Happy New Year

2012 has seen a lot of firsts for us and a lot has happened in that time. This year saw another sung Easter Triduum, Masses on most days of the year including all Sundays, high days and holydays, the visit of Bishop Rifan and the first Pontifical High Mass since the changes when 18 men and boys and a portly bishop squeezed onto the sanctuary at Immaculate Heart, Leeds. The chaplain to the University of Leeds learned to celebrate the EF Mass and sang Masses at Notre Dame and at Wakefield's historic chantry chapel for the feast of the Assumption - executing both beautifully.
We had solemn High Masses for the feast of Ss Peter and Paul and to celebrate Mgr Smith's silver jubilee in December. Several children were baptized in several churches and we had First Holy Communion celebrations. Two sung Masses in the Dominican Rite were offered at Hinsley Hall organized by the Schola  Gregoriana of Cambridge and we were able to welcome back Fr. Lew OP who was the celebrant. Fr. Parfitt retired as Parish Priest of Broughton but remains as a daily celebrant at the Sacred Heart chapel, bringing our number of regular Sunday Masses to three but with up to five for some Sundays of the month.

I hope that 2013 sees as much if not more activity and that we get a worthy successor to Archbishop Roche who has taken up a desk job in Rome. Increasingly people who not long ago were new faces are now commenting on other new faces. We have people of all ages, colour and class and a very good number of priests willing and able to offer Mass if requested. I have had two priests say they wish to offer more Masses in this Rite and moreover we are hosting a servers' training session at the Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy in February. 

May I take this opportunity to wish everybody all good things in the new year. Mass for New Year's Day is at Sacred Heart chapel, Broughton Hall, Skipton at 11.00 a.m.

Weekend Masses

Saturday 29th December - 6.00 p.m. at St Mary's, Halifax.
Sunday 30th December - 10.00 a.m. at Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, Skipton.
                                     -   3.00 p.m. at St. Joseph's, Castleford.
                                     -   7.00 p.m. at Wakefield chantry chapel, Kirkgate Bridge, Wakefield


Tuesday 1st January 2012 - 11.00 a.m. at Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, Skipton.

Shambolic, a shambles, a sham

Not my words, but those of the Archbishop of Westminster who did not mince his words in commenting upon Cameron's bizarre efforts to redefine marriage.
Bishop Davies of Shrewsbury also took the opportunity to put the traditional Catholic perspective on this appalling decision to curry favour with homosexualists and which did not appear in any manifesto.

Our seedy little country is looking increasingly seedier.

In other news the LMS Chairman, Dr. Joseph Shaw appears to be having a bit of a set to with our dear old friend Basil Loftus via the pages of the ghastly Catholic Times re the issue of female priests. There is a little taster on Dr. Shaw's blog http://www.lms.org.uk/around-the-country/oxford_rep
I think it was a blood crazed ferret journalist who once described Basil as a world class bore, which was quite mild for this journalist.

Information about weekend Masses will follow tomorrow, but there will be NO MASS at Leeds University chaplaincy on Saturday afternoon but there will be an extra Mass on Sunday at Wakefield at 7.00 p.m. in the chantry chapel on the Kirkgate bridge.

Hodie Christus natus est, alleluia

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to all our members and friends.

Masses this evening at Notre Dame, Leeds and Sacred Heart, Broughton have both been very uplifting experiences and I should like to extend my thanks to our servers singers and to Fathers Kravos, Hall and Parfitt.

Mass on Christmas Day at Broughton at 11.00 a.m.

Advent IV, more congratulations and Christmas

Mass last Saturday for Monsignor Smith's Silver Jubilee was a very fine and memorable occasion. I am hoping that the gentleman who filmed the Mass will contact me soon with details of how to locate the film on You Tube. Monsignor asked me again to extend his thanks to the Rudgate Singers and the servers.

Masses for Advent IV on Sunday -

10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart,  Broughton Hall, near Skipton
3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford (Tickets for the Mass at Wakefield's Chantry chapel next Sunday will be available at this Mass)

Congratulations to Mgr Canon Hugh Boyle, former administrator of Glasgow Cathedral and a dear friend to the Latin Mass Society - especially in this diocese and to Una Voce Scotland. For as long as I can ever remember Monsignor Boyle has been spending his holidays in Yorkshire and celebrating the Mass for us. He was the celebrant at the first High Mass in this diocese since the council, at St. Joseph's in Bradford. He was celebrant at the first Mass at Killingbeck following the issue of Summorum Pontificum and for many years led a summer pilgrimage and offered Mass at the shrine of St. Margaret Clitherow in York in very desperate times. Mgr Boyle celebrates his Golden Jubilee today and I would like to salute him on behalf of us all and say ad multos annos Fr. Hugh! Those who know the Canon will agree that his intelligence is matched only by his kindness and his candour. I have sent him a card and have requested Fr. Parfitt to offer Mass for him and his intentions on behalf of us all.

.

Masses for Christmas.

Christmas Eve 7.00 p.m. Notre Dame, Leeds University Chaplaincy, St Mark's Avenue, Leeds.
                      11.30 p.m.  Sacred Heart,  Broughton Hall, near Skipton.
Christmas Day 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart,  Broughton Hall, near Skipton.


 Please take time out to go to confession in these next few days - no priest who offers the Mass for us will refuse confession at call in good time before or after Mass.

 The above photo is from the Una Voce Scotland website http://www.unavocescotland.org.uk/index.html
I trust they will not mind my using their photograph.

REMINDERS

This weekend we have a SOLEMN HIGH MASS at St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax at 6.00p.m.
This Mass will be for Monsignor David Smith's Silver Jubilee. I remember when the embryo monsignor was ordained at Goole and the joy this gave to the then PP at St. Thomas, Old Goole, the late Father Charlie Holmes. Father was very proud to have a new priest from his parish. I know that Mgr Smith himself often recalls, with no little pleasure, the usual extravagant preparations Fr. Holmes made to make the event a memorable occasion - including the carpet upon which the ordinand was to prostate himself. Fr. Holmes was the priest whose practicality impressed Bishop Wheeler by producing a Jif lemon squeezie to cleanse his Lordship's fingers following a confirmation ceremony and a slice of diagonally cut Slimcea bread to dry them on!

On Sunday there will be 3 Masses:

10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton.
3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.
4.00 p.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike. (This Mass will be suspended after this until warmer weather in March)

CHRISTMAS MASSES

Christmas Eve - 7.00 p.m. Notre Dame Chapel, University of Leeds Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds.
Christmas Eve - 11.30 p.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall,  near Skipton.
Christmas Day - 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall,  near Skipton.

On Sunday 30th. December there is to be an extra Mass on that day. The Mass will be a Requiem to mark the exact date of the battle of Wakefield and for the repose of the souls of all those who were killed as the Lancastrians defeated and killed the Duke of York. This was advertised in Mass of Ages and I have now received a couple of requests for tickets. Please let me know if you would like tickets for this. As the catafalque seems to be back in vogue - so the Mass will be followed by absolutions at same. Very fittingly again we will be guests at the Chantry Chapel, on the Kirkgate Bridge in Wakefield. This chapel was in existence even before the Battle of Wakefield. Sung Mass at 7.00 p.m.

Advent II

I have been off colour for the last week but am now feeling much perkier.

Masses this weekend

Sunday;

Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton at 10.00 a.m.
St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford at 3.00 p.m.
St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford at 3.00 p.m.

