Norfolk Pilgrim

Once, long ago, many would come on this feast day to St. Mary, Hautbois . Today, there was just me and, if not a host, there was a least, "a scattering of golden daffodils, beneath the trees". I came and prayer and remembered using the Hail Mary of Raymond Lull And I am not sure that I was wandering lonely. I had, rather, strode manfully, through the village and along the disused railway line with plenty of time to ponder on the way. Thoughts about: predestination and the permanents way The primrose path that leads to the everlasting bonfire.  And about the Lamb of God

When she died in 1507, Agnes Parker owed a pilgrimage to St. Tebbald (St.Theobald) at Hobbies. In same year Thomas Wood of Coltishale left a legacies to the Guild of the Virgin at the Church of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary at Hautbois and to paint the new tabernacle of St. Theobald in the Church. Thomas and Agnes were going to be my Simeon and Anna. Riding through Coltishall and past the Guides, Patterson Lodge Activity Centre ,  I chained my bike to the fence and walked down the track to the ruined church.  To the right is the Golden Gates Pond where generation of village kids have grappled - without success - for the said, golden gates . I often wonder if the gates in question were from the tabernacle of St.Theobald and deposited there after the shrines were suppressed by Henry VIII in 1538. Candlemas Bells - Snowdrops - are sprinkled around the churchyard. Woodpeckers drum, Buzzards call overhead and  Anna's warning echoes in my ears - "a sword ...

I am just back from a winter holiday in the Canary Islands.  As I looked out from the balcony of my rented holiday flat I wondered what was the story behind the cross on the beach and the mural close by. It turns out we were staying at an important historical site. Back in the days before the Spanish conquest, two Guanche shepherds discovered a statue of Our Lady. Echoes here of the discovery of another Black Madonna,   Our Lady of Lluch . The statue was kept for a while in a nearby cave. To this day there are cave dwellings in El Socorro. Once again there are echoes. On one hand, the cave in Bethlehem is one and, on the other, the sheer ordinariness of the dwelling - he became flesh and dwelt among us. After a number of years the image was relocated to  another cave on the sea shore. A mile or so north around which has grown the Town of Cadelaria. The original image was was lost when a tsunami  swept into the cave and carried it out to s...

Hail Mary! Your servant salutes you on behalf of the angels, And the patriarchs, of the prophets and the martyrs, Of the confessors and the virgins. I greet you on behalf of all the saints of heaven.  Hail Mary! Your greetings from the Christians, The faithful and the sinners. From the faithful because you are worthy of their praise And because you are the hope for our salvation; The sinners salute you and beg for your forgiveness. Hail Mary!  I bring you greetings from Muslims and Jews, From Greeks, Mongols and Tartars. I am the channel through which they, And many other unbelievers, greet you. I salute you for them So that your Son will remember them. Hail Mary! For you are worthy to be known, Loved, served and honoured by all the peoples And all the nations on Earth. They all salute you And beg for your glory and forgiveness. ...

Come to the shrine “Walk towards splendour Your God walks with you” Prepare your heart and leave with trust and joy, Alone, or with your brothers, but Come. Walk in the footsteps of your ancestors Whoever you may be, In God’s house there is a place for you, You have brothers to meet, Saints to follow, Mary to listen to And the mysteries of the Church to live. If you thirst for joy, peace and justice, If you thirst for love and forgiveness, Come and drink the Living water From the fountain of salvation, You who are young and full of enthusiasm You who are ill and wretchedly suffering, You who are feeling marginalised, As well as you who are blessed With a pleasant family life, Come and be illuminated by the light of the Gospel. Go And come back reconciled   Comforted, Renewed. Proclaim the Good News to your brothers: God loves us And awaits us. “Walk towards splendour: Your God walks with you.”...