This weekend

Saturday is the Feast of St. Joseph. Low Mass at Sacred Heart, Broughton, near Skipton. 9.30a.m.

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

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

Sunday. Low Mass, St. Augustine's, Harehills Road, Leeds. 5.00p.m.

Sunday, Missa cantata, English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace York. 6.30p.m.

St. Patrick's day

Always a poignant occasion for me since our late son's birth and death on this day in 2001.

He only opened his eyes once in his short life when I poured the water on his head to baptise him - a minute after his birth and a moment before he died.

Ten years ago seems like ten minutes. Compared to infinity it's not even the blinking of an eye.

A spring Mass

The sung Mass at Bradford this afternoon was a spiritually rewarding experience. Beautiful spring weather, a good turnout with lots of children and a solemn liturgy including the singing of Adoro te devote and the Attende Domine.

Preparations are well under way for the Mass at York Minster which has now even appeared on several of the American blogsites including the New Liturgical Movement. I am presently finalising details for the serving of the Mass and an excellent booklet has been produced for the day. The relic (the saint's hand) will be transported from the Bar Convent for veneration after Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at English Martyrs church. Rehearsals for the singing are being planned and I think it will be a wonderful occasion.

One Parish Priest has requested supply so he can attend.

Other clergy wishing to attend in choro should bring choir dress and a red stole.

Three baptisms

The church of the Immaculate Heart resembled a nursery this afternoon as three little children received the Sacrament of Baptism in the presence of their siblings, cousins, friends and relatives.

Father Wiley took it all in his stride and remarked on how well the children behaved.

I really enjoyed the occasion, the last baptism I went to was our 8 year old son's.

Quadragesima

Masses this weekend:

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

Missa Cantata, Sunday, 3,00p.m. St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford.

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

Cancellation

I regret having to announce that the St. Joseph Day of Recollection at Ladyewell near Preston has now been cancelled because of the serious fire there last month. It is hoped to reschedule for later in the year.

Ash Wednesday

After a long wait Lent is finally here.

Masses tomorrow;

6.45a.m. St. Mary of the Angels, Cross Bank Road, Batley

11.30a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton

Ash Wednesday is a day of fast and abstinence.

Qinquagesima

Masses this weekend for Quinquagesima;

QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY II Cl V
No Gl Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity

Saturday (Vigil) St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax at 6.00p.m.

Sunday Missa Cantata, Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton at 11.30a.m.

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

Training Conference in May

PRIESTS’ TRAINING CONFERENCE

BUCKFAST ABBEY

3rd to 6th May 2011

The Latin Mass Society will be holding its seventh residential Priests’ Training Conference at Buckfast Abbey from 3rd to 6th May. The Abbot and community have extended a particularly warm welcome, and this new venue promises to be a great success.

Tuition will be provided by priests well experienced in the traditional rites and will be in small groups selected to suit the experience of each participant. Thus it is expected that there will be groups studying Low Mass, Missa Cantata and Solemn Mass.

There will also be tuition for servers who wish to improve their skills. Again tuition will be in groups according to ability and experience.

The conference will start with Mass at 11am on the Tuesday morning and will end after lunch on the Friday. For those travelling long distances, it will be possible to book a room for the Monday night. Accommodation will be provided in the guest houses of the Abbey and the Abbot has kindly allowed the conference to have extensive use of the Abbey Church both for tuition and for our liturgies.

If you would like to attend this conference, please complete the application form, which can be downloaded from the Latin Mass Society website. It should be returned to the address given with an appropriate cheque. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the Latin Mass Society on 020 7404 7284.

Castleford Missa Cantata

The Mass tomorrow at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road at 3.00p.m. will be a sung Mass.

Thanks to John Burton once again for agreeing to take on the musical aspect of this Mass every last Sunday of the month.

The next sung Mass at Castleford after tomorrow will be Sunday 27th. March.

This will follow our National Pilgrimage in honour of St. Margaret Clitherow which will take place the day before (Sat 26th. March) at York Minster. Missa cantata in the Minster at 1.30p.m. followed by procession via the Shambles (where she lived), onto the Ouse Bridge (near to where she met her excruciating death) to the church of the English Martyrs in Dalton Terrace, for veneration of the relic and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at 4.00p.m. Already two Leeds Priests have said they will be attending in choro, with Middlesbrough and Hexham & Newcastle Priests also to be in attendance in choir.

Unless anybody knows better I understand that this will be the first ever public Missa Cantata in the Tridentine Rite.

God bless the Pope!

Ladyewell day of Recollection

I recently learned of a serious fire at the little Marian shrine of Ladyewell in the Diocese of Lancaster only a day after I corresponded with a chap in the Salford Diocese about pilgrimages for the North of England. I then picked up this which I hope will be of interest to some of you:

If you are within travelling distance of Preston in Lancashire, there will be a Lenten Day of Recollection led by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP at Ladyewell Shrine, Broughton, Preston, Lancashire PR2 5ST on Saturday, 19th March 2011 (Feast of St Joseph).

Schedule:
11am - Morning conference: St Joseph, a model of obedience.
12pm - Confessions and Holy Mass (usus antiquior)
1pm - Time to eat packed lunches.
2pm - Afternoon conference: St Joseph, a model of hope.
3pm – Exposition, Confessions (during Adoration) and Benediction
4pm - Tea and coffee.

Free admission. All welcome.
Contact: Matthew McCusker – E-mail : mjp.mccusker@googlemail.com or mobile: 07929 786775

(By kind permission of Rev Fr Thomas Hoole, P.P.and Shrine Director)

Thanks to Matt McCusker for this.

