Words for Wednesday :: January 28

The original Words for Wednesday was begun by Delores and eventually taken over as a moveable feast with many participants supplying the Words.
    When Delores closed her blog forever due to other problems, Elephant's Child (Sue) took over the role of coordinator.
    Now, after Sue's demise it is still to be discerned who will take over this role, River is doing it for the rest of 2025, but maybe Lissa will eventually be our new coordinator.

No matter what, how, where or who the aim of the words is to encourage us to write. A story, a poem, whatever comes to our mind.

This month the words are again supplied byWiseWebWoman and can be found at River's blog.

If you are posting an entry on your own blog, please leave a comment on River's blog, then we can come along and read it and add a few encouraging words.

 It is also a challenge, where the old saying "The more the merrier" holds true.

So Please, remember to follow the links, go back and read other peoples' stories. And please leave a comment after reading. Challenges like this one thrives on interaction, feedback and encouragement. And we ALL need encouragement.

We were given these words:
Long
Monk
Novice
Spiritual
Time
    and/or:
Ants
Boy
Compassion
Stream
Trapped

I use the first set of words for more explanation of this Sunday's mass which left me temporally confounded. For once a real-life story.

It was a solemn mass, with the  the Vatican's Secretary of State, Cardinal Pietro Parolin, as the prime celebrant, to commemorate the 1200th anniversary of Saint Ansgar being sent to Denmark in 826 along with the newly baptised Danish king, Harald Klak. Saint Ansgar went along to keep the king to his new, Christian faith, to possibly build a church, and start converting what was then the wild, heathenish and violent Vikings of the north.
Ansgar was the only one brave enough to step forth, and exchanging the life in an Frankish monastery for the uncertain life of a missionary. He only partially succeeded, he was beaten, robbed, forced to retreat to the south, returning and actually build a church where Christians continued to be present throughout the times. He had a bit better luck in Sweden, but nothing big. 

Sunday morning I took the train to Copenhagen. It's a long journey, longer on Sundays because of fewer trains and buses. Once an hour for me here in the countryside. First I went to a crafting fair, I bought some lovely many coloured pieces of wood, I saw many great ideas, and learned new things. One by one I was joined by three of my sons - craft here includes woodworking, carving knives, and strangely tasting really hot sauces, 3D printing, and other things interesting for young men as well.

Then we took the metro to our cathedral, and waited. We arrived early, and what a luck, for the church was full and overfull before long. It was a great mass. Cardinal Piero Parolin had come all the way from Rome to celebrate with us, more of the Nordic bishops were present. Among those the Bishop of Reykjavik - looking for all the world like a comic strip Franciscan monk - and young Bishop Fredrik of Norway of whom I had written in a periodical, and forgot to bring some for him. Sigh!

The choir sang beautifully, no novices those, and Cardinal Pietro Parolin held a nice, spiritual sermon.

After the mass we all walked to a nearby hotel, where we spent a joyous and cheerful time, listening to speeches, eating tidbits, meeting old friends, talking, and admiring the Bishops' gifts and the anthology written in celebration of Saint Ansgar's life and woks in Denmark.

Here's my less than stellar shot of Cardinal Pietro Parolin preaching:

You can see the official pictures from the mass and the celebration afterwards here.