Hassle in Heckmondwike

Fr. Abberton has contacted me with urgent news. Due to the need for the erection of scaffolding in the sanctuary at Holy Spirit for the next few weeks and not a few days, it will be impossible for the Mass to be celebrated there for the meantime. Father assures me he will make contact when he is able to resume.

Reminder - Mass resumes at Halifax on Saturday at 6.00 p.m. and on Sunday there will be Masses at Broughton at 11.00 a.m. and at Castleford at 3.00 p.m. - but not in Heckmondwike.

Our next big northern event

Back home for Good Shepherd Sunday

I have been away for a few days at the LMS training conference for priests and servers in Leicestershire. I was there in a teaching capacity, leading a group of six men aged 18 to 68 who were absolute beginners to serve the Low Mass. My eldest son attended as a student to learn to serve the High Mass.
Two of the young married men who were in my group and hailed from Glasgow confessed to being "blown away" by the content of some of my talks on the spirituality and symbolism of the simple Low Mass.  The eldest participant was similarly impressed with reading The Mass in Slow Motion by Mgr Knox at his own pace to place the Mass back in context for him.
I am unused to suddenly having my photograph taken whilst standing in front of some of my Power Point projections as I work, but this week has been something else. Another young man who had only ever encountered the old Mass once whilst on holiday last summer with his family was similarly moved by his experience of seeing the Mass close up. I was extremely privileged this morning to attend a "private" Mass served near perfectly by this lad at 7.30 a.m. The priest who said the Mass recalled that I had served his own first EF Mass years ago at our first ever Training Conference which at that time was only for priests and held in Oxford, where he said he had been well guided through learning it. This priest was the celebrant at one of our high Masses this week.
Our conferences work.
Bishop McMahon gave us an excellent homily for the transferred feast of the Annunciation at the Pontifical  High Mass and speech at the conference afterwards. The Bishop spoke from the heart and with warmth in a gently challenging way which provided ample discussion for me and my group over the following days.  
My group  had clearly been listening to what the Bishop had said and I was pleased that they were challenging his views and mine at our discussions "after class" in the following days. I was glad to talk with them for sessions which instead of being a five minute filler turned into sensible discussion lasting over half an hour at a time.
The combination of  Polish, South African, French, Scottish, English and Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham  priests with all imaginable political and social experiences and the English and Scottish servers made for a truly universal blend of Roman Catholicism.

Reminder- no Mass at Halifax tomorrow.

Sunday:
Broughton Hall - 11.00 a.m.
St. Joseph's, Castleford - 3.00 p.m. 
St Peter's, Leeds Road, Bradford - 3.00 p.m.  Sung Mass.

Late news and a mea culpa

Checking e-mail before heading for bed I've just learned that there is a Divine Sunday Service at Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike at 3.00 p.m. and so there is to be NO traditional Mass there on Low Sunday. I understand that the event will end at around 4.45 p.m.

Due to an oversight on my part there will be NO MASS at Halifax next Saturday (13th April) as Mgr. Smith will be away and I forgot to sort out cover. Mea culpa.

Low, Quasimodo and Divine Mercy Sunday

Masses for this feast,  where we see something of ourselves in Thomas filled with doubt and love.

Saturday - 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Halifax.

Sunday - 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, Skipton (sung)

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

               4.00 p.m. Holy Spirit, Heckmondwike

Monday - the Annunciation - 9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton

                                          7.30 p.m. Immaculate Heart, Moortown,  Leeds

There will be seven public and at least 3 private Masses offered in just three days by at least five priests. Compared to the days when few priests dared to even request permission from Bishop Wheeler, who always gave permission anyway and who appointed the unforgettable Fr. Micheal Cresswell as a regular and permanent celebrant of the pre-conciliar Mass for the rest of his life and as a very dutiful member of the Marriage tribunal with a little flat and oratory attached to the curial offices before Hinsley Hall was ever thought of, we have come a long way. 

This was very convenient for people who lived in the diocese (and from afar) as Father was always on hand to offer Mass and as a gentle confessor to hear confessions.  When Father died in Argentina we became like many dioceses where the continuity of a private daily Mass at which people were welcome to attend somewhere in the diocese, albeit often in a cramped oratory or living room ended. There were of course other priests who continued to offer the old Mass every day in total privacy, the late Canon Ted Wilcock springs to mind. 

