LMS Walsingham Pilgrimage Booking Now Open

The LMS are now taking bookings for the 2014 walking pilgrimage to Walsingham. This will be the fifth year we have held it, and it continues to attract increased numbers each year.



The information and booking page for the pilgrimage on the LMS website is here:
http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/2014-walsingham-walking-pilgrimage

The Sermon of the First Maryvale Mass

The new regular second Wednesday Mass at the Maryvale Institute is tonight. Below is the text of the sermon given by Fr Paul Lester at the first Mass which took place on the Feast of St Damasus, 11th December 2013

Fr Paul Lester at the Maryvale Institute Chapel

"At the introit of this Mass we heard the words "feed my sheep". St Damasus, whom we honour today, fed as shepherd his people with true spiritual teaching and fought against the heresies of his time. A good shepherd feeds his flock, he does not entertain them. A child is utterly dependent on its mother for food, for life itself. This is not about inequality but about life itself. As adults, in the spiritual sense, we are utterly dependent on the One who gives, Jesus Christ, our Lord. We cannot know what it is that comes unless we allow space for it to enter. St Thomas Aquinas states that the highest spiritual perfection is the movement from the contemplative to the active, and of course in this he was no more than meditating about the account of Martha and Mary in the Gospel. The fruit of contemplation enables us to live and act purposefully.

"Feed my sheep, not entertain them, so that their emotions and thoughts are not distracted in each other. Entertainment is recreation, but it is not worship. For in true worship, the sense of self is diminished. If worship becomes entertainment, a form of sentimentalism, it is a form of self-idolatory contained within a circle of self-congratulation. It is not entertainment that people want but peace, peace in their souls.

"Many people have never discovered the ancient Mass, especially the young, but when they have, it has awakened in them a deep faith. In fact, throughout the world the revival of the traditional Mass has often been spearheaded by them, and so we cannot say for them it is nostalgia. They have been captivated by the beauty ad contemplative spirit it conveys. Often, no-one told them but they discovered it for themselves and asked themselves, "Why was this kept hidden from us?" Maybe by those who dislike it - and why do they?

1. They do not understand Latin
2. They are not actively involved, like reading or giving out communion
3. It is quiet and you have to kneel a lot
4. They cannot hear the priest
5. At Holy Communion, they have to kneel down and receive Jesus on the tongue
6. There is no upbeat of folksy music
7. There is no holding hands/ shaking hands
8. The congregation does not respond to the prayers

"All these things are correct, but they do not understand that the reason for these things is the contemplation and adoration of God, a foretaste of Heaven on Earth. The Church has for centuries meditated upon the divine mystery of our salvation and has clothed the rites and ceremonies of Holy Mass with a beauty that conveys clearly this truth, and in this the personality of the priest is utterly unimportant. That is why his attention is focussed on the altar of sacrifice. He, though unworthy, must disappear, so that through his anointed hands he will feed his people with the Bread of Heaven, after the example of St Damasus who we honour today."

Fr Paul Lester with server Kevin O'Connor

Halesowen Masses Jan - Mar 2014

The Altar in the side chapel at Our Lady and St Kenelm

I have received details of the Masses at Our Lady and St Kenelm at Halesowen from January 2014 to March 2014. The Masses on the 1st and 8th of January will not take place and the Mass on the 15th January will be at 8am, not 12 noon as usual. All the other Masses in the quarter should go ahead at the usual time but as usual, please phone in advance if you are planning on travelling far to attend - contact details are available in the sidebar. If you live in the Dudley deanery, please do your best to support this Mass; the time may not be ideal for people who are working during the day, but it has a small but dedicated following who would welcome new attendees and I know there is plenty of interest in the Extraordinary Form in the Dudley deanery.

Fortunately, there are alternatives on the days the Mass is cancelled: there was a noon High Mass at the Oratory on New Year's Day, and the 8th is the 2nd Wednesday of the month, so there will be a 7pm Mass at the Maryvale Institute chapel tomorrow, our new regular venue in the North Birmingham deanery.

