Month: October 2021

Two miles, put Margaret on the train, Office and Mass, some Legends in the afternoon.

Two miles, breakfast at Rick’s, tidying up, et cetera.

Margaret’s revelling in Kit Smart these days: ‘For the man speaks himself from the crown of his head to the soles of his feet…’.

Ouch, that’s a long interval of neglect. I ran two miles each of the first five mornings, gave myself yesterday morning off cos I was out late, and ran a mile this morning in the rain. I kept to my usual fruit breakfasts on Monday and Tuesday, but indulged in a hot breakfast yesterday (again, to help perk up a groggy morning). Spent Saturday writing my sermon, Sunday preached, and Monday through Thursday I’ve been teaching, marking, answering emails, and so on — not a very exciting week, though I’ve made progress in my marking backlog.

Yesterday: Two miles, I cheated and had an egg and mushrooms for breakfast, tutorials and marking, staff colloquium, and Guest Night.

This morning: two miles, croissant, correspondence, marking, tutorial, excellent NT Seminar given by Teresa Morgan, Evensong and Benediction, and that’s the end of Second.

Tuesday: Two miles, fruit breakfast, lecture, lunch meeting, appointment, tutorial, breath, evening Mass for St Frideswide.

Today: Two miles, one fox, hot breakfast, lecture, marking, lunch, class, marking, meeting, Mass, whew!

Two miles, fruit breakfast… Yesterday, an occasional congregant at St John the Evangelist asked me “How long have you worked here?”, to which I answered (a bit puzzled — had she begun losing memories?) “Eight years; this is the beginning of my ninth.” It then dawned on both of us that she hadn’t seen me in a year and a half, or more, during which time my hair and beard had grown from close-shaven to long, shaggy. I’ve also lost a stone or two (she said, ‘Your bone structure has changed’, which I suspect is impossible, but maybe a little less fat creates that impression).

Two miles, Morning Prayer, hot breakfast, rehearsal, Mass, lunch; then Margaret and I indulged in some musicological and cultural musings about the Monkees (whatever one may say about the commercialism of a premise of a made-up band, there’s some top-level artistry in the hookiness of those singles), then some Charlie Louvin, then the Hillbilly Thomists (alongside revision on the topic of ‘the Dominican Order(s)), Laurie Anderson, Blind Alfred Reed, and the B-52s. That’s a day, isn’t it?

Two miles yesterday, fruit breakfast, academic work day of marking and meeting, ending with Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. Two miles this morning, hot breakfast, and the hope of a relaxing afternoon (till 16:00, when the Sodality will come together to pray the Evening Office for the Dead for Mother Ade).

People die all the time, obviously, and many people have died unexpectedly in the last two years. Still, Margaret and I were set back a pace or two by the news that our friend from Evanston days Mark McIntosh had died, in the same day that Sir David Amess was murdered, and my sister in the Sodality of Mary, Ade Lawal. Though we knew nothing about Sir David before yesterday, the convergence feels a bit like an inflection point, a time when ‘one of our friends died’ changes from an unusual circumstance to being an almost-expected part of our experience, a transition from the last vestiges of summertime to real autumn, with nightly reminders of winter coming.

The more learning our preachers and pastors have, the better. For if they have not much experience themselves, yet they know the Scriptures and the recorded experiences of the saints better than we do. The devil is exceedingly afraid of learning, especially where it is accompanied with humility and virtue.

— Santa Teresa: An Appreciation, ed. Alexander Whyte (London: Oliphant Anderson & Ferrier, 1897), p. 64.

Well, this week has gone by fast. Running? Two miles, a day off, two miles, and this morning another two miles. Fruit breakfast, fruit, hot, and I’ll have fruit this morning. Lectures on Tuesday and Wednesday, some student meetings, marking (already!), and various other academic responsibilities.

Two miles, hot breakfast, Mass, more reading…