Now we, at least in this diocese, have been able to integrate ourselves in a way that there is no longer an obvious us/them and them/us attitude, this must continue to be the way forward. Let's get on with it instead of getting into a big sweat about the Pope's liturgical preferences. Let's face it - the EF is here and is here to stay. The Pope's personal liturgical style is his own as was Cardinal Ratzinger's under Pope John Paul II. Obviously no conflict there.

John Paul II's remit was not liturgical, it was astonishingly political and sexual - leading to the break up of the post Stalinist era and re-affirmation of the traditional teaching on the sanctity of life and value of marriage in view of the horrors of the second world war and its consequences.

Benedict's remit was in part liturgical and in part ecumenical - it was also about bringing balance.

Armed with what we have been given by the last two Popes we need to continue to support the Papacy   and our Pope Francis and not submit to the near despair of some of the naysayers I have read and heard. I know lots of good people who just carried on in the confused and confusing days of the Pontificate of Paul VI whether they liked it or not, but they never stopped believing that tradition has its place and that Paul was the Pope but moreover that Christian charity was overriding.

We need to accept what we have been given in the Missal of Pope John XXIII of 1962, the recent revised English Missal, Humanae vitae, Veritas Splendor, Credo of the People of God, Sacramentum Caritatis, Summorum Pontificum, Evangelium Vitae, Ordinatio Sacerdotalis and all the rest of the teachings and letters of Pope Francis' most recent post-war predecessors. 

Our new Pontiff now has a different mission but no less Catholic than those of Wojtila and Ratzinger, Montini, Sarto, Breakspeare or even Peter himself.

Christus vincit!

First Friday

Friday is the first Friday of April.

Mass will be at Broughton Hall at 9.30 a.m. but there will be no Mass at Immaculate Heart Leeds. Instead the Mass will be there on Monday (the transferred feast of the Annunciation or the Incarnation). This will be at 7.30 p.m.
Confessions at call at both Masses. Thanks to Fathers Parfitt and Wiley for these Masses.

Battle is o'er

It is almost the end of Lent. Easter is upon us - the highlight of the Christian Year. Christ's victory over death opens the way for our salvation. The Word made flesh now defies what is human and rises from the grave. Joy abounds as we are reminded of this in the Liturgy as all our senses are touched in a mystical way. Creation, the  Incarnation, light, warmth, truth, baptism, forgiveness, marriage, priesthood, the Eucharist, battle overcome by righteous victory and all that is beautiful and natural become interspersed as the Liturgy connects us with heaven and time somehow becomes different. We viscerally receive the risen Lord before Holy Communion.
   
Our Triduum at the chaplaincy concludes tomorrow evening with the Vigil. The traditional collection for the celebrant will take place at the offertory. Thank you for the healthy collection for the Holy Places today which I have left with Fr. Kravos.

Our final hymn on Saturday, Battle is o'er, will be followed by the Regina Caeli.

Confessions available at call.

Reminder of the remainder of Holy Week:

30 March     HOLY SATURDAY
          7.30 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds   
31 March      EASTER SUNDAY
          11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.     
          3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Confession

I have been hearing and reading a lot recently about people's return to the Sacrament of Penance and how the unburdening of their souls has given them a renewed impetus to put their lives back on track and so it was very rewarding tonight to see people being shriven before and after Mass tonight.

In a splendid Mass Fr. Hall preached movingly and as evocatively as ever on the Blessed Eucharist - the Word made flesh - a real presence, which leads the procession after Mass to the suffering in the garden and our altar of repose where that which is enshrined there in the tabernacle - is Christ who dwells amongst us, as He was in the Virgin's womb.

I enjoy listening to Fr. Hall's sermons as much as I like reading Mgr. Ronald Knox's sermons.  Tomorrow Fr. Hall will again sing the Passion according to Saint John at the Good Friday Liturgy. A collection for the Holy Places will be taken as tradition dictates.

Confession at call.

For the rest of Holy Week:

29 March     GOOD FRIDAY
          3.00 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds
30 March     HOLY SATURDAY
          7.30 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds   
31 March      EASTER SUNDAY
          11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.     
          3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

The Sacred Triduum and Easter

The weather over the weekend was utterly abysmal in many parts of the diocese and understandably Mass attendance was down by at least two thirds of what we would normally expect on a regular weekend. There is still nearly a metre of snow in our back garden and parking in front of the house is impossible. In other parts of the diocese there is hardly any snow. I was in Leeds preparing for tomorrow this evening and hardly a sign of any snow there now.

