A holy missile

Anybody who knows me well will be aware that I am quite sentimental. Anne is too. Most people become at least somewhat sentimental as they get older but not everyone does. Both Anne and I have/had mothers whe are/were not at all sentimental. If something was no longer in use it would be thrown out, regardless of what history or associations it might have.

So I am somewhat sad that I have in my possession something that I think would be a sentimental treasure to some family. It is a nicely bound Roman Missal from the days when the Catholic church still had the Tridentine (Latin) mass. I bought it at a flea market some years ago.



Inside the front cover is inscribed: "To Joyce Allen, November, 1934" and at the bottom of the page is written: "Remember in your prayers sometimes the giver". Then on the next page is written: "To Janek, from Joyce, 1953"

It is clearly a much-used volume and has between its pages a lot of holy pictures with Polish writing on them so Janek clearly used it.

There are however three pictures with English writing on them. There is one commemorating the Jubliee of ordination of Father A.J. Hogan P.P. at St Stehens's Cathedral in 1961 and another marking the ordination of a Brian Thomas Taylor in 1963. Then the last picture has on the back "From your loving sister Anna, Brisbane, 17.6.1962.

If it were something from my family I would regard it as a great treasure so I would gladly hand it to any member of the family concerned who wanted it. I imagine that someone like my mother threw it out but there are probably other members of the family who are more sentimental.

I can't see any chance of my tracing the family concerned, however, so at least it will remain respected in my possession.