NB 09/01/2013 - I have been informed there will also be no Mass at Halesowen on Ash Wednesday or Holy Week

Masses until Epiphany

Hope you are enjoying the festive period. Please note the following alterations to the Mass schedules for the next couple of weeks:

1) There will be no evening Mass at the Oratory tomorrow (27th December) but it should return on the 3rd January. The regular 6.30pm Friday evening Masses at St John Fisher in West Heath and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour continue as usual. The regular Saturday 9.30am Mass at the Birmingham Oratory will continue as normal

2) There will be a High Mass at 12 noon on 1st January for the Octave of the Nativity of Our Lord at the Birmingham Oratory and as far as I am aware, there will be a Low Mass at Halesowen but please check (telephone 0121 602 1972) if you are planning on attending.

3) There will not be a High Mass at 7pm on the 6th January for Epiphany at the Birmingham Oratory as previously advertised in Mass of Ages. Instead, there will be a Low Mass at 6pm, and the Sunday High Mass at 10.30am will be celebrated as an external solemnity. There will also be a Low Mass at 6.30pm on 6th January in neighbouring Redditch at Our Lady of Mount Carmel.

Christmas 2013 Masses

Altar prepared for an Advent Rorate Mass at the Birmingham Oratory

Christmas Day EF Masses 25th December 2013

Low Mass of Dawn
8.00 am Our Lady of Perpetual Succour,
Cannock Road WOLVERHAMPTON WV10 8PG

Low Mass of Dawn
8.30 am St John Fisher,
1 Cofton Road, West Heath, BIRMINGHAM B31 3QT

High Mass of the Day
Birmingham Oratory, 141 Hagley Road, Edgbaston, BIRMINGHAM 10.30am

See sidebar for directions.

May I take this opportunity to wish all those who follow and read this blog a happy and Holy Christmas.

Record number of candidates at Traditional Rite Confirmations in London

A record number of candidates received the Sacrament of Confirmation in the Traditional Rite last Saturday, at a ceremony in central London organised by the Latin Mass Society.

Nearly fifty children and adults received Confirmation in the Extraordinary Form from Bishop John Arnold, auxiliary in Westminster, at St James’s Church, Spanish Place on Saturday, 14th December. He was assisted by Fr Christopher Colven, the rector of St James’s, Fr Tim Finigan of Our Lady of the Rosary, Blackfen, and Fr Rupert McHardy of the London Oratory. Following the Confirmations, the bishop celebrated Pontifical Benediction.

Bishop John Arnold conferring the Sacrament of Confirmation on one of the candidates

After the ceremonies, Bishop Arnold joined the candidates, their sponsors and families in the parish social centre for a celebration buffet lunch.

The Latin Mass Society has been organising annual Confirmations in the Extraordinary Form for several years now. This past year there were also Traditional Confirmations at Reading and New Brighton, organised respectively by the Fraternity of St Peter and the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.

Bishop John Arnold cuts a celebratory cake, surrounded by some of the Confirmation candidates

LMS General Manager, Mike Lord, said: ‘We are very grateful to Bishop Arnold for agreeing to confer the Sacrament on what has been a very successful and happy day. We always attract a good number of candidates to receive Confirmation in the Traditional Rite, but this year’s turnout has been exceptional. It demonstrates that the attraction of the Extraordinary Form as part of Catholic life for many families is continuing to grow.’
 
There are more photos of the event here.

Mass Changes for December 2013

There are several Mass changes for December 2013.

Firstly, the Halesowen Mass will not be taking place on the 11th and 25th of December (and was at 8am this morning). However, there will be a Mass in the area every Wednesday in December. The 11th will see our first 2nd Wednesday Maryvale Mass and the Oratory will be holding High Mass at 10.30am on the 25th, Christmas day.

Secondly, the 9.30am Saturday morning Mass at the Oratory will be temporarily replaced with a 7.30am Rorate Mass at the Lady Altar for the Saturdays in Advent.

Rorate Mass at the Oratory's Lady Altar

Finally, if the 7.30am Saturday Mass is too early for you, this Saturday there will be a 10am Mass at St John Fisher in West Heath as part of our Advent morning of prayer and recollection.

