The Ascension and the Feast of St Dunstan and St Philip Neri

Thursday 18th May is the Feast of the Ascension, a Holy Day of Obligation. High Mass will be celebrated at the Birmingham Oratory at 7.30pm, replacing the usual 5.45pm Low Mass, and at St Mary on the Hill in Wednesbury at 5.30pm - please note this is an hour earlier than the time published in the Spring edition of Mass of Ages. The music for the High Mass at Birmingham Oratory is detailed in the poster below.

Two patronal feasts will also be celebrated in the 1962 Missal locally. Firstly, the Feast of St Dunstan coincides with the third Friday Mass at St Dunstan's church in Kings Heath on the 19th May: a Missa Cantata will be celebrated on this occasion. A week later, on the 26th May, is the Feast of St Philip Neri, founder of the Oratories. High Mass will be celebrated at the Birmingham Oratory at 7.30pm, replacing the usual 5.45pm Low Mass. Again, the music is detailed in the poster below.

Directions to all of these churches are available in the sidebar.

Holy Week and Easter Monday

The Birmingham Oratory will celebrate a full schedule of liturgies for Holy Week and Easter from the 1962 Missal as detailed in the graphic below (please click on it to enlarge). Please note that High Mass on Palm Sunday will start at the earlier time of 10am, and on Bank Holiday Easter Monday Mass will be celebrated at 9am instead of 5.45pm. There will be Masses on Easter day at St Mary on the Hill in Wednesbury at 11.30am as usual for a Sunday, and a special Easter day Mass at 8am at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton. Directions to all of these churches are available in the sidebar.

 

St Joseph and the Annunciation

High Mass will be celebrated at the Birmingham Oratory for the Feasts of St Joseph at (7.30pm Monday 20th March 2023 - this replaces the usual 5.45pm Low Mass) and the Annunciation (11am Saturday 25th March 2023 - this replaces the usual Saturday 9am Low Mass. Directions are available in the sidebar.

Quarant'ore and Ash Wednesday

The Oratory will be holding its Forty Hours' Devotion from Thursday 16th February to Saturday 18th February this year beginning with the High Mass of Exposition tomorrow at 7.30pm. This is in advance of Lent, which begins on Ash Wednesday next week (22nd February) which will also be marked with the celebration of High Mass at 7.30pm. There will also be a low Mass at 6.30pm at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury.

The Presentation of Our Lord Jesus Christ 2023

There will be two Masses tomorrow for Candlemas - Low Mass at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury at 6.30pm, and High Mass at the Oratory at 7.30pm, replacing the usual 5.45pm Low Mass. The February Music list for the Oratory has also been released, although it appears to be missing music for the High Mass of Exposition for the Forty Hours' Devotion scheduled to begin at 7.30pm on 16th February.

Mass Cancellation - Our Lady of Perpetual Succour

Please note that the usual 6.30pm Friday Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton will not take place this week (Friday 13th January 2023) due to the priest being absent.

Epiphany 2023

There will be two Masses in the 1962 Missal tomorrow for the Feast of the Epiphany: a 6.30pm Low Mass at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury and a High Mass at 7.30pm at the Oratory in Birmingham, replacing the usual 5.45pm daily Low Mass. Please note the First Friday Mass at Sacred Heart and All Souls in Acocks Green will be in the new rite, as will be the 7pm Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton which will replace the usual Friday 6.30pm Low Mass. The January Music list for the Birmingham Oratory is available below.

Christmas Masses and New Year Masses 2022/23

Here are the Mass times in the region for the Christmas Octave and slightly beyond. I wish all readers of this blog a happy and holy Christmas and New Year!

