Friday 3 April 2026 After I year I have the routines down quite well. I know where I’m supposed to sit, stand, and kneel. Then comes Good Friday. Suddenly, I’m back to watching everyone else and doing what they do on a slight 1-2 second lag. It started early. A friend from SVP asked if … Read more
Maundy Thursday 2 April 2026 The church was full of incense and smoke, like having smudged glasses. The smell was lovely. M arrived a few minutes later with her husband C, and took a seat behind me. C “ooohed” with perfect comic timing when M explained I was from Chester. Which is posh to those … Read more
Sunday 29 March 2026 I was late to my seat for Mass. Jan in the row in front turned to look at me with a smile. “You’re late”, she grinned. We’ve both become accustomed to arriving at church at the same moment. I said it was nice to be missed. I had a good reason. … Read more
Friday 27 March 2026 I arrived at the early Mass grumbling about a splinter. Not the one in my neighbour’s eye, but the one in my hand. One of seven I’d inflicted on myself while throwing logs on the fire. I’d pulled out six. The seventh, sore and starting to glow red, was staying put. … Read more
Wednesday 25 March 2026 I haven’t missed Mass this past year. And even though the Feast of the Annunciation is not a Holy Day of Obligation, I wasn’t going to start now. Except as I started walking to church, I felt like I wanted to head back to the sofa I’d just left. I had … Read more
Sunday 22 March 2026 We were halfway through the Nicene Creed when it occurred to me I still didn’t know the Creed by heart. A few weeks ago, I tried to say it without holding the Mass book in front of me, but tripped up a few times, and my voice jarred incorrectly against the … Read more
Friday 20 March 2026 It was foggy as I stepped outside at 6.45 am on my way to the early Mass. Visibility was about 100 yards. Even less as I turned uphill towards the church. It presented not only a beautiful sight, but an opportunity to fumble some analogy with the gospel. The fog lifting, … Read more
Sunday 15 March 2026 I arrived at church in a bad mood. And like always, I was quickly brought down to earth, dragged away from my self-importance. This morning, an untidy kitchen, which I’d left untidy from the night before, was the trigger. In my mind, I was blaming everyone else for not putting things … Read more
Friday 13 March 2026 I arrived in church after a night of gale-force winds. There were leaves and bits of grit in the holy water. I needed this message of love thy neighbour as yourself in Mark chapter 12, after very clearly not loving my neighbour the previous evening. I had reacted badly to hearing … Read more
Tuesday 10 March 2026 A rare weekday Mass, with a dozen or so others. On these occasions, I sit in the main part of the church, not hidden behind a pillar as I usually am on a Sunday, able only to see the Mass. Today the reading was the parable of the unmerciful servant. A … Read more