And so it concludes . . .

This morning saw the conclusion of our Forty Hours Devotion. Thank God for such a wonderful time.  Thank you to all who supported the Forty Hours; those who adored for several hours or just a few minutes; those who got up an extra hour early to come before work and school; those  made the sacrifice to adore through the night hours.

Some people in conversation with me afterwards referred to 'a pull' to be present.  Others spoke of a 'glimpse of heaven'.  It has certainly been a truly blessed time for our parish.

Here is  a brief summary in photos of the whole of the Forty Hours.

Beginning with the Mass of Exposition beautifully celebrated by Fr Seán Finnegan.

After Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, as Adoration began, the sanctuary was wreathed in smoke from the incense. 

People came and went throughout the day and night; so many wonderful people, especially those who made the extra effort to come out during the night-time hours.

By Wednesday evening the number of candles on and around the altar had gradually increased and the atmosphere was one of reverent prayer and adoration.

Finally this morning, this was the sight that greeted people as they entered the church  . . .

Our closing Benediction this morning . . . 

Until the next time . . . 

You will find a few more photos on our Flickr page.

Holy Thursday . . .

It is always a very moving liturgy on Holy Thursday, especially for the celebrating priest.  Last night's Holy Thursday Mass at St Ann's was no exception.  It was a very reverent Mass from the entrance procession, the Liturgy of the Word and the homily; the Washing of the Feet, or Mandatum; through to the procession to the Altar of Repose after Holy Communion and the Stripping of the Altar after the silent exit of the celebrant and altar servers.

Here are just a few shots of our Altar of Repose to give an idea of the prayerful scene as many stayed behind to watch with Our Lord until Midnight.

And here is our Altar of Repose just after midnight when the Blessed Sacrament had been removed to a place of safety overnight.  Hats off to our florists for a beautiful and fitting display!

Finally, the sanctuary looking suitably bereft and desolate after a very reverent Stripping of the Altar by our altar servers.

Corpus Christi - St Ann's Style . . .

We may not have been able to find a canopy for our procession of the Blessed Sacrament today but our improvised 'ombrellino' looks very fitting, doesn't it?

Today we celebrated the Solemnity of Corpus Christi in fitting style. It was also a Mass of thanksgiving for all our children who have made recently made their First Holy Communion.

It's interesting how the young ladies love to be in front of the camera . . .

Whereas the young gentlemen are much more reticent . . .

Naturally a little celebration was in order for them, and, as is our custom here, a delicious cake was enjoyed by all.

And here are some more photos taken this morning . . .

Corpus Christi Procession of the Blessed Sacrament - What is all about . . . ?

For any keen parish blog watchers who might have logged in to see photos taken at our own Procession of the Blessed Sacrament this morning, I thought you might like to see this video whilst you're waiting.

There are many videos of Corpus Christi processions but this one has a good explanation by the parish priest. He helps us to understand why we process with the Blessed Sacrament.

It's also encouraging to hear some of his parishioners explain their understanding of why we have such processions.