Allelúia, allelúia! Dulce lignum, dulces clavos, dúlcia ferens póndera: quae sola fuísti digna sustinére Regem caelórum et Dóminum. Allelúia.Sweet the wood, sweet the nails, sweet the load that hangs thereon: for thou alone, O holy Cross, wast worthy to bear the King and Lord of heaven.
I have arranged a few days leave from work which has enabled us to take a break 'up North' over the weekend. On the way to the magnificent Lake District in Cumbria, we stayed the night in Manchester with a good friend who was Best Man at our wedding. Now, the M6 is a ghastly motorway, linking Birmingham with the North West of England. So although we had planned to arrive in time for a High Mass for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross (in thanksgiving for Summorum Pontificum) our plans were scuppered by long queues and standstill traffic. I haven't seen any photos, but I'm sure it was a joyous event. The friend in question we stayed with was very pleased to see us after so many years, and may even be reading this after I stored my Blog under his favourites. I will respect his cautious anonymity by referring to him only by his alias - Hello Mace!
Onto the Lake District where we stayed with some of Wendy's family, who had yet to meet Maddy. They live in a lovely little town called Kendal, which is not far from Lake Windermere. The picture above is the view from their quaint terrace. 
We took the opportunity before we left of visiting the Beatrix Potter Attraction which brings to life those quintessentially English children's tales. It seems they often bear tribute to the surrounding area where the author lived. Madeleine has already been bought the entire collection of books, which I have always affectionately known as "the Peter Rabbit Books," named after their forerunner. There is now a Hollywood film all about Beatix Potter, which we have yet to see, but which is certainly on our list. Maddy's favourite character? Jemima Puddleduck, of course!
Please excuse my ignorance Matt ''Sweet the wood'' where is this from?
ReplyDeleteHello Nick: nice of you to drop by!
ReplyDeleteThe quote at the beginning of this post is the Alleluia verse of the Mass for this feast day of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, sung at the presentation of the Gospel (which is St. John 12:31-36). This Gospel shows us that Christ's death was at once a sacrifice and a victory. St Paul's worlds from Galatians 6:14 are echoed at the beginning of this Mass; "We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for he is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through him we are saved and made free." Thus the law of exultation through suffering may be said to have governed the whole of Christ's life (see Philippians 2:5-11)
So, although this alleluia verse isn't a direct phrase from the bible, it is hymn written in the noble tradition of the Church to express these sentiments. This is the way the Catholic Liturgy is derived and designed: to express the wealth of belief in the Christian faith through our prayers and actions.
Many thanks Matt. Borrowed a 1962 missal from a friend and have found it with your help. :-)
ReplyDeleteMiss Potter is a wonderful little film, Matt; if you haven't watched it already, then I can heartily recommend it to you!
ReplyDeleteMalcolm