The Sacristy at St Alban’s used to be a mortuary, and as a result is dominated by this beautiful altar. Previous curates have used it to privately practice saying the mass.

Second pastoral visit of the afternoon, checking in on one of our parishioners who lives (literally) in the shadow of the church!

Taking a funeral this morning, so I won’t be posting much until later this afternoon. Hope everyone is having a good day!

When I was in discernment a priest told me that exercise was ‘essential’. He was right. Great way to decompress after an intense morning. Staying (semi) fit and healthy will also hopefully keep me more useful to the people of God for longer!

Miraculous medal a good friend brought back for me from Lourdes

Starts extremely strong. Pacing is off in the middle third and it lags. Picks up but doesn’t *quite* return to form at the end. Visually stunning, excellent score, really good acting, great atmosphere.

Youth Club outing! I think I’m more nervous than the kids…

The second Mass of the day is the 11am Solemn Mass (high altar, three sacred ministers, eastward facing, professional choir singing a mass setting). One of the congregation took a snap of me preaching, so here you go!

In between masses

A baptism after the 11am and much rejoicing over our new sibling in Christ! Please keep them in your prayers. A huge privilege to administer the rite by which Jesus claims someone for his own.

And so our time together has come to an end! It’s been great sharing a week with you all and I hope it’s been a window into the Catholic life of the Church of England. All out of photos from today so here’s a shot from my first mass in July - Happy Feast and God bless!

#MorningPrayer In the circumstances we encounter and the contexts we inhabit today, Lord, help us not to be people who can only see the problems inherent in our opportunities, but to be people who see the opportunities you offer to meet problems with your love, hope, and promise.