The sky is overcast, the birds twitter and the pigeons coo in the garden of Wycliffe Hall. This quintessential English morning follows several days filled with characteristically British events and outings. To begin, on Saturday Beatriz, some friends from Blackfriars and St. Benet’s (a nearby college), and I walked down to the river to watch the boat race. Every term, the colleges’ boat teams (what would be our American crew teams) compete in a tournament, and during the week of races you can see the marks of who the college has bumped (or passed) drawn in chalk on their quad’s walls. The rowers may have been straining to make their boat zip through the water, but the crowds on the banks leisurely lounged in the sunshine, enjoying picnic fare.
Later that evening, Beatriz and I attended the Pentecost Vigil at the Blackfriars’ chapel. Since it is the Priory of the Holy Spirit, the Mass was especially solemn and sublime. The friars’ Gregorian chant transports one into a timeless realm; you can imagine other friars singing the same melodies hundreds of years ago.
Sunday was a leisurely day of reading in the library and wandering down new streets. We went into the Exeter College chapel; on one end, there are brilliant stain-glass windows, on the other end an ornate organ, and in between are the choir stalls, each with a crest engraved above it.
On Monday, we went to morning Mass at the Oratory, founded by Bl. John Henry Cardinal Newman. Around the altar are many niches with various saint statues. The splendor of its beauty is quite different from the Blackfriars’ chapel, more ornate and detailed – yet both are stunning.
As we were making pasta in the Wycliffe kitchen, one of the students, Sam, happened to come by. Over dinner we had an interesting chat with him as he explained the origins of the English Evangelical movement and different parts of the history of the Church of England. He is reading history here, focusing on the Church of England in the 1960s, so he had plenty of information to share!
To get into the colleges at Oxford, a visitor has to pay an entrance fee, almost like a museum. One of the students at Blackfriars pointed out that if you simply walk through the gate confidently, the guards won’t stop you; they’ll think you’re simply one of the students attending the college. So on Tuesday, Beatriz and I took a deep breath, set our heads straight, and “walked confidently” into Magdalen College. Reading on the quad takes on a whole new meaning when the quad happens to be surrounded by ivy-coved buildings and stone towers from the 15th century. Any P.G. Wodehouse fans may be interested to know that as we were leaving, we passed a group of friends walking across the green. One of the boys shouted out a greeting: “What ho!” Yes, they still say it.
The next day I had my first tutorial with Fr. John O’Connor; this one was on consequentialism (which is similar to utilitarianism; the consequences are the primary way a consequentialist would determine the morality of an action). While a moral theory should take an action’s consequences into account, the fullest, richest conception of human good is not amenable to quantification. In directing the discussion, Fr. John set forth extreme scenarios to test the limits of the different consequentialist and anti-consequentialist arguments. It was challenging to debate in this way with a professor, but it was an excellent learning experience – the tutorial system really forces the student to engage with his questions and ideas for himself.
Later that evening, we attended Solemn Evensong and Benediction (Evensong is the Anglican version of Vespers, or evening prayer). It was held at the Blackfriars’ chapel by the Ordinariates, who are Anglican converts to Catholicism, and who still retain certain elements of their Anglican tradition (such as Evensong). The music, by the Newman Consort, was sublime. They sang four psalms, then there were two readings (or lessons, as they call them) from the Old and New Testament, prayers (including “O Lord, save the Queen”), a sermon, and a few more hymns, followed by Benediction. There were only four singers, but their voices filled the church in the heavenly harmonies of the psalms. To try to capture the beauty in words is futile; instead, you really ought to visit their website (www.newmanconsort.com) to hear this talented choir for yourself!
On Thursday evening, we attended Mass at the Chaplaincy, and went to the pasta dinner hosted by CathSoc (the Catholic group for young adults). Afterwards, they hosted a talk on Newman and Friendship by Fr. Daniel, an Oratorian. Bringing up Newman’s motto, “Cor ad cor loquitor” (“Heart speaks to heart”), he highlighted the importance of personal connections in spreading the Faith, as you can see Newman exemplifying in his letters; instead of fishing with a net, Newman fished with a rod.
Beatriz had her first tutorial in Burford on Friday, and we made a day of it, meandering about this charming English village. It was just as you would imagine a small English hamlet! Each of the cottages had its own name (Clematis Cottage, Rose Cottage; we even found a Providence Cottage!), and many had flowering vines or roses climbing up their old stone walls. The streets were decked in bunting to celebrate the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee, which added a festive touch to the quaint streets.
From boat races, to Evensong, to tutorials, to country villages, this week has been filled to the brim with wonderful memories!
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