Next weekend marks the start of the Silver Jubilee celebrations of Monsignor Smith of Halifax. The Rudgate Singers will be coming along to sing at the Solemn High Mass which will be a votive Mass of Our Lord Jesus Christ Eternal and High Priest. This Mass will be at 6.00 p.m. on Saturday 15th. December at St Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax. Ad multos annos Monsignor.

Server training

I am delighted to announce that I have been able to organize a training day in this diocese after a similar successful event in York a couple of years ago. This event is open to Catholic men and boys wishing to learn how to serve the Traditional Mass from any diocese. The tuition will be according to demand.
Once again Fr. Peter Kravos, the chaplain at Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy has laid the beautiful chapel of Notre Dame, which has three fine altars, at our disposal.
The training day will be on the first Saturday of Lent - February 16th. 2013 at Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds from 10.00 a.m. - with a prompt start at 10.30 a.m.
The day will conclude with Mass (sung) at around 4.00 p.m.

Please contact Paul at  paul@gooleboathouse.co.uk to register for this event and state the age and the level of tuition required - i.e. Low Mass, Missa Cantata or Solemn Mass.

There is no fee, but you are asked to bring a packed lunch and cassock and surplice if you have them. Please advise Paul if you need to borrow a cassock or surplice.

Confirmations

On Saturday, in London the third lot of traditional confirmations this year took place. Previously the Sacrament had been administered in the Midlands and on the Wirral. This time it was at St. James, Spanish Place, London and the Bishop was Alan Hopes, Auxilliary in Westminster. This has become an annual event and it is some years now since our own three daughters went to London for just such an occasion. Next year it will be the boys' turn.
Congratulations to all of those confirmed and their families.
Pictures may be viewed here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/55776120@N08/sets/72157632102096879/

Pentecost XXIV

This weekend marks the last Sunday of Pentecost and means that Advent is on the horizon.

Masses are as follows:

Saturday - St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax at 6.00 p.m.
Sunday - Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall near Skipton at 10.00 a.m
               St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford at 3.00 p.m.

Please do all you can to attend any of these Masses - we are very grateful to the clergy who celebrate these Masses for us.

Wimmin bishops

I listened via livestream to the some of the debate before the Cof E synod voted this evening on the issue of female bishops. It was very interesting to listen to the arguments from those on both sides of the fence. The Bishop of Bradford made a very interesting point, saying that the synod should not be swayed by the ecumenical argument, as Rome regards all CofE orders as being invalid - hence it wouldn't make a difference if the synod voted for the Anglican episcopacy being opened up to females, which he favoured. He was of course correct. It makes no difference to me what they decided. Pope Leo XIII made it clear in 1896 in Apostolicae Curae that their orders were absolutely null and void.
The fact that twenty years ago the C of E opened its ministry of priesthood to women gave some characters in the Catholic Church the idea that they could go around demanding the same was unfortunate. It is interesting that the lay element of the C of E synod was responsible for blocking the legislation for women bishops, the lay element which incidentally makes up the majority of the C of E. If democracy is their way of defining dogma, good for them, but I doubt that this issue will go away, just as it hasn't in our Church where disobedient individuals continue to peddle heterodox ideas in defiance of what Blessed John Paul II taught about the issue in his 1994 Ordinatio Sacerdotalis after the C of E voted for female priests.
Rome has spoken. End of story. 

VI remaining Sunday after the Epiphany

As next week is the last Sunday of Pentecost the Church uses up the free Sundays after the Epiphany which are the ones used before Septuagesima.

Masses this weekend are as follows:

Saturday 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
Sunday  10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton.
               3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.
Please note no Mass at Heckmondwike until the first Sunday in December.

Remembrance Sunday

Masses this weekend are as follows:

Saturday 6.00 p.m. St. Marie's, Gibbet Street, Halifax. Low Requiem Mass.
Sunday 10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart Broughton Hall near Skipton.
              3.00 p.m. St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford. Sung Requiem with absolutions at the catafalque.

Broughton Hall

The parish of the Sacred Heart, Broughton was suppressed in September and became a chapel of ease, served from  Skipton. St. Patrick's at Earby became a chapel of ease to St. Joseph's, Barnoldswick.

There is a regular OF Sunday Mass at Broughton at 8.30 a.m. There is also a regular EF Sunday Mass at Broughton at 10.00 a.m. except on the first Sundays when the Mass is sung at 11.00 a.m.
On Mondays to Saturdays there is an EF Mass at 9.30 a.m.
If you are travelling some distance please contact 01756 793 794 to check beforehand.

November at English Martyrs

A quick reminder that there is Mass every Saturday in this month of the Holy Souls at English Martyrs, Alexandra Road South, Whalley Range, Manchester.
This parish was home to one of my predecessors, Kevin Cave and I always think that Kevin is still praying away for his old parish or his prayers while he was here on earth have been answered.
Thanks again to Fr. Marlor and Bernard Richards.
Photo taken from the Hermeneutic of Continuity http://the-hermeneutic-of-continuity.blogspot.co.uk/2012/08/some-beautiful-gothic-and-some-books.html.

Update: The above should have appeared on the Salford Latin Mass Society Blogspot, but instead of deleting it I'll leave it in case any readers are in Manchester this month!)

Pentecost XXIII

Mass last evening for the Feast of All Souls at Markenfield Hall was a wonderful occasion. I have known Father Parfitt for thirty years and this was the first time I have been present when he has offered a Mass for the dead. It was a filthy night outside and the atmosphere inside the medieval chapel was most evocative and had a cosy feel to it. In his sermon Father recalled the origins of the Feast of All Souls and pointed out that the house and chapel would have been around when the feast was introduced into the calendar following the end of the 100 years War.

Masses for Pentecost XXIII are as follows:

Saturday 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax (celebrant Fr. Hall).
Sunday 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton (Missa cantata).
              3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

NO MASS AT HECKMONDWIKE THIS MONTH - as Fr. Abberton is on a lecture tour.

All Saints & All Souls

Mass on Thursday at Broughton Hall at 11.00 a.m. (This Feast remains a Holyday of Obligation)
Masses on Friday at Broughton Hall at 11.00 a.m.
                              Markenfield Hall near Ripon at 6.00 p.m.
Update; There will also be Mass at 9.30 a.m. at Broughton Hall on All Souls Day.

Christ the King

Holy Masses for the Feast of Christ are as follows:

Saturday 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.            (Reminder; put back your clocks by one hour - back to GMT)
Sunday 10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall nr Skipton.
              3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Masses at Broughton next week - Mon-Wed 9.30 a.m. Thursday (All Saints) 11.00 a.m. Friday (All Souls) 11.00 a.m.

Also at 6.00 p.m. on All Souls Day there will be Mass at Markenfield Hall, near Ripon.

On Saturday 3rd. November there is to be a High Mass in St. Peter's, Rome. The celebrant will be Cardinal Llovera who is Archbishop Roche's new boss. This Mass is part of a "jamboree" pilgrimage in Rome to celebrate 5 years of Summorum Pontificum. It is only the prohibitive cost of travelling to Rome which prevents me from going along myself. I have often visited the Basilica but never attended any Mass in St. Peter's, although I went to confession there once - it was more like a professional military interrogation!

Christus vincit!
Christus regnat!
Christus imperat!

