Thursday 31 October 2013
Week 3 - All Hallows' Eve
Tomorrow is a Holy Day of Obligation - All Saints' Day - and I went to Mass tonight at St. Aloysius Church. It is the official Catholic Oratory here in Oxford. It is a beautiful church where Cardinal Newman once preached. I had arranged for a cab to pick me up after 6:00 Mass - there was no way I was walking home in the dark on Halloween! - but Mass ended at 6:30 and my cab wasn't due until 7:00. Before I could even think to call the cab company to change my reservation, Father said there would be Vespers immediately after the final blessing. I am so glad that I had that extra half hour at church. All of the priests processed out wearing their vestments and birettas. Two altar boys in black and white vestments carried huge candles out in front of the procession. As the priests began to sing the Latin prayers, I couldn't help but think that I was only able to experience that beautiful series of prayers because of the courage and faith of English Catholics, especially those who had lived during periods of persecution that began in the 16th century and didn't truly end until the laws were changed in the 19th century. Anyway, I was able to grab a couple of pictures of the church and of the Vespers booklet. Enjoy and Happy Halloween!
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Miss Lavin, I am LOVING all of your pictures! The pictures from Oxford Castle were especially fascinating. I. Am. Beyond. Jealous. Speaking of periods of Catholic persecution, in British Literature tomorrow, we have a quiz over the Renaissance period. This period has been a breeze because I learned so much of it in Church History. You'll be happy to know that I am still annoying my fellow classmates by reciting Henry VIII's wives, as well as the mnemonic listing their various fates. Also, the discrepancies between a religion course and a literature course in their views of history are amusing, especially regarding Mary I and Elizabeth I. Hopefully, I will be able to discern the true version of history, free from bias. Hope you are having a marvelous time at Oxford. Know that I am a loyal, dedicated follower of your blog. :)
ReplyDeleteHi, Andrew:) I'm so glad you're enjoying the pictures and am thrilled that what we learned in Church History is helping you in Brit Lit. And I'm very impressed that you can still recite not only Henry VIII's wives but also the little "poem". What kinds of discrepancies are you running into in the class? I'd be really interested to hear. Things are going well here - pretty busy, but that's what I was expecting! Thanks for keeping an eye on the blog - I'll try to keep it entertaining!
ReplyDeleteWell, according to the Church History textbook, Mary I was unfairly given the nickname Bloody Mary. According to our British Literature book, she was pretty darn ruthless. Likewise, in British Literature, Elizabeth I is painted as the perfect queen of England, helping it reach the height of its potential, while the Church History book, if I remember correctly, didn't focus as much on that as it did on her effects on the Church of England. Nothing hugely different between the two courses. Personally, I find the biases existing in various resources interesting. Also, I have been tagged on Facebook in a few pictures from Ring Day, as I know you wanted to see some.
ReplyDeletePerspective is fascinating, isn't it? There is new material being written about Mary that is reexamining the widely held perception of her and her reign (the whole bloody thing). As I recall, the textbooks you're using in Brit Lit are the same ones that my class used, oh so many years ago;) The historical discussion about Mary I - on any history, really - is ongoing. That's what makes it exciting. Nothing is set in stone and you have to figure out what you think on your own. And I'll be sure to take a look at the Ring Day pics - thanks for letting me know!
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