From the ENCHIRIDION INDULGENTIARUM

There is only one day within the Christmas Octave (i.e.the 30th of December) which is not a Saint’s Feast.
 
During the Octaves of the Epiphany, Easter and Pentecost, the Church is so absorbed in the respective mysteries that she puts off everything that could share her attention; whereas during this of Christmas, there is only one day which does not celebrate the memory of some glorious Saint, and our Infant Jesus is surrounded by a choir of heroes who loved and served him. Thus the Church, or, more correctly, God—for God is the first author of the cycle of the year—shows us how the Incarnate Word, who came to save mankind, desires to give mankind confidence by this his adorable familiarity.
 
We have already shown that the Birth of our Lord took place on a Sunday, the Day on which, in the beginning of the world, God created Light. We shall find, later on, that his Resurrection also was on a Sunday. This the first day of creation, and the first of the week, was consecrated by the old Pagans to the Sun; with us Christians, it is most sacred and holy, on account of the two risings of our divine Sun of Justice—his Birth and his Resurrection. Whilst the solemnity of Easter is always kept on a Sunday, that of Christmas falls by turns on each of the days of the week—we have already had this difference explained to us by the Holy Fathers: but the mystery of Jesus’ Birth is more aptly and strongly expressed, when its anniversary falls on a Sunday. Other years, when the coincidence does not happen, the Faithful will at least be led by their Christian instincts, to give special honour to the day within the Octave which falls on the Sunday.
 
The Church has honoured it with a proper Mass and Office....
 
The passage of the Gospel selected for this Mass, though bearing on the Divine Infancy, yet gives us, we may almost say prematurely, the terrible prophecy of Simeon regarding the dear Babe of Bethlehem. The heart of Mary, that was overflowing with joy at the miraculous Birth of her Child, is here made to feel the sword spoken of by the venerable Priest of the temple. Her Son, then, is to be but a sign that shall be contradicted! The mystery of man’s adoption by God is to cost this Child of hers his life! We that are the Redeemed in his Blood, we may not yet dwell on the fatigues and the Passion and the Death of our Emmanuel: the time will come for that. At Present we are forbidden to think of him other than as the sweet Child that is born to us, the source of all our happiness by his having come among us.
 
Commentary from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Guéranger (1805-1875)

 are on the threshold of the birth of Jesus Christ. This liturgy for today is filled with joy and if it were not for the violent vestments, one might think that the feast of Christmas had already begun.

In today's Gospel we are presented with the answer to the question of who Christ is.

St. Joseph not knowing that the Child that Mary was carrying is the Son of God, was contemplating privately putting away Mary so that there would not be as much scandal.

St. Joseph was a just man and had not as yet been informed of the miraculous event of the incarnation. Mary apparently had not mentioned it and God had as yet not informed St. Joseph directly or indirectly through His Angel. Therefore St. Joseph is without blame for his ignorance in this matter.

Those who today, are ignorant of who this Child is, do not have the same excuse as St. Joseph. Their ignorance is inexcusable. We have been told by the prophets, Christ Himself, His Apostles, our Holy Mother the Church, the Scriptures, and countless Saints.

With so much verifiable and trustworthy testimony, and with the countless miracles confirming it, it appears obvious that, only the fool says in his heart that Jesus Christ is not God.

And yet we see that even after 2,006 years, there are many in the world that are still fools who have yet to open their hearts to God and receive the salvation that Christ brought to this earth. Remember, no one gets to the Father but through the Son. By rejecting the Son they are in fact rejecting the Father.

There were not many that welcomed Christ to this earth on His birthday 2,006 years ago. The majority did not know, because they were not looking for Him. They were not in love with God and eagerly anticipating His coming. They were filled with their own pride and self-love. The few that were humble and that truly loved God were shown this wonderful miraculous gift (the Shepherds, and the wise men) the rest of the world went on as if nothing at all had happened.

Nothing has seemed to change in all these years, the majority live as if Christ had never arrived. Many claim to be awaiting His coming, but they have missed it and do not really even care, which only means that they are not truly anticipating the coming of the Messiah.

The joy of anticipation for tomorrow's feast is greatly mollified by the sadness caused by the coldness and hardness of so many hearts.

We hear the words of the angel to St. Joseph: "for He shall save His people from their sins" and we are filled with peace and joy. Yet, at the same time we recognize that it is only His people that He shall save, and the majority is not His, even today.

Even among so many who call themselves "Christians" how many among them are His? How many are members of His Mystical Body? There are many that are celebrating and rejoicing with their lips but their hearts are far from Christ.

Let us make sure that we are true members of His Mystical Body so that we may truly rejoice in His birth, and let us pray most fervently for those who are not, so that they may one day enter into the one fold and they may then also rejoice.

Liturgical note:

On this Sunday, the 'Vigil of the Nativity' is the Mass offered when using the 1962 calendar for all Masses offered before First Vespers of Christmas i.e. all day on Christmas Eve.

The Vigil of the Nativity takes the place of the IV Sunday of Advent, which is supressed this year. However, those who recite the Breviarium Romanum would say First Vespers of the IV Sunday of Advent as the 'Vigil of the Nativity' does not have any First Vespers!