Dominican Rite (2)

A friend of mine sent me a video of the Mass of our Lady from Saturday and I was able to watch it again this evening. I am highly impressed with this Rite. Fr. Lew said that it is believed that the reformers looked to the simplicity of this Rite when making up the new Rite. Preceding the Mass of Trent there is plenty of simplicity but it is also extremely and deeply rich in symbolism. 

I am very grateful to have been of service to the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge who in turn were a very warm and pleasant group of people. The youngest attendee was less than six months old and was as passive as one could imagine. 

Mgr Smith said that the Dominican Rite had certainly been celebrated at St. Mary's Halifax by priests of the Order as they were natives of the Parish. I notice that Mass of Requiem features on the New Liturgical Movement blog.

Dominican Mass (1)

The sung Dominican Mass was a wonderful event earlier this evening. The chapel at Hinsley Hall was totally filled with people aged between 70 and seven months, with people from all walks of life, including laity and clergy. The singing was understandably very powerful in all respects, given the Schola this is no surprise!
The Dominican Requiem is very much simpler than the Roman Rite; the acolytes form a symbolic triangle around the priest when he is at the centre and all three stand in a straight line whenever the celebrant is at the northern or southern end of the altar. The offertory occurs before the Gospel, but the lavabo before the Orate fratres, there is no psalm 42 in any Dominican Mass and only our Lady and St. Dominic are mentioned in the Confiteor with its solitary mea culpa. One of the acolytes chants the epistle (but not from the Missal). Interestingly no incense at all is used.

Fr. Lew was a very patient teacher as he rehearsed us before Mass and as the choir practised.

Tomorrow there is a sung Mass in honour of our Blessed Lady at 10.30 a.m. in the chapel at Hinsley Hall in this the month of the Holy Rosary.

Masses for Pentecost XXI;

Saturday, 6.00 p.m. St Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
Sunday; 10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart Chapel, Broughton Hall, near Skipton.
              3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.
              4.00 p.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike.


Thank God for Summorum Pontificum and for Pope Benedict.

Hinsley Hall-Masses

Just a final call for the two Dominican Rite Masses at Hinsley Hall, Headingley, Leeds this weekend with the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge, which was founded by the late Dr. Mary Berry. The celebrant will be Fr. Lew OP.
Sung Requiem at 5.00 p.m. on Friday.
Sung Mass of our Blessed Lady at 10.30 a.m. on Saturday.
I understand that the Novus Ordo Mass will be also be celebrated on Sunday morning also.

I shall be interested to see what a Traditional Mass feels like in the chapel at Hinsley Hall, which wouldn't rank in my top twenty favourite places of worship, as peaceful as it is. It's the only place I know where the Priest faces the tabernacle and the people at the same time. I shall ponder on this at the Mass on Saturday and its implications, when Mass is ad orientem.

Serving this Mass will be another first for our little but expanding team.

I am at the moment exhausted with visiting my mother in hospital, sometimes twice a day and after a fortnight they still can't say what is the root of the problem. Please remember her in your prayers.   

This week

Masses for Pentecost XX this weekend:

Saturday - 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
Sunday - 10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, nr Skipton.
                 3.00 p.m. St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford.
                 3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Mass at Pateley Bridge last night was a very beautiful occasion. To mark the start of Pope Benedict's Year of Faith Mass started at 6.00 p.m. after recitation of the Angelus. Sister Mary Cuthbert sounded the bell in the medieval chapel. The chant was of the Mass for Feasts of our Lady. Fr. Parfitt preached in his relaxed but authoritative way, drawing in world history, Church history, theology and recent events in Rome in order to expose and celebrate our Faith. We sang a gusty old O Mother Blest at the conclusion.

Masses every day at 9.30 a.m. this week at Broughton.

Next Friday will mark another "first".
The Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge is holding a colloquium  at the Leeds diocesan pastoral centre, Hinsley Hall. For part of this occasion the Liturgy will be in the Dominican Rite. There was no reformed Dominican Rite following Vatican II. The celebrant of the Dominican Masses will be Father Lew O.P. who was a student here many years ago and who sang in the Cathedral choir.
The Mass on Friday is a sung Mass of Requiem in the chapel at Hinsley Hall and will be at 5.00 p.m.
On Saturday there is to be a sung Mass of our Lady at 10.30 a.m.also  in the chapel.

This is not a Latin Mass Society initiative, which pleases me even more, as it is evidence of a growth in the spirit of Summorum Pontificum near to home, without having to see how things have rocketed in America, Italy, Germany, France, Ireland etc. since September 2007 when the law of the Church changed with regard to the Extraordinary Rite of Mass.
I would ask members, Priests, friends and those interested who are available to attend either of these Masses.
I would also be interested to find out the last time the Dominican Rite was publicly celebrated in this Diocese.

Mass for the Motherhood of Our Lady

There will be a sung  Mass at 6.00 p.m. for the Feast of the Motherhood of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Bewerley Grange Chapel near Pateley Bridge on Thursday 11th October. It would be lovely to see this chapel filled again in honour of our Lord and our Lady.
This Mass also marks the start of the Year of Faith.

Pentecost XIX

We have our regular first Sunday Missa Cantata at Sacred Heart, Broughton near Skipton at 11.00 a.m.
There are two Masses in the afternoon -
3.00 p.m. at St. Joseph's Pontefract Road, Castleford
and
4.00 p.m. at Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Pontefract.

I hope to give details in the next couple of days of an interesting event taking place at our Hinsley Hall, Leeds in a fortnight.

Leeds Lectures 2012-13 at Wheeler Hall

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Wednesday 3^rd October 2012

Helen Watt

Senior Research Fellow at the Anscombe Bioethics Centre, Oxford. Author of Life and Death in Healthcare Ethics, and the editor of Fertility and Gender.

“Improving Bad Laws Without Moral Compromise”

(How should we respond to an unjust law that we do not have the power to change completely? An examination of possible approaches, notably in relation to abortion and embryo research)

Wednesday 7^th November 2012

Pravin Thevathasan

Consultant psychiatrist. Editor of the Catholic Medical Quarterly. Author of The Catholic Church and the Sex Abuse Crisis.

“The Church and the Problem of Sexual Abuse”

(An examination of the nature and extent of clerical sexual abuse, its prevalence, likely causes and consequences. The position, teaching and pastoral response of the Church)

 Wednesday 5^th December 2012

Anthony McCarthy

Education and Publications Manager for the Society for the Protection of Unborn Children. Author of Cloning and Stem Cell Research

“The Church and ‘Same-Sex Marriage’”

(Neither the church nor the state has the right to redefine marriage. To try to change the heterosexual nature of marriage is to undermine an institution which protects children and society)

Pentecost XVIII

This weekend we have four Masses which fulfill the obligation.

Saturday
4.00 p.m. Leeds University Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds.
6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.

Sunday
10.00 a.m. Sacred Heart Chapel, Broughton Hall, near Skipton.
3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Pentecost XVII

Please excuse the brevity of this posting but we are to be inspected at school on Monday.

Masses on Sunday:

Broughton Hall's Sacred Heart chapel, near Skipton at 10.00 a.m.
St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd. Castleford at 3.00 p.m.

Pentecost XVI

Mass attendances were down across the board last Sunday as many people were no doubt enjoying the end of the school holidays and taking children-free breaks.

The first two weeks back at school have been the usual action packed festivities with bigger and bigger ideas, better and better systems and more and more "involvement". So no change there.

