FATHER FRANK’S LOG: 22nd – 29th SEPTEMBER 2024
Our annual Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows drew to a close last Sunday, after which there was the usual sausage roll fest in the middle hall. It was good to see a number of people from St Roch’s there as well, some of whom have been coming to the Novena for years, but now, since we took responsibility for St Roch’s parish last November, we know them much better. From feedback received, it seems to have been a time of special grace for those who attended either all, or part of the Novena. I must confess that when September comes around each year, I begin to wonder how much longer we can sustain the Novena. It has been running now in St Mungo’s for almost 60 years. It began while I was a pupil at St Mungo’s Academy. At the beginning it was just a very short meditation on each of the Sorrows of Our Lady after the 6pm evening Mass for the 7 nights leading up to the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Cross, and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Over the years it grew into something much bigger with two sessions per day at lunchtime and evening, guest Passionist preachers from various English-speaking provinces, including the USA and Australia, longer sermons, like mission sermons, being given, and with ever-growing crowds attending. I was even a guest preacher a couple of times myself when I was living in Ireland. The submission of people’s petitions became a major part of the Novena, and a leaflet was prepared with set prayers for each day. A period of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was introduced after the evening sessions, which then drew to a close with a celebration of the Night Prayer of the Church.
With the passage of time, and even more-so since Covid, numbers attending have dropped. The exorbitant parking charges around the church have affected the lunchtime Novena Mass attendance. With the diminishment in the number of active Passionists, and those who are active being over-extended where they are, the invitation to guest preachers has become well-nigh impossible. The last time we did this was to mark the 150th anniversary of the church in 2019, but two of the three men who came then are now in their 80’s, and the third is in his 70’s and carrying a number of important roles. We even invited Archbishop Tartaglia to celebrate the closing Mass that year and, of course, he has since passed away, God rest his soul. In this day and age also, with so many other things that attract and engage people, expecting big crowds to come out for nine days or nights in a row is a big ask.
All of these things are what cause doubts to rise in my mind as to how long we can sustain this. But then there is the experience of the Novena itself. Even if there are fewer people, even if there are no guest preachers, even if it is a much lower-key event, still and all, the spirit of prayerfulness, the palpable presence of Our Lady, under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows, a very beautiful statue of whom is placed in the sanctuary throughout the Novena, with the petition box alongside; also, the solidarity among people as, through their petitions and devotion, they mingle their sorrows with the sorrows of one another, and with the sorrows of Mary, finding strength, support, and healing grace through her intercession, continue to render this as a very special, sacred time here in St Mungo’s, and I wonder even more, how we could ever drop it, so long as there are even a few people who still look to this Novena as something that touches them deeply. And I would include myself in that. Since it has become a lower-key event, I find myself much less preoccupied with all that surrounds the organization and preparation of the event, and much more able to participate in the Novena, and I especially experience that in the quiet times in the evening after Mass, when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and the church is dimmed before the celebration of Night Prayer, and I can gather together, in my mind and in my heart, the thoughts and prayers of that day. I too now welcome this Novena as something I cherish, and would never want to lose. So, I imagine, God willing, the Novena is here to stay for a long time yet.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
Our annual Novena to Our Lady of Sorrows drew to a close last Sunday, after which there was the usual sausage roll fest in the middle hall. It was good to see a number of people from St Roch’s there as well, some of whom have been coming to the Novena for years, but now, since we took responsibility for St Roch’s parish last November, we know them much better. From feedback received, it seems to have been a time of special grace for those who attended either all, or part of the Novena. I must confess that when September comes around each year, I begin to wonder how much longer we can sustain the Novena. It has been running now in St Mungo’s for almost 60 years. It began while I was a pupil at St Mungo’s Academy. At the beginning it was just a very short meditation on each of the Sorrows of Our Lady after the 6pm evening Mass for the 7 nights leading up to the Solemnity of the Exaltation of the Cross, and the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows. Over the years it grew into something much bigger with two sessions per day at lunchtime and evening, guest Passionist preachers from various English-speaking provinces, including the USA and Australia, longer sermons, like mission sermons, being given, and with ever-growing crowds attending. I was even a guest preacher a couple of times myself when I was living in Ireland. The submission of people’s petitions became a major part of the Novena, and a leaflet was prepared with set prayers for each day. A period of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament was introduced after the evening sessions, which then drew to a close with a celebration of the Night Prayer of the Church.
With the passage of time, and even more-so since Covid, numbers attending have dropped. The exorbitant parking charges around the church have affected the lunchtime Novena Mass attendance. With the diminishment in the number of active Passionists, and those who are active being over-extended where they are, the invitation to guest preachers has become well-nigh impossible. The last time we did this was to mark the 150th anniversary of the church in 2019, but two of the three men who came then are now in their 80’s, and the third is in his 70’s and carrying a number of important roles. We even invited Archbishop Tartaglia to celebrate the closing Mass that year and, of course, he has since passed away, God rest his soul. In this day and age also, with so many other things that attract and engage people, expecting big crowds to come out for nine days or nights in a row is a big ask.
All of these things are what cause doubts to rise in my mind as to how long we can sustain this. But then there is the experience of the Novena itself. Even if there are fewer people, even if there are no guest preachers, even if it is a much lower-key event, still and all, the spirit of prayerfulness, the palpable presence of Our Lady, under the title of Our Lady of Sorrows, a very beautiful statue of whom is placed in the sanctuary throughout the Novena, with the petition box alongside; also, the solidarity among people as, through their petitions and devotion, they mingle their sorrows with the sorrows of one another, and with the sorrows of Mary, finding strength, support, and healing grace through her intercession, continue to render this as a very special, sacred time here in St Mungo’s, and I wonder even more, how we could ever drop it, so long as there are even a few people who still look to this Novena as something that touches them deeply. And I would include myself in that. Since it has become a lower-key event, I find myself much less preoccupied with all that surrounds the organization and preparation of the event, and much more able to participate in the Novena, and I especially experience that in the quiet times in the evening after Mass, when the Blessed Sacrament is exposed and the church is dimmed before the celebration of Night Prayer, and I can gather together, in my mind and in my heart, the thoughts and prayers of that day. I too now welcome this Novena as something I cherish, and would never want to lose. So, I imagine, God willing, the Novena is here to stay for a long time yet.
As ever, protect yourself, your loved ones and others, and protect Christ in your lives.
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