Masses over the next few days

Saturday; Broughton Hall, 9.30 a.m.
Holy Spirit, Bath Road Heckmondwike, 11.30a.m.
St. Marie's, Gibbett Street, Halifax, 6.00p.m.
Sunday; St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford, Missa cantata, 3.00p.m.
St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford, 3.00p.m.
Monday; Broughton Hall, 9.30a.m.
St. Marie's, Gibbett Street, Halifax, 7.30p.m. Solemn Requiem for Fr. Holmes.

A very busy week

Most of this week has been taken up marking GCSE German speaking tests. The central heating and hot water system has conked out, the burglar alarm has died, the satellite television hasn't worked since a recent storm, my desktop computer now even refuses to boot up and the brakes on the car have started to squeak and squeal, just a month after the car sailed through the MOT.

On Tuesday it was lovely to be back at Bewerley Grange chapel, Pateley Bridge for a missa cantata for the feast of St. Augustine of Canterbury. Fr. Parfitt offered the Mass and the Parish Priest joined the congregation once again.

Masses on Sunday for the Feast of Pentecost are at Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardigan Road, Leeds at 3.00p.m. The celebrant will be Canon McCreadie, former Dean of the the Cathedral and now Parish Priest of St. Paul's, Leeds.
At the same time Fr. Durcan will be offering Mass at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Rd., Castleford.

Next Friday is the First Friday of June - the Month of the Sacred Heart.
Masses at Seacroft, 9.15a.m., Broughton, 9.30a.m. and Batley, 7.30p.m. (preceded by confessions).

Reminder of the forthcoming Solemn High Mass of Requiem at St. Marie's, Halifax on Monday 15th. June, for the Repose of the soul of Fr. Charles Holmes, at 7.30p.m.

Please pray for the young men ordained to the Sacred Priesthood in Nebraska, America for the Society of St. Peter today. One of them, an Englishman, Fr. Goddard will be offering his first Mass in England later in June. Ad multos annos!

Correction

A sharp sighted reader of this blog rang me at lunchtime to tell me that yesterday's posting was wrong - there is NO Mass tomorrow at Cardigan Road. It is of course NEXT week (Pentecost). Apologies for this error.

Mass at Batley this afternoon was well attended as was the Missa Cantata at Halifaxthis evening. Many thanks to Mr. Forbester and his Rudgate singers for a magnificent contribution to the dignity and solemnity of the occasion.

Holiday treats

On Saturday there will be Mass at Batley at 3.00p.m. and a sung Mass at Halifax at 6.00p.m. Both these Masses fulfil the Sunday obligation. On Sunday Mass in the Extraordinary form will be offered at Castleford at 3.00p.m. and also at Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardigan Road, Leeds at
3.00p.m.
Missa cantata on Tuesday, 26th. May, 11.30a.m. at Bewerley Grange chapel, Pateley Bridge.

From Rorate Caeli

I had to copy and paste this from the Rorate Caeli blogsite:

A majestic address (main excerpts):
What happened here in Nazareth, far from the gaze of the world, was a singular act of God, a powerful intervention in history, through which a child was conceived who was to bring salvation to the whole world. The wonder of the Incarnation continues to challenge us to open up our understanding to the limitless possibilities of God’s transforming power, of his love for us, his desire to be united with us. Here the eternally begotten Son of God became man, and so made it possible for us, his brothers and sisters, to share in his divine sonship. That downward movement of self-emptying love made possible the upward movement of exaltation in which we too are raised to share in the life of God himself (cf. Phil 2:6-11).
The Spirit who “came upon Mary” (cf. Lk 1:35) is the same Spirit who hovered over the waters at the dawn of Creation (cf. Gen 1:2). We are reminded that the Incarnation was a new creative act. When our Lord Jesus Christ was conceived in Mary’s virginal womb through the power of the Holy Spirit, God united himself with our created humanity, entering into a permanent new relationship with us and ushering in a new Creation.
The narrative of the Annunciation illustrates God’s extraordinary courtesy (cf. Mother Julian of Norwich, Revelations 77-79). He does not impose himself, he does not simply pre-determine the part that Mary will play in his plan for our salvation: he first seeks her consent. In the original Creation there was clearly no question of God seeking the consent of his creatures, but in this new Creation he does so. Mary stands in the place of all humanity. She speaks for us all when she responds to the angel’s invitation. Saint Bernard describes how the whole court of heaven was waiting with eager anticipation for her word of consent that consummated the nuptial union between God and humanity. The attention of all the choirs of angels was riveted on this spot, where a dialogue took place that would launch a new and definitive chapter in world history.
Mary said, “Let it be done to me according to your word.” And the Word of God became flesh.
When we reflect on this joyful mystery, it gives us hope, the sure hope that God will continue to reach into our history, to act with creative power so as to achieve goals which by human reckoning seem impossible. It challenges us to open ourselves to the transforming action of the Creator Spirit who makes us new, makes us one with him, and fills us with his life. It invites us, with exquisite courtesy, to consent to his dwelling within us, to welcome the Word of God into our hearts, enabling us to respond to him in love and to reach out in love towards one another.
Benedict XVI
Vespers (Nazareth)
May 14, 2009

