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.