Aside from sleeping and eating wonderful home-cooked meals, we have been able to see and experience many of the treasures of London. We spent an evening at the British Museum and got to see the Rosetta Stone! I've heard that if you touch it, you instantly learn every language known to man. However, the bullet-proof glass prevented this from being done, so it looks like Italian classes will still be a struggle...
The Rosetta Stone features a single text written in three languages: Egyptian hieroglyphics, Demotic (a vernacular Egyptian), and Greek. The Stone allowed archaeologists to translate the hieroglyphics!
On Tuesday, we saw Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre in London! So yeah, that was pretty awesome...
And, since you all know me pretty well, you know that it wouldn't be a trip without visiting a few more churches! Thanks to our host, Fr. Harvey, we were given some great suggestions on places where we could experience the Catholic Church in London:
Corpus Christi Church, on the West End of London. This church was designed to be, and still is, "the Actor's Church," because it is located near many of the city's great theaters. It's pulpit also hosted many well-known preachers, including Monsignor Ronald Knox, a friend of G.K Chesterton who converted to Catholicism in 1918, and Henry Cardinal Manning, a hugely influential figure in English Catholicism in the 19th century.
Corpus Christi features a statue of St. Genesius, a martyr of the early Church and the patron saint of actors. Notice the masks at his feet!
On Christmas Eve, we had the joy of visiting a place that was very highly recommended to us by many people: the Brompton Oratory, located in the Chelsea neighborhood of London. The Oratorians are a community of priests founded in Rome in the 16th century by St. Philip Neri for the simple tasks of living together, praying together, and performing works of charity together! The Oratory is currently one of 4 Oratories in London, and was the second one founded by one of my favorite (hopefully soon to be) saints: Blessed John Henry Newman!
The man himself.
Walking into the Oratory was like walking into a church back in Rome: the architecture was Baroque, the pulpit was in the middle of the nave, and there was some saint enshrined in a side altar! A little taste of home, I suppose.
"She's a real beaut, Clark!"
Today, we had the chance to visit a small convent of Benedictine nuns near London's Hyde Park, where perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament is kept in honor of the Tyburn Gallows which were once located nearby. It was at those gallows that an estimated 50,000 people lost their lives during the Protestant Reformation in England, many of whom have been declared Venerable, Blessed, and Canonized by the Church!
The Blessed Sacrament is adored in the heart of London 24/7!
After visiting the convent, myself and my 2 companions set off to find the stone which marked the actual site of the Tyburn gallows, a stone which was, according to a sign outside the convent, exactly 300 paces east of us. I was initially certain that east led us directly across the street, but after scouring a large grassy knoll and finding nothing, we realized that what I had believed to be east was actually south, and that it was no surprise that I had not made it from Cub Scouts to Boy Scouts. After getting our bearings (literally), we finally found the stone in the middle of a median of a busy intersection, marking the place where hundreds of holy men and women gave their lives at the gallows rather than deny their love for Jesus Christ and His Church. Such a simple place, but truly quite remarkable.
Tomorrow, I will be leaving Fr. Harvey's and meeting up with my great aunt and uncle, to spend a few days with them in Lutterworth, a small town a couple hours north of London. I am incredibly grateful for the joys and laughs of the past week, for the parishioners of St. Edmund's who have given us more baked goods than we had ever imagined, for Fr. Harvey's great hospitality and warmth, and for the 5 men with whom I have been able to share these wonderful experiences. I am truly blessed! Thank you all for your prayers, and, as always, know of mine. God bless you all; Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
-Colin
Bonus Pictures:
President Reagan stands proudly in front of the American Embassy in London. These colors don't run.
Our 2nd great culinary craving: Chipotle! We partook on multiple occasions.
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