Christmas Mass Schedule 2016

There are five High Masses and several amendments and additions to the Low Mass schedule over the Christmas period. These are outlined below and in the calendar in the sidebar. Directions to the churches are available in the sidebar.

Saturday 24th December 2016
Oratory 7.30 a.m. Rorate Mass

Sunday 25th December 2016
Christmas Day
Wolverhampton 8 a.m. Low Mass of Dawn
Oratory 10.30 a.m. High Mass of the Day

Monday 26th December 2016
St Stephen Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass with Carols

Tuesday 27th December 2016
St John the Evangelist Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass




Wednesday 28th December 2016
Holy Innocents
Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass
Halesowen 12 noon Low Mass

Thursday 29th December 
St Thomas Becket Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass

Friday 30th December 
Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass
Wolverhampton 6.30 p.m.  Low Mass

Saturday 31st December 
Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass

Sunday 1st January 2017 
Octave Day of Christmas Oratory 10.30 noon High Mass

Monday 2nd January 2017
Oratory 9.30 a.m. Low Mass

Tuesday 3rd January 2017 - Thursday 5th January Oratory 5.45 p.m. Low Mass as usual

Friday 6th January 2017 
Epiphany
No Solihull Mass
Wolverhampton 7 p.m. High Mass
Oratory 7.30 p.m. High Mass

I wish all readers a Happy and Holy Christmas 2016 and New Year 2017

Rorate Mass Photos

The Birmingham Oratory have been celebrating Rorate Masses every Saturday morning at 7.30am during Advent as they traditionally have during the last few years. Here are a few photos from a Mass earlier in the month.

The final Mass will take place at Christmas Eve at 7.30am. I will publish a list of Christmas Masses in the region tomorrow.

Pontifical High Mass - Immaculate Conception

Next Thursday, Archbishop Bernard Longley will celebrate Pontifical High Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at the Birmingham Oratory, 7pm. This is the second Pontifical High Mass the Archbishop has celebrated in the Extraordinary Form this year, following a Mass he celebrated in January during his visitation to the Birmingham Oratory. Bishop Robert Byrne's celebrated this Mass last year.

The day before, Bishop Robert Byrne will celebrate Pontifical First Vespers and Benediction at 6.30pm.

Today marks the start of the Novena to the Immaculate Conception. Please keep this endeavour in your prayers.

Christ the King - The Movie

Last night saw the premiere of the Christ the King video, shot by a parishioner of Christ the King parish in Kingstanding as an introduction to the parish for the new website. At 14.25-17.30, there is a section on the 2nd Wednesday Latin Mass at the Maryvale Institute including short interviews with regular celebrant and Parish Priest Fr Eamonn Corduff and assistant and local reps for the Birmingham and Black Country Latin Mass Society Bernadette Renfrey and Louis Maciel. The full video is below:

All Saints and All Souls 2016

1) The Birmingham Oratory will celebrate High Mass for All Saints tomorrow at 7pm. This replaces the usual 5.45pm Mass. 

2) There will also be a High Mass of Requiem at the Birmingham Oratory at the same time on Wednesday for All Souls. There will be additional EF low Masses at 6.30am, 7am, 8am,8.30am, 11am, 2.30pm, 3pm and 5.45pm at the Holy Souls Altar.

3) There will be no Mass on Wednesday at Our Lady and St Kenelm, Halesowen.

Low Mass of Requiem at the Birmingham Oratory (Source: Birmingham Oratory Gallery)

High Mass of Exposition

The Birmingham Oratory's annual Forty Hours' Devotion takes place this week beginning with High Mass of Exposition at 7pm. This replaces the daily 5.45pm Mass on Thursday.

Our Lady of the Rosary High Mass

I have been informed that the first Friday Mass at St Augustine's tomorrow has been cancelled because of Fr Daniel Horgan's unavailability. However, there is a High Mass in honour of the Feast of Our Lady of the Rosary at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton: this is at 7pm and replaces the usual low Mass at 6.30pm. For directions, please see the map below.

 

Exaltation of the Holy Cross

Wednesday marks the ninth anniversary of Summorum Pontificum and the Oratory will be celebrating High Mass at 7pm to mark the event (this is instead of low Mass at 5.45pm). After the Mass, the newly restored crucifix in the cloister will be blessed.