I hope you will be able to make some of these events.

Update 08/12/2013: I understand there will now be a Mass at Halesowen on this Wednesday (11/12/2013) - please phone to check. There will also be two Christmas Day Low Masses in addition to the High Mass at the Oratory: 8.00am at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton, Cannock Road, Wolverhampton WV10 8PG and 8.30am at St John Fisher, 1 Cofton Rd, West Heath, Birmingham B31 3QT

2nd Wednesday Mass at the Maryvale Institute

Maryvale Chapel (Photo credit: Newman Friends International)

I am pleased to announce that, starting on the 11th December 2013, there will be a monthly Extraordinary Form Mass at the Chapel of the Maryvale Institute on the second Wednesday of the month.

Maryvale was the first Catholic home of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman and was formally erected by the Holy See as the first Higher Institute of Religious Sciences in the English-speaking world. It is internationally renowned (probably with a better reputation outside the UK than within) and attracts students from across the UK for its range of courses in catecetics, further and higher education and research degrees.

This is the first regular Extraordinary Form Mass in the North Birmingham deanery and a very exciting development with plenty of potential: it is hoped in the longer term we will be able to celebrate a monthly Sung Mass. Please do your best to support it if you live in the area as the long term future of this Mass is uncertain but it will obviously be more likely to succeed if we can demonstrate demand.

My heartfelt thanks go to Fr Paul Lester who will celebrate this Mass and has made it possible.

Advent Morning of Prayer and Recollection

Fr George Grynowski has kindly informed me that the West Heath Mass tomorrow (6.30pm St John Fisher, 1 Cofton Rd, West Heath, Birmingham B31 3QT) will be a Low Mass of Requiem for the deceased members of the Latin Mass Society in the Birmingham and Black Country region. Please do your best to attend if you can do so.

Fr George has also kindly offered us the use of his church for the local society's first ever Advent morning of Prayer and Recollection, which will take place on Saturday 7th December 2013. Everyone is welcome to join us - if you have never travelled to the Church before, it is at the terminus of the number 45 bus which can be caught on Station Street just outside New Street station. The morning will be led by Fr Daniel Horgan and the format of the day will be as follows:

St John Fisher, West Heath

10.00am Mass
11.00am Tea and Coffee
11.15am Talk by Fr Horgan
11.40am Rosary
12 noon Exposition
12.45am Benediction

Feel free to publicise this to anyone who may be interested. If you know someone who is coming and is able and prepared to serve, could you let me know - I am hoping that we will have a server in place but it would be useful to know if anyone is planning to attend who can serve.

My plan is for there to be at least one day set aside for such an event in Advent and Lent at different locations around the area. If you have any ideas for possible future locations please let me know - this could be an excellent opportunity to introduce the Extraordinary Form to a church which does not currently celebrate it. I do apologise to members who do not live in the south of the city - my preferred location was more central but unfortunately we were unable to be accommodated by the time we tried to book the event. May I take this opportunity to publicly thank Fr George for allowing us to hold the event at West Heath and for all his support to the local LMS community over the last few years.

Another big announcement will follow in the next couple of days...

Sung Mass of Requiem and Rorate Masses

Fr Richard celebrates Mass at Our Lady's Altar

The Birmingham Oratory has several additional Masses over the next two weeks as detailed below:

Monday 25/11/2013 6pm: Final Mass of Requiem for Holy Souls at the Holy Souls Altar, followed by Sung Vespers of the Dead in the Shrine of Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman

Friday 30/11/2013 6pm: The regular Friday Mass will be a Sung Mass of Requiem for Deceased Fathers and Brothers of the Oratory

Monday 2/12/2013-Friday 6/12/2013 (except Thursday) 6pm - Novena for the Immaculate Conception: Rorate Mass followed by Sung Litany of Loreto (preceded by Rosary at 5.40pm). Thursday: Holy Hour and Novena Prayers. Devotions begin after 11am Mass (OF) on Saturday.

I hope to be making a couple of important announcements over the next few days - watch this space!

