Blog Archives

The Pigeons preference

27/7/2014

Did Summorum Pontificum cater for the needs of 'Columba livia' or for any of the 'Columbidae' family?

Well, if the arrival of two feral pigeons, who flew into the great Dome of Home in New Brighton during the Introit this morning is anything to go by, perhaps the Motu Proprio did cater for all, even our feathered friends, as the birds remained for the duration of Mass!

(Feral pigeon Latin name: Columba livia of the greater 'Columbidae' family)

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A week of Traditional Mass (well almost!)

24/7/2014

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UPDATED 14 JULY
As the Summer School and Latin Course take place, we are blessed with having an Extraordinary Form Mass in the diocese every day for most of the week!

All Masses are at the the Franciscan Friary, Monastery Road, PANTASAPH, CH8 8PE except the Tuesday Mass - this is at St Winefride's in Holywell.

The full schedule looks like this:

Sunday 27th July
Monday 28th July
Tuesday 29th July at St Winefride's, Holywell
Wednesday 30th July
Thursday 31st July
Friday 1st August
Sunday 3rd August

5.30pm - Sung Mass
11.00am - High Mass
11.30am - High Mass
11.00am - High Mass
11.00am - High Mass
11.00am - High Mass
11.30am - Sung Mass

The only missing day is Saturday 2nd August. This because a pilgrimage to The Shrine of Ss Peter, Paul and Philomena aka The Dome of Home will take place. Within the programme for the pilgrimage, there is a High Mass at 1130am.

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August 1st, a day of prayer and penance for the suffering Christians of Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East

23/7/2014

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Nun (ن), the 14th letter of the Arabic alphabet (the equivalent of letter N in our Roman alphabet), is the first letter of the word Nasara (نصارى : Nazarenes)

Friday, August 1, 2014 is the day chosen by the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter (FSSP) for a worldwide day of Public Adoration of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the Blessed Sacrament in supplication for our persecuted brethren in Iraq, Syria, and the Middle East: The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter asks all of its apostolates around the world to dedicate Friday, August 1 to a day of prayer and penance for the Christians who are suffering terrible persecution in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East.

August 1 is the First Friday of the month and the Feast of St. Peter in Chains, which is celebrated as a Third Class Feast in FSSP houses and apostolates. It is the feast in which we read of the great power of the persevering prayer of members of the Church: “Peter therefore was kept in Prison. But prayer was made without ceasing by the Church unto God for him.” (Acts 12:5)

This feast of our Patron should be an invitation to the faithful to join us in Holy Hours and other fitting prayers to beg the Most Holy Trinity that these members of the Mystical Body may persevere in the faith, and that, like St. Peter, they may be delivered from this terrible persecution. May such a day serve as a reminder to us of the stark contrast that stands between our days of vacation and ease, and their daily struggle for survival as they are killed or exiled from their homes. It is a day, we believe, chosen wisely by that Institute: we urge all our Catholic brethren, East and West, attached to the Ordinary Form (Mass of Paul VI) or to the Extraordinary Form (Ancient Mass), whatever their theological bent, to join this worldwide prayer day. Whether you consider yourself a more liberal, conservative, traditional, or just plain Catholic, let us join together in this worldwide Adoration of Our Lord Jesus Christ, together with all the Angels and Saints.

It is also appropriately chosen because Pastors and Chaplains will have 10 days to prepare properly, to contact projects that help Christians in need and collect all kinds of contributions for the Christians of the Middle East (from Aid to the Church in Need to CNEWA, the Syrian and Chaldean Catholic Churches, and other organizations) and, in particular, to add to their bulletins and convey to their congregations how to participate next Sunday, July 27.

Please, spread this initiative around. Copy, paste, and just let this idea spread around throughout the world, through the web, through social networks, to your family and friends.

Bishops, Pastors, priests, join us. First Fridays are a special day of the month, and nothing better next First Friday, August 1, than for all Catholics around the world to join in Adoration before Our Lord to implore his mercy and kindness for our most neglected brethren in Iraq, Syria, and throughout the Middle East.

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Of your charity, prayers for the persecuted Christians

21/7/2014

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Syriac Catholic Church: burned down

Deus, in adiutórium meum inténde.
Dómine, ad adiuvándum me festína.

The modern day persecution of Christians continues with those in the Middle East facing exile and exodus.

Of your charity, please pray for those whose love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, has brought about violence, hated and the threat of death.

