Once I was a clever boy learning the arts of Oxford... is a quotation from the verses written by Bishop Richard Fleming (c.1385-1431) for his tomb in Lincoln Cathedral. Fleming, the founder of Lincoln College in Oxford, is the subject of my research for a D. Phil., and, like me, a son of the West Riding. I have remarked in the past that I have a deeply meaningful on-going relationship with a dead fifteenth century bishop... it was Fleming who, in effect, enabled me to come to Oxford and to learn its arts, and for that I am immensely grateful.


Sunday 7 April 2013

Divine Mercy Sunday


Today is Divine Mercy Sunday.  Although I have long been aware of the life of St Faustina and the form of devotion to the Divine Mercy this the first time I have managed to actually attend the afternoon observance of the day at the Oxford Oratory.


https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1fgQtGAwtYQOS4XQiQ9Vjv9TX_Lq7M7ThEzL6KcVj0ZhIPAfIpRfg6ksi14C66MSVTNghx3Vd7vKY6rPrkxiscLhHAHtZXVfe_waQgde10nAgX-7yZFbJDSfpojPKy2hvpgipu-guPP2v/s1600/divine-mercy.jpg 

The Divine Mercy

Image: thebloggingbrother.blogspot


The sizeable congregation was drawn from across the city and deanery, and it was an excellent opportunity both to become more familiar with the ideas inherent in St Faustina's revelation and to participate in the blessing of the image, chaplet, 3.00 Prayer, Mass - for which I was recruited as a reader - and the adoration and prayer before the exposed Blessed Sacrament, concluding with Benediction. I was not alone in thinking the inclusion of Fr Faber's hymn "There's a wideness if God's mercy" particularly felicitous.

I definitely felt more drawn to the idea and awareness of the Divine Mercy - let 's be honest, we need to be - and I hope it will inform my own daily pattern of prayer and devotion. I would certainly recommend attending such an occasion for anyone seeking to learn more about what has become a widespread devotion in recent years.


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