LMS Members Elected to FIUV

Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos with James Bogle
(More photos available here)

At the biennial General Assembly of the International Federation Una Voce (FIUV), the international body representing lay groups attached to the Traditional liturgy, Mr James Bogle, barrister and former Chairman of the Catholic Union, was elected President. Mr Bogle is also a Committee member of the Latin Mass Society. The LMS is a founding member of FIUV in 1965 and its largest member. Dr Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the LMS, was elected Treasurer of FIUV and Mr Thomas Murphy was elected the Secretary. Mr Thomas Murphy, belongs to an Irish association member of FIUV, St Conleth’s Catholic Heritage Association, and the FIUV Council includes members from North and South America, Poland, Russia, Spain, and the Philippines. Matthew Schellhorn, LMS Local Representative for Southwark North, was co-opted to the FIUV Committee. Matthew also organised a professional choir to provide some superb music for the various liturgies during the FIUV Assembly. The retiring President, Mr Leo Darroch, had held the post since 2007. During the General Assembly the Federation was addressed by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, and had Mass and Vespers in the Chapel of the Choir, in St Peter’s Basilica. Walter, Cardinal Brandmüller and Archbishop Guido Pozzo were among the celebrants.

Monday Night Requiem Masses at the Oratory

Fr Anton celebrates Mass at Holy Souls Altar

I managed to attend the 6.00pm Monday Low Mass of Requiem at the Oratory last Monday which they are holding throughout the month of November followed by Sung Vespers of the Dead. The numbers were very good: I counted around forty people present. Perhaps in part, this was because the Mass was celebrated just before the opening talk of Jeff Cavins UK Bible Tour, where he talked about how he left the Catholic Church to become a successful protestant pastor before being drawn back to the church by researching the history of early Christianity: as Newman once said, to be steeped in history is to cease to be protestant. In part of his story, he was told by his Bishop he would one day come back to the Catholic Church and was labelled "little Newman". In the end, four things in particular drew him back to the Catholic Church: 1) the Eucharist, which is rarely celebrated or is often sidelined in protestant churches, 2) the veneration of Mary by the early Christians 3) the papacy, which is attested to by the Church Fathers and has a scriptural basis in the Old Testament in Isaiah 22 and 4) the fact the early Christians held onto Tradition as well as Scripture. Just as with Newman, Cavins realised that the Church today that most closely followed what the early Christians believed was the Catholic Church and after making peace with his father, who he had fallen out with after leaving the church, he came home and now spends his time opening up the Bible to Catholics. Unsurprisingly, bad catechesis was part of the reason he left the Catholic Church in the first place.

Part of the problem with the organising Traditional Masses is there is a danger that only the same small coterie of people attend. It is important that we open up the beauty of the Traditional Mass to people who have not had the chance to experience it before, and may have a negative image of it from what they have been told previously. I am sure that some people who came to listen to Jeff Cavins talk came to the Mass beforehand and would never have attended an Extraordinary Form Mass before. What did they make of it? How do we address the questions they would have?

As we come to the end of the liturgical year, I am pondering how I can increase provision of the Extraordinary Form Mass and how I can get more people to experience it in the West Midland area. I have a priest who is willing to give and advent reflection including Mass, probably on a Saturday in December, if there is enough interest. Could people please let me know if they would be interested in such an event by the end of the week so I can look at putting it on. If anyone has an idea for a good location that would also be welcome as our preferred choice was unavailable on the dates required.

Eight EF Masses in Twenty-Four Hours

Picture courtesy of the Birmingham Oratory Gallery

November is traditionally the month where we pray for the souls of the dead and Birmingham saw eight Extraordinary Form Masses celebrated within twenty-four hours on the feasts of All Saints and All Souls, seven of which took place at the Oratory, one of which was a High Mass, and one at St John Fisher in West Heath. For the remainder of November, there will be a weekly 6.00pm Monday Low Mass of Requiem at the Oratory followed by Sung Vespers of the Dead, and Stations of the Cross, which attract a plenary indulgence under the normal conditions, will follow the regular Friday Mass at 6.00pm.

