XAVIER THARAMEL FROM LONDON

Amidst huge snow and icy conditions, the Londoners had a freezing ‘white’ Christmas. The Community was away in Douai Abbey, the seventeen century English Benedictine Monastery, for pre-Christmas Triduum. The typical English Christmas dinner was prepared by Fr. Damian and sch. Samuel. Fr Michael F Czerny SJ, a Canadian Jesuit working at the Pontifical Commission for Justice and Peace in Vatican, was our Chief Guest on the Christmas day celebrations. Heythrop Christmas carnival was on 15 December with the traditional mince pies and mulled wine. The second year theologians organized a get-together with the theologians of Westminster Archdioceses at the Clapham community. I was
invited to give the Christmas message in Hounslow and Coventry by the Kerala Association for the UK. I visited Fr Dominic Madathaniyil in Preston. The Novitiate community in Birmingham extended to me an affectionate welcome.