This Mass is not the First Mass of Christmas (e.g. Midnight Masss) and neither does it fulfil the obligation to attend one of the three Nativity Masses (Midnight/Dawn/During the Day).

Dr Joseph Shaw has today published the thirty second Position Paper on behalf of the Fœderatio Internationalis Una Voce. This one focuses on the subject of Islam.

Dr Shaw puts forward two points:

1. Engagement with Islam (whether with a view to mutual understanding or evangelisation) is facilitated by common ground with Islam. The more common ground one has, whether cultural or theological, the better one can talk productively with people of other religions.
   
2. There is a great deal more common ground between Islam and that aspect of Catholicism exemplified by the Traditional liturgy, than there is between Islam and what is manifested by the reformed liturgy. In this, the Traditional Catholics are close to the situation of the ancient Christian churches in majority-Muslim countries.
   
   

• The 32nd paper can be read here.
  
• All 32 papers in one consolidated PDF file can be read here.

A sermon for the Third Sunday of Advent from an unknown author ....

This Advent Season is quickly passing, and the Christmas Season appears not far off. The time for our penances and mortifications is drawing to a speedy close. We rejoice that the time of Christ's coming is at hand, but we mourn the fewness of days that are left for us to prepare. There never seems to be enough time for us to do the penances that are truly necessary for us to make a worthy abode in our souls for the Christ Child. While we strive with all our hearts and souls to clean the inner man of all that stands in the way of Christ's coming, we see the feebleness of our own efforts. Yet, we take solace in the thought that God was born in a stable, and even if our soul is nothing but a dirty stable, Jesus will accept our hearts' desire and enter there, and by His very presence purify and sanctify us.

Mary Magdalene was a known sinful woman, but Our Lord tells us that much has been forgiven her, because she has loved much. Likewise, God is ready to pardon us our offences to the extent that we are motivated to repentance by true charity.

St. John the Baptist was the Voice of one crying in the desert, to make straight the way of the Lord. These remaining days of Advent, we must become ever more vigilant in doing our best to align and straighten out our souls, hearts, and minds so that we can receive Him. In our unworthy state, we can, in a sense, compel Jesus by our good works to bestow His mercy on us, as He has Himself declared in the Holy Gospel: "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent bear it away." (Mt. xi. 12) The Kingdom of Heaven is Jesus Christ, Himself, and as St. Maximus says: "we do violence against It, as the Gospel lesson says: and the violent bear it away." St. Maximus continues: "We do violence, I say, against the Lord, not by compelling, but by weeping, not provoking Him by insults, but by pleading with tears of repentance; not by blaspheming in pride, but by grieving in humility. O Blessed violence! Which is not repelled with indignation, but forgiven in mercy. Blessed violence, I repeat, which stirs up goodness in the one who suffers this violence, and brings reward to the one who inflicts it. An assault is made, and no one complains of injury; violence is suffered, and respect for order is increased. He that used most violence against Christ, is by Christ esteemed the most devoted.

"Let us attack the Lord on the way, because He is the Way, (Jn. xiv, 6) and after the manner of robbers let us despoil Him of His goods; let us take from Him His kingdom, His treasures and His life. But He is so rich and so generous that He will not resist us, and when He has given us all that is His, He still possesses all things. Let us assault Him, I say, not with sword, or staff, or stone, but with mildness, with good works, with chastity."

In all our efforts to do good, let us keep before our mind these words of St. Gregory: "When you do any good, ever recall to memory the sins you may have committed, so that while you are discreetly mindful of the evil you may have done, your mind will never indiscreetly rejoice over the good you do. Let each esteem his neighbor as better than himself, especially those who are strange to you, even those whom you see do that which is wrong, because you know no the good that may be hidden in them. Let each one seek to be worthy of esteem, yet let him be as if he knew not that he was, lest haughtily claiming esteem, he lose it. Hence was it also said by the prophet: woe to you that are wise in your own eyes, and prudent in your own conceits. (Is, v. 21) Hence likewise Paul says: be not wise in your own conceits." (Rom. xii, 16)

Our desire is to ever strive to do better, while never becoming content with any progress that we might achieve. We have an infinite capacity to love, because we are commanded to love God who is infinite. We must never think that we have done enough, because there is always so much more that we can do. Jesus told us that after we have done all things well we should claim ourselves to be unprofitable servants, because we have only done that which we ought to have done. Let us never become satisfied with what we have done, but always strive to do more. We must not fall into despair thinking that we are never good enough and then stop trying. Rather, we must be filled with hope in all our endeavors, trusting that God will keep His promise and fill the void that is left within us, as long as we continue to struggle in all charity and humility. In this manner, despite all our faults and failings, Jesus will lovingly enter our souls on Christmas Day as he entered the humble, rough and unsuitable stable in Bethlehem; and transform us as He did the stable, into His beautiful abode.

The Latin Mass Society Ordo for 2018 for use with the Roman Missal of 1962 and Breviary of 1961 is now on sale at the LMS shop.

