It's not just me....I knew it wasn't!

An Anglican clergyman and scholar from Oxford notes on his blog* about Basil Loftus...

"The man is a complete charlatan in the way he uses misinformation to deceive. I have just read a piece about how Rome subverts the desire of Vatican II for a vernacular liturgy. In this he fails to mention what V2 actually says ... and supports this assertion by a rhetorical trope of Paul VI, the word Dammit, and a claim that V2 is all about ecclesia semper reformanda."

I have long held the view that Basil knows only too well the dangers posed by the EF and the hermeneutic of continuity to his cosy but gaga ideas about "Church".

People like Basil were ten a penny in the seventies and eighties and are now an ageing breed. Do these people serve a purpose (like the doddering gang in charge of Catholics for a changing Church) in so much as anything they say can be taken with a large pinch of salt and ignored, given that what they call for is not the mandate of Christ or His Church?

* http://liturgicalnotes.blogspot.com/2010/08/some-priestling-called-loftus.html

Masses this weekend and other news

Masses will be offered fulfilling the Sunday obligation this weekend as follows:

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

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

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

Sunday 6.00p.m. Our Lady of Lourdes, Cardigan Road, Leeds. N.B. This will be the LAST Mass at Cardigan Road, as we will be relocating shortly. Details to follow.

The experiment with regular monthly Sunday evening Masses in suburban Leeds has been judged unsuccessful and with the dark nights to be shortly upon us again a new time and venue have been found, this also has to do with the fact that the church is to eventually close as part of the new pastoral provision in Leeds. Thanks to the PP Father Jackson (and his predecessor Fr. Kravos) who has been very kind to us - since he is to move shortly to St Augustine's in Leeds where we have already have one of our our third Sunday Masses, it is not even a case of au revoir let alone adieu!

Occasional EF celebrant and PP of St. Augustine's Fr. Kelly is to go to St. Austin's, Wakefield as curate. We already have a sung Requiem Mass "booked" at the chantry chapel in December to be sung by Fr. Smith, the Episcopal Vicar for Clergy and a regular celebrant of the EF.

We also bid a fond farewell to the PP of Our Lady of Good Counsel, Seacroft, Fr. Billington who is taking up a full time position at Ushaw. This means that there will be no more Friday Masses at Seacroft. Every good wish to Fr. Billington.

Father Wiley is to move to the newly formed Parish of St. John Vianney, which incorporates the former parishes of Immaculate Heart, Moortown and St. Paul's, Alwoodly.

He has already asked me to pencil in a couple of dates, as he did when he was at St. Columba's, Bradford.

I have also several priests to contact who have asked me to discuss the possibility of future Masses with them or other priests.

This morning (Friday) I was delighted to receive a cordial invitation from the Conference of Bishops of England, Wales and Scotland to attend the Beatification Mass of the Venerable John Henry Newman by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI at Cofton Park, with my eldest daughter.

I saw the last Pope several times both here and in Italy years later. I have seen Cardinal Ratzinger before, having even translated something written in his own hand from his native German into English.

But I have never attended a beatification Mass and I haven't seen the present Pope since he accepted the throne of Peter.

Delighted to accept the invitation.

God bless the Pope!

Who attacks the EF these days?

I have only ever bought the Tablet once and I long ago dispensed with taking the Catholic Times.

The reason for this is that I hate the attacks on the EF by Basil Loftus who is a retired priest of this diocese now living in Scotland.

Mgr Basil, whose father was a leading light in the early days of the very existence of the Latin Mass Society, will use any opportunity to criticize and downplay the vital role the EF has to play in the future identity of the Church, as seen by the tired and painful nonsense he churns out on a regular basis. Is this real hatred or is he overawed by the power of it?

Does the editor of the Catholic Times really "Follow Peter" by giving space to somebody who appears to worship V2 as something more than a pastoral council, the spirit of which still deludes itself into thinking that there was something new under the sun and that V2 was it? If so which Peter are we being exhorted to follow?