Masses this weekend - Sexagesima

This evening (Friday), Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike at 7.30p.m.

also St. Maries's, Manchester Road, Bury at 7.30p.m.

Tomorrow morning, Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall at 9.30a.m.

also English Martyrs, Alexandra Rd. South, Manchester at 10.a.m.

Vigil Mass, St. Mary of the Angels, Cross Bank Road, Batley at 3.00p.m.

Vigil Mass, St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax at 6.00p.m.

Sunday, Missa Cantata, St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd. Castleford. 3.00p.m.

Sunday, Low Mass, Holy Name, Oxford Road, Manchester at 4.00p.m.

Sunday, English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York at 6.30p.m.

Very informative and interesting day

Today's visit to Whalley and Towneley Hall Museum in Burnley were thoroughly enjoyable. After Mass at Broughton we visited the C of E parish church in Whalley where we saw the misericords rescued from the neighbouring Abbey, now in ruins. For Cistercian fittings they seemed extremely ornate but very beautiful. The other parts are in Blackburn Cathedral, where the verger agreed they looked out of place.

We were able to chat with three very pleasant gentlemen after looking round the church in the parish office. One chap was the verger and he explained the problems the parish was experiencing as a result of plans to build houses galore in the district. Their views on clerical celibacy, women priests and Humanae Vitae were no surprise but they all had great integrity and were honest in their convictions - the man whose wife was a retired vicar said that ordaining women hadn't boosted numbers in church attendance.

The magnificent reredos installed in the early part of the last century by a generous four-barrel-named benefactor includes pictures of Saints James, Ethelreda, Francis of Assisi and Ursula. A small crucifix, slightly redolent of the one in Westminster Cathedral is centrally placed. I thought this to be a very eclectic little group of saints and apart from any personal family associations with the donor I am still pondering as to why these are together. Only afterwards it occurred to me that I ought to have asked about this.

A walk round the abbey ruins confirmed my belief that a Mass there would be very desirable, given that there is a magnificent stone altar reconstructed over the site of the original high altar.

A visit to the retreat and conference centre was very enlightening and I can think of no better place to organise a mid-week retreat with spiritual direction and Mass at very reasonable rates.

The last Abbot of Whalley was hanged at Lancaster for his involvement in the Pilgrimage of Grace and is sometimes referred to as a Martyr at the Scaffold.

Having witnessed the extravagant (by Cistercian standards) misericords at the Parish church in Whalley we went on to Towneley Hall museum to view the equally extravagant Whalley Vestments. We were instantly astonished at the size of them. They were either very big monks or the celebrating monks would be totally housed in them (hence the term chasuble - little house). The chasuble and dalmatic are works of art and are embroidered with what some say are strawberries, but to me resemble pomegranates.

The Towneleys who are direct descendants of the de Lacy family (and so linked with Bradford's Bolling Hall) still gather to attend Mass in the Hall at 7.00a.m. once a year on the Eve of All Saints we were told. We had a fascinating view of one of the original seven priest holes situated under a maid's bedroom and above a modern office. How must these trapped priests have lived out their stress and fear? The chapel is complete with an astonishing example of a Dutch carved

altar, Missal and altar cards. The low height altar and huge vestments were in great contrast to each other as they had been brought together by events in time, but by those who held and kept the Catholic Faith, which comes to us from the Apostles.

A very remarkable comment by Mgr Loftus

On page 17 of this month's edition of the Leeds Diocesan Leeds Catholic Post http://www.catholicpost.org.uk/latest/index.htm Leeds Priest Basil Loftus (retired) reviews a book which concerns the Church of the 1960s pastoral Council (Vat 2) some forty-five years on.

"Very wisely, not all the Conciliar documents are covered. Those, for instance, on Education and on the Communications Media are disappointing and inadequate, not to say , in some instances, harmful." writes Mgr Loftus.

As he raises this issue, the comment made me instantly ask myself two questions, firstly are we free to believe (by his example) that perhaps other Conciliar documents are more than disappointing and harmful and secondly what, for instance, makes him think the document on Education should be ranked in this potentially toxic group?

This said, I shall be sending for the book which Monsignor is reviewing and I look forward to reading it, if not to learn what was so "disgraceful" about the treatment of Lavinia Byrne.

I have just finished reading a very enjoyable collection of essays about the Bishops of Leeds put together in honour of Bishop emeritus David Konstant.

It is tragic to see what was built up, taken for granted and then lost over the last forty odd years.

In bookish holiday mood may I recommend The Heresy of Formlessness by Martin Mosebach which as the title suggests is a response to the ills we have suffered by self-styled liturgists and 1970s liberal revolutionaries who keep on running but haven't the foggiest idea where they're going.

Septuagesima

The green and the Gloria now give way to the purple and the tract this weekend as the season of Septuagesima begins.

The bulbs in the garden are looking healthy - the sword-like shoots of the daffodils are more than three inches out of the soil and the snowdrops are in bloom.

Snow is forecast.

Lent is on the horizon.

Masses this weekend

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

Sunday , St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd., Castleford. 3.00p.m.

Sunday, Holy Name of Jesus, Oxford rd. Manchester. 4.00p.m.

Sunday, St. Augustine's, Harehills Rd. Leeds. 5.oo.p.m.

Sunday, English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York. 6.30p.m.

God bless the Pope!

Half term in sight

Our good friend Fr. Parfitt of Broughton will offer a sung Mass at Bewerley Grange chapel near Pateley Bridge, next Thursday, February 24th. for the Feast of St. Matthias.

I am also planning a trip to Whalley Abbey in Lancashire on Wednesday to assess its suitability as a place to hold a pilgrimage and sung Mass there in the summer holidays. This will also mean lots of paperwork and preparation if it proves viable, which I hope it will.

