I personally really like it when it is foggy on Papa Stronsay. There is a real feeling of peace and of monastic isolation. Therefore I was not at all upset when I left my cell this morning to find that on the feast of Our Holy Father Saint Alphonsus, he had sent us some fog for the occasion! While it was not so bad this morning, as I write this we are completely cut of visually even from the neighbouring island of Stronsay...I can barely even see the sea! Here are some photos of our crossing to Stronsay this morning for sung Mass.
Making the crossing from Papa Stronsay to Stronsay for Mass.
The Stronsay village of Whitehall where our chapel is.
Arrived at the Stronsay pier. The Brothers ascend the pier steps.
Looking back towards Papa Stronsay, which risks being swallowed up by the mist.
"The chalice of benediction, which we bless, is it not the communion of the blood of Christ?...
...And the bread, which we break, is it not the partaking of the body of the Lord?" 1 Cor 10:16
"In him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it." John 1:4-5
Papa Stronsay as it looks while I write this post. The Fog has really come in.
Standing almost on the water's edge you can only just make out the pier with our boat.
And out towards nearby Stronsay...nothing.
Lovely