As the feast coincides with the second Wednesday of the month, there will also be the usual 7pm low Mass at the Maryvale Institute chapel.

Daily EF Mass in Redditch

Tomorrow's Mass at the Birmingham Oratory will take place at 9.30am due to the Bank Holiday.

Fr Mark Higgins will be at Our Lady of Mount Carmel parish in Redditch this week where there is a regular second Tuesday EF Mass. He will be offering Mass in the Extraordinary Form at 7.30am each morning this week Monday to Friday. Above is a video of Fr Mark giving a talk on devotion to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.

High Mass for the Assumption of BVM Sunday and Monday

The Birmingham Oratory will celebrate High Mass in the Extraordinary Form on Sunday for the External Solemnity at the regular time (10.30am) and there will be a repeat performance on the traditional date (Monday) at 7pm, replacing the usual 5.45pm Low Mass. After the Mass on Monday, there will be a renewal of the consecration of the parish to Our Lady: the Assumption is of course the patron not only of the Birmingham Oratory but also the Archdiocese of Birmingham,

The photo below I believe was from two years ago when an Orthodox priest who uses part of the parish buildings for liturgical celebrations joined in with the consecration.

Annual Marian Consecration on Feast of the Assumption 2014? (Source: Birmingham Oratory)

For those that attend the ordinary form on Sunday, I note there will not be a second reading with Olympic imagery as there would if the twentienth Sunday of Ordinary time was being celebrated: instead, there will be a first reading calling to mind the flag of the EU!

7th LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage

The deadline for signing up for the 7th LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage in Monday 15th August. For further details, please see the link below:

http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/2016-walsingham-walking-pilgrimage

You can register here:

http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/walsingham_pilgrimage_registration

Maryvale Mass change

Like last year, the August 2nd Wednesday Maryvale Mass will take place in the nearby parish church of Our Lady of the Assumption, 82 Old Oscott Hill, Birmingham B44 9SR (directions) rather than the chapel at Maryvale due to it taking place during the holidays. This is quite apt given that the Feast of the Assumption will be taking place a few days later: Bishop Robert Byrne will be celebrating Pontifical High Mass at the Oratory on the traditional date at 7pm.

I have been serving several of these Masses over the past few months because Deacon Kevin has increasingly been called upon to exercise his ministry at his parish church in Solihull, but he will be back to serve this Mass as I will be away.

Missa Cantata for Lesley Anne Hayes

Lesley Anne Hayes (nee Holcroft) RIP

Oliver Hayes, a chorister at the Birmingham Oratory, has organised a Missa Cantata requiem Mass for his recently deceased mother at 5.45pm on Friday 5th August at the Birmingham Oratory, Hagley Road, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B16 8UE. He will be singing the requiem mass chants and would be honoured if you would be able to join him.

Two High Masses this Week

St Peter and St Paul is a Holy Day of Obligation, and the Oratory will be celebrating High Mass in the Extraordinary Form at 7pm tomorrow: this is instead of the 5.45pm Mass. There will be no Mass at Halesowen tomorrow.

I believe the Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton on Friday will be a High Mass - the Feast of the Most Precious Blood. Directions are in the sidebar. The Mass at St Augustine's in Solihull that would normally take place on the first Friday has been postponed until 8th July and will be a Missa Cantata.

There will also be a low Mass on Saturday in neighbouring Warwickshire at Our Lady of the Angels, Coton Road, Nuneaton, CV11 5UA at 11am to see if there is any demand for a regular Mass. If you are in the area it would be wonderful if you could come and support it.

Corpus Christi Thursday

The 5.45pm low Mass at the Birmingham Oratory will be replaced on Thursday with a 7pm High Mass for the traditional date of Corpus Christi. May 26th is usually the Feast of St Philip Neri, founder of the Oratorian movement, but the oratorians will be celebrating their usual (OF) High Mass on the 25th May this year instead (there will be an EF Low Mass on the 25th as usual at 5.45pm).

The Corpus Christi High Mass will be followed by an indoor procession - the Oratory will also have an outdoor procession on Sunday 12th June. Below is a picture from the indoor Corpus Christi procession last year, courtesy of the Birmingham Oratory website.