God bless the Pope!

Exams

I can't promise very much by way of posts, other than odd reminders, as I will be engaged in marking GCSE Modern Language exams for the next month.

Sunday sung Mass in Bradford.

Just a reminder that there is a sung Mass tomorrow (Sunday) at St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford at 3.00p.m. The setting will be Lux et origo, with the Regina Caeli and Adoro te devote.

Blessed English Martyrs, pray for us

Tomorrow (Monday) is the Feast of the Blessed English Martyrs.

Who could deny that the inspiration of these heroic victims has been a bedrock to so many in recent years as we have seen the Church attacked from within and without?

As a result of a conversation with Fr. Abberton at Ushaw I have been doing some very enjoyable internet research on St Edmund Arrowsmith.

Mass at Broughton Hall at 9.30a.m.

St. Joseph the worker, pray for us.

My eldest son Joe, delighted to learn it was his feast day (again) today, served Mass at Batley this evening. Before Mass we went to confession. I was suddenly shocked when offering my penance I heard Joe's high pitched voice starting his confession. Humming loudly in my head I made my way over to St. Joseph's altar, where the Mass was to be fittingly offered, and I encouraged my youngest son to light some candles and safely out of earshot of that shrill little voice shooting into the air immediately around the "box".

I mused over this during the nicely attended Mass; why I acted as I did. Had it been anybody else I would have moved immediately and thought nothing of it. But was it because it was my son, who could have been innocently "dropping me in it" in the box, or relaying something which would grieve me, etc., which were obvious factors, those which made me move away? I think not. That little penitent, my son, just like those before and after him (me included) entered into that box in the belief that he could say anything that could not be repeated outside of it. Inside I instinctively know that my son made a simple and sincere confession, probably forgotten about by supper time. What I conclude is that me and my boy, dad and lad, spoke to our heavenly Father. It just wasn't for me to hear what my son was saying to the Lord, to whom I had just spoken at exactly the same level.

This led me to muse about the Feast of the Worker, St. Joseph. A foster father with a mandate from God the Father to raise His Divine Son as his own. How touching then was the Gospel - recounting the finding of the Infant Jesus in the Temple. What did St. Joseph think? With what humility must he have approached Jesus? Would his instinct to have been to beat his son, more in relief and thanksgiving than anger? Did St. Joseph realise that this moment was the one he had been expecting since learning of the Incarnation and that Jesus was now an adult? Thereafter we hear nothing more of him in the Gospels.

First Friday

Friday is the first Friday of May. Mass at Broughton at 9.30a.m. at Seacroft at 9.15a.m. and at Batley at 7.30p.m. (preceded by confessions). Mass in Bury at St.Marie's, Manchester Road at 7.30p.m.

A good lead

Fr. Abberton has an excellent little set of posts about veiling at the moment on his Stela maris blogsite. See http://yorkshireshepherd.blogspot.com/.

MAY

May is the month of our Blessed Lady.

Certain pieces of very exciting pieces of information have come my way in the last couple of days which will give me plenty more to pray for during this month dedicated to our Blessed Queen and Mother.

Prayer for England
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother look down in mercy upon England, thy dowry, and upon us who greatly hope and trust in thee.
By thee it was that Jesus, our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world; and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more.
Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the cross, O Sorrowful Mother, Intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold, they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son.
Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith, fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee in our heavenly home.
AMEN.

Feels like Heaven?

This picture from another LMS link of the recent Northern Conference should go down in history.

One priest said that the Mass pictured above was like heaven to him. I would love to see this picture on the front of a future edition of Mass of Ages. Another person said it would be a wonderful Christmas card.

There is a traditional pulse beating strongly in the frozen north and the torrid south.

Deo gratias!
God bless the Pope!

