First Thursday at Weston-super-Mare - date change

Fr Martin Queenan is unable to celebrate the First Thursday Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston-super-Mare, on 7th February. He will be celebrating the Mass instead on Thursday 14th February, at 9.30am.

Epiphany Mass in Bath - report

For the first time since the late 1960s, a Missa Cantata was celebrated on the feast of Epiphany at the beautiful church of Our Lady and St Alphege in Bath. The church, designed by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott in the 1920s, in the style of an early Christian basilica, provides a wonderful setting for Mass. With the recent arrival of Fr Kevin Knox-Lecky as parish priest, the Traditional form of the Mass has been restored to St Alphege’s on third Sundays and holy days.

The feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord was celebrated with great beauty and dignity. The music was exquisite: the choir, conducted by Elizabeth Bates, sang Victoria’s O Magnum Mysterium, and the offertory motet was Reges Tarsis by Palestrina. Of the six servers at the altar, three were brand new to serving, and for two of them, including a young man of 13, it was the first Latin Mass they had ever served. It was a great event for all, and we look forward to more musical Masses at 

St Alphege’s in the future.

LMS Launches Sodality of St Augustine of Hippo for the Conversion of Lapsed Catholics and Others

This is a really good idea, and you are warmly encouraged to join...

Introduction to the LMS Sodality of St Augustine of Hippo.

The purpose of the Sodality is to unite the prayers of members for the conversion of those dear to them. There can be few Catholics today who do not have family members or close friends who have either lapsed from the practice of the Faith, or never had it; it is a particular source of grief when parents see children and grandchildren living without the support of the Sacraments. We take heart from the example of St Augustine, converted at last by the prayers and tears of his mother St Monica, and wish to demonstrate our fellowship with others in the same position, by praying not only for our own dear ones, but for those of others who will do the same for ours.

Sodality members undertake to say every day the prayer Pro devotis amicis, taken from the Roman Missal, for the Sodality’s intention; members who are priests undertake to say one Mass a month for this intention. The intention is the conversion or return to the Faith of family and friends of Sodality members. The intended beneficiaries of our prayers are not listed, except in the hearts of Sodality members. The Latin Mass Society, to which the Sodality is affiliated, will arrange and announce in advance at least one public, Traditional Sung (or Solemn) Mass for the Sodality’s intentions a year.

Sodality members, both lay and clerical, may add other Masses, prayers, and devotions, for the Sodality’s intention, and are encouraged to do so. In particular, members will be asked annually if they wish to make a contribution to the costs of the Sodality’s public Mass or Masses, and whether they would like to make a Mass offering for an additional Mass or Masses to be said for the Sodality’s intention, which the Latin Mass Society will arrange, to be celebrated according to the Extraordinary Form. (The customary Mass Offering is £10.)

Membership of the Sodality is free and open to all; members sign up by email (info@lms.org.uk).

The Sodality Prayer: Pro devotis amicis 

(which may be said in Latin or any other language):

language):

D

eus, qui caritátis dona per grátiam Sancti Spíritus tuórum fidélium córdibus infudísti : da fámulis et famulábus tuis, pro quibus tuam deprecámur cleméntiam, salútem mentis et córporis ; ut te tota virtúte díligent, et quæ tibi plácita sunt, tota dilectióne perfíciant. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum Fílium tuum, qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte eiúsdem Spíritus Sancti, Deus, per ómnia saecula sæculórum. Amen.

O

 God, who, by the grace of the Holy Ghost, hast poured the gifts of charity in the hearts of thy faithful, grant to thy servants and handmaids, for whom we entreat thy mercy, health of mind and body; that they may love thee with all their strength and, by perfect love, may do what is pleasing to thee. Through our Lord Jesus Christ thy Son, who liveth and reigneth in the unity of the same Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen.

Masses for the intention of the Sodality should include, when possible, the Commemoration ‘Pro Devotis Amicis’ (Collect, Secret and Postcommunion) found in the Roman Missal. Adding such a Commemoration is possible in the 1962 Missal on Fourth Class Feasts at Low Mass, where no more than one Commemoration is demanded by the Ordo.