This year I have a class of extremely vulnerable teenagers capable of possibly anything. To date, at my present school, I have taught several children who have gone on to be charged and convicted of rape and/or murder. This saddens me as much as when one of the children I teach dies.

This weekend there are four Traditional Masses:

Saturday 15th September. St Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax. 6.00 p.m.
Sunday 16th September. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, nr Skipton. 10.00 a.m.  
                                       St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford. 3.00 p.m.
                                       Holy Spirit, Bath Road. Heckmondwike. 4.00 p.m.


Please pray for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict on this Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross as he visits Lebanon.
14th September 2007 saw the bringing into force the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum.

God bless the Pope!

Saturday and Sunday

Saturday is the Feast of the Nativity of our Blessed Lady. Mass at Broughton Hall at 9.30 a.m.

In the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle there will be a High Mass at Brinkburn Priory off the A1 (onto the A697 for just under 8 miles and then onto the B6344 for about a mile and a half) at NOON.

In Halifax there will be the vigil Mass at St. Mary's at 6.00 p.m. (Pentecost XV)

On Sunday:

Low Mass at Broughton Hall at 10.00 a.m.
Missa Cantata at St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford at 3.00 p.m.
Low Mass at St. Joseph's, Pontefract at 3.00 p.m.

All change

After a few days away on the east coast and moors in North Yorkshire the reality of work on Monday is starting to dawn on me. I always love hating going back to school. My classes' examination results were pleasing and  I have rested well and am looking forward to getting into a regular routine again.

On Sunday the new schedule at Sacred Heart, Broughton will kick in and for the first time ever the Missa cantata will be at the earlier time of 11.00 a.m. Thereafter at 10.00 a.m. (Low Mass) will be offered every Sunday except on the first Sundays of the month when the sung Mass will be at 11.00 a.m.

On Saturday there will be a Vigil Mass at 6.00 p.m. at St Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
On Sunday, Low Mass at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford will be at 3.00 p.m.
                   Holy Mass at Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike, 4.00 p.m.

That sermon in full

I am delighted to be able to post a copy of Fr. Hall's sermon, delivered on the feast of the Assumption of our  Lady last week.

Wakefield Chantry:  Feast of Our Lady’s Assumption 2012

Signum magnum apparuit in coelo: mulier amicta sole, et luna sub pedibus eius, et in capite eius corona stellim duodecim.

In nomine Patris et Filii et Spiritus Sancti.  Amen

For those of you not familiar with the traditional form of the Roman Rite, don’t worry – I’m not going to preach in Latin.

Our Mass today began with the opening verse of the twelfth chapter of the Revelation to St John – the book of the Apocalypse.  And in the midst of the woes and calamities, the broken seals and trumpet blasts that the book contains – a happy hunting ground through the ages, it has to be said, not just for mystics but also for heretics and lunatics – we find these words:

And now, in heaven, appears a great portent; a woman that wore the sun for her mantle, with the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars about her head.  She had a child in her womb, and was crying out as she travailed, in great pain of her delivery.  Then a second portent appears; a great dragon, fiery red, with seven heads and ten horns…And he stood fronting the woman who was in childbirth, ready to swallow up the child as soon as she bore it.  She bore a son, the son who is to herd the nations like sheep with a crook of iron; and this child of hers was caught up to God, right up to his throne, while the mother fled into the wilderness, where God had prepared a place of refuge for her, and there .. she is to be kept safe.

The Liturgy of the Mass claims this passage for Our Lady on this feast of her Glorious Assumption.  The Fathers of the early Church, and Bible scholars today, were not all convinced that this was the Blessed Virgin Mary that was being depicted.  For some, this Heavenly Woman represents Israel, the community from which the Messiah was to come.  For others, she represents the Church, glorious in heavenly eyes, but persecuted here and now.

I don’t want to get too bogged down in that argument, but I will just say a couple of things.  First, this is St John who is having this vision, and I want you to recall how Our Lord refers to his mother in St John’s gospel – he calls her “woman” – at the wedding at Cana – “woman, why are you bothering me about the wine list?” – and his words from the cross – “woman, behold your son” – as he hands her over to the care of St John.

And – my second point – in that word, that pregnant word, “woman”,  St John indicates that we are to view Our Lady as the New Eve, the one who symbolises and sums up in herself both Israel and the Church.

But what I really want us to think about this evening is how this woman is described in this first-century text:  clothed in the sun, standing on the moon, and with a crown of twelve stars on her head.  I want to suggest that this speaks, both then and now, of the triumph of Our Lady and her Divine Son, over all that nature and supernature has to offer.

Somebody picking up this book in the first century, and reading this verse, would have heard a little bell ringing in their head – perhaps a whole peal of bells.  And depending on their background, they would have understood different things.

If their background was Jewish, they would immediately have thought of the first few chapters of the book of Genesis – the ones that deal with the creation of the world.  Because we read there that when God created light, he gathered some of it together to make a great light to shine by day, and a smaller light to rule the night – the sun and the moon.  And by the way, he made the stars as well.

When we read Genesis today, our thoughts are full of the interface between science and religion – and that’s another place I don’t want to go today.  But those chapters were written when the Jews were held captive in Babylon, surrounded by a religion that worshipped the gods of the sun, moon and stars.

The first chapter of Genesis tells God’s people in the sixth-century BC that however bad their current circumstances, their God is in control.  Their captives, the Babylonians, were ruled by the sun and the moon.  Well, our God made them! Oh, and he made the stars as well!

 And now this heavenly revelation says that there is a woman, and her child, who share in this divine mastery over the cosmic powers.

If the reader came from a Greek or Roman background, different bells would have rung.  Listen to this account of the birth of Apollo, the god traditionally associated with the sun:

Leto had become pregnant by Zeus.  The dragon Python foresaw that this child, a son, would replace him as ruler over the oracle at Delphi.  He sought to kill the child at birth, but the north wind and Poseidon came to help Leto.  She gave birth to Apollo and Artemis, and Apollo slew the dragon.

A first-century Greek or Roman would have got the message.  Here is a woman who, because of the son she bears, is greater than the gods of the sun and the moon.  What has happened in history – what we shall sing in a few moments – et incarnates est de Spiritu Sancto ex Maria virgine, et homo factus est – has brought into our history what previously only existed in myth.  The glory of the noonday sun is now a fitting mantle for this heavenly woman.  And this woman stands on the moon.  Archbishop Fulton Sheen said that Our Lady is like the moon, because her glory is reflected glory.  But this passage goes even further.  The moon is the great symbol of Artemis, whom the Romans called Diana.  And one of the most famous shrines to Artemis in all of the ancient world was at Ephesus, which just happens to be the place that St John had gone, with the woman entrusted to him by Our Lord on the cross.

And the 12 signs of the Zodiac, that for the Jews symbolised the 12 tribes of Israel, and for the pagans spoke of the astrology that ruled their lives, that formed the crown of stars worn by Juno, the Roman queen of heaven, they now adorn the brow of the one who truly is Regina Caeli

Bells, and peals of bells.  And I could go on.  (Just ask my family).  Other bells would have rung if you were a Persian, or an Egyptian.

But if this is to be more than just of academic interest, then we need to hear the Gospel that speaks from this verse. 

    What, for us, do the sun, moon and stars symbolise?  What are the powers, heavenly or otherwise, that dominate our lives?

That’s a very personal question, and I should be honoured if you would spare five minutes tonight or tomorrow to think about your own answer.  But let me just set a few hares running.