SOLEMN HIGH MASS OF REQUIEM

There is to be a solemn sung Requiem on Monday June 15th. at 7.30p.m. at St. Marie's Gibbett Street, Halifax. This will be for the repose of the soul of Fr. Charles Holmes who died in early April. This date was chosen as it also marks the 52nd. anniversary of Fr. Holmes' ordination to the priesthood in Lisbon, Portugal in 1957.

Mass at Bewerley

During half term there will be a Mass for the feast of St. Augustine at Bewerley Grange chapel, Pateley Bridge on Tuesday May 26th. at 11.30a.m. It will be a sung Mass. Thanks to Fr. Parfitt (pictured at our October Mass).

Reminders to follow.

Walking on sunshine

Ushaw was a wonderful success and even during the short time I was there I was able to do a lot of valuable networking and start to arrange several things in this diocese. The clergy who attended seemed to really enjoy themselves and clearly learned a lot.
To see nine altars being used simultaneously for morning private Masses was a wonderful and memorable sight.
A letter was read out from Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in praise of the LMS's endeavours to offer training in the rubrics of the 1962 Rite of Mass.
The ripples of Ushaw 2009 will be felt for quite a while.

Deo Gratias!
God bless the Pope!

On the road

Tomorrow after school I shall be travelling straight up to Ushaw College in Durham to attend Vespers and Benediction and dinner, to be followed by the Solemn High Mass on Thursday morning, before packing up the twenty sets of red, white and gold vestments along with missals and stands for 10 altars and lots of other things I had to put together and transport to the Sacristan for the week on Sunday, to bring them back home.

Fr. Wiley and Father David Smith are both on the staff with a good number of Leeds priests attending as students. Fr. Wiley e-mailed me earlier today to say how well things were going and said that yesterday's High Mass was as he imagined heaven to be.
I am looking forward to going up to Ushaw and to re-establishing links with clergy who attended the Oxford Conference in the summer, who have returned to learn the next step and to get to know the new faces with a view to providing support in the future as they make the EF of the Mass a part of their regular ministry, as do so many of our clergy now in these post Summorum Pontificum days.

God bless the Pope!

Divine Mercy Sunday

Holy Mass will be offered tomorrow - Sunday at 3.00p.m. at the hour of the Divine Mercy at St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford. Quasimodo Sunday, or Missa in albis, or Low Sunday and dedicated by Pope John Paul II as Divine Mercy Sunday is a source of many graces.

In the same deanery but at St. Joseph's , Pontefract later at 6.30p.m. there will be the reception of the body of Fr. Holmes followed by Holy Mass in the OF. Bishop Roche will officiate at the Requiem Mass on Monday.

Happy Easter

Firstly may I thank everybody who enabled the Sacred Triduum to take place so smoothly at Notre Dame chapel, Leeds. Thanks to Father Kravos the University Chaplain, Fr. Hall the celebrant of the entire Triduum whose singing of the Exultet was spine-tingling and whose kindness and patience were more than touching. Thanks to Mike Forbester and his very kind co-cantor for the singing and to Paul, Michael and Joe for the serving. Thanks also to Mr. Rutherford for acting as reader and collector on Holy Saturday.

On Good Friday I woke up with gout.
This has been extremely painful. I have been unable to drive and have spent the best part of the last two days in bed with an uncovered elevated foot, -perhaps also feeling slightly relieved at the rest it has afforded.

I now have to prepare and wrap 20 sets of Vestments, 10 sets of candlesticks, cruets, lavabo bowls and towels, having already dispatched 6 missal stands. I now need to print and laminate 10 sets of vesting prayers, prayers at the foot of the altar and Leonine prayers, prepare markers for 10 missals and set the missals and prepare these for dispatch for Low Week training conference for priests to be held next week at Ushaw.
I hope it's wet tomorrow!


God Bless the Pope!

Holy week begins

There have been several Masses over the weekend in the Traditional Rite for Palm Sunday.

Mass in the newly decorated resplendent church of St. Marie's Halifax was preceded by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament on Saturday.

This morning in beautiful weather we had an open air procession at Broughton. The beautiful Mass witnessed the collapse of a regular attendee before Holy Communion. I have since been in touch with him and he is back at home. Father Parfitt administered a particle of the Host to him and he came round.

There was also Mass at Castleford this afternoon. This church has some of the most beautiful windows I have seen in a church of this era.

The Passion read at Mass today is a preview of what we are to re-live this week. Preparations are well underway for the Triduum to be held at Notre Dame Chapel, Leeds. See the sidebar for details.