The traditional Mass...

...for Epiphany, and the Wise men had reached the crib after travelling via various places in the church. A rousing carol at the entrance procession.  Everyone seemed to sing the Gloria with greater gusto than usual. The Gospel with its haunting description of the Wise men :"and opening their treasures, they presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh..." There were some wonderful hymns (Anglican patrimony: it's an Ordinariate parish). Illustrating the way in which the Church has now spread across the globe, Fr C  noted in his sermon the countries from which members of the congregation came: it's a very, very mixed parish with people from the Caribbean, the Indian sub-continent, the Philippines, various parts of Africa and Europe and the Americas... and we pondered the Old Testament reading about all the peoples, and the fulfilment in the New Testament and the Church...

And afterwards, chocolates and delicious special bread with the coffee... and then the men hauling down the great Christmas trees on either side of the sanctuary, and children scurrying about helping to put away the glittering baubles until next year...

But what a pity that we couldn't have it on the actual DAY of the Epiphany, Jan 6th.  Moving it to the nearest Sunday means it loses none of its glory, but something of its specialness as a bright light in a January week, and the sense of the rightness of things,as the Christmas days reach twelve... Sundays are always special: no travelling to work but instead Mass, time for a proper lunch  a whole different dynamic from the moment the day dawns. But to have a specialness on a weekday is a triumph of light... DEAR BISHOPS: PLEASE CAN WE HAVE OUR FEAST-DAYS BACK???  Evening Mass on Epiphany was a joy - and afterwards the celebrations would continue at home or in a pub with friends, or in the parish. Doing it on Sunday means we miss out on that midweek party and the fullness of appreciating the sense of things having a time and a season...