Eccleston Square: behind this sinister door the date of Ascension is decided.
As a result some people have managed to celebrate Ascension twice this year, and others not at all, depending on where they were on the relevant dates, and which calendar they were following. I myself was in France on Thursday, and in England on Sunday, thus getting a double helping.
Fear not - I shall do this again in three days time for the CBCEW.
Anyway, next year readers of this blog will have the opportunity to celebrate Ascension Day four times (and, if you are a good Catholic, it will be an obligation to do so), by taking part in the Eccles(ton) Ascension Day Cruise!
Ahoy there, shipmates! Cardinal Nichols will be our tour guide!
Day 1: We fly to St John, a Pacific Island located at 179°E. It is Thursday 14th May 2015 when we arrive, so we attend the Ascension Day Mass. Then the S.S. Eccles will take us to St Basil, an island on the other side of the international dateline, where it is still Wednesday.
Day 2: It is now Thursday in St Basil, so off we go to Ascension Day Mass. We are probably confused, and still jet-lagged, so the rest of the day is free for sight-seeing.
The S.S. Eccles.
Day 3: It is Friday in St Basil, and we embark in the S.S. Eccles for St Cormac, an island just over the dateline. When we arrive it is Saturday night.
Day 4: Bless my soul, it is Sunday on St Cormac, and they are going to celebrate Ascension Day! So we go to Mass. When that's over, we take the S.S. Eccles back over the dateline to the island of St Vincent, where it is Saturday night once more.
Day 5: Well strike me pink if it isn't Sunday on St Vincent, and they want to celebrate Ascension Day! Off we go...
Day 6 (optional): fly to Ascension Island, where it is perpetually Ascension Day.
... or 41 days, or 42, or 43, or...
QUAERITUR (I asked Fr Z. but he could not answer): What do you call the days between Ascension Day (Thursday) and Ascension Day (Sunday)?
