Pentecost IX

Mass on Sunday at 1.00 p.m. at St. Patrick's, Bradford for the ninth Sunday of Pentecost will be a Low Mass. 

Over the last few weeks there has been a noticeable increase in the number of people attending the Mass. Last week we were most fortunate to have the newly ordained subdeacon, Abbe James Baxter, play the organ for us throughout the Mass and at Benediction afterwards. James is well on his way to diaconal and then sacerdotal ordination, so please pray for him. He is on placement in Northern Ireland during the summer with the ICKSP's foundation there. We wish him well and hope to see him again at Christmas when he will be home visiting his family in North Yorkshire

We also have a young woman from this diocese who will be entering the ICKSP's novitiate as a Sister Adorer of the Royal Heart of Jesus in Italy next year, so please remember her in your prayers too.

Confessions at call on Sunday before Mass.

A First Holy Communion

 

Last Sunday saw a beautiful occasion at St. Patrick's, Bradford, as young Thea received her First Holy Communion at a sung Mass with almost seventy others in attendance.  A good number of the congregants joined Thea and her family after Mass for the traditional Communion breakfast - in the early afternoon.

I was pleased to see that, as usual,  there were no Vat II deniers who revel in pushing an anti-Vatican II agenda and distributing seditious propaganda, denying the validity of the papacy of Pope Francis at the Mass. There were no slogans on the toilet walls or leaflets left on car windows as was sometimes the case at St. Joseph's in Bradford.

When, after Thea's mother made her first Holy Communion at Scarthingwell in the mid 1990s, her father (me) was summoned to Cathedral House at the insistence of Bishop Konstant, to be told that this sort of stunt should never happen again. Our non-Catholic relatives were astonished. As were we. 

Thea's little brother, Dominic, is already asking when he can start serving Mass. I have a lot of vestments and paraphernalia for use when celebrating the old Mass but not a cassock and surplice for a six year old. Can anybody help making such an outfit in the Leeds Diocese area or is able to spare such things? Dominic's two uncles were over seven when they began to serve Mass. Their cassocks and surplices are now in a suitcase in the loft.

Mass at St. Patrick's on Sunday (Pentecost viii) at 1.00 p.m. will be a Low Mass followed, I hope, by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament with the Litany of the Precious Blood. 

Confession at call.

The rumours that the Mass is to be supressed again is gaining traction. My prayer continues to be that such a thing will not come to pass. 

Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom and Mirror of Justice, pray for us!  

Pentecost vii

This Sunday's Mass at St. Patrick's is the seventh Sunday of Pentecost and will be a missa cantata at the usual time of 1.00 p.m.

Confession at call.

Saints Peter and Paul

This Sunday is the sixth Sunday of Pentecost but as June 29th. is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation in this country the feast is transferred. This Sunday's Mass at St. Patrick's, Westgate, Bradford, at 1.00 p.m. will be Mass for the feast of Ss. Peter and Paul. This is classed as an External Solemnity.

Confession at call.

Pentecost V

Mass for the fifth Sunday of Pentecost at St. Patrick's, Westgate, Bradford, will be at the usual time of 1.00 p.m.

At the time of writing speculation and rumours are rife that Rome is preparing to further restrict celebration of the old Mass. Let us invoke Our Lady, Mirror of Justice and Seat of Wisdom that such further restrictions do not come to pass.

David Adolph requiem Mass &c

 David's requiem Mass has now been finalised. It will take place at St. Walburga's church, Kirkgate, Shipley at 12.30 p.m. on Friday 28th. June to be followed by interment at Undercliffe Cemetery in Bradford. May he rest in peace.

Mass this Sunday, 16th June, for the fourth Sunday of Pentecost will be at the usual time of 1.00 p.m. at St. Patrick's, Westgate, Bradford.

Pentecost III

 This Sunday's Mass at St. Patrick's is at the usual time of 1.00 p.m.

Confessions available before Mass.

Corpus Christi

As Corpus Christi is no longer a Holy Day of Obligation in this country but is transferred to the next Sunday and is observed as an external solemnity, so this Sunday's Mass at 1.00 p.m. at St. Patrick's will commemorate this beautiful feast.

Confession at call.

Of your charity

Of your charity please pray for the repose of the soul of David Adolph who died this afternoon in Shipley and fortified by the Rites of Holy Mother Church,

Many will remember David who was a regular at our Masses for many years. Decidedly eccentric and always with an impeccable manner, David would often pop up at events all over the country - due partly to his love of railways. Last year when his flat was cleared there were over four hundred used train tickets on his desk categorized and grouped together with elastic bands - displaying a large range of destinations far and near.

A mutual friend told me that when David walked the Paris-Chartres pilgrimage many years ago, he did so with his umbrella, briefcase and a red dressing gown which he carried over his arm for the entire route. In over thirty five years I only ever saw him once without his raincoat on.

David received Extreme Unction on Saturday and the Parish Priest went again to see him again this afternoon. David died very peacefully five minutes later.

Thanks to Canon Walker for attending so speedily on Saturday and for going again today. Thanks also to Dr Dorothy Spencer for regularly visiting him since his move to the nursing home. By taking the parish weekly bulletin and praying with him,  her visits brightened his existence confined to bed. 

Eternal rest grant unto him O Lord and let perpetual light shine upon him. May he rest in peace. Amen.

May his soul and the souls of all the faithful departed rest in peace. Amen.

Funeral arrangements will follow.

Trinity Sunday

This Sunday is the feast of the Blessed Trinity. Mass at St. Patrick's, Westgate at 1.00 p.m. will be a Low Mass. After this Sunday we return to green vestments and the salve Regina is the Marian Antiphon until Advent.