 For further information, please contact Mike Lord, General Manager,

on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 7831 5585; (E mail) michael@lms.org.uk

Missa Cantata for Epiphany

The great feast of the Epiphany of Our Lord will be celebrated on Sunday 6th January with a Missa Cantata at Our Lady and St Alphege, Oldfield Lane, Bath BA2 3NR, at 12 noon.

Low Mass will be celebrated on Epiphany at St Benedict's Stratton-on-the-Fosse; Holy Cross Bedminster;  Prinknash Abbey; and St Dominic's Dursley at the normal Sunday times - please see the sidebar for details.

Publication of FIUV Traditional Position Papers in a Single Volume

The International Federation Una Voce (FIUV), to which the Latin Mass Society is affiliated, announces the publication of a collection of short Position Papers on aspects of the Traditional Mass (Extraordinary Form), which represent an  important contribution to the ongoing debate about the Catholic liturgy.

The papers are short but include many references to the Magisterium, and seek to express the main arguments on each topic in a pithy and easily understood way.

The topics include the manner of receiving Communion (in the hand or on the tongue), worship facing east, the use of Latin, altar girls, the Eucharistic fast, and the role of the traditional liturgy in the New Evangelisation. Copies are available from Lulu:

http://www.lulu.com/shop/ed-joseph-shaw/fiuv-position-papers/paperback/product-20582834.html

"Let me say simply that reading and ruminating over the FIUV Papers on the Liturgy could serve as a marvellous primer for anyone, clergy or laity, on how to address what often ends up being controversial, doing so in a very different and respectful manner." 

Archbishop Thomas Gullickson, Nuncio to the Ukraine.

Update - Midnight Mass at Our Lady of Lourdes

In addition to the Masses listed below, there will be a Low Mass celebrated at midnight on Christmas Eve, at Our Lady of Lourdes in Weston-super-Mare.

This is the first Midnight Mass in the Extraordinary Form to be celebrated in the diocese of Clifton since Vatican II.

Masses in December and early Jan, including Christmas Day and Epiphany

The great feast of the Immaculate Conception, Saturday 8th December, will be celebrated with Low Masses at:

8am at St Dominic's Dursley, 
8.15am at Prinknash Abbey
10am at Our Lady and St Kenelm, Stow-on-the-Wold.

On 11th December there will be a Low Mass at the Eyre Chantry, Perrymead Cemetery in Bath, at 12.30pm.

On Christmas Day the following Latin Masses will be celebrated:

SS Joseph and Teresa, Wells – 8am Low Mass

St Dominic's Dursley – 8.30am Low Mass

Our Lady and St Kenelm, Stow on the Wold  – 11.30am Low Mass

Holy Cross, Bedminster  – 11.45am Low Mass

Our Lady and St Alphege, Bath – 12 noon Low Mass

Looking ahead to the feast of Epiphany, which falls on the first Sunday of 2013, Mass will be celebrated as follows:

St Benedict's Stratton on the Fosse - 11.15am Low Mass

Our Lady and St Alphege, Bath - 12 noon Missa Cantata

Prinknash Abbey - 3pm Low Mass

St Dominic's Dursley - 5.30pm Low Mass

Confirmations in the Traditional Rite in London

The Latin Mass Society held its annual ceremony of Confirmations in the Extraordinary Form on Saturday, 24 November. Bishop Alan Hopes, auxiliary in the Archdiocese of Westminster, conferred the Sacrament to 23 candidates at St James’s Church, Spanish Place, in central London. Assisting the bishop were Fr Rupert McHardy, Cong. Orat., Fr Tim Finigan and the parish priest of St James’s, Fr Christopher Colven. The Confirmations were followed by Pontifical Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Afterwards, the confirmands, their sponsors, and families went for lunch in St James’s parish centre, where Bishop Hopes cut a celebratory cake.

LMS General Manager, Mike Lord, said: ‘We were delighted with the number of candidates we received for Traditional Confirmations in London this year, particularly as there had been, for the first time, two other Traditional Confirmation ceremonies this year in Wirral and Stoke-on-Trent. We would like to thank Bishop Hopes for agreeing to confer the Sacrament this year and look forward to another successful event in London next year. We would very much like to see other Confirmations in the Extraordinary Form across the whole country and would urge all bishops to consider offering this Sacrament in its traditional form in their dioceses as part of their pastoral care for the faithful.’

