Blog Archives - THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY IN WREXHAM

Happy New Liturgical Year!

30/11/2014

First Sunday of Advent : Luke 21:25-33

THE new year of worship to God and service to neighbour begins today!

These Sundays before Christmas prepare us “to adore the King Who is to come.” They reveal the expectation of the ancient world in its long night of spiritual darkness. They reveal our hope that a prophesied Savior will come. Immediately, in the Introit, we put our trust in God, Who will not deceive us, imploring him to “show Thy ways” where we may meet Him. For His coming, “nearer than we believed,” in today’s Mass, the Epistle warns us to “rise from sleep” and “cast off works of darkness” and put on “the Lord Jesus.”

The Gospel, by picturing how we must accept Christ as King of Justice at His second Advent at the end of the world, indirectly prevails upon us to prepare now for His first coming, as King of Mercy. Aware of the dangers ahead during this preparation, we invoke His Power in the Prayer, we offer this Sacrifice to be cleansed by His Power (Secret), and we promise to receive the Sacrament of His Mercy (Postcommunion).

Today is Feast of St. Andrew Apostle, brother of St. Peter, whose feast day traditionally has been regarded as opening of the Advent Season. St. Andrew is Patron of Scotland.

The Saint immediately recognized Our Lord and followed him. St. Andrew was crucified for the Faith. The Antiphon at Vespers tells us, ”One of the two who followed the Lord was Andrew, brother of Simon Peter, alleluia. His name is inscribed in the Canon of the Mass, and the priest makes a bow toward the Crucifix at its mention. Ask St. Andrew for courage to face the growing hostility of a this ever more secular society.

Christmas Liturgy and events in New Brighton

27/11/2014

Whilst we are not blessed with any Old Rite Masses in this Diocese over the main days of Christmas, just a short drive away on the Wirral Peninsula is the Dome of Home aka Ss Peter and Paul and St Philomena Church, New Brighton.

The Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest will guarantee a full programme of liturgy for the entire season of Advent and Christmastide, commencing with a Novena which starts on Saturday 29th November.

Their full Christmas programme can be seen below:

Foederatio Internationalis Una Voce Position Papers now available in a hardback book

27/11/2014

I have always made known here whenever a new Position Paper on the Extraordinary Form is published by FIUV. The latest was published only last week. LMS Chair, Joseph Shaw compiles these papers which are a precise but concise aid to liturgical development and preservation.

Well, available now for just £6.50 in hardback is a collection of all the papers up to and including number 23

These small papers are on specific topics of interest in the Traditional Mass. I don't think you could print and bind for £6.50, so well worth the price!

Order by clicking on the Lulu logo below:

Treasure & Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass'

20/11/2014

I have had several pleasant email exchanges with Lisa Bergman, author of a new book 'Treasure & Tradition: The Ultimate Guide to the Latin Mass'

Having learned the book was already available in the US, I decided that it would be good to have it available in the UK and I made a number of suggestions to Lisa to negate the astronomic postal charges incurred when one places an order direct with a US outlet.

This guide will be of interest to those who are avid devotees to the Old Rite or for those who have not yet attended the Traditional Mass but want to know more about the Mass of Ages.

Inside, there is a word-for-word English translation of the Latin text of the Mass, together with photos, diagrams, notes and explanations that will help you not only to follow along, but also to understand the history and significance of the ceremonies in which you are taking part. In addition, there are sections explaining the main differences between the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms, a discussion comparing the development of the Mass with that of its sister liturgy, the Divine Office, an exploration of the English translations of the Bible, a full glossary, and finally, recommended prayers intended to help you prepare when receiving the sacraments of Penance and the Holy Eucharist. The book is 8.5" x 11". And it is available at Cenacle Books here.

Positio 21 now available from Una Voce

19/11/2014

Dr Joseph Shaw, the LMS Chairman, but with his Una Voce hat on, has written the latest of the Position Papers. This is number 21.

This paper examines the Eastern Churches: and particular the relationship between the Eastern Churches and their liturgical traditions.

The opening abstract reads:

Since Pope Leo XIII’s important encyclical Orientalium dignitas in 1894 the policy of the Holy See has been consistent and emphatic, that the liturgical rites of the ancient Oriental Churches are worthy of the utmost veneration, and among those churches in communion with the Holy See they should be protected from undue Latin influence and restored in accordance with their own traditions. This was emphasised by the Second Vatican Council and Pope St John Paul II. This policy is, however, undermined by those exaggerated critiques of the liturgical traditions of the Latin Church which dismiss elements which the Latin and Oriental liturgical traditions have in common, such as worship ad orientem and the use of silent prayer, a contemplative manner of liturgical participation, and respect for liturgical tradition. The establishment of the Extraordinary Form as part of the normal liturgical life of the Latin Church is a necessary step towards a practical attitude of reverence towards the traditions of the Oriental Churches.

