There will be prayers for Prince Philip at Masses tomorrow...

 

...and memorial pictures of him in churches and Cathedrals, like this one at St George's Cathedral, Southwark,  with a message from the Archbishop.

THE HISTORY WALKS ARE RE-STARTING...

 

...so do come along!!!  You need to let us know that you are coming.  Walks will start from Westminster Cathedral,  from St George's Cathedral, Southwark, and from St Elizabeth's Church in Richmond.   We offer evening and afternoon walks.  Come and discover London's magnificent history.  Info here

Tributes to HRH Prince Philip...

 

...and I add my own small voice...like thousands of other young people over the past half-century or more, I took part in the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, and am so grateful for all that I learned and was able to do...

His was a life of service, lived well.

A  man of Christian faith, of courage - not least in wartime - and of dedication to our country. May he rest in peace. Read here...

IT'S TIME TO GET BACK TO MASS!!!

 

.....people who have been watching at home: it's time to get back to church now.

Here is a leading Cardinal on the subject,   and frankly, he's quite right.

Prince Charles has chosen a perfect poem for Easter...

 

...and shares it here...

Enjoy, and share with others. How lovely that our future king loves the work of Hopkins as so many of us do...and sees how Hopkins speaks to our current longing to reconnect with God and with God's creation...

....and this brings Easter greetings to my faithful readers...

 

....and may this holy season bring new hope and joy to our country and to the world which sorely needs it...

Read and enjoy Auntie at...

 

The Portal magazine, here...

HOT WEATHER, LOCKDOWN EASING...

 

...and somehow London looks ugly. The dress-code is deliberately-torn  beachwear....for females,  very tiny, tight, ripped shorts and fleshy posteriors. For males, oldish teeshirts and ripped-knee jeans. Very loud rock music from ricksaws. People crammed together along the South Bank, with  litter stacked on walls and on street corners, mostly randomly, sometimes alongside overflowing litterbins. Cans, pizza-boxes, a lot of chicken bones and pizza crusts, discarded chips in expanded-polystyrene containers, more cans.  Plastic bags flapping against bus stops and lamp posts. 

People are very much out and about: lots of crowds. But somehow the mood isn't merry. Will this year have a hot  summer season of riots and anger?

I had spent part of the afternoon pondering History Walks...several new ideas from routes mapped out over recent weeks. The prospect of good company and a sense of cheerful purpose.  But suddenly the idea  seemed stale and dull. London's mix of boarded-up shops and scruffy beachwear gives a gloomy feel.

We are promised cooler weather for Easter, but a very hot summer to follow.

Spent yesterday afternoon on my knees...

 

...at St George's Cathedral, Southwark.   Not praying...cleaning!  Very satisfying work, getting dust out of odd corner at the edges of the kneelers, and - much harder work - polishing the brass plates on the doors of the confessionals!  Every bit of brass in the cathedral now gleams gloriously...

It's a fine building,  designed by Pugin, re-modelled slightly  courtesy of the Luftwaffe in WWII, rebuilt beautifully to original design....it lost its original stained glass but has acquired some magnificent new ones, including a fine East window above the sanctuary, and an equally glorious one at the West end. My personal favourite, however, is the superb stained glass by the Blessed Sacrament chapel, depicting Pope St John Paul administering the Sacrament of Anointing in the Cathedral...it is worth visiting the Cathedral just to see it.  Next year, 2022, will mark the 40th anniversary of the great Pope to Britain...

A very muddled Cardinal...

 

....poor Cardinal Schonborn seems to be in a complete muddle over same-sex marriage 

What does he think he's doing?

It is tragic. 

LISTEN TO AUNTIE JOANNA...

 

....on Radio Maria England.

You can find out about Holy Week and Easter customs - including things that Auntie and her friends and family will be doing!

Last year we were told it was "an Easter like no other" because of the restrictions due to the China virus.  But alas this year there are restrictions too...though at least we can get to church, provided there is space and we can book in advance.

There is going to be a great need for evangelism in the months ahead, helping people to rediscover the pattern of some regular life of worship and the use of churches...