I learned several new words during my time in Shetland, the distant island chain drifting between Scotland and Norway. One of them was equinoctial. It means “of or relating to the equinox”. It is frequently used to describe equinoctial gales, which can feel relentless this far north when the seasons change in spring and autumn. In a place as exposed to the elements as Shetland, they can be definitive; on its most distant island of Foula, they can act as a sort of gatekeeper.
POPE FRANCIS TO CONFER NEW LAY MINISTRIES FOR FIRST TIME IN ST. PETER’S BASILICA
The Vatican has announced that Pope Francis will confer the ministries of catechist, lector, and acolyte upon lay men and