Epiphany

You may have missed it in your rush to buy Bitcoin but today's the Feast of the Epiphany and the manifestation of Christ to the Gentiles. I like this:

THE Magi took the lids from their urns and unfastened their caskets, when they presented the symbols of universal homage to our infant prince. But when a woman came to anoint the king in his royal city, she shattered her alabaster jar, that she might pour the precious spikenard on his head. There was a sympathy between her action and the approaching Passion: the perfume of man’s homage could not be offered to God, without breaking the veined alabaster, the body of the Son of Man. Our incense may rise, like that of the Magi, from unbroken vessels, if we present our bodies a living sacrifice. Yet a living sacrifice is also a sacrifice, and is made so by some participation in the shattering of the vase. Christ, sacrificing himself, joins us with him in sacrificing him; Christ, sacrificing himself, sacrifices us, for he has made us parts of him. We come to offer our homage to Christ, but his star has brought us, and the breaking of his mortal vase has furnished all the perfume of our offering.

                                                                                  The Crown of the Year, Austin Farrer.

Elf

With that in mind, it's only fair to say that several members of this popular information brokerage have also had epiphanies. Viz. Justin Welby is not so much an Archbishop as  a Comedy House Elf. 

There's no need to get into Mantis People, that's a different post.

Quo Vadis,

LSP

St. Thomas Becket

The Archbishop of Canterbury, no, not Justin, Thomas Becket!, died today in 1170, killed by 4 knights in Canterbury Cathedral. I used to offer prayers at his shrine when I was very young.

Here's an excerpt from New Advent: 

Four knights who came from France demanded the absolution of the bishops.St. Thomas would not comply. They left for a space, but came back at Vesper time with a band of armed men. To their angry question, "Where is the traitor?" the saint boldly replied, "Here I am, no traitor, but archbishop andpriest of God." They tried to drag him from the church, but were unable, and in the end they slew him where he stood, scattering his brains on the pavement. His faithful companion, Edward Grim, who bore his cross, was wounded in the struggle.

A tremendous reaction of feeling followed this deed of blood. In an extraordinary brief space of time devotion to the martyred archbishop had spread all through Europe. The pope promulgated the bull of canonization, little more than two years after the martyrdom, 21 February, 1173. On 12 July, 1174, Henry II did public penance, and was scourged at the archbishop's tomb.

That was then, this is now.

Good luck, Church of England, and who knows, perhaps St. Thomas Becket will intercede for the soul of Mr. Kilminster.

LSP 

Church of England Talent Pool, Caught on Camera?

The Church of England's elusive Talent Pool may have been caught on camera, running through Victorian sewers beneath Merseyside.

Filmed by engineers, the mysterious creature has long back legs and glowing eyes. Paranormal experts speculate that the pipe prowling Talent Pool has been feeding off fat deposits and waste water. 

Taken by surprise at the unexpected sighting, cameraman Ian Appleton stated, “I physically jumped when I saw the Talent Pool."

Others aren't convinced, claiming that the Talent Pool was just a hoax staged by United Utilities, as part of the water company's What To Flush marketing campaign which uses school visits, advertising and PR stunts to encourage customers to think before they flush.

Is the frightening creature filmed in Liverpool's sewers the CofE's fast-track to promotion, or yet another MBA inspired sales drive to reverse the declining denomination's fortunes?

You, the reader, be the judge.

LSP