Change to time of Glastonbury Mass

The 3rd Sunday Mass at Our Lady of Glastonbury will henceforward be celebrated at 12.30pm instead of 12.15pm.
Please make a note of the new time, and pass on the news to anyone who might be interested.

Requiem Mass at the Eyre Chantry, Bath

On 13^th November Fr Alexander Redman celebrated a Low Requiem Mass at the Eyre Chantry in Perrymead Cemetery, Bath.

This miniature jewel of a chapel was built by Charles Francis Hansom in the 1860s for John Lewis Eyre, as a burial place and chantry for the Eyre family. Hansom designed an elaborate French Gothic chapel, with a beautiful altar in the form of a sepulchre containing an alabaster figure of Christ. In the crypt are buried members of the Eyre family, Recusants who came originally from Derbyshire.

Fr Redman preached on the vital importance of praying, and offering Mass for the suffering souls in Purgatory. There are countless examples of chantry chapels, tombs and crypts in churches around the country, now no longer in Catholic hands, which were built in the confident expectation that Mass would be celebrated in perpetuity. The souls of these faithful departed no longer receive the benefit of Masses or intercessionary prayers. Fr Redman encouraged us to pray for these departed souls whenever we visit a church – particularly a pre-Reformation church – where Mass is no longer celebrated.

The Mass today was offered for the souls of all the departed Eyre family – many of whom entered the religious life and the priesthood. One member of the family, Charles Eyre, became the first post-Reformation Bishop of Glasgow.

The chapel is otherwise unused, and is closed to the public for most of the year. It was a most moving and beautiful sight to witness the Mass being celebrated here again, in the rite and for the purpose for which it was intended. The cold, dusty building was transformed into a place of light and prayer, ready once more to receive the presence of Our Lord.

The hope is that a monthly requiem Mass will be offered here all year round. Please check this website for further details.

Solemn High Requiem Mass for All Souls at Holy Cross, Bedminster

On the feast of All Souls a Solemn High Requiem Mass was celebrated at Holy Cross church in Bedminster, Bristol. The celebrant was Fr Philip Thomas, the deacon was Fr Alexander Redman, and the sub-deacon was Fr Martin Queenan.

The St John’s Festival choir, led by Elizabeth Bates, sang the Missa de Profundis by Giovanni Anerio (1567-1630), a haunting early Baroque setting. Anerio was associated with the Oratory of St Philip Neri and became the maestro di cappella at the Basilica of St John Lateran.

The church of Holy Cross was built in 1922 in the Byzantine style. With its imposing High Altar and stately baldacchino, it was a fitting location for a most beautiful and moving Mass. We are extremely grateful to all the priests involved in celebrating the Mass, and to Fr Andrew Goodman for kindly hosting it. We also sincerely thank all the servers and the fantastic choir, who provided us with such outstanding music.

Requiem aeternam dona eis Domine.

A view of the church before the start of Mass:

Missa Cantata and Juventutem Social - Wednesday 7 November 2012

'Renew your faith by attending Holy Mass. Keep your mind focused on the mystery that is unfolding before your eyes. In your mind's eye transport yourself to Calvary and meditate on the Victim who offers Himself to Divine Justice, paying the price of your redemption.' St Padre Pio 

Juventutem Bristol has organised a Missa Cantata on Wednesday 7 November 2012 (Feria) at 6.30pm at Holy Cross, Dean Lane, Bedminster, Bristol, BS3 1DB which is followed by a Juventutem Social.

Furthermore, the Holy Mass is offered for the intentions of the Bristol Pro-Life Groups.

Confessions in the Traditional Rite is normally available from 6.00pm

Mass open to all

Social is reserved to those aged 18 - 35

Please support the Holy Mass and encourage other young orthodox Catholics to attend! Introduce someone to the beauty of the Traditional Latin Mass.

