Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord . . .

It is a busy weekend at St Ann's with the visit of the travelling Icon and Palm Sunday.

A busy weekend and a joyful one as we celebrate Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, cheered on by palm-waving crowds.

We had our own version, on a somewhat smaller scale, of that palm strewn procession today at the 10am Mass.

Christ wouldn't have had to negotiate his way around parked cars but there would I'm sure have been other obstacles in his path as he made his way on that donkey through the streets of Jerusalem.

Here are a few photos of our procession this morning.  You'll find more on our Flickr stream here.

Gathering in the hall for the blessing of palms and the reading of the Gospel before we begin to process around the church.

The procession weaves its way around our beautiful magnolia which looks as if it will be in full bloom just in time for Easter Sunday.

And back into church to join those who were unable to join the procession. 

And Mass begins.

NB. As usual, for clearer and larger images, please click on the individual photo.

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.

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas . . .

Adoro te devote, latens Deitas . . .

"O Godhead hid, devoutly I adore thee."

This is the opening line of the hymn St Thomas Aquinas wrote for the feast of Corpus Christi.

The Solemnity of Corpus Christi dates from the thirteenth Century. First established in the diocese of Liege, Pope Urban IV instituted it in 1264 throughout the Universal Church.

On this day we thank God for His presence among us; we make reparation to Him for the offences committed against Him in the Blessed Sacrament. We will tell Him many times that we love Him.

It is a day of thanksgiving and joy because Our Lord has wanted to remain with us in order to feed us and strengthen us, so that we will never feel alone for He is indeed Panis Angelicus . . .

We intend to have a short procession here in the parish on the Feast of Corpus Christi. It would be marvellous to be able to do so with a canopy for the Blessed Sacrament. If anyone within travelling distance of Banstead knows of a canopy that we might borrow for the Feast, I would be delighted to hear from them. (Or even an ombrellino!)