Indoor Corpus Christi Procession 2015, Birmingham Oratory

Beat Ascension Deficit Disorder this Thursday

The Birmingham Oratory will celebrate High Mass for the traditional day of the Ascension tomorrow at 7pm. This will replace the Low Mass that would normally take place at 5.45pm. High Mass on Sunday will also be celebrated as an external Solemnity of the Ascension.

Ascension Deficit Disorder (Source)

Missing celebrating the Ascension on a Thursday? Don't suffer from Ascension Deficit Disorder on the 5th May - attend the 7pm High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory!

Another April Solihull Mass

Following on from the previous post, the Mass that would normally take place at St Augustine's in Solihull on the first Friday in May has been brought forward a week to 29th April (this Friday). Directions are available in the sidebar.

April's Solihull Mass tomorrow

Pugin Altar, St Augustine's. Solihull

I have just been informed that the usual first Friday Mass at Solihull last week did not take place because Fr Daniel Horgan was away and will instead take place tomorrow at 6.30pm.

The Pugin altar above is sadly not the one that is used - there is not enough room around it so Mass is celebrated at the newer main altar. Bizarrely, this older altar faced south west, and no-one is sure why it was built this way. St Augustine's is described as Pugin's first church and it is certainly the oldest of Pugin's existing churches, even though the church has been modernised several times to accomodate greater numbers, For more on the history of the church, please see this link.

Wolverhampton High Mass for the Feast of the Annunciation

The Annunciation by Edward Burne-Jones

There will be a 7.30pm High Mass tomorrow at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton (Cannock Road, WV10 8PG - directions in the sidebar) in honour of the Feast of the Annunciation. It will be celebrated by Fr George Grynowski, formerly of St John Fisher in West Heath and Fr Douglas Lamb, who celebrates EF Masses in Kidderminster, will deliver the homily.

I have had no word from the Oratory but I assume there will be a low Mass, possibly a Missa Cantata, at the normal time of 5.45pm.

The painting of the Annunciation on the left is by Edward Burne-Jones and is located at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery.

Holy Week and Easter 2016

For the first time that I am aware of at least, the Mass of the Last Supper will be available in the Extraordinary Form in Birmingham at the Oratory at 7pm. The services on Good Friday and Holy Saturday continue to be Ordinary Form. On Easter Sunday, there will be a High Mass at the usual time of 10.30am at the Oratory, and also an 8am low Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton - directions are available in the sidebar. Please remember that the clocks go forward on Sunday and therefore these services will be an hour earlier - do not miss Mass! As you will probably be aware, the regular Masses on Friday or Saturday morning will not be celebrated.

May I take this opportunity to wish all my readers a happy and holy Easter!

Extraordinary Form Nightfever

Well - more accurately Nightfever following the First Friday Mass at St Augustine's Church in Solihull.

If you have not heard of Nightfever before, it is basically about inviting people into Church to light a candle in front of the Blessed Sacrament.In response to Pope Francis' call for 24 hour for the Lord, the Birmingham Catholic Youth Service is running Nightfever in seven churches tomorrow across the Archdiocese.

Please do come if you are able to join in - I have been to a couple of Nightfever events before and they have seen them lead to some powerful encounters with the Lord.

More information is available here:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1696557947249218/
https://nightfever.org/us/location/england/

Reps Report Mass of Ages Spring 2016

For some reason my rep's report for the Spring 2016 Mass of Ages was missed out. You will find it below, covering the period from the 15th November 2015 to 13th February 2016.

Another breathtaking quarter in the Birmingham area – I write this having returned from witnessing Pontifical High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory, presided over by Archbishop Bernard Longley as part of his visitation to the parish. This was the second Pontifical High Mass at the Oratory this quarter, with Bishop Robert Byrne celebrating Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. A daily EF Mass was said as part of a novena in advance of this Feast and there has been a daily low Mass at 5.45pm on weekdays since, with confessions available, as part of the Year of Mercy.

Our regular Mass centres at the Oratory, St Augustine’s in Solihull and the Maryvale chapel have all been designated places of pilgrimage or Jubilee churches for the Year of Mercy – a good excuse to attend one of the EF Masses available there. Details are available in the Mass Listings.