Masses in Clifton for All Saints and All Souls

All Saints Day – Thursday 1^st November

St Dominic’s, Dursley – 8am Low Mass

Prinknash Abbey – 8.15am Low Mass

Our Lady of Lourdes, Weston-super-Mare – 9 am Low Mass

Our Lady and St Kenelm, Stow-on-the-Wold – 11am Low Mass

Our Lady and St Alphege, Bath – 12 noon Low Mass

Our Lady of Glastonbury - 12.15pm Low Mass

Holy Cross, Bedminster – 12.45pm Low Mass

SS Joseph and Teresa, Wells – 7.30pm Low Mass

The Immaculate Conception, Devizes – 6pm Low Mass

All Souls Day – Friday 2^nd November

St Dominic’s, Dursley – 8 am THREE Low Masses in succession.

Our Lady and St Kenelm, Stow-on-the-Wold – 11 am Low Mass

Prinknash Abbey – 11 am Low Mass

Our Lady and St Alphege, Bath – 12 noon Low Mass

SS Joseph and Teresa, Wells – 12 noon Low Mass

The Immaculate Conception, Devizes – 6 pm Low Mass

Holy Cross, Bedminster – 7.30 pm Solemn High Requiem Mass

Mass at the Eyre Chantry, Bath

Low Mass will be celebrated at the Grade II* Eyre Chantry at the Perrymead cemetery in Bath, BA2 5AZ at 12.30pm on Tuesday 13^th November, and again at 12.30pm on Tuesday 11^th December.

The Eyre Chantry is a beautiful private chapel built by the Recusant Catholic Eyre family of Derbyshire in the 1860s. The architect was Charles Francis Hansom, the architect of St Gregory’s, Cheltenham and St John the Evangelist in Bath. It is an outstanding example of mid-19^th century Gothic Catholic Revival architecture, built in a style which Pevsner describes as ‘Frenchified Gothic’. You can read more about the chapel, and see photographs of it, here.

The chapel is closed almost all the year, and we are very fortunate to have been allowed to celebrate Mass here. It will be a wonderful chance not only to see the interior of the chapel, but to witness and participate in the Mass for which it was originally intended.

All are most welcome. Although it is a weekday, we hope that 12.30pm time slot will enable some who are working nearby to come in their lunch-break. There will be chairs provided, but no kneelers, so if you require something to kneel on, please bring your own cushion.

The Exaltation of the Holy Cross – Solemn High Mass at Devizes, 14th September: report and photos.

On the evening of 14^th September a Solemn High Mass was celebrated at the church of the Immaculate Conception, Devizes for the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross.

Father Andrew Goodman was the Celebrant, Father Philip Thomas the Deacon and Father Alexander Redman the Sub-Deacon. Fr Jean-Patrice Coulon sat in choir. The David Bates singers provided the beautiful music. The Mass setting was Orlande de Lassus’ Bell’Amfritit altera. The two motets were Crucifixus by Antonio Lotti and Adoramus Te, Christe by Gregor Aichinger.

Fr Goodman preached about the triumph of the Cross. He reminded us that when Moses lifted up the bronze serpent in the wilderness to save his people it was a foreshadowing of Our Lord being lifted up on the Cross. He said that to accept and to embrace the Cross in our lives is a mark of a maturing faith. When we cease to fall back upon despair, blame and self-pity, and instead turn to Our Lord and take up our own Cross, we conform our will to His, and share in His work of salvation. It is then that the sign of the Cross becomes triumphant.

The great feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, which in past times was also known as Roodmas, was observed in Rome before the end of the seventh century. It specifically commemorates the recovery of the Holy Cross, which had been placed on Mt. Calvary by St. Helena and preserved in Jerusalem, but which had fallen into the hands of Chosroes, King of the Persians. The precious relic was recovered and returned to Jerusalem by Emperor Heraclius in 629.

When Heraclius carried the Cross back to Jerusalem on his shoulders, he was clothed with costly garments and with ornaments of precious stones. But at the entrance to Mt. Calvary a strange incident occurred. Try as hard as he would, he could not go forward. Zacharias, the Bishop of Jerusalem said to the monarch: "Consider, O Emperor, that with these triumphal ornaments you are far from resembling Jesus carrying His Cross." The Emperor then put on a penitential garb and continued the journey.

We are most grateful to Fr Coulon for hosting the Mass, to Frs Goodman, Thomas and Redman for celebrating, and to the servers, choir members and organist for providing their support for what was a most beautiful and uplifting evening.