Our Triduum at Notre Dame, Leeds University Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds will go ahead as planned as will the other Easter Masses listed below:

28 March     MAUNDY THURSDAY
         7.30 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds
29 March     GOOD FRIDAY
          3.00 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds
30 March     HOLY SATURDAY
          7.30 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds   
31 March      EASTER SUNDAY
          11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.     
          3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

Palm Sunday

Holy Week 2013 is almost upon us.

Masses for Palm Sunday

Saturday Vigil 6.30 p.m. St. Mary's, Halifax
Sunday 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, Skipton
              3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford

Passion Sunday

Today sees the veiling of statues until Holy Saturday's Mass. The Judica Me is not said as one of the prayers at the foot of the altar to further prune back the Mass in anticipation of the awesome events we  celebrate at Easter - the liturgy seems to deny itself the extra good things. Instead the psalm forms the Introit of the Mass. 

Masses today:

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

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

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

Please think about attending our Sacred Triduum at Notre Dame Chapel this year - details of which are given in the sidebar. Father Kravos, the chaplain and one of our celebrants has been very kind us at the chaplaincy and when he was Parish Priest at Our Lady of Lourdes in Leeds. Our celebrant for the Triduum is again Father Hall who is becoming something of an old hand at this and I am more than grateful to him for his pastoral concern and generosity of spirit. 

It was nice to read on the Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy newsletter this week that the Latin Mass Society was responsible for renovating the Crucifix outside the chapel. I hope one of our younger members and student at Leeds University responsible for that is reading this! I remember many years ago one of my predecessors as rep, Mrs Rutherford, mounting a very successful campaign to raise funds for the renovation of the statue of our Lady of the Crag at Knaresborough.   

I hope Francis will prove to be a popular name for this year's confirmands.

God bless the Pope!

God bless Pope Francis!

Habemus Papam!

We have a Pope!

White smoke at 6.07 p.m. from the Sistine Chapel signalled to the world that the conclave was over and that a new Pontiff has been elected.

Pope Francis I,  the Argentinian Jorge Mario Bergoglio (SJ) and Archbishop of Buenos Aries

Now gloriously reigning.

Conclave

 

A lot of Catholic and non-Catholic friends and colleagues who know of my interest in these things have asked me whom I would like to see emerge as the next Pope, what name would I like him to take etc.

Of course I have an opinion and a couple of preferences, but those are not for here. I am more certain about whom I would not wish to see and again that is not for here. I have been similarly interested to hear the views of others.

Only God knows who will emerge and it is our duty at this time to pray that the man chosen by the Cardinal electors will lead the Church faithfully and with strength and courage. It is not an easy job as our Pontiff Emeritus has proven and the new Pope will have a heavy cross to carry. Many might wish to see a return to the halcyon days of the early part of the last century or to the heady days of the immediate post-conciliar era. These I would suggest are pipe dreams as times have changed beyond recognition. Godlessness is rampant, secularism, militant atheism and anti-Christianity seem to lacerate society, particularly in Western cultures. South America is being claimed by Protestant sects because the Church there has lost its way and its identity. People are finding a different opium here and in all corners of the earth. Does any of this mean that what the Church actually teaches is wrong and needs to be updated or moderated to fit in with the latest politically correct agenda? No. We don't have a Church which bends to public will like many other Christian denominations including the C of E. Abortion, contraception, women priests, gay marriage and all the other old hot potatoes are not up for discussion. They cannot be. Christ founded His Church on Peter and they didn't nail either of them to a cross because they were nice guys who loved and approved of everything men and women do. There was always going to be conflict with Christ's message and that of his established Church on earth. That the wise man brought myrrh to the manger at Bethlehem and Simeon's words show that it wasn't going to be a lovely holiday. Yes, ours is a Church of sinners - were it not there would be no need for the Sacraments, particularly that of Penance, but this doesn't make the teachings any less true, pure or sacred. Our positive response is our call to personal holiness and most of us regularly fail in this but we keep trying. To change things - to make it all easier and less relevant would be a revolting betrayal of what the Lord entrusted his first Pope with. We will all stand in judgement one day.
Let us pray then that the Holy Spirit gives us a Pope for the needs of today and tomorrow and continues the corrective agenda given to us by recent Popes who have been great teachers of the Faith and morals in light of the direction taken by the authors of the nebulous and often erroneous "spirit of Vatican II" which has been trotted out for far too long. Heterodoxy does not serve Christ or his Church well. It cannot. We need only look at the Reformation in our country and the shambles which is the C of E to see where this leads. Humanae Vitae, Veritas Splendour and Summorum Pontificum are, for example, teaching documents which allow us to look at and accept the reforms of the Council through that hermeneutic of continuity which our most recent Pontiff regularly spoke and wrote.

