Convent of Lanherne Revisited
As is my wont in early December (and June) I make the long journey from the North East of Scotland to Cornwall, a distance of over 500 miles. Why? well, fishing of course. December is the last opportunity to help feed my family in bringing home a good fresh wild salmon for the Christmas table - dream on brother!
The other great pleasure is another opportunity to re-visit Lanherne Convent. Sunday started off with Lauds (initially outside until some kind person unlocked the chapel door), Rosary then Mass, the 1st Sunday in Advent, finishing off with the exposition of a relic of St. Cuthbert Mayne, one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales. It was good to see the numbers of parishioners attending seems to have grown since my last visit in June, despite the awful weather (constant rain).
The Altar rails had been replaced after the new carpet was laid and, after more politically correct type hypocrisy from Heritage England or some such busy body organisation, retrospective permission had been granted to return the High Altar to the position it had occupied for centuries!
Fr. Rothe remembered me from my last visit and asked how the fishing was going - badly was the answer, too much rain. What a memory; I'm lucky to remember what day of the week it is!
During the week I returned with an offering for the community. One of the lads had spent the day shooting and returned with two brace of pheasants for me to pass on to the Community. I duly took them up and although Fr Rothe was absent I was able to hand them over to Fra George, a Londoner, who stared at the birds and whilst accepting them, I knew he was somewhat perplexed as to what should be done with them. After some words of advice he seemed a little more relaxed. Hopefully they graced the Christmas table.
Please continue to pray for the Community. The NLM have also updated their information on Lanherne which is very informative. The link is
here.
Oh, in case you are interested, yes I did manage to catch a salmon but no, I did not bring it home. Instead I donated it to the local fish hatchery where it is kept and when ready the eggs will be collected, fertilised and cared for until the young fish are released back into the river the following year. I was informed they could be up to 5000 eggs which is a prodigious amount. My little bit for sustainable fishing.
