Off to Edinburgh today for the ordination to the priesthood of Fr Simon Tibbs in Old St Paul’s. It was suitably glorious. People who come from Glasgow as always greeted with amazement at events in Edinburgh. (Most people from Edinburgh have never learnt that the trains do actually run in both directions and that crossing to the west is possible without sherpas and camels).

I’m never unmoved by a priesting and I found myself thinking a lot about the power to bind and loose which is bestowed at ordination. It is just one aspect of being a priest which is so very often understood and yet as time goes on, I think that it is one of the great gifts that a sacramental priesthood offers amongst God’s people. I’m still only starting to understand it myself. Its something that I might come back to blog about later, if I am reminded to do so.

As ever, I was touched most by the sight of the bishop anointing the new priest’s hands, by far the most moving part of my own ordination.

The music was particularly glorious today; the Widor mass setting simply stunning. I found myself unexpectedly in the sanctuary for the Eucharistic prayer and the power of the choir singing the Sanctus and Benedictus was extraordinary. We had been told before the service that we were invited to move up to the altar if we wanted to concelebrate. As I neither like nor believe in concelebration, I did my best to stay put as I had been told to. However, I found myself ushed up to another place, which did at least have the benefit of the full choir singing astonishingly powerfully and beautifully.

The whole thing made me wonder whether we need to have more incense around our choir – it seems to do them good in OSP.

Breathe deeply now.