Remembrance Sunday

 

In the States we honor veterans on November 11 but in Commonwealth countries people mark the date as Remembrance Day, looking back to the terrible slaughter of World War I, which ended with the "passing of the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month." In respect of this, churches keep the following Sunday as Remembrance Sunday and St. John the Evangelist, Calgary, was no exception.

Except perhaps it was, with a full Requiem High Mass, complete with Catafalque, Absolution at the Bier, two minutes silence, both Canadian and English national anthems and a heartfelt homily by Fr. B. I was moved and so was my youngest son. The liturgy began with an Act of Remembrance:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old: 

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We shall remember them.

And the Mass continued according to the Anglican Use of the Roman Rite for the ordinariates, designed for Anglican converts. Pretty much Anglican Missal or for all you RC trads, the Extraordinary Form but in Cranmerian liturgical English as opposed to the attack language of 1970s worship experts. It was good and you knew you'd been to church.

Here's Flanders Fields, included in the Mass bulletin:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

    That mark our place; and in the sky

    The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

    Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

        In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

    The torch; be yours to hold it high.

    If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

        In Flanders fields.

Lest we forget and God bless you all,

LSP

Happy New Year!

Here we are on the dawn of a whole new year and I can't complain about the closing days of the last. A pub lunch and darts at the Swan with the boys, an uplifting Solemn High Mass on Sunday, Ordinariate style, and I have to say it was good to see the old place so full of young families and children.

And what trip to Calgary and Inglewood would be complete without visiting Crown Surplus and the militaria shop? The Crown's changed things up a bit and now devotes most of its space to tactical gear, which is great if you're an operator or looking for neat backpacks, knives and tactical accessories for your Glock/Sig. I like the other side of the store more, genuine surplus at OK prices.

The militaria place is alright too, though not as good as it once was before it moved down the street 5 years ago. Still, if you're desperate for a Grenadier Guards tunic or a bust of Hitler it's your shop. I took a couple of pictures and got in trouble, they're afraid of memorabila thieves.

Walking Holly was fun too, she's a rescue dog from the rez, not sure which one, and we get on well. She's vastly excited to go on trips through the frozen wastes and alleyways of this part of Alberta's onetime cow town. And there it is for now, more reflections on the Great White North as they come to mind.

In the meanwhile,

Happy New Year!

LSP

New Place To Ride Ordinariate

There's evidently this rural myth doing the rounds of Malone about some man who walked his horse 20 miles just so he could find a new place to ride...

With that in mind, and with the caveat that the myth won't be repeated, I'm happy with the place. A good mixture of dirt road and large fields to move around in; I'd say the variation is good for the horse's mind. Doesn't do the rider any harm either.

the space is deep

In other news, Cardinal Wuerl looks set to make an important announcement about the Ordinariate in CONUS. This is Benedict XVI's arrangement for Anglican clergy and people to convert to Rome while keeping elements of their liturgical and pastoral tradition. It also allows the former Anglicans a degree of permanence and self-governance, which was perhaps lacking under the Pastoral Provision.

where's that dik-mik?

Several friends have suggested that I join the Ordinariate and I'm very sympathetic. But I'm not about to abandon Bishop Iker and my Missions while we're being sued for all we're worth by the Pelosionite followers of Inclusivechurch. I think that would be disloyal.

Perhaps as a nod in the right direction I should rename the horse -- "Ordinariate" has a certain ring for a Thoroughbred.

Stay in the saddle,

LSP