So, as faithful readers of this blog know, June 23 found us in London, touristing, and on June 24th we observed the Brexit aftermath, with the mass of reporters just outside of the Houses of Parliament. And the Sunday prior, we were at mass at St. Etheldreda’s, chosen because it was the closest church to our rental apartment, but it also happened to have quite a history, being the oldest Catholic church in England — not continuously used as such, but an old building, formerly a bishop’s chapel, that was in disrepair and on the auction block at the same time that the British government decided to allow open Catholic worship again, so purchased by Catholics.
Now, I had had the understanding from the homily that Etheldreda was a patron saint of England, but I can’t find any support online to back that up. But the priest pointed out that her feast day was June 23rd, or the date of the Brexit election, and, rather than use that as a reason to urge the assembly to vote for or against, encouraged everyone simply to vote as they thought best, and, whatever the outcome might be, to treat their opposing-opinion neighbors with respect and good will.
Respect and good will.
That’s a prescription for all of us, after the polls close, this year more than ever, as the electorate is increasingly convinced that the candidate they oppose is not just “someone with whom I disagree” but Evil Incarnate.
St. Etheldreda, pray for us.
Image: Interior of St. Etheldreda’s Church. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:St_Etheldreda%27s_Church_Interior,_London,_UK_-_Diliff.jpg; Photo by DAVID ILIFF. License: CC-BY-SA 3.0
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