Around forty people attended the first High Mass at St Augustine’s since 1939 (when Archbishop Williams celebrated Mass for the hundredth anniversary of the church) and a couple more are planned for 2016, the first of which is in February. The regular Mass has moved from the last Friday of the month to the first Friday to accommodate this.

There were also more ‘routine’ well-attended High Masses at the Oratory for Christmas, the Octave of Christmas and the Epiphany.

Pontifical High Mass at the Oratory with Archbishop Longley

Ash Wednesday 2016

The only EF Mass in the area on Wednesday will be at 7pm at the Birmingham Oratory. Due to parish commitments, the regular Wednesday Masses at Our Lady and St Kenelm in Halesowen and the Maryvale Institute have been cancelled this week.

I have also been informed that the monthly Redditch Mass that should take place on Monday (tomorrow) has been moved to Tuesday. The calendar has been updated accordingly.

Feast of the Purification of the BVM 2016

There will be a 7pm High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It is also the anniversary of the founding of the Birmingham Oratory.

Prayer for the Octave of Christian Unity

The Dome at the Birmingham Oratory
Source: Birmingham Oratory

Ut omnes unum sint, sicut tu Pater in me et ego in te; ut mundus credat quia tu me misisti.

V. Tu es Petrus.
R. Et super hanc petram aedificabo ecclesiam meam. 

Oremus: Domine Iesu Christe, qui dixisti Apostolis tuis: pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis ne respicias peccata nostra, sed fidem Ecclesie tuae, eamque secundum voluntatem tuam pacificare et coadunare digneris. Qui vivis et regnas in saecula saeculorum.

R. Amen

English translation 

ANTIPHON: That they all may be one, as Thou, Father, in me and I in Thee; that they also may be one in Us; that the world may believe that Thou hast sent me.

V. I say unto thee, thou art Peter;
R. And upon this rock I will build my Church.

[Here is brought to mind the intention for the day's prayer.]

January 18: For the return of the "other sheep" to the One Fold of our Lord Jesus Christ.

January 19: For the return of the Eastern Orthodox Christians to communion with the Apostolic See.

January 20: For the return of the Anglicans to the authority of the Vicar of Christ.

January 21: For the return of all Protestants throughout the world to the unity of the Catholic Church.

January 22: That Christians in America may be one, in union with the Chair of Saint Peter.

January 23: That lapsed Catholics will return to the Sacraments of the Church.

January 24: That the Jewish people will be converted to the Catholic Faith.

January 25: That missionary zeal will conquer the world for Christ.

[The following prayer is then said.]

Let us pray. O Lord Jesus Christ, who saidst unto Thine Apostles: Peace I leave you, My peace I give to you; regard not our sins, but the faith of Thy Church, and grant unto her that peace and unity which are agreeable to Thy Will; Who livest and reignest ever, one God, world without end. Amen.

Source of English Translation

Photos of Pontifical High Mass with the Archbishop

Here are a selection of photos from the Pontifical High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory last week. Pictures courtesy of the Birmingham Oratory website.

Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Cancelled

Due to unforeseen circumstances,the Mass scheduled at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in neighbouring Worcestershire tomorrow has been cancelled. An alternative Mass is available at the Oratory at 5.45pm, one of its daily EF Masses being celebrated as part of the Year of Mercy.

Pontifical High Mass with Archbishop Bernard Longley

Pontifical High Mass with Archbishop Longley and Epiphany

Pontifical High Mass with Bishop Robert Byrne for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception
Source: Birmingham Oratory

The daily EF low Masses at 5.45pm celebrated by the Birmingham Oratory will resume tomorrow except for Wednesday, when there will be High Mass at 7pm for the traditional date of the Epiphany. Please note this will be the only Mass in the region on Wednesday; due to a funeral, the Mass at Halesowen that usually takes place has been cancelled.

On Sunday 10th January, Archbishop Bernard Longley will be celebrating Pontifical High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory at the slightly earlier time of 10.15am as part of his parish visitation. Remember that there is a Door of Mercy available at the Birmingham Oratory for the Year of Mercy, and confessions are usually available before Sunday Masses. Bishop Robert Byrne celebrated Pontifical High Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in December (pictured above) - photos are available here.