I have a CD by the pop group “There may be giants” called “Here comes Science”  – a series of songs to teach children some basic facts about our world. Two of them have to do with the sun.  “Why does the sun shine” starts, “The sun is a mass of incandescent gas, a gigantic nuclear furnace”.  “Why does the sun really shine?” says, “the sun is a miasma of incandescent plasma, the sun’s not simply made out of gas, no, no, no!”.

We live in a world where science rules, and thank God for the discoveries from which we benefit in so many ways.  But when science exalts itself to a god-like status, and says of the world, “this is all there is”, we need to think of the woman with child, clothed with the sun.

And if I started listing songs which have “moon” in the title, we’d be here all night.  The moon is mystery, and romance, and hopes, and dreams.  And thank God for those things that enrich our lives.  But when they take over, and become our master, our mistress, then we need to think of the woman with child, standing on the moon.

And astrology has never gone away.  But neither has politics – how fascinating that the flag of the European union has… twelve stars.  And for many of our young people, and some old enough to know better, their dream, their motivation, is to become a celebrity, to be a star.

There is one who wears those stars in her crown, the one whose feast we celebrate today.  Mary, the New Eve, the fulfilment of Israel, the mother of the Church; Mary, assumed into heaven, who, with her divine Son, fulfils and completes and transcends the dreams and desires of every race and nation, every man and woman – including our own.  To God be glory for ever and ever.

New blog

My fellow rep in the Hallam Diocese has initiated an LMS blog for his diocese -
http://latinmasshallam.blogspot.co.uk   Please visit the blog. It was only after two years of blogging that I realised I could check how many visitors to the blog I received. I'm sure he will be encouraged if he sees interest in the blog.

 Mass at Broughton this morning and again this evening at Wakefield were well attended. There was also exposition and Benediction at Broughton.
 This evening Fr Kravos offered a sung Mass again for us and is clearly getting into the swing of it. If there were nerves they were latent!
 Fr. Hall was the preacher and what a treat he had in store for us. The celebrant repeatedly nodded his head vigorously and grunted in agreement at what he was hearing. I have seen nothing in Fortescue about this phenomenon.
 I have with others requested Fr. Hall send me an electronic copy of the sermon. I hope he will assent to my publishing it on this blog - before I attempt to summarize what I rejoice at having listened to.
I think this is the nearest to a cliffhanger I'll ever come to on this blog.

Thanks also to the Schola Gregoriana of Leeds led by Mike Murphy and his group who were in excellent and festive form again. The Salve Regina to conclude the Mass was a really vibrant expression of our belief in our Lady, fuelled by what we had seen and heard. The ordinary was that of the Mass of our Lady.

 I have had a delightful day from Mass this morning to a bottle or two of Chateau neuf du Pape this evening with the family and some unusual cheeses we brought back from an amazing fromagerie in Lille.

Things are looking up

A few years ago the only Mass within reach of here was in Liverpool. Now as well as Liverpool, there are Masses today in Manchester, Wakefield, Skipton, Newcastle, Sheffield, York, Leicester, Barnard Castle, Ryhope and New Brighton.
Brick by brick!

Happy Feastday!
Queen assumed into heaven, pray for us.

Assumption of our Blessed Lady

Wednesday is the Feast of the Assumption. There are two Masses in the EF in this diocese.

Father Parfitt will be offering a Low Mass at Broughton Hall's Sacred Heart chapel near Skipton at 11.30 a.m. Holy Mass will be preceded by silent adoration from 10.50 a.m.

At 7.00p.m. there will be Missa cantata at Wakefield's Chantry chapel. I still have a couple of tickets left. Our celebrant will be Father Kravos, who sang his first EF Mass earlier this year at Notre Dame in Leeds. Our preacher is Fr. Hall who offered the Mass last year and delivered a sermon upon which I still meditate.

Those of you who read Mass of Ages, please disregard the times of Masses at Broughton Hall as they are inaccurately reported.
Please note:

From September - Mass at Sacred Heart, Broughton,  will be offered every Sunday at 10.00 a.m. except FIRST Sundays when the regular sung Mass will now be at 11.00 a.m.
The time of the daily Mass is still to be established.    

Sincere apologies to Fr. Parfitt for any embarrassment caused.

Masses this weekend. Pentecost XI

I have just returned from a break in France and arrived back far later than I had anticipated, this meant that  I was unable to attend Mass at Halifax this evening (let alone post about it) as I was snoring my head off. 

As two of my daughters are attending other separate functions tomorrow they made their ways to St. Mary's and came back together. Mgr. Smith was away and the girls were delighted to see Fr. Lister offer the Mass whom they have known from childhood.

Masses on Sunday are as follows:

St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford. Low Mass. 3.00 p,m,

St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford, sung Mass, 3.00 p.m.

Good news

I have just been speaking to Father Parfitt of Sacred Heart Broughton.

He will be offering Mass on the Feast of the Assumption at 11.00 a.m. which means we will have two Masses on this Feast. The other being at Wakefield Chantry Chapel at 7.30 p.m.

Also the regular Sunday schedule at Broughton will also change as from the first Sunday in September.
Mass on the first Sunday of the month will now be at 11.00 a.m. This Mass will continue to be Missa cantata. Then on every other Sunday of the month Mass will be offered at 10.00 a.m.
I hope this will also benefit the people living in the north eastern part the Salford Diocese.

I hope to be able to announce other changes before too long. One casualty in the changes is the discontinuation of the third Sunday Mass at Leeds, St Augustine's with immediate effect. I should like to thank Fr. Jackson, the PP, for having been so welcoming to us over the last few years, both at St. Augustine's and our Lady of Lourdes, his previous parish.

Masses this weekend and the Assumption

 The seventh Sunday after Pentecost will be celebrated as follows:

Saturday (Vigil) St. Mary's Gibbet Street, Halifax. 6.00 p.m.
Sunday St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford. 3.00 p.m. This will be a sung Mass.

It was great to see so many new faces at Castleford last Sunday.  I hope to see these people again.

I now have tickets for this sung Mass at the Chantry chapel in Wakefield (pictured) on the Feast of the Assumption (August 15th). Please let me know if you would like tickets for this Mass, which are issued simply to meet health and safety requirements.

A good read

This is the last week of term for this academic year. Come Friday there will be much rejoicing as I have six weeks to cram in as much DIY, travel, reading and spiritual and physical refreshment  I can muster. With the pressure already being off, having prepared all the paperwork for next year I have started reading Cardinal Heenan's "A Crown of Thorns". As with everything I've ever read by Dr. Heenan, I find it difficult to put down once I start reading it. His "Our Faith" is as fresh today as it was when he wrote it fifty odd years ago. "A Crown of Thorns" begins with his appointment as Bishop of Leeds and continues the fascinating story of his life which he began with "Not the Whole Truth".
I have not yet finished reading "A Crown of Thorns"  but what strikes me about Heenan is that he was very media savvy - and he knew it. Of course I know many people who knew him and remember him with fondness. In his book he recounts the death of a young priest from St. Malachy's Parish in Halifax and the joy with which the young priest went to meet his Maker. The chalice of this priest, Fr. Harrison, who originally hailed from Eire is still regularly used at one of our Masses. In the early fifties Heenan sang a Pontifical Mass in St. Anne's Cathedral, Leeds, which was televised by the BBC. This was a first and by all accounts was very well received by people from all sections of the wider community including Methodists and Jews.
At an LMS conference at Ushaw a few years ago I remember watching a video of another first - namely a Solemn High Mass from the college chapel for midnight Mass at Christmas 1958. This was on ITV. The chapel was crowded with boys of the junior seminary and the seminarians including deacons Wilfrid Elkin and Lawrence Lister. Fr. Elkin is a regular celebrant at his parish in Barnard Castle and Fr. Lister is a retired priest who occasionally offers Mass for us at Halifax to cover for Mgr Smith.  The celebrant at Ushaw was the President, Mgr Paul Grant who was there from 1950 to 1967.
If memory serves me right I believe that the young Heenan also spent two years at Ushaw prior to ordination.
Roll on Friday - I've got a couple of cracking spy stories (by Stella Rimington and Daniel Silva) to get my teeth into as well as finishing Malachi Martin's "Vatican" and Dom Prosper Gueranger's commentary on the Holy Mass, published by the Benedictines of Farnborough. The Dulux colour chart has already lost its appeal - DIY might actually mean getting the decorators in!