The above views are entirely mine and do not reflect the views of the LMS.

Laetare Sunday

On Sunday we are at the midpoint through Lent. It is Laetare Sunday and the penitential purple gives way to the rose, the Church's way of saying to us to continue with our penance, fasting, prayer and almsgiving - there is light at the end of the tunnel.

Masses will be as follows:

Saturday (Vigil) 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
Sunday 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.
              3.00 p.m. St. Peter's, Leeds Road, Laisterdyke, Bradford (Sung).
              3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.


HOLY WEEK MASSES

23-24 March.  PALM SUNDAY
Vigil 6.00 p.m. St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax.
         11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.     
         3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.
25 March 
        9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.
26 March
        9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.
27 March    Spy Wednesday
         9.30 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.
28 March     MAUNDY THURSDAY
         7.30 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds
29 March     GOOD FRIDAY
          3.00 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds
30 March     HOLY SATURDAY
          7.30 p.m.  Notre Dame, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds   
31 March      EASTER SUNDAY
          11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart , Broughton Hall, Skipton.     
          3.00 p.m. St. Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford.

In the meantime let us pray that we have a new Pontiff before the Easter bells peal at the Gloria of the Holy Saturday Mass.

Holy Week

I am delighted to announce that the Sacred Triduum will once again be celebrated this Easter at Notre Dame Chapel, Leeds University Catholic Chaplaincy, St. Mark's Avenue, Leeds. 

Times to follow.

So

Well here we are.
Benedict XVI "EP"* is I pray happily in retirement and at the same time we have no Pope. The silver hammer traditionally used by the Camerlengo to check if a Pope is dead will for our last Pope not now be used.
*EP - Emeritus Pontiff who gave us the EF.

Our thoughts can respectfully return to the matter in hand. A new Pope.

Anybody with an opinion and his brother will know who the next best Pope will be. Even more people will believe that they know what the Church needs and even more will like me have a personal favourite.
But nobody actually knows who will emerge as the next Pope.

Let our next Pope continue to lead us in the Faith to reach our heavenly home.

On Friday evening  Father Wiley offered Mass for the election of a Pontiff and it was a pleasure to see a chap who attended our training day in February serve the Mass with near perfection.
At the end of Mass we sang "Lord for tomorrow and its needs".
Father Wiley commented afterwards on how strange it felt to mention neither the name of the pope nor that of the bishop during the Canon.

This weekend:

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

              6.00 p.m. (Vigil Lent III) St. Mary's, Gibbet Street, Halifax
             
Sunday 11.00 a.m. Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall, near Skipton- Missa cantata
             3.00 p.m. St Joseph's, Pontefract Road, Castleford
             4.00 p.m. Holy Spirit, Bath Road, Heckmondwike

Gratias tibi ago

Sunday Mass at Broughton Hall

The regular first Sunday Mass at Sacred Heart, Broughton Hall near Skipton will be upon us shortly. Thereafter Mass will be offered EVERY Sunday at 11.00 a.m. instead of at 10.00 a.m. It is hoped that the later time will be more attractive to those who live some distance away from the chapel including those from this side of the Salford and Lancaster dioceses.
As ever thanks to Father Parfitt for this.

Mass for election of a Pope

On Friday we will be truly sede vacante in Leeds - no Pope, no Bishop.

The Mass at Immaculate Heart, Leeds on Friday (1st. March) at 7.30 p.m. will be a Votive Mass for the election of a supreme Pontiff. It would be good to see a good number of people at this Mass to pray for a worthy successor to Pope Benedict - a man, whoever he is, who will need great courage and strength to guide the Church.

Please make an extra Lenten first Friday effort to hear this Mass.

New title

I have just read on the Transalpine Redemptorists' blog that from 7.00 p.m. GMT Pope Benedict will be referred to as His Holiness, Benedict XVI, Bishop Emeritus of Rome. For the announcement copy and paste the following link

 http://papastronsay.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/his-holiness-benedict-xvi-bishop.html