Pentecost

 

Sunday is Pentecost. It is the feast of the birthday of the Church.

The 1.00 p.m. Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford will be a missa cantata.

Confessions at call.

Sunday within the Octave of the Ascension

This Sunday's Mass for the Sunday within the Octave of the Ascension at St. Patrick's, Westgate, Bradford will be at the usual time of 1.00 p.m.

Confessions before Mass.

Request

I have just requested that my MP sign the amendment to the Criminal Justice Bill which would reduce the abortion limit to 24 weeks for babies with Down's Syndrome from its current 40 weeks. 24 weeks is certainly dreadful but 40 weeks is profoundly obscene. 

Please would you email your MP by following the link below?

Ask your MP to vote to stop abortion up to birth for babies with Down’s syndrome (dontscreenusout.org)

The Ascension

Thursday is a Holy Day of Obligation. Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford is at 7.00 p.m.

 

Easter V and the Ascension

 

This Sunday's Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford at 1.00 p.m. is a missa cantata. 

We offer special remembrance to our Blessed Lady in this month of May. 

Sunday is also the feast of Pope St. Pius V  whom we thank for codifying the foundations of the missal we use today and the accompanying Quo Primum.  

Confessions at call.

Thursday is a holy day of obligation for the feast of the Ascension of our Lord. 

At Mass we see the extinguishing of the Pascal Candle after the Gospel to simply and visually dramatize the historic events we have just had read to us.

Mass at St. Patrick's is at the relatively new time of 7.00 p.m. 

Confessions at call.

In your prayers would you please remember the family of a friend of my daughter's whose adult son was found dead in bed earlier this week?

I have only just recently been told that Professor Bernard Richards of Salford Diocese has died.

Bernard was Professor of Medical Informatics at UMIST when I was at Manchester Victoria in the mid 1980s. I got to know him when serving the strictly restricted old Rite Masses under his leadership when the formidable Kevin Cave was the LMS rep. Many years after Kevin's death Bernard himself became the LMS rep and regular server at the  Sunday Masses at Holy Name and St. Chad's, as well as his home parish of English Martyrs, Whalley Range, Manchester.    

When Bishop Rifan came to England it was Bernard who acted as MC at the Pontifical Mass at Immaculate Heart, Leeds. 

What was not public was that Rita, his wife and their daughter has both died within a day of each other that same week. He wouldn't be dissuaded from  fulfilling a commitment he had made.

May he rest in peace. 

An ex-patriot now living in Germany, who always came to the Mass at St. Joseph's when he was over here visiting his family, has contacted me through a friend to request that I look at livestreaming Mass from St. Patrick's.

I am  seeing what might be done. 

When I was in my teens I remember only ever being able to hear the old Mass on LPs (The Mass from Downham Market and Requiem from Westminster Cathedral). Then came cassettes and then CDs, DVD's, MP3s and then downloading. 

Now we have livestreaming. In these days when some seek to severely re-restrict the Mass of Pius V, I still marvel that technology gives us the opportunity to share the treasures of the Liturgy in so called real time. 

Easter IV

Tomorrow is the fourth Sunday of Easter and we have Low Mass at St. Patrick's, Bradford at 1.00 p.m.

It is always gratifying to see new members of the congregation assisting at Mass.

Easter III

Thanks to those of you who expressed concern over my lost mobile. I have now managed to use something called Cloud to repopulate data on my new phone and am able to use the old number. This means I shall now be able to download the Triduum photos.

Mass for Easter III on Sunday will be at St. Patrick's as usual at 1.00 p.m. I have been given to believe that one of the two Traditional Order seminarians from this diocese will be joining us from the ICKSP seminary near Florence. Our other seminarian is studying at Wigratzbad with the FSSP. I mention this because Sunday is Vocations Sunday.

A couple of us have been going to visit David Adolph regularly since he moved to his nursing home. Although he is very frail he does keep asking me about St. Patrick's and wishes God's blessing on everybody.

Easter II - Good Shepherd Sunday

Unfortunately my lost phone has not turned up. This is not for want of trying. I even discovered that our local police station is not now open for public enquiries. I will have to find another way of getting the Triduum photos from my daughter's phone. What a faff!

Mass for the Second Sunday of Easter at St. Patrick's, Bradford will be at the usual time of 1.00 p.m.

Confessions at call.

St. Patrick's gets a mention

I was very pleased to see the latest news from St. Patrick's, Bradford featured in a post on the Diocesan Website following Fr. Jones' first Mass at this church as a priest on the regular rota on Low Sunday. Here is the link:

New Priest for the St Patrick’s Mission Sunday Mass Rota! - Diocese of Leeds

I did have all the pictures of the Triduum on my mobile which I very annoyingly lost today. Visits to the supermarket, filling station and police station haven't been productive yet. Please don't ring me!

A poem for Easter

 My friend Leo Darroch recently sent me an Easter poem he wrote some years ago. I very much enjoyed it and thought to share it. It is called  A Traditional Easter Day.

A Traditional Easter Day.

Solemnitas Solemnitatis,

This is, for us, our Easter Day.

The great feast rings with age-old chant,

The Credo, Sanctus, Kyrie.

Where’ere a Catholic finds himself,

Throughout the Christian world,

The words are chanted in one voice,

From ev’ry tongue unfurled.

The mighty and the meek give praise,

In words that time has blessed,

In praise of Christ who from the tomb,

Has risen from His rest.

Through centuries to present day,

Our forebears - priest and lay,

All glory in a common tongue,

Their Mass and prayers to say.

The Word made flesh has risen again,

Our hope and God eternal,

We praise our Lord for evermore,

His majesty supernal.

Leo Darroch. May 2006.