The Islamic State (formerly ISIS), which seized the city of Mosul, ordered Christians to convert to Islam or pay the 'jizya' Islamic tax. They were told failure to comply would mean "death by the sword".

The exodus has seen 1500 people flea. For the first time in 1600 years Mass has not been said in Mosul. The 1800 year old Syriac Catholic Church was desecrated and burnt to the ground last week.

At Thursday Vespers, Psalm 136, Super flúmina Babylónis, is said.

The text tells of the tragedy that the Jewish people experienced during the destruction of Jerusalem, which took place in 586 B.C., and their subsequent exile in Babylon. This is a profound invocation to the Lord to liberate his faithful from the slavery of Babylon. The words surely resonate with the situation in the Middle East today.

Psalm 136

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Extraordinary Faith - Episode II

13/7/2014

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I was expecting the second episode of EWTN's Extraordinary Faith to air a lot sooner, but sometimes the EWTN schedule changes due to events in Rome and other features.

But fear not, the second episode is to be transmitted this Friday (18th July) at 02:00, 10:30, and 21:00 (London time).

In this episode, They visit one of America’s most famed Catholic musical institutions, the Boys’ Choir School at St. Paul Church in Harvard Square, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Music Director John Robinson and Pastor Fr. Michael Drea explain the history of the parish and school. The ladies who help organise Harvard’s Latin Masses discuss the challenges and opportunities they face promoting the Extraordinary Form. They meet a prodigal young organist and composer, and they attend the first Tridentine Mass sung by the choir school in over 40 years!

This episode is co-hosted by Extraordinary Faith co-founder Mary O’Regan.

You can enjoy a preview of episode II below:

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LMS National Committee

13/7/2014

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Amongst the items on the agenda at the Society AGM (held yesterday), was confirmation that I will now commence a three year period on the Latin Mass Society National Committee.

I feel a sense of privilege and humility and pray that my contribution will help further the objectives of the Society.

Whilst I needed no reminder, it was quite apparent in the addresses given at the meeting that the need for a society promoting the Traditional Roman Rite has not diminished despite some comments from outside the LMS claiming it is 'job done' post 'Summorum Pontificum'.

We must be guarded against complacency. I think it was David Forster (Secretary) who said that until every parish has a Traditional Mass every day (or least in my mind every Sunday or Holy day), the work of the LMS is not done.

We enter the 50th year of the Society in 2015 - the voyage thus far has witnessed choppy waters and whilst those waters may now appear calm, we are far from our destination port!

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Last call for the Latin Course and Summer School

11/7/2014

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Re-posted from Dr. Joseph Shaw's blog:

The Latin Course is a must for anyone wanting to bone up on Latin in a Catholic environment. Let by Fr John Hunwicke and Fr Richard Bailey. Details and booking here.

The Summer School is a fabulous event, not to be missed, in a fantastic Catholic venue, the Franciscan Retreat Centre at Pantasaph in North Wales - a short distance from Holywell and Flint, and half an hour from Chester. Students come year after year - don't let your children miss out!

There is NO FEE. Parents can donate what they want. Donations from others are very welcome too!

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Homily given by Father Abbot Paul Stonham OSB

9/7/2014

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Fr. Ab. Dom. Paul Stonham OSB

By kind permission of the Abbot, the sermon given at the LMS pilgrimage .........

Gogoniant i’r Tad, ac i’r Mab, ac i’r Ysbryd Glân. Amen.

What a wonderful occasion this is and how blessed we are to be at this Mass and Pilgrimage today. We are following in the footsteps of countless pilgrims who have been drawn to Holywell by the eternal memory of St. Winifred, her powerful intercession and undying desire to heal in body, soul and spirit all who with humility and faith come to this sacred place that commemorates her holy life and glorious martyrdom. Although a Welsh saint, unlike most of her compatriots, St Winifred is venerated far beyond the borders of Wales. In the Middle Ages, the Kings of England came regularly to her shrine and well, to venerate her relics and bathe in the miraculous waters of her holy well. And today, we are here, thanks to the generous initiative of the Latin Mass Society. First of all then, let us give thanks to Almighty God for this Mass and Pilrimage.

