Mass in the Heat

 This evening I drove back to the Cathedral in the late-afternoon sunshine. As I arrived in Ballarat I noticed that  there were groups of people sitting outside cafes and bars: shaded beneath large sun-umbrellas; they were dressed  in summer footwear, shorts and summer tops: with cold beers on the table in front of them. I thought,  perhaps this is closer to Heaven than the informal Eucharist at the Cathedral that I was soon to be a part of?   I had parred back the apparel under my white summer cassock (see the image above), but what I really wanted was a cold beer.  Have I been living in Australia for too long?