Donations for The Little Sisters of the Poor
Donations for The Little Sisters of the Poor May I be permitted through your pages to thank those who so kindly responded to my recent appeal through Mass of Ages for stamps, coins and notes, old broken pieces of gold and silver and military medals for the Little Sisters of the Poor for their almost immediate response. As most items arrived anonymously Theresa and I were unable to offer personal thanks - this we wholeheartedly do now. In addition to thanking those who have already helped, may I be bold enough to ask that this help continues? Giving is not a one-way street, as both sisters and residents regularly offer prayers and Masses for benefactors.
AMDG David & Theresa O’Neill Newcastle upon Tyne Praise for Bede
I have read and enjoyed Mass of Ages magazine for the past few years and I hope that its message - that the Traditional Mass and its profound depth and meaning must and should be encouraged - will enjoy an ever-wider readership. I have given my copy of the magazine to several friends who have gone on to express an interest in attending the Old Mass. That is the good news but, on the downside, I have to say how sad I am that Father Bede has decided to ‘bow out’ as he puts it in his winter 2018 column and cease to write for the magazine. I will miss his wise words greatly and his light touch puts many better-known columnists to shame. But I take my hat off to the Father for doing what a great many columnists on national newspapers and magazines never do - most columnists will not stop writing until they are sacked; often they continue to write when they really have nothing more to say because they are motivated by money and egotism. Father Bede on the other hand would, I am sure, have continued to entertain and inform us for many years to come, and though I will miss his column I completely understand if he feels it is time to move on.
R.M. Wilson, Via email Trench Masses
I write with reference to your article ‘A Priest in the First World War' (Winter, 2018). Three of my father’s uncles left rural Ireland to fight in the Great War. One uncle was badly injured but survived; the other two, incredibly, returned unscathed. My father told me that for the rest of their lives the uncles insisted that their survival - their sheer ability to continue despite the horrors with which they were surrounded - was entirely down to the ‘trench’ Masses they were able to attend. Your article was a timely reminder of the importance of the Mass for Catholic soldiers and indeed of the heroism of their priests.
J.F.L. Byrne, Via email Letters should be addressed to: The Editor, Mass of Ages, 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH or email: editor@lms.org.uk