We have just heard proclaimed that memorable Gospel passage from St Matthew Ch. 25 in which Jesus recounts the Parable of the Ten Virgins, of whom five were wise and five foolish. Together with the Parable of the Talents, which follows, it serves as a severe warning and reminder that we must be prepared for death and judgement. “Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.” It is important to remember that often a parable makes only one point, and usually one to do with our relationship with Jesus and whether we really recognise him for who he is: the Incarnate Son of God, our Saviour. Parables should never be interpreted in an ethical or moralistic way. If this parable were concerned with the ideal Christian life, then the wise virgins should have had the charity to share their oil with the foolish, but they did not. Selfishly, as well as wisely, when asked to do so, they said,”No! There will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the shops and buy some for yourselves.” As a result, when the foolish virgins arrive late at the wedding banquet and, finding the door shut, they plead, “Lord, Lord, open to us,” they hear from the bridegroom, from Jesus himself, the bleakest words in the Bible, the very antithesis to the whole Gospel story, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” Nothing more definitive or negative than that!

Of course, the parable is a story and not fact, for as St Paul writes, “God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself,” and in the prophet Jeremiah we read, “I do not want the death of a sinner, but that he repent and live.” Jesus came to preach a gospel of repentance and forgiveness. Through faith and baptism and the Church’s sacraments he offers us all the graces we could possibly need to become wise virgins, men and women who are ready to be judged and so prepared for heaven, Christians whose hearts and minds are fixed only on Jesus and, in him, on a world that stands in desparate need of salvation. Such a virgin was St Winifred and we ask today to be given her single-mindedness and purity of faith and love, that nothing and no one be more important ot us than Jesus Christ, and him crucified. As we know, St Winifred gave her life for Christ, so prepared was she by her purity and integrity, that she refused the advances of Caradoc and was beheaded by him. So ready was she to share in the Resurrection of her Redeemer that her life was miraculouly restored to her through the prayer of St Beuno, her uncle, and his total reliance on Christ’s power to restore life even when, in human terms, there could be no hope, as Winifred’s head had been severed from her body. Her sacrifice, united to that of Christ on the Cross, gave rise to this holy spring and well which would become a source of hope and healing for generations of Christians, and not only Catholics, right up to the present day.

How can we follow the example of St Winifred today? Well the world is full of Caradocs thirsting to spill our blood for Christ because, as we are all aware, Our Lord and his Church remain objects of hate and ridicule and there are many who long to see and are working for the destruction of the Catholic Church. Some of our enemies are easy to recognise and we know their methods, but others are more subtle and astute, like Satan when he appeared in the form of a serpent to Adam and Eve. What can we do but walk firmly in the footsteps of St Winifred? She did not give in to temptation, nor did she capitulate before the enemy. She walked resolutely towards the church where her uncle was celebrating Mass with her parents and, when the enemy attacked, she commmended her soul to God and willingly gave up her life, confident in the Resurrection and the hope of eternal life. For St Winifred, family, religion, personal integrity and the love of Jesus her Lord came first. Let us pray today at her shrine and well for her protection and intercession that we may bear witness to Christ and to his Church with fidelity and joy as she did. In the words of St David, “Byddwch lawen a chedwch eich ffydd a’ch cred.” Be joyful and keep your faith and belief. Amen.

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Masses this weekend

8/7/2014

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There will be Traditional Masses this weekend as follows:

Saturday 12th July 2014 - Our Lady of the Rosary, Buckley at 1230pm
Missa Cantata for the feast of St John Gualbert.

Sunday 13th July 2014 - St Francis of Assisi, Llay at 1230pm
Low Mass for the V Sunday after Pentecost.

Please support one or both Masses!

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Photographs from the Holywell Pilgrimage

8/7/2014

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I am indebted to Mike Barnsdall, who came to my aid on Sunday and was made official photographer for the day and what a great job he did!

Here are a selection of the photographs ......

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Holywell Pilgrimage success

7/7/2014

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Prior to Mass at Holywell

Today was the LMS Holywell Pilgrimage - a Pontifical High Mass at the Faldstool held at the parish church with rosary procession to the well and veneration of the relic after Mass.

My thanks to all who assisted in anyway whatsoever to make the pilgrimage yet another laudable example of Traditional Catholic Liturgy right here in North Wales!

I am particularly grateful to the Abbot of Belmont, the Rt. Rev Paul Stonham OSB, Father Geoffrey Marlor (Deacon), Father Francis Wadswoth (Subdeacon) and Canon Amaury Montjean (Assistant Priest).

Numbers, swelled by the London coach, certainly matched those of last year.

More photo's will be available in due course.

Ad maiorem Dei gloriam!
St Winefride - pray for us!

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