Mass in honour of St. Margaret Clitherow at York Minster

The Mass at York Minster to celebrate the National Pilgrimage in honour of St. Margaret Clitherow on 26th. March will be a sung Mass at the high altar at 1.30p.m.

We will process from the Minster at 3.00p.m. to the shrine of the saint in the Shambles and in a change of plan, onto the church of the English Martyrs in Dalton Terrace instead of the Bar Convent, because of ever increasing space limitation in the Convent chapel as more people register interest. Interestingly, English Martyrs has a very thought-provoking little collection of relics and objects associated with some of those very English Martyrs to whom the church is dedicated.

Pray for good weather and bring a packed lunch!

An excellent read

For a really good five minute read and lots of food for thought take a look at the following link

http://hughosb.wordpress.com/2011/02/14/facing-east-and-papal-fads/#comments

where Fr Hugh of Douai gives his thoughts on facing east.

The mustard seed

Father Hall's sermon at St. Peter's, Bradford, was a pearl today. So redolent of the Little Way of St. Therese in its humility and so powerful in its effect. Father cited examples from his life as Priest and teacher where green shoots, which he likened to the mustard seed of the Gospel, were springing up in his life. Full of hope and inspiration I was truly moved by what he said and much of it he said, he owed to having learned to offer the EF Rite of Mass.

The training day for servers went very well yesterday - please follow this link to see photos of the event

www.flickr.com/photos/24855617@N05/sets/72157625907456463/

Preparations for the National Pilgrimage in honour of our Patroness, St. Margaret Clitherow at York Minster are well underway. Another green shoot.

Busy weekend

Tomorrow - Saturday sees our joint Dioceses Servers' Training session, which involves Leeds, Salford, Middlesbrough and Hexham & Newcastle Reps. This will take place at English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York, concluding with a Missa Cantata at 3.00p.m. to which all are welcome. I hope our rookie servers will be ready to serve it!

Also on Saturday

Low Mass, Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall near Skipton at 9.30a.m.

SIXTH SUNDAY after EPIPHANY II Cl G
Gl Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity

Vigil Mass, St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax at 6.00p.m.

Sunday

Missa cantata, St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford. 3.00p.m.

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

This weekend we see the last of the green vestments, as Epiphanytide which has run its full course, gives way to the liturgical season of Septuagesima which foreshadows Lent. It will set the scene, so enjoy the last of the freshness of the green, which has perhaps signified the growth of the Holy Child Jesus from his infancy to manhood and early ministry. It will not be seen again until after a temporally late Pentecost. Between the green of this weekend and the red of the Pentecost Mass we will see purple give way to the white of Holy Thursday to Good Friday black and then overnight give way to festal White and Gold. The colours are themselves are an aid to understanding at every level. As a change to the monotony the Church allows Rose coloured vestments in Lent, which is also a pleasant push to instil hope in to us to persevere with our Lenten sacrifices, fasts and alms giving.

Easter is very late this year, so too is February half term. The first of our Masses at Bewerley Grange chapel, Pateley Bridge, this year will be on Thursday 24th. February, a sung Mass for the feast of St. Matthias at 11.30a.m.

Finally - I am rarely, if ever, shocked by what I hear and see, occasionally though I see something which does sicken me. I offer the following link with a question. The question is quite simply, what have we done to deserve this? http://www.alma-de-cuba.com/history/

Regular sung Mass

Following the pleasant change of routine on Sunday at St. Joseph's Castleford, when we had a sung Mass, with epistle and Gospel chanted in the vernacular (Knox translation) instead of Low Mass, it was agreed afterwards by the singers, servers, rep and celebrant that each last Sunday of the month be henceforth a Missa cantata.
You would be most welcome to come along and join the singers - perhaps we can think of something to sing to raise the roof to end this month's Mass before the Marian Anthem is sung on February 27th. at 3.00p.m.

Suggestions I might suggest would include; Praise to the Holiest, Jesus my Lord my God, Faith of our Fathers, O Mother blest or Full in the panting heart of Rome.
Colours of day will not be considered.

Reminder that there is a regular sung Mass at Broughton Hall each first Sunday of the month at 11.30a.m and each second Sunday at St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford at 3.00p.m.

A very productive meeting

Last night I attended a co-ordination meeting with our diocesan EF co-ordinator, Fr. Wiley.

We made a great deal of progress in less than two hours over coffee and cake at the presbytery.

Forthcoming events include;

An afternoon retreat with traditional Catholic devotion, including Mass, Rosary, Benediction, talks on the Rosary and the spirituality of the Mass and opportunity for confession. Planned for October.

Server training session in late August.

Clergy training in singing at a mutually convenient time.

Solemn High Mass and Procession of the Blessed Sacrament for Corpus Christi in June.

Mass at the Cathedral in November and other occasions.

We both now have a lot of letters/e-mails to compose and send as well as receiving training in the 1962 rubrics for the Solemn Mass with Fr. Parfitt and checking things by telephone.

Fr. Michael O'Reilly who used to offer Mass for us at Killingbeck Cemetery chapel called this sort of activity in one of his very practical sermons as celebrating the sacrament of the moment which I equated (and still do) with the little way of St. Therese and the desire to sanctify laborious daily activity as a work of God as prescribed by many orders and especially Opus Dei.

The word training appears a lot in this post. I do think this augurs well for the future and thank God daily for our opportunity to attend the traditional Mass so frequently in different places in the diocese.

God bless our Pope!

Mary, Help of Christians pray for us!

Blessed John Henry Newman, pray for us!