Pentecost VII

Masses this weekend for the Seventh Sunday of Pentecost:

Saturday St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax. 6.00 p.m.
Sunday St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Catleford. 3.00 p.m.
             Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike. 4.00 p.m.
             St. Augustine's, Harehills Road, Leeds. 5.10 p.m.

July 7th Joy

Today is the fifth anniversary of the Holy Father's issuing of his Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. I regularly find myself saying things like nobody would have believed it eighteen months or three years ago that this or that has happened.
Each week a look at the blogs like Rorate Caeli and New Liturgical Movement reveal some new initiative or Mass venue often celebrated by some bishop or cardinal.
Things have moved on since 2007 but this has not stopped dirty tricks being played to hinder the wish of the Holy Father and now enshrined in Church Law. Provision remains acceptable in many places whereas promotion is frowned upon or positively discouraged in others.A few years ago Cardinal Hoyos said in his sermon at Westminster Cathedral that it was the wish of the Holy Father that the traditional Mass be offered in every parish.

In the meantime we continue to pray for our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

Ad multos annos!

Impatience

My eldest two computer savvy daughters are having a great time in Italy so I'll have to wait until Monday to put up my pictures of the Easter Vigil and Bishop Rifan's Mass. In the meantime I have been very taken aback by the amount of feedback I have had from people and the interest it has generated, I am now preparing a report of the occasion at Fr. Wiley's request to submit to the diocesan newspaper.

One thing I have not had the chance to mention in any detail was the singing. Our own schola comprising of Messrs Murphy, Burton and Forbester, who sang the Gregorian propers were again joined by the St. Austin's Choir of Wakefield who sang some beautiful motets including the Ecce Sacerdos as the Bishop entered the Church . The recessional hymn, "For All the Saints" raised the roof. My sincere thanks to Mr. Patrick Ganley and his fellow choristers from St. Austin's.

Reminder - Sung Mass on Sunday at St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford, at 3.00 p.m.

Masses this weekend Pentecost VI and a request

This time of year involves clergy moves and sometimes these affect our regular Masses ( for example we now have no Masses at all in Batley, whereas a couple of years ago it was almost daily). This year some of the clergy moves will affect our number and venue of traditional Masses, but hopefully for the better.

If you are a male reading this and would like to serve at the Mass at Castleford on Sunday, but need training or retraining please e-mail me at the address in the sidebar.

If you are a priest and would like to start offering Mass in the EF please e-mail me or Fr. Wiley for any assistance.

I hope to expand things further at this stage but we need servers to come forward so I can develop extra projects. I am happy to serve three Masses each weekend and even four but perhaps we might draw up a rota of altar servers, using this blog to display the rota so that we can have other Masses, based on the model of Holy Spirit Heckmondwike and Broughton Hall, where the priests have their own servers without having to worry if I am available to serve for them. This is how things run in Salford, where four churches operate without much - if any, involvement with me.

If any clergy or laymen (from 7 to 70) would like me to organise a training session in the autumn for serving Mass please e-mail me.

Similarly I would like to be in a position to have more High Masses - we have two planned already, one in the Dominican Rite and one for Mgr Smith's silver jubilee. It would be good to have an expanded regular team to call on.

Masses for Sunday (Petecost VI) :

Saturday Halifax St. Mary's, Gibbet Street 6.00 p.m.
Sunday Bradford St. Peter's, Leeds Road, 3.00 p.m. (sung)
Sunday Castleford St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, 3.00p.m.

Bon voyage

When I agreed to organising Bishop Rifan's visit to this diocese last October I had no idea what I was letting myself in for.

Today the hours of preparation of many good people came to fruition as our Pontifical High Mass went ahead. I was very touched when the bishop thanked Fr Wiley and the LMS for making his visit so pleasurable as we wished him bon voyage.  I was delighted to see so many people at the Mass whom I knew and just as many people I had not seen before. Over a hundred people came to hear the Mass and given the awkward layout of the sanctuary for the EF things went very smoothly.

I should like to thank our clergy, Mgr Smith, Fr Hall, Fr Wiley and Revv Mgr Grogan, S. Brown, G. Parfitt, M Brown - LMS northern chaplain of the LMS and Fr Antonio of Campos.
 
His Lordship was most amused to learn that I am a teacher of German and kept trying out his knowledge of German with me. He told me that when he is in Germany he speaks French because it is easier than English for him.

Bishop Rifan's sermon at the Mass dwelt upon the fact that the Church is made up of the Divine and the human - the sinfulness of the human part should not make us any less fervent in our Faith and belief in the Sacred. You can't have Paul without Peter and vice-versa.

I am not renown for my IT skills but I hope to post photos from our Easter Triduum and the visit of Bishop Rifan as soon as my eldest daughter returns from her year abroad in Italy next week.

Welcome to the Diocese of Leeds, Bishop Rifan

As far as I am reliably informed Bishop Rifan landed safely in England yesterday and is now resting in Yorkshire before offering Mass at Immaculate Heart, Moortown Leeds, tomorrow at 3.00 p.m.

After Mass he will travel on to Wales in order to offer High Mass at the shrine of Holywell on Sunday. Because of my duties at Broughton I have only ever been able to attend this annual pilgrimage once. This year is no exception as I then have to shoot over to Castleford for the 3.00 p.m. Mass.

Thanks again to Archbishop Roche for so readily agreeing to Bishop Rifan's visit so many months ago. On behalf of the Latin Mass Society in this Diocese I should like to take this opportunity to welcome Bishop Rifan to our Diocese and offer my thanks and prayers to him.

Masses this weekend

Sunday is the Feast of the Precious Blood.

Masses are as follows:  Sacred Heart,  Broughton Hall, Broughton,  Missa cantata, 11.30 a.m.
                                      St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford, 3.00 p.m.
                                      Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike, 4.00p.m.
NO MASSES at Halifax or Leeds University Chaplaincy on Saturday  because of the Pontifical High Mass with Bishop Rifan and Archbishop Roche at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Leeds at 3.00 p.m.

Mass on Friday for Ss Peter and Paul at Sacred Heart, Broughton at 11.30 a.m.
Solemn High Mass tomorrow (Thursday) in anticipation of the Feast on Friday at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Leeds at 7.30 p.m.

