- Feb 5, 2002
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As St. John Paul II prayed, ‘Dear friends who are ill, may the Holy Virgin present to her Son the offering of your sufferings, in which Christ’s face on the cross is reflected.’
The monarchy is a fixture of life in Britain. We record our history through the reigns of monarchs; we prefix, where appropriate, our public institutions with a royal title; and we follow the lives of prominent members of the royal family with genuine affection, a sense of pride, and sometimes almost-fanatical interest.
The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II left us all feeling bereft, and the formal proclamation of King Charles III had a reassuring note of formality and unchanging tradition. I happened to watch it from a bridge across the Thames, accompanied by seminarians from the Westminster diocesan seminary at Allen Hall, with whom I was taking part in a long-planned “History Walk.” The pounding of the guns, with the sound reverberating across the city and the smoke drifting across the water, brought not only solemnity but a sense of continuity: here was Britain, with a new chapter opening, and that sense that we were marking it to remember in years to come.
Thus, when the news was announced this year of the king receiving treatment for cancer, followed by the separate news of Princess Catherine going into the hospital for surgery, there was a sense of shock, along with the natural sympathy aroused. Then, when with characteristic dignity and naturalness, the princess announced that she, too, needed cancer treatment, it truly felt as though all our hearts opened up — and there was, across the country, a wave of love and affection on an unprecedented scale. It has brought people together: from prayers in churches to huge numbers of email messages and letters and cards on their way to Kensington Palace, and an extraordinary sense of unity as people talk and express concern and love in conversations in shops and at bus stops and in neighborly encounters.
Princess Catherine is not only hugely popular but is seen, along with Prince William, as representing something central and beautiful and good: a happy family life with a spirit of service and a belief in trying to do what is right.
Continued below.
www.ncregister.com
The monarchy is a fixture of life in Britain. We record our history through the reigns of monarchs; we prefix, where appropriate, our public institutions with a royal title; and we follow the lives of prominent members of the royal family with genuine affection, a sense of pride, and sometimes almost-fanatical interest.
The death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II left us all feeling bereft, and the formal proclamation of King Charles III had a reassuring note of formality and unchanging tradition. I happened to watch it from a bridge across the Thames, accompanied by seminarians from the Westminster diocesan seminary at Allen Hall, with whom I was taking part in a long-planned “History Walk.” The pounding of the guns, with the sound reverberating across the city and the smoke drifting across the water, brought not only solemnity but a sense of continuity: here was Britain, with a new chapter opening, and that sense that we were marking it to remember in years to come.
Thus, when the news was announced this year of the king receiving treatment for cancer, followed by the separate news of Princess Catherine going into the hospital for surgery, there was a sense of shock, along with the natural sympathy aroused. Then, when with characteristic dignity and naturalness, the princess announced that she, too, needed cancer treatment, it truly felt as though all our hearts opened up — and there was, across the country, a wave of love and affection on an unprecedented scale. It has brought people together: from prayers in churches to huge numbers of email messages and letters and cards on their way to Kensington Palace, and an extraordinary sense of unity as people talk and express concern and love in conversations in shops and at bus stops and in neighborly encounters.
Princess Catherine is not only hugely popular but is seen, along with Prince William, as representing something central and beautiful and good: a happy family life with a spirit of service and a belief in trying to do what is right.
Continued below.
Holy Week Prayers for Princess Catherine, King Charles and All Who Are Sick
As St. John Paul II prayed, ‘Dear friends who are ill, may the Holy Virgin present to her Son the offering of your sufferings, in which Christ’s face on the cross is reflected.’
