after all the singing...