To open up the paper number 21 click here.
To open up all papers (1-21) in one compendium PDF click here.

A plot, sub plot and perhaps lost plot at Seaforth?

16/11/2014

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Seaforth probably around the time it opened in 1901

I recently wrote about Our Lady Star of the Sea in Seaforth and the future of the Latin Mass provision at this location given that Parish Priest of 19 years, Fr. Thomas Wood is imminently due to leave to start a new chapter in his priestly service at Lydiate.

Well from all accounts it would seem that next Sunday’s celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be the last time that the Old Rite will be said at this church which opened for official worship on Sunday, 10 February 1901

It is my understanding that despite the best efforts of the formally established ‘stable group’ as per Summorum Pontificum, the future does not look good.

I am told that the ‘stable group’ have been led a bit of a merry dance.

Having initially received words of encouragement from the Archbishop, the Most Reverend Malcolm McMahon OP, they have become increasingly despondent as come the 23rd November, there is no suitably qualified priest identified to continue the EF provision at this beautiful church tucked away in Liverpool’s hinterland.

Whilst the group still retain a glimmer of hope, events and revelations are not going the right way especially since they have now learned that Fr. Wood’s successor is neither able nor wanting to learn to say the Traditional Mass. It looks quite bleak.

One could suggest that the whole situation has been contrived; someone else may say it is simply circumstance and then it could be argued that it is ignorance of the pastoral need to provide for good Catholic souls who prefer to express their worship to the Almighty in the way that was the norm for 400 years and which is perfectly licit.

I could write more, but I’ll refrain at this point, the situation is potentially retrievable and I don’t think conjecture and supposition will be helpful.

But as I write, Blackfen is about to repeat itself on Merseyside and it is all quite depressing.

St Jude : pray for us!

Cardinal Burke re-iterates the call for clarity

15/11/2014

Cardinal Burke ordains a deacon to the priesthood

Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke is currently in the Emerald Isle at a conference organised by 'The Catholic Voice' newspaper and which is being attended by the Bishop of Limerick, Dr Brendan Leahy and the former MEP Dana Rosemary Scallon.

Speaking in an interview with the Irish State broadcaster, Raidió Teilifís Éireann today, Cardinal Burke re-iterated that he would refuse Holy Communion to any Catholic legislator who voted for same-sex marriage.

The people of Ireland will vote in a referendum on the subject in May 2015.

He has also reiterated his call for clarity from the Holy Father as to where the Catholic Church stands on homosexual relations and on giving Holy Communion to divorced and civilly remarried couples.

Cardinal Burke told RTÉ News there is growing confusion about what the Church really teaches and that the impression is being given that it is a democracy in which a second synod of bishops will vote on these matters next year.

Cardinal Burke, who is now the Cardinal Patron of the Order of Malta, said neither Catholic doctrine nor discipline is decided by the votes of bishops.

The full interview, with RTÉ's Joe Little can be viewed here.

Low Mass at Holywell - Sunday 23 November

15/11/2014

We would normally have a Sung Mass at Holywell on Sunday 23 November (Dominica XXIV. et ulitma post Pentecosten) but due to our new found server issue (continue to pray for Phil Russell), it just is not correct to have a Sung Mass with incense and only one server - so Low Mass it will be!

The sacristy bell with ring at 1130am and our dear friend Father Francis Doyle will say the Mass. Everyone is welcome on this final Sunday before Advent.

Your prayers please ...

13/11/2014

Philip Russell, one of regular servers and a former Wrexham LMS Rep, had an accident last weekend whilst working on a ladder. It resulted in some painful, but thankfully not life threatening injuries and Phil had to spend a night in the local hospital.

Please could I ask for your prayers for him and for his speedy recovery.

Mass this week at Llay

5/11/2014

A reminder that there will be a Low Mass this Sunday (9th November) at 123opm at St Francis of Assisi Church, Llay Chain, Llay near Wrexham, LL12 0NT.

The Mass will be that of the feast of the Dedication of the Lateran Basilica in Rome.