Congratulations

I was as delighted to learn of Bishop Roche's elevation to the office of Archbishop as Secretary to the Congregation for Divine Worhip and Discipline of the Sacraments as I was saddened that we shall be losing a dedicated and orthodox pastor.
I wish Archbishop Roche every success in his new role and pray for a worthy successor.

God bless the Pope!

A very busy week ahead

Apologies for absence of posts over recent days, but I have just nicely returned from leading a punishing trip to Germany and Belgium with 40 children and three staff.

This week sees the holyday of Ss Peter and Paul. There will be two EF Masses I know of:

Thursday at 7.30 p.m. SOLEMN HIGH MASS at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Harrogate Road, Moortown,  Leeds. Mass in anticipation.
Friday at 11.30 a.m. Low Mass at Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton.

Then for the feast of St. Paul:

Saturday at 3.00p.m. PONTIFICAL HIGH MASS at Immaculate Heart of Mary church, Harrogate Road, Moortown, Leeds. The celebrant will be Bishop Rifan of Campos. Our own Bishop, Bishop Roche also hopes to attend this Mass.

Please do all you can to attend some or all of these Masses so we can show that there is a demand for the Traditional Mass and leave our visitors with a very positive impression of what we do here in Leeds.

Quick reminders

No Mass at Leeds, St. Augustine's on Sunday. Our celebrant is in Rome for a diaconal ordination.

Masses at Halifax (Saturday), Castleford and Heckmondwike (Sunday).

Solemn High Mass at Immaculate Heart, Leeds, in anticipation of the Feast of Sts Peter & Paul at 7.30 p.m. on Thursday 28. June.

Pontifical High Mass at Immaculate Heart, Saturday 30. June at 3.00 p.m. Celebrant Bishop Rifan. Bishop Roche also wishes to attend the Mass. I also hope that there will be a good number of clergy in attendance and that members and friends from other dioceses will make their way to Leeds for this memorable occasion - and certainly another "first" in many years.

The Sacred Heart of Jesus

It is thirty-eight years today since I made my First Holy Communion. The Parish Priest, Father Reginald Bessler, is still alive and in his 62nd year of priesthood.

Below is the Litany of the Sacred Heart copied from EWTN to mark this feast where we pray for the sanctification of the Priesthood.

In 1899 Pope Leo XIII approved this Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for public use. This litany is actually a synthesis of several other litanies dating back to the 17th century. Father Croiset composed a litany in 1691 from which 17 invocations were used by Venerable Anne Madeleine Remuzat when she composed her litany in 1718 at Marseille. She joined an additional 10 invocations to those of Father Croiset, for a total of 27 invocations. Six more invocations written by Sister Madeleine Joly of Dijon in 1686 were added by the Sacred Congregation for Rites when it was approved for public use in 1899. This makes a total of 33 invocations, one for each year of life of our Lord Jesus Christ. A partial indulgence is attached to this litany.
Lord, have mercy
Christ, have mercy
Lord, have mercy

Christ, hear us
Christ, graciously hear us.

God the Father of Heaven,
God the Son, Redeemer of the world,
God, the Holy Spirit,
Holy Trinity, One God,
Heart of Jesus, Son of the Eternal Father,
Heart of Jesus, formed by the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mother,
Heart of Jesus, substantially united to the Word of God,
Heart of Jesus, of Infinite Majesty,
Heart of Jesus, Sacred Temple of God,
Heart of Jesus, Tabernacle of the Most High,
Heart of Jesus, House of God and Gate of Heaven,
Heart of Jesus, burning furnace of charity,
Heart of Jesus, abode of justice and love,
Heart of Jesus, full of goodness and love,
Heart of Jesus, abyss of all virtues,
Heart of Jesus, most worthy of all praise,
Heart of Jesus, king and center of all hearts,
Heart of Jesus, in whom are all treasures of wisdom and knowledge,
Heart of Jesus, in whom dwells the fullness of divinity,
Heart of Jesus, in whom the Father was well pleased,
Heart of Jesus, of whose fullness we have all received,
Heart of Jesus, desire of the everlasting hills,
Heart of Jesus, patient and most merciful,
Heart of Jesus, enriching all who invoke Thee,
Heart of Jesus, fountain of life and holiness,
Heart of Jesus, propitiation for our sins,
Heart of Jesus, loaded down with opprobrium,
Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offenses,
Heart of Jesus, obedient to death,
Heart of Jesus, pierced with a lance,
Heart of Jesus, source of all consolation,
Heart of Jesus, our life and resurrection,
Heart of Jesus, our peace and our reconciliation,
Heart of Jesus, victim for our sins
Heart of Jesus, salvation of those who trust in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, hope of those who die in Thee,
Heart of Jesus, delight of all the Saints,

Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,
Lamb of God, who taketh away the sins of the world,

V. Jesus, meek and humble of heart.
Lord, have mercy.
Christ, have mercy.
Lord, have mercy.

Christ, hear us.
Christ, graciously hear us.

have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.

have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.
have mercy on us.

spare us, O Lord.

graciously hear us, O Lord.

have mercy on us, O Lord.


R. Make our hearts like to Thine. Let us pray;

Almighty and eternal God, look upon the Heart of Thy most beloved Son and upon the praises and satisfaction which He offers Thee in the name of sinners; and to those who implore Thy mercy, in Thy great goodness, grant forgiveness in the name of the same Jesus Christ, Thy Son, who livest and reignest with Thee forever and ever. Amen.

Read more: http://www.ewtn.com/devotionals/litanies/sacred_heart.htm#ixzz1xop3KZMc

Happy Feast day, Sacred Heart, Broughton.

Patronal feast - Sacred Heart, Broughton

Friday is the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. The chapel at Broughton Hall is dedicated to the Sacred Heart and Mass will be offered there on Friday at 9.30 a.m.

Next Sunday - Pentecost II

There will be no Mass at St. Augustine's, Leeds, next Sunday (17th. June) as Fr. Wiley will be attending the diaconal ordination in Rome of Mr. Philip Hall for this diocese.
There will be Mass at Halifax on Saturday at 6.00p.m. And on Sunday at 3.00p.m. at St. Joseph's, Castleford and at 4.00 p.m. at Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike.

Upcoming events outside of the diocese

                                                                National Events

Young Catholic Adults National Weekend 14-16th Sept 2012

During the weekend of the 14-16 September 2012. Young Catholic Adults will be running a retreat at Douai Abbey, it will be led by Juventutem Ecclesiastical Assistant Fr. de Malleray . The weekend will be full-board.

* YCA will be running the weekend with the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge who will be holding Gregorian Chant workshops.
* There will be a Marian Procession, Rosaries, Sung/High Mass, Low Mass, Gregorian Chant Workshops, Confession and socials.
* Fr. de Malleray FSSP will preach the retreat, Masses will be in the Extraordinary form.
Prices range from £5 to £51 per person per night .

For further details please visit
http://www.youngcatholicadults.co.uk/events.htm

I draw this to your attention as I know of at least one young person from this diocese hoping to attend this event.

Earlier in the summer in July the St Catherine's Summer School will be up and running again in north Wales after the unfortunate cancellation last summer on account of Ushaw closing its doors. Please visit the following for further details
http://www.stcatherinestrust.org/

I mention this as one of my daughters loved every minute of the several summer schools she attended and learnt a lot about the Faith.

Masses this weekend - Corpus Christi Sunday

Apologies for the delay in getting this posted.

