Compline and Benediction

Evening devotions and Benediction for the second day in a row – it reminds me of Hobart, or happy days in Melbourne; I could get used to this.

To-night, we had the last celebration for this year for our Gregorian chant choir, which was also a chance to fondly farewell Fr Allan, our devoted and good priest, who first established the choir at St Francis and ever since has nurtured it until now. Fr Allan is retiring in early January; we are quietly confident that the good work he has done in building up our parish, especially as regards the proper celebration of the sacred liturgy and fit music therefor, will continue to flourish and abound, given that our Archbishop is sending us a new priest.

But this evening – before the lengthy fraternal supper afterward – we first practised, then sung Compline, followed by a particularly elaborate Benediction, with the Christus vincit in procession beforehand, and, looking towards Advent, the Rorate cæli at exposition, and also another favourite, Jesu Redemptor omnium (verses extracted from the Christmas Vespers hymn) before reposition. Having left home at twenty past seven, I got back at twenty to eleven! God bless our priest, and our choir.