Mass today, as ever. LT brought her grandson along. He had some VTech toy. I'm not much good at ages, so I won't guess, but he was definitely a kid. Lisa was going to do the do the talk today (strictly off the record) on the trinity, but she was ill, so Fr. Paul had ot make something up. It involved firstly juggling, then a little iconography/art-criticism and then something else which I forget. He pointed out, by way of a sideline, that we weren't too enthusiatic about the responsorial psalm. He's not wrong. I think it's because you have to remember a short phrase; I for one am no good at that. The response was something like "Happy is the nation that the LORD has chosen for himself." It was a little ironic. It brought to mind, however, a sermon I once heard on the beatitudes at Belmont. Derek, for it was he, said that "happy" was an etymological nuisance. This is because our word "happy" derives from the middle English "hap", meaning to have good luck, good circumstances - that sort of thing. From that more objective starting point, happiness has come to be the subjective mood that one tends to be in when one is in good fortune. Worth bearing in mind, though we probably should be happier about being a chosen nation of God, yes. As I mentioned, James and I cooked. It was a great success, and everybodyat it all up.