Good news of Feast Day Masses at St Pancras, Lewes.

There will be Low Masses at St Pancras

for the Feast of Corpus Christi, 7th June, at 8.00pm,

and

 for the Feast of Sts Peter and Paul, 29th June, also at 8.00pm.

Advertising and Promotion

If a car manufacturer rediscovered some blue prints, long consigned to the basement in an old filing cabinet for the most amazingly timeless and elegant car ever, and gave orders for its manufacture, but there was no-one bothered to advertise it, promote it, however wonderful the car is, it won't sell.






Similarly, if a fantastic recipe for a unique chocolate bar is rediscovered, and everything is in place for its marketing and distribution but no-one can be bothered to put in an order for it, even though they would probably acquire a taste for the most delicious confectionery ever invented, it won't sell.

We have the Extraordinary Form, unique and timeless. If you can, could I ask you to write to your parish priests asking for an EF Mass? Let me know how you get on. If you have already, let me know how you got on.

Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead

Is this Saturday, 2nd June.

Missa Cantata at Noon, Rosary, and Benediction at four (ish).

Bring a picnic, and hope to see you there.

Pentecost

Wishing you a very blessed and holy Whitsun!

OK folks, time to make your voices heard.

Fr Tim has a great post, 'What God has separated, let no man join together' in which he gives links to the Coaliton Marriage Petition (SIGN it if you haven't already) and the Government consultation papers regarding this issue. I've sent in my thoughts, please send in yours to whoever is supposed to be being consulted, and to your MP. So go to Fr Tim's blog, and sign, and follow the links to the consultation. There are sample answers you can look at if you're feeling in need of inspiration.

Hans Who (does-he-think-he-is)?

I've never liked suspense, although I'm a great believer in keeping the right feast on the right day, not having birthday presents early, and not peeking under the Christmas tree. And I like a book with a happy ending.
Which is why I like being a Catholic. We know how the story ends. I think that's one of the reasons reincarnation has always felt really rather cruel. You go round and round, never knowing the end.

The other thing I like about the church is its continuity. Here we are, assailed by all kinds of worldly rubbish and views that range from the irritating to the downright harmful, and the church remains ultimately a refuge for us. There are rules which make us free. I like rules as well. There is nothing more freeing than having a sensible, well-defined boundary. It's counter-intuitive, but it's true. Within a boundary, you are free. Outside it, you have a really huge potential to get entirely lost and mess up.

So, pondering what it means to be free takes me back to the blog title.

Really, Hans who? Putting aside the vast ego of the man (he comes across oddly enough a bit like Richard Dawkins wearing a slightly different hat), he is so free he seems to have lost the plot. What's the man on? We are reforming, under the amazing Holy Father God has given us, we're slowly and gently being allowed to return to our roots. Kung obviously loathes tradition (with a big and small T I'm guessing), and fails to see how important unity is to the Holy Father, and indeed to all of us.

He should really have kept up with the Spirit of the Times. Things have moved on, man, wake up and smell the incense.

Now, I wasn't going to post anything until after the Novena below ended, because I wanted to keep it at the top of the blog, but it's still there below this one, so please don't forget it's there! And also please remember the Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Consolation, 2nd June!

If you feel so moved...

...please say a Novena for the successful reconciliation of the SSPX and the Holy See! The reporting of the talks between them (and indeed even the possibility of a split within the SSPX) have been reported all over the blogosphere. There's a good report here in the Catholic Herald, and an intervew with Bishop Fellay on FR Z's blog here.

With a successful outcome in mind, the LMS is asking for Novenas to be offered from Friday, 18th of May until the Vigil of Pentecost on 26th May.

Please pray the Veni Creator Spiritus and the Memorarae

VENI, Creator Spiritus, mentes tuorum visita, imple superna gratia quae tu creasti pectora. Qui diceris Paraclitus, altissimi donum Dei, fons vivus, ignis, caritas, et spiritalis unctio. Tu, septiformis munere, digitus paternae dexterae, Tu rite promissum Patris, sermone ditans guttura. Accende lumen sensibus: infunde amorem cordibus: infirma nostri corporis virtute firmans perpeti. Hostem repellas longius, pacemque dones protinus: ductore sic te praevio vitemus omne noxium. Per te sciamus da Patrem, noscamus atque Filium; Teque utriusque Spiritum credamus omni tempore. Deo Patri sit gloria, et Filio, qui a mortuis surrexit, ac Paraclito, in saeculorum saecula. Amen. V. Emitte Spiritum tuum, et creabuntur: R. Et renovabis faciem terrae. Oremus: Deus qui corda fidelium Sancti Spiritus illustratione docuisti: da nobis in eodem Spiritu recta sapere, et de eius semper consolatione gaudere. Per Christum Dominum nostrum. R. Amen. MEMORARE, O piissima Virgo Maria, non esse auditum a saeculo, quemquam ad tua currentem praesidia, tua implorantem auxilia, tua petentem suffragia, esse derelictum. Ego tali animatus confidentia, ad te, Virgo Virginum, Mater, curro, ad te venio, coram te gemens peccator assisto. Noli, Mater Verbi, verba mea despicere; sed audi propitia et exaudi. Amen.

