and now...

...on to Norfolk, to the shrine of Our Lady at Walsingham, for the great NEW DAWN gathering...

I'm staying at the very comfortable Elmham House, the Shrine Bureau - and am writing this in the pub next door, where I have been enjoying a good supper and a pin-and-tonic while using the somewhat intermittent Norfolk wifi to catch up on my emails. Which gives me also the opportunity to offer you the latest Portal magazine, in which there is a feature by Auntie about Bl John Henry Newman and a recent trip to his childhood home along by the Thames at Ham...

New Dawn is  rather wonderful...lots of lovely families, a variety of talks on Catholic doctrine and moral teachings, rousing  singing - though not all to my taste (the words are inspiring, tunes and general style...not so sure) -  an atmosphere of prayer,  enthusiasm, and great goodwill,  There is a tremendous sense of loyalty to the Church  and knowledgeable, well-informed discussion about living as Catholics today and celebrating the joy of the Faith.  There is much concern about the threats to Christian families seeking to raise their children in freedom. Of course, some can and do educate their own children at home - but this is not possible for all, and anyway the Church must, as of right, be free to run schools and colleges and has a reasonable claim on public funds for some of this as she educates vast numbers of children and has done so for generations. The history of education in our country is Church history.

From the Thames Valley - via a rushed couple of days at home in London - to the wide Norfolk fields...it's been an opportunity to feast on a glory of English views...

New Dawn happens in a vast  near the Shrine, with families camping in adjoining field, and a linked youth camp in another alongside...one of the most powerful sights occurred this evening, as people were chatting in the evening sunshine, children frolicking about, strains of singing coming from one group, a buzz of talk from another....the sudden sound of a bell ringing, and a little procession crossed the meadow, a robed priest bearing the Blessed Sacrament aloft, preceded by a server.. Children and adults alike knelt down with complete naturalness and  quiet reverence. A lovely moment.

I remembered a similar moment last year and the beauty of it.  Oh, may there be, in long and happy years ahead, children at play in a Norfolk field and kneeling joyfully before the Lord in his Sacrament is borne along....