Saturday 24th December 2022

Vigil of the Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ

Oratory 7.30 a.m. Rorate Mass

Wednesbury (SMH#) 9.00 p.m. Sung Mass

Sunday 25th December 2022
The Nativity of Our Lord Jesus Christ
Oratory 12 midnight High Mass (n.b. no 7.30 a.m. Mass)
Wolverhampton (OLPS*) 8 a.m. Low Mass
Oratory 10.30 a.m. High Mass

Monday 26th December 2022 to Saturday 31st December 2022

Oratory 9.00 a.m. Low Mass (no Mass at 5.45pm)

Thursday 29th December 2022

Wolverhampton (OLPS*) 6.30 p.m. Sung Mass

Friday 30th December 2022

Wolverhampton (OLPS*) 6.30 p.m. Low Mass

Sunday 1st January 2023
Octave Day of Christmas

Oratory 7.30 a.m. Low Mass
Oratory 10.30 a.m. High Mass
Wednesbury (SMH#) 11.30 a.m. Low Mass

Wolverhampton (OLPS*) 12 noon Low Mass

Monday 2nd January 2023
Oratory 9.00 a.m. Low Mass (no Mass at 5.45pm)

Normal service resumes from Tuesday 3rd January 2023

*OLPS - Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Cannock Road, Wolverhampton, WV10 8PG
#SMH - St Mary on the Hill, St Mary's Road, Wednesbury, WS10 9DL
Oratory directions in sidebar

Immaculate Conception 2022

Mass times for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary are as follows:

Low Mass 6.30pm, St Mary-on-the-Hill, Wednesbury

High Mass 7.30pm, the Birmingham Oratory (n.b. no 5.45pm Mass today)

Please also not that on Saturdays during Advent, the 9am Mass at the Birmingham Oratory has been replaced with a 7.30am Rorate Mass.

Allhallowtide 2022

Masses for All Saints and All Souls:

7.30pm the Birmingham Oratory 1st & 2nd November - High Mass

6.30pm St Mary-on-the-Hill 1st & 2nd November - Low Mass

Directions are available in the sidebar

Our Lady of the Rosary

On Friday there will be a High Mass of Our Lady of the Rosary at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton (directions in the sidebar), perhaps quite apt given the increasing threat of nuclear was involving Russia. Coincidently, the relics of St Bernadette arrive at St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham that evening and will be available for veneration until Saturday evening.

The Feast of St John Henry Newman falls on Sunday this year - all Masses at the Oratory, including the Low Mass at 7.30am and the High Mass at 10.30am, as well as Vespers at 4.30pm, will be of the Feast.

The Guild of St Clare in Wednesbury

 A parishioner at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury is hoping to start a local chapter of the Guild of St Clare; there will be an exploratory meeting this Saturday 24th September 2022 at 11am in the church hall. Directions are available in the sidebar.

The Guild of St Clare was founded in Oxford in 2009. Its purpose is to repair and make the liturgical vestments necessary for the celebration of the traditional liturgy of the Catholic Church, to pass on the skills necessary for this, and to promote domestic sewing.

The Guild today runs two Sewing Retreats each year, where liturgical sewing is combined with spiritual talks and liturgy, one in the spring and one in the autumn. 

It also runs Vestment Mending Days in London on Saturdays.

There are local chapters around the country.

Everyone is welcome at Guild events: appropriate tasks can be found for all skill levels.

The Guild is affiliated with the Latin Mass Society, which was founded in 1965 to promote traditional Catholic liturgy. The Latin Mass Society is a registered charity, number 248388.

The Guild’s spiritual patron is St Clare of Assisi, who, like many female religious over the centuries, made liturgical vestments.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross

High Mass will be offered at the Birmingham Oratory for the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross at 7.30pm, replacing the usual 5.45pm low Mass.

Please note that Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual in Succour on Friday is cancelled - this is bad luck as there are a couple of priests who cover the Mass who are also unavailable. It is the only time Mass has been cancelled in nearly ten years since the 1962 Missal has been offered at the church.

The third Friday Mass at St Dunstan's in Kings Heath is going ahead as normal and is a possible alternative, albeit on the other side of Birmingham, along with the 5.45pm daily Mass at the Oratory of course.

Change to Assumption Masses

The Birmingham Oratory will celebrate High Mass at 7.30pm tomorrow (15th August 2022) followed by a candlelight procession and dedication of the parish - this is a change for Mass of Ages where the daily 5.45pm low Mass was to be celebrated as a Missa Cantata, after celebrating the Assumption today as an external solemnity. There will be no Mass at 5.45pm tomorrow.

