Weekly Record

28th October 2007

There is no excuse for anyone to be late for Mass this Sunday as we all enjoy an extra hour in bed due to the clocks going back. I always think of it as entering the twilight zone with darkness descending by 4pm which means you get in to work in darkness and the day is over by the time you are going home. It also means that the intermittent firework explosions, which are a headache at this time of the year, begin earlier in the evening. I often wonder how we would be able to tell if we were being invaded during October and early November with so many explosions taking place.

In the last week the land on the corner of Brownlow Hill and Duckinfield Street has been cordoned off ready for the construction of a phase two Science Park building. This, when finished, will complete the new building developments around the Cathedral Campus. I have been invited to the ‘Turf Cutting’ ceremony which is a first for me. I was always of the opinion that you should start quietly and celebrate when you have something to show off. But by the time a project such as this starts on site they will have spent a few years sourcing grant funding and dealing with designers and planners so I suppose the small piece of turf will symbolise a great deal of hard work and achievement.

What was known as the wilderness area of the Cathedral will now be one congested building site for the next 14 months. The organisers of the beer festival have already raised concerns regarding the access for unloading their barrels at the rear end of the Crypt and I have had to ensure them that there will be a new access road constructed for this area before February!

On Thursday and Friday this week we celebrate the feasts of All Saints and All Souls. All Saints is a Holyday of Obligation – one of the few remaining on a weekday. These days remind us to give thanks this month for the witness of so many great figures and also our deceased relatives and friends whose lives have witnessed to Christ and influenced us. Later in November on the weekend of 17th/18th all the Saturday and Sunday Masses will be said for our deceased loved ones. If you would like to pass in a list of names for that weekend please put them in an envelope marked Pious List and bring them to Mass in the next few weeks. It may be of help to families who have lost a family member this year to come to Mass that weekend and pray for them- why not let others know about this.

For those who have a special devotion to St Martin De Porres (his statue, commissioned by Archbishop Worlock, is in the Cathedral) – his feastday is on 3rd.

Next Saturday evening at 7.30pm there is a concert in the Cathedral featuring the St Petersburg Choir. They have toured in the UK since 2002 but this will be their debut performance in our Cathedral. Finally spare a thought and a prayer for Archbishop Kelly who is visiting Iran this week on behalf of the Bishops Conference.

Canon Anthony O’Brien
Cathedral Dean