Dear Friends in Christ
We now begin again the period of Ordinary Time. Obviously there is nothing ‘ordinary' about the mysteries we celebrated week-by-week at Holy Mass, but this term is meant to serve the purpose of telling us that there is nothing in particular being celebrated now - until the start of Lent - apart from Christ and His Mysteries. We have got used to life driving us at a certain pace, but when we come to worship God that pace slows down so that we are caught-up in God’s-time, or liturgical time, which is, outside of time. The Mass, the Sacraments and prayer are never ordinary events, and the very repetition of them can, for the modern mind, seem somewhat routine and tedious; how often have we not heard a young person complain that Mass is boring! I recently heard someone say that if we say we are bored, then we are a probably a boring person ourself.! So, Ordinary Time which begins this week, is anything but ‘ordinary’ because we continue to celebrate our life in Christ. There is nothing more exciting, engaging and life-changing than that!
Last week our church organ had some work completed on it which has enhanced it’s musical tone. We are fortunate to possess a rather good instrument in our church, and it produces a very noble sound, and one that is particularly suited to music of the Baroque era. For aficionados, a new rank has been added of flageolet pipes, and a sub-octave swell coupler introduced. This will add brilliance, depth and richness of tone, especially when playing music of the Baroque and Classical periods. The work has been paid-for by a generous benefactor and someone who has a great appreciation of our organ and Church Music. The organ is often described as the King of Instruments, because of its size, sound and versatility, being able to replicate everything from the human voice to a full orchestra. The Second Vatican Council said of the organ: The pipe organ is to be held in high esteem in the Latin Church, for it is the traditional musical instrument, the sound of which can add a wonderful splendour to the Church’s ceremonies and powerfully lift up men’s minds to God and higher things. Laudate Dominum omnes gentes!
May God bless you all!
Msgr Kevin Hale
Priest@LourdesLeigh.org ✚ 01702 478078
The Sunday Homily is available as a podcast at LourdesLeigh.org