All change!

It is that time of the year again when the Bishop invites priests to visit him. Some such invitations mean that the Bishop wishes to implement changes by moving clergy to perform a different task in a new place. This is the case in many dioceses. Recently Bishop Roche announced a restructuring of the parishes in Leeds. This combination of clergy moves and reorganisation in Leeds will affect the provision of the Traditional Mass.

For example, the Diocesan Co-ordinator for the Extraordinary Form and PP of Batley's St. Mary of the Angels, Fr. Tim Wiley, has been appointed as Parish Priest of the newly formed parish of St. John Vianney, which will incorporate the former parishes of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Moortown and St. Paul's, Allwoodly in Leeds. The church of Our Lady of Lourdes at Cardigan Road is to be closed this summer and some more priests who allow us use of the church and others who either regularly or occasionally celebrate the EF Rite are also to move.

I shall now request a formal meeting with Fr. Wiley as soon as possible to discuss the immediate practical implications of these moves. Certain changes will have to be made fairly smartly and I am sure that this will be for the better

Many parishioners at Batley were shocked and saddened to hear that Fr. Wiley would be leaving

and concerned that they would lose their "Latin Mass". Two of my daughters were at the Mass and overheard the sentiments of the people afterwards and even during the announcement itself!

With my rep's hat on I need to ensure that as long as the demand is there we will be able to continue provision at Batley, especially given the Pope's wishes in his Motu Proprio and subsequent clarifications made by the Vatican about numbers of those who request the Mass.

Our Lady of Victories, pray for us.

Masses this weekend

Masses this weekend:

Saturday

Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton, 9.30a.m,

English Martyrs, Alexandra Road South, Manchester, 10.00a.m.

Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike, 11.30a.m.

St. Mary of the Angels, Batley, 3.00p.m. (vigil)

St. Marie's, Halifax, 6.00p.m. (vigil)

Sunday

St. Joseph's, Castleford, 3.00p.m.

Holy Name, Manchester, 4.00p.m.

Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardigan Road, Leeds, 6.00p.m.

English Martyrs, York, 6.30p.m.

St. Peter & Paul's Day Masses

Updated - with thanks to a sharp eyed reader, who spotted yesterday's deliberate error. The feast of Ss Peter and Paul is one of our few remaining Holy Days of obligation.

Mass at 7.00a.m. at St. Mary of the Angels, Batley and

at 11.30a.m. at Sacred Heart, Broughton.

A wonderful opportunity to celebrate the Primacy of Peter and so ideally situated in this time of Pentecost. The Church shows us the earthly head of the family, which God has drawn to Himself.

Instead of Peter we have Benedict, gloriously reigning, on earth.

One of our regular celebrants has been invited to offer Mass with the Holy Father in Westminster Cathedral, during the Pontiff's September visit.

4th. Sunday after Pentecost

It is refreshing to see the green of the liturgical post-Pentecost season again, from acidic pea-green to creamy olive shades, the sense of new life and growth is clear and the Gospel of today starts to chart the beginnings of the early Church and foreshadowing the primacy of Peter and the Petrine Office. Cast your nets deep recalls our own Bishop's motto. Duc in altum.

The recent output of the Holy Father concerning the nature of the Priesthood and the need to re-catechize the faithful about the centrality of the Blessed Sacrament has been relentless.

Father Wiley, EF co-ordinator and PP has kindly agreed to allow our youngest son to make his first Holy Communion at St. Mary of the Angels, Batley on Saturday July 24th. at 3.00p.m. This will be a Missa cantata and our son will receive the Blessed Sacrament for the first time, just a few feet away from where he was baptized seven years ago by the hand of the same priest.

Confirmation is the next Sacrament on the list after our youngest's First Holy Communion. All three girls were confirmed at St. James, Spanish Place, London by the late Bishop O'Brien in the EF, pre-Summorum Pontificum and with the blessing of Cardinal Cormac. I do hope that travelling so far will not be necessary for our eldest boy.

This week's Sunday Masses are at Castleford, St. Joseph's at 3.00p.m. and at Leeds, St. Augustine's at 5.00p.m.

Mass at 4.00p.m. at Holy Name, Manchester and English Martyrs, York at 6.30p.m.

