Ladydale Diary
Saint Paternus 2021
It is sometimes said that a whirlwind romance leads to a wedding but rarely that a wedding leads to a whirlwind romance. This was, however, the scenario this past Saturday at the culmination of the wedding day of a friend. We had attended the sung nuptial Mass in the Extraordinary Form which was truly beautiful. Mozart’s setting with motets by Byrd and Palestrina added for good measure. After the ceremony, I returned home with Leo while Susannah and Evangeline went to the reception. When they got home, earlier than expected, they had little to say about the party but a great deal to say about what had brought the party to a premature end.
A tornado passed through the carpark, felling trees, one of which flattened a parked car. Susannah and Evangeline, who were outside the hall at the time, seeking respite from the noise, witnessed the drama unfold. The Fire Department arrived and the venue was evacuated. The happy couple (the newlyweds, not Susannah and Evangeline) took it all in their stride, as was evident from their happy demeanour on the TV news.
After this explosive start to the week, things settled down. Sunday was decorously a day of rest. A quiet, relaxing morning. Noon Mass. A bite of lunch. Afternoon siesta. Family time. And then, in the evening, a couple of friends came round for a pizza dinner with red wine.
On Monday, Father Fessio, Vivian Dudro and I finished our discussion of Russell Shaw’s Eight Popes and the Crisis of Modernity for the FORMED Book Club. Next week, we commence the discussion of Cardinal Zen’s For the Love of My People I Will Not Remain Silent, which documents the heroism and persecution of the Church in China.
Russell Shaw’s book inspired me to write an essay for Catholic World Report on “Holy Popes and the Bloodiest of Centuries” documenting the role of the papacy in the twentieth century. I’ve also written two other essays this week. “The Loving Society versus Rocket Science” has already been published by the Imaginative Conservative, whereas “Oedipus Rex in a Nutshell” is not scheduled to be published by Crisis Magazine until Saturday, April 24.
On Tuesday morning I phoned through the final corrections to the next issue of the St. Austin Review to Michelle, our graphic designer. This is a Tolkien theme issue, containing great articles and many wonderful Tolkien-related images, many of them by my late friend, Jef Murray. In the afternoon, I went to the gym and thence to my local hostelry to watch Chelsea play in the European Champions League. When I got home, Evangeline was sitting in the Frassati room, the name we’ve given to the playroom, with her friend Bernadette, watching one of The Pirates of the Caribbean films, of which Evangeline has become especially enamoured. Leaving them to it, I played a couple of games of “Hop, Hop, Hooray” with Leo and then settled down to read an odd allegory by Owen Barfield, one of the Inklings and a friend of Tolkien and Lewis.
This afternoon I’ve recorded this week’s three podcasts and here I am finishing up this week’s Diary.
Tomorrow, I’m guest teaching The Magician’s Nephew to Evangeline’s homeschool co-op, taking the week off from my regular teaching for Red Cultural in Chile in order to do so. Saturday promises to be a day of vigorous yardwork. We’ve rented a rotovator and will be bringing in a trailerful of soil. The mission is to build a picnic area on the edge of the fairy wood. I’ll report on the success or failure of the mission next week.
Wishing all my friends in the Inner Sanctum a continuing blessed Eastertide.