There will still be a low Mass at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury at 6.30pm.

The Oratory Music list for August is detailed below:

Fr George Grynowski RIP

In your charity please pray for the repose of the soul of Fr George Grynowski - priest of the Archdiocese of Birmingham - who sadly died on Monday morning, 27th June, aged 73.

Fr George was ordained on 8th July 2006 and his first appointment was at St Dunstan's, Kings Heath where he served from 2006 to 2008. His next appointment was at St John Fisher in West Heath from 2008 to 2014, where he celebrated a Mass in the Extraordinary Form every Friday following the provisions of Summorum Pontificum. Once a year, on the patronal feast of SS John Fisher and Thomas More, he would invite two other priests from the Archdiocese to celebrate a High Mass. Upon leaving St John Fisher, Fr George was appointed as Assistant to the Judicial Vicar, a role he held until his retirement.

Since his retirement, Fr George has been assisting in the parishes of the St John Henry Newman Cluster.

Reception of the Body will be at Holy Trinity, Oxford Street, Bilston, West Midlands, WV14 0PX on Tuesday, 19th July at 5.00pm, followed by Mass in the 1962 Missal at 7.30pm. The Funeral Mass (Novus Ordo) will be on Wednesday, 20th July at 12 noon, presided by Archbishop Bernard Longley, followed by burial at Wrottesley Park Natural Burial Ground.

Oratory Music List for July

 

SS Peter & Paul and the Feast of the Precious Blood

The post-Easter season concludes with two wonderful feasts, the latter of which is not celebrated in the revised calendar. I am please to say Fr Paul returned to duties today at Wednesbury after not being able to celebrate Mass on Sunday and for the Sacred Heart, so there will be Masses at Wednesbury both on Wednesday and Friday. The Birmingham Oratory will as usual replace the usual daily 5.45pm low Mass with a High Mass at 7.30pm for SS Peter and Paul. As the Precious Blood falls on a first Friday, there will be a Mass at Acocks Green which has not occurred for a couple of months due to the priest not being available and the Jubilee Bank Holiday. Finally the Friday Mass returns at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton after taking a break for the annual novena leading up to the patronal parish feast.

Wednesday 29th June (SS Peter & Paul - Holy Day of Obligation)

6.30pm St Mary-on-the-Hill, Wednesbury - Low Mass

7.30pm Birmingham Oratory - High Mass (n.b. no 5.45pm Mass)

Friday 1st July (Feast of the Precious Blood) - all Low Masses

5.45pm Birmingham Oratory

6.30pm Our Lady of Perpetual Succour, Wolverhampton

6.30pm St Mary-on-the-Hill, Wednesbury

7pm Sacred Heart and All Souls, Acocks Green 

Directions for all of these Masses are available in the sidebar

Sacred Heart Masses

There will be a Sung Mass at the usual time (5.45pm) at the Birmingham Oratory for the Feast of the Sacred Heart. The usual Friday Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour has been cancelled due to the annual Novena taking place this week, but there is an additional Mass at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury at 6.30pm. Directions to these Masses are available in the sidebar.

Corpus Christi and Friday Mass Cancellation

High Mass will be celebrated at the Oratory at 7.30pm for the traditional date of Corpus Christi, which has been moved to Sunday by the Catholic Bishops Conference of England and Wales. This replaces the usual 5.45pm Mass. There will also be a Low Mass celebrated at St Mary-on-the-Hill in Wednesbury at 6.30pm.

Finally, please note that due to First Holy Communions taking place, there will be no third Friday Mass at St Dunstan's this week.

Bank Holiday Mass Changes and Ordination News

The daily Latin Mass at the Oratory will take place at 9am on Bank Holiday Thursday and Friday. The First Friday Mass at Sacred Heart and All Souls is cancelled this month. 

Please keep Br Dominic of the Oratory in your prayers as he is ordained to the Sacred Priesthood on Friday at 12 noon. The Music list for June, including for this Mass, is available below.