Epiphany IV

FOURTH SUNDAY after EPIPHANY II Cl G
Gl Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity

Saturday Masses

NEW VENUE ; Notre Dame, Leeds University RC Chaplaincy. St. Mark's Avenue Leeds. 4.00p.m.

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

Sunday Mass

St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford. 3.00p.m. THIS WILL BE A SUNG MASS.

Epiphany III

THIRD SUNDAY after EPIPHANY II Cl G
Gl Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity

Mass tomorrow (Saturday)

St. Mary of the Angels, Crossbank Road, Batley. Missa Cantata 3.00p.m.

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

Sunday

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

Masses this weekend

Sun 16 SECOND SUNDAY after EPIPHANY II Cl G
Gl Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity

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

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

Sunday, St. Augustine's, Harehills Road, Leeds. 5.00p.m.

Bishop Tom Williams auxiliary Bishop of Liverpool will attend the 9.00a.m. Mass at St. Mary Magdalen, Penwortham near Preston on Sunday. This follows hot on the heels of his visit to Farrington near Wigan where he attended a Missa cantata in December.

Bishop McMahon of Nottingham offered a Pontifical Mass in Leicester at the Priory of the Holy Cross Dominican Church on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception and earlier in November one of the London Auxiliary Bishops administered the Sacrament of Confirmation at Spanish Place in London, where our own three daughters were confirmed several years ago by the late Bishop James O'Brien.

If you are near Preston on Sunday, please consider showing up and demonstrating the demand for the EF Mass if you are able.

NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE IN YORK

NATIONAL PILGRIMAGE IN HONOUR OF

ST. MARGARET CLITHEROW (Patroness of the LMS)

SATURDAY 26TH. MARCH

MISSA CANTATA YORK MINSTER 1.30P.M.

TO BE FOLLOWED BY PROCESSION AND BENEDICTION AT 4.00P.M.

*************

UPDATE; Benediction and veneration of the relic of St. Margaret Clitherow will take place at the Bar Convent

Server training

Before Christmas I mentioned that there would be a training day for men and boys wishing to learn how to serve the Low Mass and Missa cantata. This will take place at English Martyrs Dalton Terrace, York on Saturday 12th. February. There has been a good amount of interest shown in this by several people from Leeds, Middlesbrough and Hexham & Newcastle Dioceses.

If you are interested please contact me to get further details or to register at infolmleeds AT gmail DOT com.

Feast of the Holy Family

Masses on Sunday for the Feast of the Holy Family:

Missa cantata - St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford at 3.00p.m.

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

Epiphany

Mass on the traditional day of January 6th. for the Feast of the Epiphany will be on Thursday at 6.45a.m. at St. Mary of the Angels, Crossbank Road, Batley.

Update

Thursday evening saw a beautiful sung Requiem at Wakefield's medieval chantry chapel and marked the exact date of the death of the Duke of York in 1460 at the Battle of Wakefield.

Fr. D. Smith was celebrant and Fathers Hall and Kravos attended in choro.

The Parish Priest, Fr. Swinglehurst was in the congregation which filled the chapel to capacity.

St. Austin's choir and members of the Leeds Schola Gregoriana sang excellently.

Fr. Smith preached about the occasion and about the relevance of prayer for the dead, the efficacy of the Holy Sacrifice and the timelessness of Almighty God.

Absolutions at the catafalque followed the Mass.

New Year's Day will see three public EF Masses:

Sat 1 OCTAVE DAY of the NATIVITY of OUR LORD I Cl W

+ Gl Cr Pr of the Nativity
Pl Ind Proper Communic diem sacratissimum

9.30a.m at Broughton Hall

NOON at Immaculate Heart of Mary, Harrogate Road, Moortown, Leeds.

and

6.00p.m. St. Mary's, Halifax - Vigil for observation of the external solemnity of the Epiphany.

Happy New Year.

God Bless the Pope!

Already the new year beckons

Physical preparations for the Mass on Christmas Eve began at the start of last week as did they for this Thursday's sung requiem Mass at Wakefield Chantry Chapel and for the New Year's Day Mass at NOON at the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Moortown, Leeds. Mass at Immaculate Heart will be also be missa cantata.

St Austin's Church choir of Wakefield will sing at the Chantry Chapel Mass and our old friend Mr. Mike Murphy will be the main cantor at Immaculate Heart and the celebrant will be Dean Wiley, VF.

I have a couple of tickets available for the Wakefield Mass if you wish to contact me at the address in the left hand bar at the top.

Many thanks to Fr. Kravos for his excellent welcome to us at Notre Dame. His kindness was matched only by that of our celebrant Fr. M. Hall whose kindness and good counsel I value very much.

Please continue to pray for our priests and all those others who continue to help facilitate the Extraordinary Form of Mass in our Diocese.

We are one small piece of a large jigsaw which is getting larger in this, the glorious pontificate of Pope Benedict XVI.

Not Father Christmas

No. Not Father Christmas, but Christ.

During all six pregnancies of my wife neither of us could wait until that moment when nature dictated that the baby was on its way into the world.

I saw a blog earlier rejoicing the feast of the birth of salvation. And I rejoiced in my heart, like Mary must have done at the Annunciation. The invisible would become visible and the God man would be amongst us.

First Mass of Christmas at 6.00p.m. at Notre Dame chapel, Leeds University chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds. PARKING should not be a problem in the spaces outside Notre Dame school and St Anne’s Community Services over the road.

Mass at English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York at 8.30a.m.

Mass at noon on Christmas Day at English Martyrs, Alexandra Rd. South, Whalley Range, Manchester.