This is a day-to-day liturgical calendar for the Missal of 1962 and reflects the General Roman Calendar as reformed in 1960 by Saint John XXIII's motu proprio Rubricarum instructum.

It also contains the calandar of feasts for England and Wales and that is where some extensive research comes in. Author Gordon Dimon has spent many years compiling what we believe is a comprehensive calander for the English and Welsh church, this year I have also pitched in to assist Gordon and I found the exercise really interesting.

It also includes guidance (confirmed by the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei) regarding Holy Day celebrations in the Traditional Rite. With 22 pages of liturgical notes and full discussion of Indulgences, it really is worth every penny of the £8 price!

Order your copy early as they tend to sell out by clicking here.

The Latin Mass Society will be holding a residential training conference for priests, deacons, seminarians and laymen wishing to learn to celebrate or serve Mass in the Extraordinary Form. It will be held at Prior Park College near Bath from Monday 9th April to Thursday 12th April 2018.

Tuition will be in small groups. For clergy and seminarians, this will be provided by priests experienced in the Extraordinary Form, for servers this will be provided by laymen with years of experience in the Extraordinary Form.

Low Mass, Missa Cantata and Solemn Mass will be covered, although participants will be expected to be proficient at Low Mass before progressing to the more complicated forms.

No previous experience is necessary, and participants will be divided into groups, according to their abilities.

There will be daily Mass intended to be an example of best practice.

The conference will start after lunch on the Monday and conclude before lunch on the Thursday.
Full board and lodging is provided in basic single rooms (not en suite).

Lunch on the Monday and the Thursday can be booked at extra cost, £5 per lunch for all participants.

The fee for attending is: £120.00
Full-time students: £60
Seminarians: FREE OF CHARGE

To book your place on the Training Conference, click here.

ABOUT PRIOR PARK

Prior Park, which currently houses an independent Catholic school, is set in 28 acres of parkland, and was built in the 1730s as a country mansion for a local quarry owner named Ralph Allen.  Its architect, John Wood, used Bath stone from Ralph Allen’s quarries to create a building in the Paladian style on a hillside site that overlooks the city.  The grounds contain several impressive features, including an ornamental bridge, also in the Paladian style, over an artificial lake.

After the death of Ralph Allen, the property passed through a number of owners, and in 1828 was purchased by Bishop Baines, the Vicar Apostolic for the Western District.  His intention was to establish a seminary on the site, which he eventually did, along with a school.  It was also his intention to build a cathedral at Prior Park, but this never happened, due to the ever present shortage of money. However, a fine chapel was added.

The seminary closed in 1856, when the students transferred to Oscott College.  The school continued until the buildings were occupied by troops during the First World War. A fresh attempt was made to establish a boy’s boarding school at Prior Park in 1925, which is the fore-runner of the present school.

Prior Park College is very suitable for the needs of the LMS training conference.  There is plenty of sleeping accommodation in single rooms, and common rooms will be available for relaxation at the end of each day.  Also, Prior Park has a reputation for serving excellent food. The chapel is particularly beautiful, and retains its original High Altar and reredos in a spacious sanctuary very suitable for the traditional liturgy.  It also has four side altars, which will be used to give tuition to small groups.

The liturgy today unfolds the interior and social aspects of Christ’s coming. The Introit, for instance, refers to Sion, holy mount of Jerusalem, so often mentioned as the symbol of the interior life of the faithful soul; it speaks also of the soul as a docile sheep led by God.

It publishes His coming “to save the nations.” After calling upon God to “stir up our (interior) hearts” in the Prayer, so as to “prepare,” notice how the Epistle stresses social charity, “to receive one another as Christ also hath received you.”

Again, the Gospel enumerates some of the interior and social “works of Christ,” which together with His miracles, testify that He is the long-expected Divine Saviour of the world. The blind of soul now see; the lame of will now walk; the lepers of sin are absolved; the poor become rich with a new Gospel.

Today, is Feast of St. Melchiades Pp. M., who suffered persecution during its last days but who lived to see peace given to the Church through the Edict of Milan in 313 which legalized the Church. The Saint passed away in 314 and was buried in the Catacomb of St. Callixtus outside Rome. Although not commemorated in Masses using the 1962 missal, we might pray to the Saint for protection and guidance in these times of gathering persecution of Christians.

In addition to Mass for the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary at 5pm today, there are two more Masses being celebrated at Pantasaph this weekend.

Tomorrow, Saturday 9 December at 10.30am - Rorate Mass, Our Lady’s Saturday in Advent and on Sunday 10 December at 7.30am (2nd Sunday in Advent).

Whilst these Masses form part of the Retreat being led by Father Armand de Malleray, FSSP, he has asked me to announce that all are most welcome at Mass.

Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP will be leading a pilgrimage to Pantasaph commencing Friday 8th December. Details of the pilgrimage can be found here.

However, even if you are not a pilgrim, you are more than welcome to attend Holy Mass for the Immaculate Conception at St David's (the Parish Church) which will be at 5pm on Friday 8th December.

The address of the Retreat Centre is:

Franciscan Friary
Monastery Road
Pantasaph
Holywell
Flintshire
CH8 8PE