Surely the Catechism is enough for us as Catholics to accept and if we put the horrors of the past behind us, including the ever increasingly obvious erroneous spirit of V2 which seems to give the impression you can do what you like really, then the future's bright. It can't be anything but bright.

God bless the Pope! God bless Benedict XVI!

Important note - Masses this weekend

The 3.00p.m. Mass at Batley has been postponed until next Saturday, but Mass is due to recommence at Halifax at 6.00p.m.

On Sunday there will be Mass at Castleford at 3.00pm.

I have been very busy meeting and contacting clergy this week and have arranged to meet with the Bishop after the Papal visit.

It is very interesting that at least three of the priests invited to meet the Holy Father in some capacity in September are celebrants of the EF in this diocese and all ordained since 1970.

Some of you may remember that under a former bishop no priest was permitted to offer the EF if he had been ordained after 1970 in this diocese. Mass in parish churches was discouraged.

Thankfully there were always faithful and generous priests who never said no to us and our legal requests. Some of these good men have now gone to their eternal repose but Mass is regularly offered for them. These include Cardinal Heenan, Bishop Wheeler, Fathers Cooke (OMI), Pepper, Holmes, Doughty, Woodward, Brooke, Cresswell, Scannell, and the many others who said yes whenever they could.

Today we have a new generation of priests as well as the older (but not necessarily elderly) stalwarts who are ready, willing and able to offer Mass in both forms. Even three years ago this would have been unthinkable.

One thing I have learned as a parent, teacher and moreover as lms rep is the virtue of patience! Some things take a long time to come to fruition. This last couple of weeks have seen quite a lot of fruition.

Details to follow.

God bless the Pope!

Back from holiday

Two weeks off and away have made me feel much refreshed. This Sunday is the feast of the Assumption, the Holyday which comes round faster and faster every year .
Mass at Halifax has been suspended until next Saturday but on Sunday there will be Mass at Castleford, St. Joseph's Pontefract Road at 3.00p.m. and at Leeds, St.Augustine's, Harehills Road at 5.00p.m.
There is no Mass at Halifaxthe language of worship. Their Church utilizes every means of taking people beyond everyday interests; the language of commerce and of everyday occupation is left outside, and the people are taught the language of worship. That shows a shrewd, deep insight into the human mind."

--The Mass by Fr. Joseph Dunney.

Impressed

It was a great pleasure to talk to a chap not much older than me who was a "first timer" for many years, after Mass at Castleford today.

He was clearly impressed and moved by what he had re-experienced and he was able to well articulate what he thought had been disastrous within the Church over the last four decades or so.

If that good man comes across this blog please feel free to attend any more of our Masses, listed on the right hand side of this posting.

No Mass at Halifax for the next two weeks

There will be no Mass at St. Mary's Halifax for the next two weeks and so the next Traditional Mass will be Saturday 22nd. August at 6.00p.m.

LMS press release

The LMS recently announced that Bishop Athanasius Schneider ORC, will attend the forthcoming priests' training conference.

The release states:

Bishop Athanasius Schneider to attend conference

The Latin Mass Society has announced that Bishop Athanasius Schneider ORC, Auxiliary Bishop of Karaganga in Kazakhstan, will be attending the forthcoming priests' training conference held at Downside Abbey from Tuesday 10th to Friday 13th August. Bishop Schneider will celebrate a Solemn Pontifical Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Abbey Church at Downside on Thursday 12th August at 11.00 am. He will also deliver a lecture as part of the conference.
Around 30 priests are expected to attend the conference where tuition will be given in the celebration of Mass in the older form. Some will be beginners, and will be studying Low Mass; whilst others with more experience will be expanding their skills to include Missa Cantata and Missa Solemnis. Tuition will also be provided for altar servers.
Bishop Schneider is best known for his defence of the traditional practice of receiving Holy Communion on the tongue and kneeling. His book, Dominus Est, originally written in Italian but now available in English, deals with the subject in some detail. The public will be able to attend the 11.00am Mass in the Abbey Church each day of the conference, but will be particularly welcome at the Pontifical Mass on the Thursday.
There are a few last minute places available at the Downside conference. Priests and potential servers interestedshould contact the Latin Mass Society by telephoning 020 7404 7284 for further information and an application form.

