Positio 3: The Manner of Receiving Holy Communion

The LMS have produced a video based on the third position paper of the FIUV - The Manner of Receiving Holy Communion. This follows on from the previous video on Positio 9: Silence and Inaudibility in the Extraordinary Form. Please feel free to share this as widely as possible: it is still a problem in many churches to receive communion kneeling and on the tongue when it is actually the norm.

Episcopal Appointments - Interviews

It has probably not escaped your attention that two important appointments have been made with regards to the episcopate of England and Wales recently. Firstly, of direct relevance to readers of this blog, Fr Robert Byrne Cong. Orat., one of the founders of the Oxford Oratory from the Birmingham Oratory was appointed as the replacement for Bishop Pargeter. He will be covering the Birmingham deaneries ( North, South, East and Cathedral) as well as Worcester and Kidderminster. As an Oratorian, I do not think we need to worry too much about his thoughts on the Extraordinary Form and to say I am pleased with his appointment is an understatement! He joins fellow Mancunian Archbishop Bernard Longley as shepherd of souls for our city and I am sure you will keep them both in your prayers.

 
Fr Robert Byrne - Auxiliary Bishop-elect for the Archdiocese of Birmingham from Catholic Church (England/Wales) on Vimeo.

This week, the Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon OP, Bishop of Nottingham, was appointed to replace Archbishop Kelly in Liverpool. The former editor of the LMS Magazine Mass of Ages interviewed him with specific regard to how he viewed the Extraordinary Form. This interview is reproduced below:

+Malcolm on whether those attached to the Extraordinary Form of Mass in the Archdiocese of Liverpool need have any concerns:

"There is no need (for anyone) to feel nervous.”

-

+Malcolm on how much he foresees that the Extraordinary Form may in time become a general and unremarkable part of the liturgical life of the archdiocese:

-

"I think it’s hard to predict. I will certainly be open to any requests that come my way. I’ve always listened to what people have wanted, and tried to do my utmost to satisfy their needs - and that applies to liturgy, forms of liturgy, as well as other aspects of my ministry.”

-

+Malcolm on whether he foresees himself personally celebrating the Extraordinary Form:

"It depends how it is used. I mean, I’ve celebrated Mass in the Extraordinary Form when required and when I’ve been asked to. But the Mass always has to be a source of unity in the Church, and I certainly wouldn’t want to be used, and the Extraordinary Form to be used, to divide the Church. That would be my (only) concern. But there are plenty of pictures of me on the Internet (celebrating the Extraordinary Form)...with (laughing) mitres that don’t fit me and all that! 

"But yes, of course I would be agreeable. How can you not be when the Mass has been such a … well some like to call it the ‘Traditional Rite’ … but (when) the Extraordinary Form has been a source of holiness to people for hundreds of years. So how on earth can you say no?”

-

A senior third party, with authority to speak for the Bishop, later said (unprompted) that he fully understood why those attached to the Extraordinary Form are perhaps prone to being anxious on such occasions. But he wished to stress - and also for it to be conveyed - that Archbishop-Elect McMahon’s appointment in Liverpool should certainly not give rise to any apprehension whatsoever. In fact, quite the opposite, I was assured. He said: “There really, really, should be no concerns for anyone at all - and I emphasise that.”

The general tenor of both the Archbishop-Elect’s, and later his spokesman’s, message concerning the Extraordinary Form, was one of complete reassurance and positivity. Gregory Murphy

On Wednesday the Birmingham Oratory celebrated a High Mass at 7pm for the Feast of St Joseph, preceded the day before with First Vespers at 6.30pm. The format is being replicated this Tuesday for the Feast of the Annuciation, with Mass at 7pm and First Vespers at 6.30pm on Monday.

