Corpus Christi and Spetchley Park

As usual, there will be a High Mass on the traditional Thursday date (this year 19th June 2014) for Corpus Christi at the Birmingham Oratory as well as an external celebration of the Solemnity at the 10.30 EF High Mass on Sunday.

Alternatively, in neighbouring Worcestershire, there will be a Missa Cantata and procession from the Catholic chapel in Spetchley Park to the nearby disused medieval church. A report from last year is available at the following link:

http://birmingham-lms-rep.blogspot.co.uk/2013/06/corpus-christi-sunday-in-spetchley.html

Spetchley Park Corpus Christi Procession 2013

After Mass at 11am there will be the opportunity to have a picnic in the beautiful grounds. It normally costs £6.50 to enter Spetchley Park gardens so this is an opportunity to fulfill your Sunday obligation with and Extraordinary Form Mass, have a lovely day out and save money all at the same time!

Spetchley Park House and Gardens

Spetchley Park now has a Low Mass every Sunday at 11am. There will, however, be no Mass on the 10th and 17th of August, and the 14th and 21st of September.

The Kiss of Peace and Pentecost

The Kiss of Peace during the Milton Manor High Mass

In the Gospel for Pentecost today we hear the words: "Pacem relinquo vobis, pacem meam do vobis: non quomodo mundus dat, ego do vobis". Perhaps it was with these words ringing in his mind that Dr Joseph Shaw launched Position Paper 19 on the Kiss of Peace which is well worth a read and explains why the sign of peace appears at this point in the Mass, which does seem particularly odd in the Novus Ordo.

The picture above show me receiving the Pax Tecum from the Master of Ceremonies at the Milton Manor High Mass last weekend. A report is available on the Chairman's blog here.

The Birmingham Oratory will be holding two extra Masses for the Octave of Pentecost on Monday and Tuesday at 6pm.  Including the Maryvale Mass this Wednesday at 7pm, it means that Thursday will be the only day it is not possible to attend an Extraordinary Form Mass during the Octave of Pentecost in the Birmingham and Black Country region.

St Philip Neri, the Ascension and Mass News

The relics of St Philip Neri in front of the sanctuary (credit : Birmingham Oratory)

There was an extra EF Low Mass on Bank Holiday Monday this week at 9.30am before the Novus Ordo High Mass for the Feast of St Philip Neri at 11am. It was the first Novus Ordo High Mass I had attended in a while (the majority of High Masses at the Birmingham Oratory are now in the Extraordinary Form) and I must confess that for the first time I found it rather disjointed due to the way things have to be done sequentially - for example, the Canon of the Mass is spoken out loud so the Sanctus and the Agnus Dei have to be completed by the choir before the celebrant can proceed. By pure coincidence, Rorate Caeli's report on the first Traditional High Mass at Birmingham Cathedral in several decades also included a report of the first Traditional Masses held in Split, Croatia in several decades at a Church whose patron is St Philip Neri!

This Thursday is the traditional day of the Feast of the Ascension. There will be a High Mass at the Birmingham Oratory beginning at 7pm.

There will be no Friday Mass at St John Fisher in West Heath this Friday (30th May 2014). The Masses at the Oratory and Our Lady of Perpetual Succour in Wolverhampton are available as alternatives.

I believe there will be a Mass in Redditch on the coming Monday (2nd June 2014).

Looking further ahead, Fr Paul Lester has confirmed that there will be a Low Mass on the 2nd Wednesday of June (11th June) in the Maryvale chapel. Directions for all these Masses are available in the sidebar.

St Chad's High Mass Report

  It was pretty spectacular.

 The setting was exquisite. Even though we only had two in the choir, the music was beautiful.

We did not have Benediction in the afternoon in the end, but had some devotions finishing with the 3 O'Clock divine mercy prayer.

More pictures of the Mass are available here (courtesy of Matthew Doyle).

The Wrexham LMS rep Kevin Jones has written a report of his day here.

St Chad's Cathedral Pilgrimage

Fr Chavasse celebrating Low Mass at St Chad's Cathedral in 2008

This Saturday (17th May 2014) the Latin Mass Society will be making a pilgrimage to St Chad's Cathedral. High Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be at noon, and there will be devotions in the afternoon finishing with Benediction at 3pm. Music will include Gregorian propers, Missa De Angelis for the ordinary, Ecce Panis Angelorum (Portuguese melody) at the offertory, Gounod O Salutaris after the elevation and Mozart Ave Verum. Bring your own lunch.

Unfortunately this clashes with the visit of Bishop Athanasius Schneider who will be leading the pilgrimage to West Grinstead in Sussex on the same day. I do hope those who are unable to go to Sussex will consider coming to St Chad's, one of only two minor basilicas in England (the other is Downside Abbey). For those interested, we will be celebrating a Class II Votive Mass: this is the nearest Saturday to the Feast of the Translation of the Relics of St Chad which takes place on the 4th Tuesday after Easter in the 1962 Calendar. We will be having a collection for the Cathedral which unsurprisingly is expensive to run - I do hope that those who are able to attend will donate generously, if possible using the gift aid envelopes that are available at the back of the church.

More photographs from previous EF Masses held at St Chad's are available here.

LMS York Pilgrimage 2014

Unfotunately, this clashed with the Birmingham and Black Country Lenten Morning of Prayer and Recollection this year but I was lucky enough to go few years ago when Mass was held in York Minster. The success of this pilgrimage may well have played a part in Bishop Drainey inviting Fr Richard Duffield to York to set up what will hopefully be the fifth English Oratory after Birmingham, London, Oxford and Manchester.

 

Our Lady of Mount Carmel updates/ Eastertide News

I trust all the readers of this blog had a Holy and Happy Easter.

The May first Monday Mass at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in neighbouring Redditch will take place on the second Monday (12th May) instead - this is because the first Monday is a Bank Holiday. I have also been asked to mention that the Church will be holding Divine Mercy devotions from 3pm on Sunday 27th April. Although not strictly EF, I understand there will be Latin hymns for Benediction so anyone familiar with these will be welcome to join in and help evangelise their fellow non-Latin speaking Catholics!

There were around a dozen people at the Low Mass on Easter day held at St John Fisher in West Heath, including some non-parishioners. I did not attend the Oratory High Mass but I am sure it would have been as well-attended and beautiful as usual.

A final request - please keep in your prayers the LMS pilgrimage to St Chad's Cathedral on Saturday 17th May and do your best to attend and invite anyone else who might be interested if you possibly can.

Holy Week Mass Cancellations

We enter a rather barren period for the Extraordinary Form in Birmingham over Holy Week. Please note the following Mass changes:

The Mass at Halesowen tomorrow (16/04/2014) has been cancelled and should resume next week. Please phone before travelling though (telephone number available in the Mass listing in the sidebar).

The 6.30pm Friday Masses at St John Fisher in West Heath have been cancelled for the next two weeks (this week because it is Good Friday and next week because Fr George is not available). The regular Mass will return on the 2nd May. There will however be an additional Low Mass at 8.30am on Easter Sunday.

There will of course be no Masses on Good Friday or the morning of Holy Saturday at the Oratory. Normal service will resume with High Mass on Easter Sunday at 10.30am.

Similarly, the Friday Mass at Wolverhampton will not be taking place on Good Friday.


Finally, a date for your diaries. There will be a pilgrimage to St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham City Centre on 17th May with High Mass at 12 noon. Please attend if you are able and keep the project in your prayers. More details will be published when available.

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