On the morning of Christmas Eve (Friday) the Holy Father will speak for the first time on the Thought for the Day slot at 7.50a.m. on the BBC Radio 4.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

From the latest FSSP newsletter

First Solemn High Mass back in England of then-Fr Matthew McCarthy, FSSP:

Saturday 28thMay 2011, 3pm;

at St James‘s Church, Spanish Place,

22 George Street, London W1U 3QY -

kindly welcomed by Parish Priest Fr, Christopher Colven.

Followed by First blessings, and refreshments in Parish Hall. Come and pray with and for this newly ordained British priest and for more priestly vocations.

Petition.... and important announcements

A petition has been set up protesting at the manner in which the trustees of Ushaw College have announced its closure. It urges the trustees to defer the closure until such time as proper consultation has taken place and schemes for its survival have been considered.

To sign the petition, go to:

www.ipetitions.com/petition/ushaw/

There is a fair bit of background information about the closure of Ushaw College on Fr Brown's blog, Forest Murmurs and Fr Elkin's blog, Let the Welkin Ring.

(Above courtesy of Middlesbrough LMS Blog)

I have signed the petition and would encourage you to do the same. I would be keen to read the reasons for closure of this place which could, once again, play a pivotal role in restoring the Faith to our isle.

A walk round town today left me shuddering - literally and spiritually. Both involved coldness. Freezing temperatures and horrid, superficial and empty excesses. Christmas is for the children, people say to me. If the way we squander money and debase ourselves during winterval is anything to go by it is little wonder society is how it is.

Moreover Bradford city centre is and for a long time has been redolent of 1980s East Berlin with about as much heart as a plastic pink rocking horse (now with already 20% off at one store).

I bumped in to one of my cousins who told me that she and her husband had both lost their very good jobs at the same time in October, I was really sickened for them, they are both younger than me.

I am looking forward to our First Mass of Christmas at Notre Dame Chapel. Leeds University Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds at 6.00p.m. on Friday. This will be a sung Mass.

Much of Monday was spent preparing for the Christmas Mass at Notre Dame, Leeds, the Requiem at Wakefield Chantry Chapel on Thursday 30th. December and for the New Year's day Mass at noon at Immaculate Heart, Moortown, Leeds.

However:

There will be no EF Mass at Batley or Halifax on Christmas Day nor will there be the regular Mass at 3.00p.m. at St. Joseph's, Castleford on Sunday, Boxing Day. Sincere apologies for this.

The nearest EF Masses on Sunday 26th. December (Feast of the Holy Name of Jesus) are at:

Holy Name of Jesus, Oxford Road, Manchester. 4.00p.m. (very apt, given the feast.)

English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York. 6.30p.m.

Calendar

There are still copies of the 20011 LMS calendar available at St. Paul's Bookshop opposite the Cathedral in Leeds. I have sold all the ones I had.

Advent IV

Masses on Sunday for the fourth Sunday of Advent;Sun 19 FOURTH SUNDAY of ADVENT 1 Cl V
No Gl. Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity
Sunday Office:
At Vespers Mag Ant O radix Iesse

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

St. Augustine's, Harehills Road, Leeds at 5.00p.m.

The Priesthood

I was delighted to learn that a young man of our acquaintance has put himself forward as a candidate for the Priesthood. He is assured of my prayers and Masses will be offered this coming year for our seminarians, for vocations along with those for the propagation of the Faith . I have met several of our seminarians over recent months and couldn't wish to meet a greater group of dedicated and well balanced men.

I understand that my old friend from University days at Manchester, Rev Mr M. McCarthy FSSP will be ordained to the Sacred Priesthood next year. When times were very much more desperate we attended Mass together in some odd places and met some equally odd people just to hear those sacred words and witness those sacred actions. (I was probably odder than most!)

A consecrated Bishop will lay hands on and anoint Rev. McCarthy who will then be able to administer the Sacraments

At Confession tonight when my confessor gave me absolution, the only part of him I saw was his hand through the grill.

Reflecting on the advice I had received on the way home, I suddenly recalled the words of a little devotional leaflet I discovered in my great grandmother's missal, now long gone.

Two minutes of googling helped me find the words contained on this leaflet ...

The Beautiful Hands of a Priest.

We need them in life's early morning,
We need them again at its close;
We feel their warm clasp of true friendship,
We seek it while tasting life's woes.

When we come to this world we are sinful,
The greatest as well as the least.
And the hands that make us pure as angels
Are the beautiful hands of a priest.

At the altar each day we behold them,
And the hands of a king on his throne
Are not equal to them in their greatness
Their dignity stands alone.

For there in the stillness of morning
Ere the sun has emerged from the east,
There God rests between the pure fingers
Of the beautiful hands of a priest.

When we are tempted and wander
To pathways of shame and sin
'Tis the hand of a priest that absolve us.
Not once but again and again.

And when we are taking life's partner
Other hands may prepare us a feast
But the hands that will bless and unite us,
Are the beautiful hands of a priest.

God bless them and keep them all holy,
For the Host which their fingers caress,
What can a poor sinner do better
Than to ask Him who chose them to bless

When the death dews on our lids are falling,
May our courage and strength be increased
By seeing raised o'er us in blessing
The beautiful hands of a priest.

Deo gratias!

Gaudete! Advent III

This weekend there will be three Gaudete Masses.

Sun 12 THIRD SUNDAY of ADVENT (Gaudete Sunday) 1 Cl V/ROSE
No Gl. Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity
Sunday Office

Halifax, Low Mass, Saturday at St. Mary's. 6.00p.m. (Vigil)

Bradford, Missa Cantata, Sunday at St. Peter's, Leeds Road. 3.00p.m. Confessions available before and after Mass.

Castleford, Low Mass, Sunday at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd. 3.00p.m.