Tonight there is also the first Monday Mass at 6.30pm at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Redditch.

All Saints and All Souls Masses

There are two Extraordinary Form Low Masses available in the Birmingham area for the Feast of All Saints: both the Oratory and St John Fisher in West Heath will be celebrating their usual Friday evening Masses which will satisfy the obligation to hear Mass on that day. The latter is a rare opportunity to attend an EF Mass on a Holyday of Obligation in a local parish church and may well attract some first timers - please be gentle with them so that they are encouraged to come back! St John Fisher does have some small missalettes to help those who attend follow the Mass, so if you have never been before I do encourage you to go.

For All Souls on Saturday, there will be an High Mass of Requiem at 11am in the Oratory to the setting by Maurice Durufle:


Please note, this replaces the regular 9.30am Low Mass. If you are unable to attend this Mass, a list of further further EF (and OF) Masses that will be said on All Souls day will be available from the Oratory later in the week (Update 31/10/2013 - there will be an EF Low Mass starting every half hour between 7.30am and 9.30am - please see Fr Richard's comment below on this article).

Bishop Philip Egan presides from the throne at EF High Mass in Portsmouth Cathedral

Rt Rev Philip Egan, Bishop of Portsmouth, presided from the throne at a High Mass in the Extraordinary Form, organised by the Latin Mass Society, at Portsmouth Cathedral on Sunday, 27th October.

The Traditional High Mass was the first at the cathedral for four years and joins the weekly Sunday morning Low Mass that has begun at Portsmouth’s mother church in recent weeks. Despite warnings of dire weather conditions, the Mass was well attended.

The celebrant was Fr Phillip Pennington Harris, and the deacon was Rev Stephen Morgan, both of Portsmouth Diocese. The sub-deacon was Fr John Maunder of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham, based at St Agatha’s, Portsmouth. Music was provided by the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, directed by Christopher Hodkinson.

During his homily, Bishop Egan said that the Extraordinary Form of the Mass was welcome in Portsmouth Diocese where people wished it to be celebrated, and should have a place amongst the liturgical diversity of the diocese. He also highlighted the importance to the Church’s liturgy in both forms of the Roman Rite of Gregorian Chant and the Latin language. The bishop then spoke on the subject of the feast of Christ the King, celebrated on that Sunday in the 1962 Calendar. When Pope Pius XI had instituted it, it had been intended as a corrective to the rampant nationalism seen in inter-war Italy. Today, said the bishop, it still has great relevance as a corrective to the rise of secularism in our society.

After Mass, tea had been organised by the LMS in the cathedral centre and Bishop Egan stayed to talk with very many members of the congregation.

LMS General Manager, Mike Lord, said: ‘We were delighted that Bishop Egan was able to join us on this great occasion and were heartened by his words of welcome to those of us who are attached to the Traditional Latin liturgy and by the bishop’s affirmation of its legitimate place within the life of the Catholic Church. The annual High Mass at Portsmouth Cathedral has been revived after several years and today’s event has proved a great success and a very joyful occasion for all who attended.’

Review of the ICKSP Retreat at Pantasaph

Photo courtesy of Wrexham LMS blog

Last weekend I was lucky to take part in a retreat on the Theology and Spirtuality of the Traditional Mass, run by the ICKSP at the Franciscan Retreat Centre in Pantasaph, the usual venue of the LMS Latin Course and Summer School. Amongst the usual retreat fare of Mass, adoration, rosary and confessions (I think this was the first time I took part in a confession where I was absolved in Latin), there were five talks on mainly the theology of the Traditional Mass, but also on the spirituality of the Traditional Mass. There was a particularly good talk on the Saturday evening on the Sacred Heart of Jesus, which demonstrated that it is not merely a devotion that came about in the Middle Ages but was part of the tradition of the Church from the beginning and indeed has a basis in the Mass.

