10 November 2009

This needs much careful thought

And I have thought of little else for the last 36 hours. What should be the text of the Te igitur in a certain North American RC diocese (which dares not speak its spooky name ... nuff said)? I suggest una cum famulo tuo papa nostro Benedicto et ineffabili antistite nostro Troctandro et omnibus si qui sint orthodoxis etc..

I know what you're thinking: Is trocte really the Greek for that type of fish? Should it be Anthropotrocto? Keep your comments simple - this is mainly a blog for us plain and unsophisticated Anglicans.But I do feel this is just the kind of contribution we can make to the Wider Church.

Talking about philology: as I hurried back last night by train from a meeting in London to one in Oxford (how busy life seems in retirement) a signal kept flashing in the carriage advising us to read the safety notices "which are located adjacent to the doors". Being a plain and unsophisticated Anglican, scarcely capable, to quote Dr Dawkins, "of the humble and unexacting duties of a priest", I asked a passing Bangladeshi, who looked intelligent, what it meant. "It means 'which are by the doors'" he said.

Thank heaven for the Ethnic Minorities.

5 comments:

GOR said...

“the humbles and unexacting duties of a priest”

Which reminds me of a story about an Irish Monsignor who was a noted mathematician and held the Chair of Mathematics at one of the Irish Universities. At a social function a lady enquired of him: “And what do you do, Father?”.

To which the Monsignor replied: “I teach sums”.

Anonymous said...

If we're talking fish: wouldn't the coelacanth be both spooky and poetitical?

There once was a fish from the past,
Who's troth gave the odour of gas,
With bones all a-plenty
They cried, "Ooo, that's funky,
Coelacanth, you're adjacent an a$$!"

Michael McDonough said...

Clearly, our Catholic Church today is in much need of a good sense of humor! With all the humorless "theologians" and "political correcticians" we must tolerate, a keen sense of the ironic should help keep the balance.

Michael McDonough said...

Fr. H,

I'm wondering how to translate your "et omnibus si qui sint orthodoxis".

Do you prefer "and all ... who may be orthodox" or "and all orthodox ... (if there are any)"?

Fr John Hunwicke said...

If there are any.