Reminder - Mass at Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike at 7.30p.m. on Friday and on Saturday morning at Broughton Hall at 9.30a.m.

Advent II

Numbers at Halifax were probably the lowest ever tonight as the weather continued to maintain its feverish grip.

I spoke over the telephone to Fr. Parfitt this evening who lives where temperatures fell to -13 degrees earlier this week. The regular Missa cantata at Broughton at 11.30a.m. will go ahead as usual tomorrow and there will be Mass as usual at 3.00p.m. at Castleford.

Feast of the Immaculate Conception on Wednesday. Mass at Batley, 6.45a.m. and Broughton at 9.30a.m.

Reminder that there is Mass on Christmas Eve at Notre Dame Chapel, Leeds University R.C. Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Ave, Leeds at 6.00p.m.

December 30th. at 7.00p.m. will see a sung Requiem Mass at Wakefield chantry chapel. Please let me know if you would like a ticket for this Mass and civic event, as the Lord Mayor of Wakefield will be in attendance. Celebrant - Rev Fr. D. Smith, Episcopal Vicar for Clergy.

On 1st January 2011 there will be a Missa cantata at Noon at Immaculate Heart, Moortown, Leeds. Celebrant - PP, Rev Fr. T. Wiley VF. This will be the first public Mass in this church for at least twelve years - the penultimate Mass we attended as a family there saw me locking the car keys in the car with the baby whilst her two sisters looked on highly amused!

That baby is now in her last year of school but I still remember clearly how easily the car was broken into by the rescue man without causing any damage to save the situation and to let us get on our way.

Immaculate Heart church was a "regular" venue for the old Mass especially in the days when the great Bp Wheeler was the Ordinary of the Diocese.

Several young men who went on to study for the Priesthood used to attend Masses here from the very early 1980s. One such lad was the present Parish Priest - well, what goes round comes round.

On Monday I have an appointment with a high ranking member of the local Polish Community. I hope he will be able to help me formulate an advert for Polish migrant workers and residents who would like to attend the TLM in this part of the world.

Missa Cantata

Today's first Vigil Mass at Batley, St. Mary of the Angels, Crossbank Rd. at 3.00p.m will be a Missa Cantata and the celebrant will be Fr. D. Smith, Episcopal Vicar for Clergy.

This will be the first Mass of Advent.

Server training

From Hexham and Newcastle:

"The LMS in the north is arranging training for servers (adults & boys) in York. The suggested date is 12th February 2011 at English Martyrs Church, Dalton Terrace, York. If that dates proves unviable then the alternative will be February 19th.

It is expected to begin at 10.30am and, depending on the attendees, could encompass training for both Low Mass & Missa Cantata. We are looking to attract servers from the northern dioceses.

Anyone interested from Hexham & Newcastle diocese please contact me by email at: david-oneill3@sky.com or by telephone on 0191 264 5771.

Paul Waddington (LMS Treasurer) is setting up the session & anyone else wishing to attend should, in the first instance, contact their LMS Diocesan Representative."

Please contact me (e-mail address in right hand column) if you are interested in attending. I am tutoring one of the sessions and one of my sons will be attending.

First Sunday of Advent Masses

Sun 28 FIRST SUNDAY of ADVENT 1 Cl V
No Gl. Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity.

Masses this weekend for the First Sunday in Advent.

Saturday 3.00p.m. St. Mary of the Angels, Crossbank Road, Batley.

Saturday 6.00p.m. St. Mary, Gibbett Street, Halifax.

Sunday 3.00p.m. St. Joseph, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Requiems for our war dead - reminder

In all DIOCESES of ENGLAND & WALES:
Today is Remembrance Sunday. One Requiem Mass may be
celebrated for those who died in the two World Wars. This should be
Mass on the anniversary. Black vestments. No Gl. Collect, Secret & Postcommunion as given in plural form. Sequence No Cr
Pr of the Dead Requiescant in Pace. No Blessing

Please see previous post below for details of times and locations.

Something rotten in Spain

The King of Spain displays more respect to Pope than his wife did when receiving Holy Communion.

Requiems for our war dead

Requiem Masses this weekend;

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

Missa cantata, Bradford, St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Sunday 3.00p.m.

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

Please join us as we remember all those poor brave souls who have given their lives in conflict to defend us.

May they rest in peace and rise in glory.

I have often attended the playing of the Last Post at the Menin Gate in Ieper. I always find it deeply touching and moving.

First Mass this month

I have spent most of the last five days in bed, this evening I was able to attend Mass at Heckmondwike, to make up for having had to miss Mass on All Souls and for not getting to Mass for the feast of St. Charles Borromeo yesterday - hence picture.

This (rather overlooked ) first Friday of the month Mass was well attended.

There will be no Mass at Heckmondwike next Friday (12th.)

Masses on Saturday 6th. November;

Broughton at 9.30a.m.

Vigil St. Mary's Halifax at 6.00p.m.

On Sunday and Vigil; Sun 7 FIFTH SUNDAY remaining after EPIPHANY 2 Cl G

Gl Cr Pr of the Holy Trinity
Introit, Gradual, Alleluia Verse, Offertory & Communion of the
Twenty-Third Sunday after Pentecost: Collect, Epistle, Gospel,
Secret & Postcommunion of the Fifth Sunday after Epiphany.

Broughton Hall, nr Skipton (Missa cantata) at 11.30a.m.

St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd. Castleford at 3.00p.m.

(If you are reading this and would like tickets to the the Mass at Wakefield chantry chapel on 30th. December please approach any of the servers or clergy at Broughton on Sunday, Halifax on Saturday or Castleford on Sunday, where I will take details and this will be announced. )

Other Sunday Masses:

Holy Name of Jesus, Oxford Road, Manchester at 4.00p.m.