The symbolism of much of the Mass was explained such as the purpose of the all the signs of the cross the priest makes during the Canon. There was some very useful information on the symbolism of the Epistle, Gospel and Creed in the Mass, on how they are read and by whom: the Subdeacon reads the Epistle on the side representing the Jews, and then symbolically transfers the Gospels to the Deacon, representing the transferring of the covenant to the gentiles. The Deacon proclaims the Gospel to the North, the direction which the pagan dwell, and it is then passed back to the Subdeacon, representing the conversion of the Jewish people at the end of time. The Creed is then recited for the believers. This is all very pertinent information for those of us in Birmingham who have the rare opportunity of attending a weekly Solemn High Mass at the Oratory!

It is a pity more people were not able to benefit from this retreat - there were around ten people attending in total and we had three people from the Birmingham and Black Country region present. A write-up from the Wrexham LMS representative, who I had the pleasure of meeting at the retreat, is available here.

Forty Hours' Devotion EF Masses

Above is a picture from the High Mass of Exposition at the Birmingham Oratory for the Forty Hours' Devotion that took place on Tuesday. I understand Fr Richard will be celebrating a Low Mass at the Martyrs altar in the Birmingham Oratory at 8am tomorrow (Thursday 17th October).

Traditional Catholic Weekends Away

LMS General Manager Mike Lord  has produced another video, this time on the Walking Pilgrimage from Ely to Walsingham that took place in August:

If you are interested in getting away from it all with a traditional Catholic retreat, there are two options available this weekend. Firstly, there is a retreat on the Theology and Spirituality of the Traditional Mass run by the ICKSP at Pantasaph which I think may still have some places available. There is also a Young Catholic Adults National Weekend taking place at the Cold Ash Retreat Centre. Further details are available on the Young Catholic Adults events page.

High Mass of Exposition at the Birmingham Oratory

It is the Quarant' Ore devotion at the Birmingham Oratory this week, beginning with High Mass of Exposition in the Extraordinary Form at 7pm on Tuesday 15th October. It ends with Extraordinary Form Sung Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament (Mozart Vesperae Solennes de Confessore K 339) at 7pm on Thursday 16th October concluding with procession and Benediction. Of course, EF Sung Vespers and Benediction also happens every Sunday at the Oratory at 4.30pm before the 5.30pm Mass in English.

Picture courtesy of Oratory website

The full schedule is as follows:

Tuesday 15th October
7.00pm High Mass of Exposition Procession and Benediction
11.00pm Deposition

Wednesday 16th October
7.30am Mass
8.00am Exposition
12.30pm Mass
8.00pm Conducted Holy Hour
9.00pm Sung Compline
11.00pm Deposition 

Thursday 16th October 
7.30am Mass
8.00am Exposition
12.30pm Mass
7.00pm Sung Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament 

Please note that all other Masses (at 7.30am and 12.30pm on Wednesday and Thursday) will be in English. If you do manage to spend some time in adoration before the Blessed Sacrament, could I please request that you keep the activities of the Birmingham and Black Country Latin Mass Society in your prayers.

October Mass Changes

The view towards Halewsowen from outside Our Lady and St Kenelm

There are several temporary changes to the Masses in October. Firstly, Fr George is away which means that the first Monday Mass in Redditch in neighbouring Worcestershire and the Friday Masses scheduled for the 11th and 18th October at West Heath have been cancelled. I was hoping to get some cover for the latter Masses, but unfortunately this was not possible. Alternative Friday provision is available at the Birmingham Oratory and Wolverhampton. The 18th also sees the beginning of the Retreat on the Theology and Spirituality of the Traditional Mass in Pantasaph, which may be an alternative if you are able to attend for the whole weekend.

Towards the end of the month there are also some amendments to the Masses at Halesowen: the Mass on the 23rd is cancelled, and the Mass on the 30th has been moved to 8am in the morning. I am now getting quarterly updates on the Halesowen Masses and will be updating the calendar in the sidebar with any changes of which I am aware. However, I would still recommend you ring up beforehand (telephone number 0121 602 1972) if you plan to attend because there can be some last minute changes and I myself was caught out earlier this year when I travelled to Halesowen for the noon Mass only to find out that it had been moved at the last minute to 8am. I took the opportunity to take the photo above.