The Basilica of St. John Lateran is the cathedral of Rome. This is not St. Peter's, but it is the Pope's cathedral. Also called the Church of Holy Saviour or the Church of St. John Baptist, it was the baptism church of ancient Rome. It was built in the time of Constantine and was consecrated by Pope Sylvester in 324. This feast became a universal celebration in honor of the basilica called "the mother and mistress of all churches of Rome and the world" (omnium urbis et orbis ecclesiarum mater et caput) as a sign of love for and union with the See of Peter.

Bishop Schneider on the Synod

5/11/2014

Bishop Schneider

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, a great friend of Traditionalism and the Latin Mass Society has not held back with his thoughts on the recent synod saying that it left “a black mark which has stained the honour of the Apostolic See.”

Bishop Schneider, Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Saint Mary in Astana, Kazakhstan said that the preliminary document marked “the first time in Church history that such a heterodox text was actually published as a document of an official meeting of Catholic bishops under the guidance of a Pope." However he did confirm that the final document was orthodox.

The full interview can be read at Rorate Caeli here.

Press Release from the Latin Mass Society

4/11/2014

Recent 'Excommunications' of Lay Supporters of SSPX

PRESS RELEASE ON THE STATUS OF THE FAITHFUL WHO RECEIVE THE SACRAMENTS FROM PRIESTS AND BISHOPS OF THE SOCIETY OF ST PIUS X.

FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

Letters from the Bishop Semeraro of Albano, Italy (photo, right), and then from Bishop Sarlinga of Zárate-Campana in Argentina, have declared that the lay faithful who receive the sacraments from priests and bishops of the Society of St Pius X (SSPX) are automatically excommunicated, and would need to go through a process authorised by the bishop to be readmitted to communion with the Church (i.e., not simply confession). The Latin Mass Society holds no brief to defend the position of the SSPX, which is canonically irregular, but feels it necessary to point out that these letters are not just ill-considered but have potentially very serious pastoral consequences. They imply that anyone who has ever been to Mass said by a priest of the SSPX is not welcome in the churches of these dioceses. This conflicts not only with the ‘opening of hearts’ requested by Pope Benedict XVI as a prelude to a healing of these divisions ‘in the heart of the Church’, but equally with the emphasis on mercy of Pope Francis.

CANON LAW BRIEFING: In light of canonical advice from our National Chaplain and Canonical Adviser, Mgr Gordon Read, the Latin Mass Society would like to clarify some canonical principles in relation to the recent statements of Bishop Semeraro of Albano, Italy, and Bishop Sarlinga of Zárate-Campana in Argentina, lest misunderstandings spread to dioceses around the world.

1. Basing a canonical argument on the assumption that the Society of Pius X (SSPX) has no canonical status in the Church and that its priests are suspended following ordination without dimissorial letters, it does not follow that to seek the sacraments at their hands is an act of formal schism on the part of the lay faithful.

a. Such a conclusion conflicts with the lifting of the excommunication of the bishops of the SSPX by Pope Benedict XVI in 2009: it would be incongruous for the legislator to lift the excommunication of the bishops while imposing or maintaining it on the lay faithful to whom they minister.

b. It also conflicts with the provision in canon law for the effects of suspension or excommunication of a priest to be lifted when someone approaches the priest subject to the penalty in order to receive a sacrament (canon 141).

2. Excommunication by adherence to a schism can only be incurred where there is both a schismatic intention and an external act (canon 1364).

a. There can therefore be no question that those seeking the sacraments at the hands of priests of the SSPX without a schismatic intention incur excommunication.

b. Were a member of the lay faithful to incur excommunication by a schismatic intention, this would be a matter of the private forum (the confessional), and not the public forum.

c. Those under the age of sixteen cannot in any case incur a penalty (canon 1323.1); this would apply to those under this age who received baptism or confirmation.

3. The attitude of the Holy See has always been that lay faithful who receive the sacraments from priests of the SSPX are not excommunicated. Examples are as follows.

a. In 1991 Bishop Joseph Ferrario of Honolulu declared six lay Catholics excommunicated on grounds of schism for having procured the services of an SSPX bishop to administer confirmation. These appealed to the Holy See which, though Cardinal Ratzinger as Prefect of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, declared the decree invalid because their action, though considered blameworthy, did not constitute schism.

b. On 5th September 2005, the Holy See, through the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, affirmed that ‘the faithful who attend the Masses of the aforesaid Fraternity are not excommunicates, and the priests who celebrate them are not, either—the latter are, in fact, suspended.’ (Protcol n.55/2005, signed by the then Secretary of the PCED, Mgr Camille Perl)

c. On 27th September 2002, quoted and reaffirmed on 18th January 2003, the Holy See, through the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei, stated that ‘In the strict sense you may fulfil your Sunday obligation by attending a Mass celebrated by a priest of the Society of St. Pius X.’ (Letters signed by Mgr Camille Perl).