English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York at 6.30p.m.

Check it out

If you get a chance take a look at the new look LMS website - it can be found at; www.lms.org.uk

I particularly like the Mass locator and the "feel" of the site.

Congratulations

Congratulations to the Very Reverend Timothy Wiley new Dean for North Leeds.

Dean Wiley is also the Extraordinary Form Co-ordinator for this diocese.

Father is pictured here offering Mass in the Cathedral last year for the repose of the soul of Bishop Wheeler. Fr Wiley had already been the first priest to offer the EF Mass in the newly refurbished Cathedral with the permission of former Cathedral Dean, Canon McCreadie who has also since been trained by Fr. Parfitt to offer the EF Mass and has offered several Sunday Masses for us.

We are fortunate in Leeds to have so many recently trained celebrants as well a seasoned old hands.

One of the problems we do have is a lack of regular altar servers as the number of Masses continues to steadily grow. For this reason I have teamed up with the reps of Middlesbrough and Hexham & Newcastle Dioceses to organise a servers' training day. Initially this will be for instruction in the serving of the Low Mass and we hope will be in York early 2011 for men and boys of secondary school age. Watch this space. In the meantime if you are a celebrant who knows of any such fellows who might benefit from such training please contact me (or Fr. Wiley).

Prayers please

I am currently in bed with orders by my GP to remain here for at least three days with a diet of light soup, toast and soft boiled eggs. I have contracted a "fulminant" throat and chest infection. I was unable to continue driving home from Mass at the weekend. I shall answer e-mails asap and continue to take the horse pills.

Back to bed and my thriller "The Night of the Generals", with hot milk and honey with a slug of rum and grated nutmeg, which is probably not medicinal but feels good when you feel crummy.

Any prayers gratefully received.

Please remember to adjust your clocks

BST comes to an end until March and we revert to GMT tonight and need to remember to put back the time on our clocks and watches by one hour, which theoretically means an extra hour in bed.

Extra Mass

There will be 3 Masses on Tuesday for the Feast of All Souls in Leeds Diocese.

6.45a.m. St. Mary of the Angels, Batley

11.30a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, Skipton

7.30p.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike

Salford Diocese

Mass at English Martyrs, Alexandra Road South, Whalley Range, Manchester at 7.00a.m. and 7.00p.m.

May the souls of the faithful departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. Amen.

Another fine occasion

A gloriously pleasant autumn day saw a Missa Cantata in the upper Nidderdale village of Bewerley at Bewerley Grange chapel, a former grange chapel of Fountains Abbey and ideal setting for the Mass earlier today.

As ever, the Anglican custodian, Sr. Mary Cuthbert was on hand to see everything went smoothly and was truly most welcoming.

The sermon about Saints Simon and Jude was given by the celebrant Fr. Parfitt of Broughton, and interspersed with some of the theology of Bl. John Henry Newman was received by the congregation of well over twenty including the PP of Pateley Bridge, Canon Vincent.

We have three Masses per year at Bewerley, at autumn, early spring/late winter and early summer half term and each time the mood of the Mass is finely in tune with season and is always at 11.30a.m.. Today was no exception. Many thanks to Fr. Parfitt who also invariably brings everything with him for celebration of Mass - which saves me a job. Today four children including the daughter of one of my former pupils were in attendance. Strangely my youngest son likes going to Bewerley because he articulates the fact that he doesn't feel bad about talking in church before Mass.

The above photo is one from a previous occasion when Fr. Parfitt offered Mass at Bewerley.

Please remember the EF Mass is offered regularly in this diocese as can be seen in the sidebar.

Over half term

Training day tomorrow at school, which looks interesting following a talk on Tuesday given by Sir Brian Male about the 21st. century curriculum.

Friday evening Mass at Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike at 7.30p.m.

Saturday morning, Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall at 9.30a.m.

Saturday afternoon (vigil), St. Mary of the Angels, Crossbank Road, Batley at 3.00p.m.

Saturday evening (vigil), St. Mary's, Gibbett Street, Halifax at 6.00p.m.

Sunday afternoon, St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford at 3.00p.m.

Thursday (30th. October) Bewerley Grange Chapel, Pateley Bridge at 11.30a.m.

On Saturday I hope to attend a morning of recollection at St. Joseph's in Gateshead in the diocese of Hexham & Newcastle, to be offered by a priest of the FSSP.

Reminders and announcements

As I write this the November edition of the LMS magazine is at the press.

Mass at Bewerley Grange chapel, Thursday 28th. October. Missa Cantata. 11.30a.m.

Mass at Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, Tuesday 2nd. November. 11.30a.m.

Sung Requiem for our War Dead, St. Peter's , Leeds Rd. Bradford, Sunday 14th. November. 3.00p.m.

Mass for the feast of the Immaculate Conception, Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall. Wednesday 8th. December. 9.30a.m.

First Mass of Christmas, Notre Dame Chapel, Leeds University Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Ave, Leeds. Friday December 24th. 6.00p.m.

Wakefield chantry chapel, Wakefield. Thursday 30th. December. 7.00p.m. Sung Requiem to mark the anniversary of the Battle of Wakefield.

New Year's Day Mass, Immaculate Heart of Mary, Harrogate Road, Moortown, Leeds. NOON.

As ever please do all you can to attend as many of these Masses as possible.

The University Chaplaincy will from November become a regular venue. We will be having Mass there on each fifth Saturday of the month at 4.00p.m. as well as the First Mass of Christmas. Many thanks to Fr. Kravos, the chaplain and old friend from his days at Our Lady of Lourdes for permitting us use of the beautiful chapel.