The photo above shows the original interior of St Augustine's, Leeds. Our Mass takes place in the Lady Chapel.

God bless the Pope!

No Mass on Sunday at Bradford

The annual Parish Blessed Sacrament Procession (a real experience of expressing our Faith in a heavily populated Muslim area of Bradford in Leeds Road) will take place on Sunday afternoon and so there will be no Mass at St. Peter's on Sunday in the EF.

Mass will be at Halifax on Saturday at 6.00p.m. and at Castleford on Sunday at 3.00p.m.

Various sources suggest that plans for the Holy Father's visit are not quite on track. Let us pray for the success of the Pope's visit. Perhaps Bishops could authorise skeleton services in their dioceses to allow parish priests and their parishioners to attend the Papal event on the Sunday if the organisers could think bigger.

Training conference announcement

The LMS office has just issued this press release.

10 June 2010

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

For Immediate Release

LMS Residential Training Conference for Priests Wishing to Learn the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) at Downside Abbey, Somerset.

The Latin Mass Society of England and Wales (LMS) is organising a residential training conference for priests wishing to learn the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite (Traditional Latin Mass) at Downside Abbey, one of England’s most prestigious monasteries.

The conference will run from Tuesday 10 to Friday 13 August 2010 and will feature Traditional liturgies in Downside’s beautiful chapel together with a Gregorian Chant schola and polyphonic choir.

Expert tuition in the celebration of Mass in the Usus Antiquior will be provided on a small group basis. There will be tuition in Low Mass, Missa Cantata and Missa Solemnis and there will be streams for beginners and more advanced students. Tuition will also be given in the other sacraments and in Latin.

There will be opening and closing High Masses, daily Mass, Offices and Rosary. There will also be a closing Conference dinner with guest speaker.

The subsidised fee to participants is only £115.00 which includes all accommodation, meals and training materials. There are limited places and priests are asked to register as soon as possible.

Further details and registration forms can be obtained from the LMS office (Tel: 020 7404 7284, e mail: info@latin-mass-society.org) or from the conference organiser, Mr Paul Waddington (Tel: 01757 638027, e mail: paul@gooleboathouse.co.uk).

Running alongside the training for priests, the Society of St Tarcisius (the LMS’s newly-formed sodality for Traditional altar servers) will organise a residential training course for servers and MCs. Further details can be obtained as above.

Paul Waddington said, “This is the sixth training conference the LMS has organised and we are delighted to be going to Downside Abbey. The Pontifical Commission ‘Ecclesia Dei’ has recently praised our work which makes us more determined than ever to provide training to every priest in England and Wales who seeks to learn the Usus Antiquior.”

Latin Mass Society, 11-13 Macklin Street, London WC2B 5NH
Tel: 020 7404 7284
E mail: info@latin-mass-society.org
Website: latin-mass-society.org

Corpus Christi

Mass at Pateley Bridge's Bewerley Grange Chapel on Thursday was a memorable occasion, with a schola of six and a pleasing turnout. In true monastic style we sang the Salve Regina at the end of Mass and as usual were graced with the presence of the local PP, Canon Vincent O'Hara whose melodic voice was again in perfect harmony with the schola.

Many thanks to Fr. Parfitt and the authorities at Bewerley for such a truly memorable Mass.

God bless the Pope!

June

June is the month of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I hope that I will be given some quiet time to meditate upon the Litany of the Sacred Heart in this month. A personal daily prayer of mine from this Litany has long been, "Heart of Jesus, bruised for our offences and negligences, have mercy on us".

The Feast (but not Holyday of Obligation) of Corpus Christi will be offered at the beautifully renovated chapel at Bewerley Grange, which was once an outpost of Fountains Abbey. This will be a missa cantata on Thursday at 11.30a.m..

There will be a missa cantata again for the Feast of Corpus Christi on Sunday at Broughton Hall at 11.30a.m. in line with the instruction of the Bishops of E&W

Saturday there is a Vigil Mass at Halifax St. Marie's at 6.00p.m. and on Sunday at St. Joseph's, Castleford at 3.00p.m.

York, English Martyrs at 6.30p.m.

Manchester, Holy Name at 4.00p.m.

God bless the Pope!