There will be no Mass at St. Peter's, Bradford, as it is the annual parish Corpus Christi procession. Instead there will be Mass at St. Joseph's, Pakington Street (opposite the Lidl supermarket in Manchester Road) at 3.00p.m.

Alternatively there will be Mass at St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax on Saturday at 6.00 p.m. and at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford at 3.00p.m. tomorrow.

These will be Masses for Corpus Christi.

Corpus Christi Thursday and update

Mass today at Bewerley Grange was for the feast of St. Boniface, apostle of Germany, who was an English monk and Bishop and was in old age martyred by pagans, saying that meeting violence with violence was not the way of Christ.
Probably due to the extended holiday the Mass was less well attended than usual but nevertheless the prayer for the Queen and the National Anthem were sung with no little gusto before the Salve and the Angelus after Mass.

On Thursday Fr. Parfitt will offer Low Mass at 11.30 a.m. at Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall near Skipton for the non-obligatory Feast of Corpus Christi, the solemnity of which will be observed externally at the weekend. (More information soon.)

Preparations for Bishop Rifan's visit and Pontifical High Mass continue and I am pleased to announce that Bishop Roche has expressed the desire to attend. New vestments for the occasion have been ordered and serving and singing are sorted. Servers from Leeds, Salford and Hexham & Newcastle have agreed to serve and our own schola will sing with the St. Austin singers from Wakefield. Refreshments will be available after Mass. The Recessional hymn will be For all the Saints.
There will be a Solemn High Mass in anticipation of the Feast of Ss Peter and Paul on Thursday 28th. June at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Harrogate Road, Leeds, LS17 6LE. This will be at 7.30 p.m.

I was very impresssed with the music today from St. Paul's in London for the service to mark the Jubilee. I thought that Dr. Williams spoke well and the only thing that irritated me was the BBC Radio 4's News at one o'clock. An interview with a Cof E bishop and a rabbi was introduced with
the remark that the title Defender of the Faith was one bestowed upon Henry VIII by himself and moreover the title was his own invention. Neither speaker corrected the interviewer. Not that the BBC is selective about such howlers. Earlier this year I heard on the same programme that a copy of the Koran had gone on show in London and was seven thousand years old. Fancy that!

Masses this week - half term

Monday 9.30 a.m. Broughton Hall   Low Mass
Tuesday 11.30 a.m. Bewerley Grange Chapel, Pateley Bridge  Missa cantata
Wednesday 9.30 a.m. Broughton Hall Low Mass
Thursday 11.30 a.m. Broughton Hall Low Mass for the Feast of Corpus Christi (no longer obligatory).
Friday 9.30 a.m. Broughton Hall Low Mass
Saturday 9.30 a.m. Broughton Hall Low Mass

Many thanks to Fr. Parfitt for these Masses

Domine, salvam fac Reginam nostram Elisabeth

This weekend is the glorious feast of the Blessed Trinity. I always remember starting every assembly with my old headmaster Mr. Earnshaw at Cardinal Hinsley GS in Bradford proclaiming, "Blessed be the Holy and undivided Trinity", to which we dutifuly responded, "Now and forever more. Amen." Walter Earnshaw knew the Faith - he certainly tried to impart his interpretation of it to my generation.
At the end of our Low Masses in Halifax on Saturday and at Castleford on Sunday we shall sing the traditional prayer for the Queen to mark her Diamond Jubilee.
Sung Mass marks the use of the Asperges beforehand again following the end of Eastertide. There will be a sung Mass at Broughton at the usual time of 11.30 a.m.

God save and bless the Queen!
God bless the Pope!
Holy Trinity, one God, have mercy on us!

Chris Inman RIP

Long standing members and veteran campaigners for the restoration of the old Mass will doubtless be saddened to learn of the death of a former chairman and vice president of the Latin Mass Society, Chris Inman.
Chris died on Friday. My prayers go out to his wife and family.
Chris steered and helped to steer the Society at some very difficult and trying moments in its history - he was also responsible for some very insightful articles in Christian Order when Fr. Paul Crane was editor in the 1980s. An old boy of Ampleforth, Chris was a Catholic and a gentleman.
May he rest in peace.

Pentecost

Masses for this glorious feast and birthday of the Church this weekend are as follows:

Saturday 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.

Sunday - MISSA CANTATA - 3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's,  Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Please remember that the novena for the Unity of the Church ends tomorrow.

Apologies to Father Abberton of Heckmondwike who has reminded me to advertise his Masses at Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike.
Father offers Mass on the first and third Sundays of the month at Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike at 4.00 p.m. and on first Saturdays at 11.30 a.m.
The church is a magnificent edifice and is funds permitting soon to undergo some well needed restoration. It has strong links with G.K. Chesterton and Mgr. John O'Connor, the first deputy headmaster of Bradford's St. Bede's Grammar School under Mgr. (later Cardinal ) Hinsley who was its first headmaster.

Veni Creator Spiritus!

Happy feastday Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike.

Ascension Sunday Masses

Masses for the external Solemnity of the Ascension this weekend are as follows:

Saturday - 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
Sunday - 3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford
               5.10 p.m. St. Augustine's, Harehills road, Leeds

Please continue to pray for the unity of the Church as we approach the feast of the birthday of the church next week at Pentecost.

Novena

For the unity of the Church - a novena starting today (Friday 18th. May until Saturday 26th. May.)

VENI, Creator Spiritus,
mentes tuorum visita,
imple superna gratia
quae tu creasti pectora.

Qui diceris Paraclitus,
altissimi donum Dei,
fons vivus, ignis, caritas,
et spiritalis unctio.

Tu, septiformis munere,
digitus paternae dexterae,
Tu rite promissum Patris,
sermone ditans guttura.

Accende lumen sensibus:
infunde amorem cordibus:
infirma nostri corporis
virtute firmans perpeti.

Hostem repellas longius,
pacemque dones protinus:
ductore sic te praevio
vitemus omne noxium.

Per te sciamus da Patrem,
noscamus atque Filium;
Teque utriusque Spiritum
credamus omni tempore.

Deo Patri sit gloria,
et Filio, qui a mortuis
surrexit, ac Paraclito,
in saeculorum saecula.
Amen.

V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur:
R. Et renovabis faciem terrae.

Oremus: Deus qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum.
R. Amen.


MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum.

Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto.

Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

 

 

Or if you would prefer:

 

COME, Holy Ghost, Creator blest,
and in our souls take up Thy rest;
come with Thy grace and heavenly aid
to fill the hearts which Thou hast made.

O comforter, to Thee we cry,
O heavenly gift of God Most High,
O fount of life and fire of love,
and sweet anointing from above.

Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known;
Thou, finger of God’s hand we own;
Thou, promise of the Father, Thou
Who dost the tongue with power imbue.

Kindle our sense from above,
and make our hearts overflow with love;
with patience firm and virtue high
the weakness of our flesh supply.

Far from us drive the foe we dread,
and grant us Thy peace instead;
so shall we not, with Thee for guide,
turn from the path of life aside.

Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow
the Father and the Son to know;
and Thee, through endless times confessed,
of both the eternal Spirit blest.

Now to the Father and the Son,
Who rose from death, be glory given,
with Thou, O Holy Comforter,
henceforth by all in earth and heaven.
Amen.

V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created.
R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth.

Let us Pray: O God, Who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost: grant that, by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen.



Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help and sought Thy intercession, was left unaided.

Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to Thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful.

O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in Thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.