Reminder that there is now Mass each Friday (except last Fridays) at Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike. 7.30p.m. Thanks to Father Abberton.

Masses today

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

St Augustine's, Harehills Road, Leeds at 5.00p.m.

Mass for All Souls in York

Fauré's Requiem will be the Mass for All Souls on Tuesday 2nd. November at 7.30p.m. at English Martryrs, Dalton Terrace, York.

Reminder also that there will be Mass at Batley at 6.45 a.m., at Broughton at 11.30a.m. and for those in Manchester at English Martyrs, Alexandra Rd. South, at 7.00a.m. and 7.00p.m.

Mass at Christmas

I have now managed to secure priests for the First Mass of Christmas, All Saints, All Souls and Remembrance Sunday. Details in due course.

Ushaw Seminary to close...

The Reverend co-ordinator for the EF Mass in the diocese of Leeds, Fr. Wiley (and who trained at St. Cuthbert's Seminary) rang me yesterday afternoon to say that he had just been told of the planned closure of Ushaw. Since then reaction has been from far and wide. Some people are naturally sad and others are ambivalent. There are those who are glad to see the end of the place.

Instead of looking back nostalgically (I've only ever been there twice) I cannot in any way revel in the glories, or otherwise, of its past, save the LMS Conference Masses in the main and side chapels.

Looking to the future however, I cannot fail to miss considering the possibility of some traditional Catholic future for this ready made Catholic Village in need of a good deal of renovation but with enormous potential in the right hands.

Look at how the Holy Redeemer Community on Papa Stronsay work and market themselves. Look at the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate in Lanherne in Cornwall who took over the defunct Carmelite Convent there and are now reputedly looking to establish a third house in this country. Look at the Emmaus Communities, the Pro-Life Organizations, the need for a place to host traditional Catholic training conferences and ongoing formation and even the need for a good Catholic school, not to mention the possibility of continuing priestly formation as an orthodox Catholic seminary.

Come to think of it, there are infitnite possibilities, but that they be Holy, Catholic and Apostolic must surely be at the heart and soul of it. The thought of the beautiful chapel being transformed into a two tier restaurant or auditorium as part of some "development plan" of a business park consortium is very sad. The Church is losing another footing in that part of the world, ironically the Darlington Carmelites (now down to only four nuns) were reported by the BBC to be leaving their convent to live in a detached house nearby this week.

Mr. Paul Waddington, the LMS Rep for Middlesbrough and Treasurer to the Society has posted elsewhere on the blogosphere his desire to hear from any interested party or parties interested in Ushaw's future, and not necessarily with his LMS Treasurer's hat on.

Something for us to pray about.

God bless the Pope - and a reminder of Mass on Sunday 10th. at St. Peter's, Leeds Rd. Bradford at 3.00p.m. in thanksgiving for the success of the Pope's recent achievements, to conclude with the Te Deum.

Missa Cantata with Te Deum

Photo: Interior of Wakefield Chantry Chapel- see below

On this Sunday 10th. October at 3.00p.m. the regular monthly Mass at St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford will be a Missa Cantata, with a Te Deum at the concusion of Mass in thanksgiving for the success of the visit of the Holy Father and in recognition of the third year of the implementation of the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum . Many thanks to Fr. Hall for offering the Mass and Fr. Frank Smith PP for so graciously allowing us all and more as envisaged by the Pope in Summorum Pontificum. It is wonderful to see the Papal flag fluttering outside the Parish Church.

Already half term is looming which reminds me that our next Mass at Bewerley Grange Chapel, will soon be upon us. Sung Mass at 11.30a.m. near Pateley Bridge on Thursday 28th. October. Many thanks to Fr. Parfitt for this.

So far the only Christmas Mass I am able to announce is in the Salford Diocese where I am also rep.

Midnight Mass (at midnight!) will be at Bolton, at St. Osmund's, Long Lane, Breightmet.

This is a regular event and one I can heartily recommend and which we are again attending.

Those in Manchester early on this coming Monday (Oct 10th.) morning may be interested to know that there will be Mass at English Martyrs', Alexandra Rd. South at 7.00 a.m. for the Feast of the Motherhood of our Lady.

There is to be a sung Mass of Requiem at Wakefield Chantry Chapel on Thursday 30th. December in the evening, which also marks the date of the Battle of Wakefield. This is a civic event. The Lord Mayor will be present with other dignitaries. I have 10 tickets to offer those who wish to attend with promise of more if required.

On New Year's Day there will be Mass at the the Church of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Moortown, Leeds, the first in this newly formed parish of St. John Mary Vianney. Details to follow.

Holy Basil - elevates spirit

A Monsignor writes....

I can heartily recommend "Supercritical Holy Basil ", just like me it uplifts, calms and balances. If only every member of every Eucharistic Assembly had me as its President there would be no need for a Catechism, just me, and my word is law. If you don't believe it I'll sue you because I was at the pastoral Council and so I know.

Mgr Fawlty is a retired priest of a pre V2 mould.

Update; Please note Holy Basil comes in capsule form.

Masses this weekend

Saturday: Vigil Mass with commentary, part of the Parish Mission, given by Fr. John Edwards SJ, St. Mary's, Halifax, Gibbet Street, Halifax. 6.00p.m.

Sunday: Missa Cantata, Sacred Heart, Broughton, 11.30a.m.

Sunday: Low Mass, St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd. Castleford, 3.00p.m.

Sunday: Low Mass, Holy Name of Jesus, Oxford Rd. Manchester, 4.00p.m.

Sunday : Low Mass, English Martyrs, Dalton Terrace, York, 6.30p.m.