When in Rome

Let us begin - as anyone of learning but no appreciation does - with numbers.

Shrine seats 3000. We are having roughly 60 guests.

18 of those are Catholic.

30%

Even allowing for additions such as Campbell and Gadol who will know or learn the liturgy, we are still left with a third of the people there who are going to know the responses.

On a more significant level, this is 0.6% of the total number of people who can fit in the Church actually saying what they are supposed to say.

Never an ideal situation.

The solution presents itself in a rather cunning way; Mass 101. It is my duty - some time before the wedding - to write a little handbook for the non-Catholics (pursuit the Council of Trent and The Second Vatican Council I have to refer to these people as Separated Brethren rather than Protestants - which I find puzzling at best) which explains what we are doing.

And not just in terms of "Say 'And also with you' now" - no, in terms of what each bit means, why it is there, where it came from, what it forms in the Mass.

An interesting document.

We are presented with the opportunity to have a collective worship with a unique community, a community gathered specifically to see us get married (which is an event which is really of no importance; the actual marriage is infinitely more important than the wedding). It would be criminal - not to mention silent - to miss such an opportunity to allow for an understanding of such things.

So, this is a brief heads-up - the Mass 101 document will be published in the future. The draft copy will go to Liza who will cut it down to something that can be carried in the hand. The actual real one - the one with appendices concerning the doctrine of the Real Presence and Apostolic Succession etc. - will be made available elsewhere.

Just so you know. We are going to get this right; the document is designed so you can too.

Darknight