Low Sunday

 

The funeral Mass of the Holy Father will take place on Saturday in Rome followed by his burial at St. Mary Major, in a break with tradition. May he rest in peace.

On Sunday, which is Low Sunday (also known as Quasimodo Sunday or Divine Mercy Sunday) we shall have Low Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford at 1.00 p.m. followed by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and then veneration of a relic of the Holy Cross, which is being taken to every diocese in the country thanks to the Latin Mass Society as part of the Jubilee Year. Thanks to Mr Waddington for facilitating the visit in this diocese.

The relic was authenticated for public veneration in 1945 by Archbishop Peter Amigo.

Prayer for the election of a new pope

O God, eternal shepherd,
who govern Thy flock with unfailing care,
grant in Thy boundless fatherly love
a pastor for Thy Church
who will please Thee by his holiness
and to us show watchful care.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with Thee in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen

Please also remember the soul of the late Pope Francis in your prayers. 

 

Easter Vigil

The Mass on Holy Thursday and the Liturgy of Good Friday were well attended and were very smooth in their execution and beautifully accompanied. 

Saturday at 7.30 p.m. sees the start of the Easter Vigil. 

At the Vigil the Easter fire is blessed and then the flames from it light the blessed paschal candle. The candle has been studded with five grains of incense and is carried by the deacon/priest to a central point before the altar to sing the Praeconium. 

.After this follow the 4 readings from the Books of Genesis, Exodus, Isiah and Deuteronomy.

The first part of the Litany of the Saints follows and then there is the renewal of Baptismal promises. with the sprinkling of the people thereafter.

The second part of the Litany takes place as the altar is being prepared for the first Mass of the Resurrection. 

The bells will again tinkle and chime during the Gloria.

The altar party will stand towards the lady altar to sing the Regina Caeli at the end of Mass.

Sacred Triduum

Thank you to those of you who have contacted me about my mother-in-law, who died very peacefully on Sunday morning. 

The Triduum at St. Patrick's, Bradford is as follows:

Maundy Thursday 6.00 p.m.

Good Friday 3.00 p.m.

Holy Saturday 7.30 p.m.

Easter Sunday 1.00 p.m.

Palm Sunday &c

On Laetare Sunday there was a pastoral letter from Bishop Stock about the Assisted Suicide Bill. His Lordship drew our attention to the very short time the Committee had spent reviewing the evidence and arguments about this matter. (Since then Kim Leadbeater has delayed her pernicious Bill's next reading in Parliament.)  The bishop's message was very clear in his letter,

 "...I appeal to you: even if you have written before,

please make contact now with your MP∗ and ask them to vote against this Bill, not only on

grounds of principle but because of the failure of Parliament to approach this issue in an

adequate and responsible manner..."

The footnote to the letter was the following:

∗ The charity Right to Life UK has a simple online mechanism to help you contact your MP. It takes little more than a few minutes to input your postcode, make sure the suggested text suits your viewpoint and submit your message to ask your MP to stop assisted suicide being rushed into law.

Go to the Right to Life UK website: https://righttolife.org.uk/

If this becomes enshrined in law I have no doubt it will not be long before we have "suicide" on demand. It tells its own story that the original suggested judges are now to be social workers.

A similar path has been trodden with David Steel's Abortion Act. 

Please do as the bishop asks.

Palm Sunday:

The 1.00 p.m. Low Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford will be be preceded by the blessing of palms and the customary surrounding the church procession round the block. 

As always, we will be using the 1962 missal for the whole of Holy Week and the Sacred Triduum.

It will be Father's third Mass, so we will again have the short Gospel.

Confession at call.

In your prayers, please remember my wife's mother. The hospital has said that she is not now strong enough to fight off the double pneumonia she contracted last week. 

Triduum Times:

Holy Thursday 6.00 p.m.

Good Friday 3.00 p.m.

Holy Saturday 7.30 p.m.

The Sacred Triduum

 

Times of Masses for the Sacred Triduum at St. Patrick's, Westgate, Bradford.

Maundy Thursday: 6.00 p.m.

Good Friday: 3.00 p.m. (Day of fast and abstinence)

Holy Saturday: 7.30 p.m.

Lent V (Passion Sunday)

Sunday's 1.00p.m. Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford will be a Low Mass. 

Fr. Driver will hear confessions before Mass. 

Passion Sunday is often mistaken for Palm Sunday. It is normal to veil the crucifix and statues from Passion Sunday until the Gloria at the  Easter Vigil to recall Christ hiding Himself and then emerging from the shattered tomb.  

The liturgy is now pruned and omits the Judica me (Psalm 42) at the start of  Mass and is not unlike a requiem. The Judica is next heard on Easter Sunday.

Next week, when it is Palm Sunday, we shall be processing around the streets near the church again, singing All Glory, Praise and Honour. A couple of years ago it touched my heart to see an old Muslim man stop and remove his hat in respect as we processed  back to the church.

I hope to be able to  advertise times of the Triduum's liturgies very shortly.