BACKGROUND

Bishop Marcello Semeraro of Albano, Italy, in a letter to his diocese dated 14th October 2014, declared:

The Catholic faithful cannot participate at Mass, neither request and/or receive Sacraments from or in the Society. Acting otherwise would mean to break communion with the Catholic Church.

Therefore, any Catholic faithful who requests and receives Sacraments in the Society of Saint Pius X, will place himself de facto in the condition of no longer being in communion with the Catholic Church. A readmission to the Catholic Church must be preceded by an adequate personal path of reconciliation, according to the ecclesiastical discipline established by the Bishop.

See here for more information.

Bishop Semeraro is coincidentally the Secretary to the Council of Cardinals set up to advise the Pope. Albano is the location of the Italian headquarters of the SSPX.

Bishop Óscar Sarlinga of Zárate-Campana in Argentina, in a letter to his diocese dated 3rd November 2014, declared:

-It is not licit for the Catholic faithful to take part in the celebration of Mass in these conditions, neither to request nor to receive sacraments from the priests of the aforementioned "Society of Saint Pius X", including in private places turned into places of worship, without excluding, in case of obstinacy, also the ferendae sententiae penalties that may apply, according to the ecclesial spirit and that of protection of the faithful.

- In the case of the rupture of ecclesiastical communion by the above-mentioned founded motives, in order to be later readmitted to the Catholic Church, a personal path of reconciliation (and eventually of removal of the canonical censure) will be required, according to the discipline advised by the Holy See and the [diocese's] own, established by the diocesan bishop.

See here for more information.

The Latin Mass Society, founded in 1965, promotes and supports the celebration of the Traditional Mass and sacraments (Extraordinary Form, Vetus Ordo) within the official structures of the Church and with the permission and cooperation of the bishops and the Holy See.

All change at Seaforth?

2/11/2014

Our Lady Star of the Sea, Seaforth

High Altar at Our Lady Star of the Sea

No, I have not just become a station announcer for Merseyrail Electrics (the local rail network in Liverpool) but I do relay news from the beautiful church of Our Lady Star of the Sea in Seaforth Village just north of Liverpool.

Father Thomas Wood has been parish priest there for nearly 19 years and has provided a regular Traditional Mass in this beautiful setting since 2009.

Father Wood is to become Parish Priest of the churches of Our Lady and of Saint Gregory the Great, both in Lydiate during November and so the future of the ‘forma antiquior’ at Seaforth is now overcast with the shadow of 'Blackfenesque' doubt.

Please pray that the stable group who are enthused by the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and who have been pastorally well cared for Father Wood for all these years are catered for in the future.

The church of Our Lady Star of the Sea opened for official worship on Sunday, 10 February 1901 and most celebrations of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass take place at the splendid high altar.

I remember helping move the Novus Ordo altar out of the way on the occasion of the Feast of the Holy Innocents last December. A deft little operation which involves sliding the forward facing altar to one side using the carpet it rests upon and hey presto an unimpeded the view of the beautiful high altar!

This altar houses the relics of many Franciscan - mainly Capuchin - Saints and Blesseds. However, little known perhaps is that also sealed within the high altar is a reliquary containing the ashes of St Francis of Assisi.

The exact reason that a church close to the banks of the River Mersey was selected to possess some of the ashes of St Francis is not clear, suffice to say that in 1818, Pope Pius VII gave permission for the excavations to proceed under the Assisi basilica and when St Francis’s tomb and coffin containing both bones and ashes were found, portions were reserved and Our Lady Star of the Sea was blessed with receiving a quantity of his ashes.

Next Saturday, the church will host a Requiem Mass, potentially (and I pray for the contrary) this could be one of the last Old Rite Masses at Seaforth.

I’m off to London for the LMS National Requiem and so am disappointed that I cannot be there. But I commend the event to you : a visit to a wonderful church, to experience the classical Roman Rite supported by fitting music on what maybe one of the final Traditional Masses for sometime at the venue. Finally, and by no means last you will be assisting at a Mass for the Holy Souls!

Details of the Mass can seen below.

Our Lady Star of the Sea, pray for us!

LMS Annual Requiem Mass is next Saturday

1/11/2014