This will be the 6th conference to be organised by the LMS during the last 3 years. Earlier ones have been held at Merton College in Oxford, Ushaw College in Co Durham and All Saints Pastoral Centre in London Colney, Herts.
Over 100 priests have attended these conferences, of whom about 85 now regularly celebrate Mass in the Usus Antiquior.
Practically all restrictions on the use of the Usus Antiquior or Extraordinary Form were lifted by Pope Benedict XVI in his motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, published in July 2007. Since then the number of both Sunday and weekday Masses celebrated in the Usus Antiquior has increased in all dioceses of England and Wales.
The website of the Latin Mass Society includes listings of Masses celebrated in this form. See www.latin-mass-society.org

Blog comments

Since establishing this blogsite I have never needed or wanted to moderate any comments made by anybody. Recently I have started to receive several "comments" on a regular basis which turn out to be a link to some oriental pornographic web pages - something a Priest blogger also reported happening to him a while ago.

However, I have always maintained, this blogsite is primarily an informative effort with personal observations and not designed as a forum for discussion, as there are plenty of other blogsites which encourage this and whose editors can devote more time to it.

Thanks to our oriental friends, who I'm sure could employ their hands and minds far more productively, I have decided to cease allowing blog comments at least until speaking to a more advanced and experienced blogger who can show me how to prevent this happening. I shall be in no immediate rush to do this. I have tired of deleting the comments/links from this nasty and creepy source.

First Holy Communion

Tomorrow is our son's First Confession and First Holy Communion Mass. The Mass will be at St. Mary of the Angels, Batley at 3.00p.m. and will be a Missa Cantata.

Pentecost VIII

Masses on Sunday.

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

Leeds, St. Augustine's, Harehills Rd. 5.00p.m. Mass will be offered by the Parish Priest, Fr. Michael Kelly.

What a blessing

On a scale of 1 to 10 where 10 is good, my week at school was hovering around minus 5, when I left at 5.00p.m. this evening. Thinking that things couldn't get worse I arrived home half an hour later to discover that my youngest son had thrown a stone and broken a neighbour's (large) front window.

I immediately went over to offer to pay for any damage. The lady was very nice and the first thing she said was that as soon as he had done it, he went and told her what had happened and to apologise before telling his Mum. I felt proud that he had done the right thing - next week is First Confession and Holy Communion for him.

Later he admitted that the whole thing could have been avoided if he had done as he had been taught- to only throw stones into the sea.

Small stones cast long ripples!

Busy, busy

Since the Bishop's latest round of new appointments I have been busy contacting clergy to continue existing provision, whilst discussing with the Rev Co-ordinator for the Extraordinary Form of Mass, possible future openings. I do receive letters requesting Mass in various parishes from people who do not know how to go about it or are too afraid to ask, for lots of reasons.

Fortunately the majority of clergy in this diocese are more than happy to help me if asked, even if the old Mass is not to their own taste. It is the occasional contact with these Priests which I enjoy, because they see that we are not out to do anything seditious and we often share concerns about how difficult it is to reach out to people in an out of control secular state.

Bishop Roche's support, in appointing priests to teach the rubrics (pre Summorum Pontificum) and to co-ordinate the old Mass (post Summorum Pontificum) were and still possibly are, unprecedented, as far as I am aware.

There are some unsatisfactory things which need to be addressed, and again I hear far more of these than anything.

So as things change over the next few weeks I shall take the recent changes and information received into consideration.

Today marks the third anniversary of Summorum Pontificum and we must give thanks to God for all the positive benefits this has brought, but there is a lot more to do.

God bless the Pope!

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!