Lenten Morning of Prayer and Recollection

Following on from our successful Advent Morning of Prayer and Recollection, I am pleased to announce we will be holding a Lenten Morning of Prayer and Recollection on Saturday 29th March at the Convent of the Sisters of Mercy in Handsworth, Birmingham (98 Hunters Road, Handsworth, B19 1EB - click for directions). The format of the morning will be as follows:

Picture credit: Mercy Handsworth website

10.00am Low Mass (in the Extraordinary Form)
11.00am Break
11.15am Talk by Fr Horgan
11.40am Rosary
12 noon Exposition
12.45am Benediction



All are welcome to attend whether you are a seasoned traditionalist or curious about the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite and have never attended before. The celebrant will be Fr Daniel Horgan of the Columban Fathers.

Silence in the Liturgy

There will be two opportunities to experience this in the Birmingham and Black Country region tomorrow: firstly at the midday Halesowen Mass (see sidebar for further details) which resumes after a break for Ash Wednesday or alternatively the 2nd Wednesday 7pm Mass at the Maryvale Institute tomorrow.

Septuagesima

It probably will not have escaped your notice that Lent starts on Wednesday next week (EF High Mass is at 7pm at the Birmingham Oratory - no Mass at Halesowen) but in the Traditional Calendar we are currently in the pre-Lenten penitential season of Septuagesima. If you would like to find out more about this two-and-a-half week period in the build-up to Ash Wednesday, you may the following video produced by the LMS may be of interest to you.

The Relics of St Valentine

The Relics of St Valentine at the Birmingham Oratory

There are a couple of changes to the Mass schedule for the end of February/ beginning of March:

1. There will be no Redditch Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in March but it will be brought forward a week and celebrated on the 24th February at the same time (6.30pm) instead.
2. Due to the Parish Mission, the Mass at St John Fisher in West Heath on 28th February has been cancelled. If you are not attending the activities, please consider attending either the Mass at the Oratory (6pm) or the Mass at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton (6.30pm) instead.

This Friday is of course the birthday of the Blessed Cardinal John Henry Newman. Pope Pius IX gave Newman the relics of St Valentine (pictured above) which reside under the St Athanasius altar with permission to celebrate his feast in the Oratory on his birthday.

An Introduction to the EF Liturgy organised by Juventutem Nottingham

An Introduction to the Extraordinary Form Liturgy

22nd February 2014 

The Feast of the Chair of St Peter

11am Solemn Mass

12.30 pm Lunch (Tea and Coffee provided, bring your own food)

1.00 pm – 2.30 pm Instruction Sessions running simultaneously:

The History of the Roman Rite 

Responses for Low Mass 

Serving Low Mass 

Chants for Benediction 

Chants for Mass Responses & Ordinary

2.30 pm Break (Tea and Coffee available in the Parish Hall)

2.45 pm – 4.15 pm Instruction Sessions (as above)

4.15 pm Break (Tea and Coffee available in the Parish Hall)

4.30 pm Solemn Benediction

St Peters Church, Hinckley Road Leicester, LE3 0TA tel. 0116 251 9802 e-mail wleicscatholic@btinternet.com

Maryvale Mass on Wednesday

The Maryvale Chapel Altar

This Wednesday, 12th February 2014, is the 2nd Wednesday of the month which means it is time again for the relatively new monthly Mass at the Maryvale Institute. This month there will be three or four members from Christ the King parish in Kingstanding who will be singing the Missa de Angelis and a Communion motet. There will probably be only one server so no incense unfortunately unless another server turns up. I do recommend you do your best to attend this Mass, particularly if you live in the North Birmingham Deanery: it is a wonderful setting and I feel there is plenty of potential for this Mass to really drive forward provision of the extraordinary form in the region and the North Birmingham Deanery in particular.

The Blessing of Throats in Latin

Happy St Blaise's day! Fr George will be performing the traditional blessing of throats in Latin after the Traditional first Monday Mass in Redditch at 6.30pm tonight.

The March Redditch Mass has been cancelled, but there will be an extra Mass at 6.30pm the week before on the 24th February.

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.