COME, Holy Ghost, Creator blest, and in our souls take up Thy rest; come with Thy grace and heavenly aid to fill the hearts which Thou hast made. O comforter, to Thee we cry, O heavenly gift of God Most High, O fount of life and fire of love, and sweet anointing from above. Thou in Thy sevenfold gifts are known; Thou, finger of God’s hand we own; Thou, promise of the Father, Thou Who dost the tongue with power imbue. Kindle our sense from above, and make our hearts overflow with love; with patience firm and virtue high the weakness of our flesh supply. Far from us drive the foe we dread, and grant us Thy peace instead; so shall we not, with Thee for guide, turn from the path of life aside. Oh, may Thy grace on us bestow the Father and the Son to know; and Thee, through endless times confessed, of both the eternal Spirit blest. Now to the Father and the Son, Who rose from death, be glory given, with Thou, O Holy Comforter, henceforth by all in earth and heaven. Amen. V. Send forth Thy Spirit, and they shall be created. R. And Thou shalt renew the face of the earth. Let us Pray: O God, Who hast taught the hearts of the faithful by the light of the Holy Ghost: grant that, by the gift of the same Spirit, we may be always truly wise, and ever rejoice in His consolation. Through Christ Our Lord. R. Amen. Remember, O Most Gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to Thy protection, implored Thy help and sought Thy intercession, was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto Thee, O Virgin of Virgins, my Mother; to Thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in Thy mercy, hear and answer me. Amen.

I'll admit to being very excited by the merest possibility of this actually happening, and it's been a Rosary intention of mine for quite a while. So popping an extra intention on your Rosary might also be a nice idea, everything I'm sure will help! Thank you!

Ascension at St Mary Magdalen, Brighton

This Thursday there will be a Missa Cantata at 7.30 pm at St Mary Magdalen, Brighton.

The music will be Palestrina Missa Brevis in F.

There is also Mass at 6.00pm at St Pancras Lewes

There must be a special alignment of the stars, or something.

Here's a talk...

...by Mgr Wadsworth. Have a look at Clare's blog.

Ooh, now this...

...is one of my (many) hobby horses :

Children's Liturgy, or Children's Belittle-gy, as I prefer to call it.

It came into my mind today because I experience the mass exodus of smallish people fairly regularly when I assist at the Ordinary Form, and  today read His Hermaneuticalness and Creative Minority Report.

It narks me mightily when the kiddies are syphoned off at the beginning of Mass to colour in piccies of 'Jesus and me' when they could actually be meeting Jesus for real throughout the whole of the Mass. It narks me that they sing worthless ditties about wiggly worms and butterflies, or are sung out of Church to the hall with a cringey 'circle' song. It really narks me that the lowest common denominator is the default setting.





Don't get me wrong, I'm well aware of the wee brains of kids, but kids mostly aren't stupid.

Here's an example. I've just returned with a bunch of children from the annual nail biting week that is the French Trip.


It was a freezing cold late afternoon, and I was standing with some girls on the one of the D Day landing beaches in a biting wind, when one of the girls (Catholic) suddenly asks if she could ask me a question. Course, I said, blithely.







She looked very serious. "Miss," she said. "What do you think about infinity and heaven?" It took a while.
Then she asked about hell, and we had a very spirited discussion. She's ten.





So it really bothers me that kids who are naturally very intellectually curious can be fobbed off with paraphrased Bible stories, a spot of colouring, and a really awful song (because it isn't always just the pre First Holy Communion children that go out at the beginning).

This has nothing to do with age-appropriateness, it has everything to do with not being apologetic about the Faith.

Pilgrimage to Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead

A reminder that the Pilgrimage is soon, Saturday, 2 June!

Missa Cantata at noon, followed by a picnic, rosary, and Benediction, with plenty of opportunity to to chat, and visit the Secret Chapel.

The day ends with Benediction at about 4 o'clock.

Hope to see you there!

Masses at St Pancras, Lewes

In addition to the regular Saturday morning and first Sunday of the month Masses, there will be:









Low Masses at 6.00 pm on 17th May, Ascension Thursday
















and at 12.30 pm on 27th May, Pentecost Sunday

Technical hitches...

...mean I shall have to refer you to the LMS website for all information regarding the Holywell Pilgrimage, on 1 July, and the LMS Conference on 9 June.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

2 May 2012

Bishop Rifan of Campos Brazil to visit Britain this Summer

The Latin Mass Society is pleased to announce that Bishop Fernando Rifan, Apostolic Administrator of the Personal Apostolic Administration of Saint John Mary Vianney in Brazil, will be visiting Britain this summer and will celebrate Pontifical High Masses at three locations across England and Wales at events organised by the LMS.

The main events are as follows:

Saturday, 30 June, 3pm: Pontifical High Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, 294 Harrogate Road, Moortown, Leeds LS17 6LE

Sunday, 1 July, 2.30pm: Holywell Pilgrimage, St Winefride’s Catholic Church, Well Street, Holywell, Flintshire CH8 7PL (Pontifical High Mass)

The Mass and Pilgrimage will be filmed by EWTN as part of a forthcoming television series. There will be a coach leaving for Holywell from London (Contact Graham Moorhouse on 01322 409231) and also, we hope, from Birmingham (phone 020 7404 7284), Liverpool (phone Jim Pennington on 0151 426 0361) and Wirral (phone Anthony Sibert on 0151 625 9033).

Saturday, 7 July, 11.00am: Annual General Meeting and Pontifical High Mass at St George’s Cathedral, Southwark, London SE1 6HX (Mass at 11.00am, AGM at 2.00pm, addressed by the bishop).

We are hoping to run coaches from Cambridge, Reading and Brighton if there is sufficient demand. Please phone the LMS office (020 7404 7284) to book a place or for more information.

There will be a buffet lunch at the AGM for all paid-up members of the LMS. The cost per head will be £5, payable on the door. But if you are intending to come, please tell us beforehand so that we can budget for the catering.

Bishop Rifan will also be visiting Scotland during his time in Britain and will celebrate Mass in Edinburgh (venue to be announced by Una Voce Scotland) on Monday 2 July at 7pm.

This promises to be a wonderful week of events in the summer giving full witness to the Traditional Mass and the Faith that goes with it. We warmly encourage everyone to make the effort to attend at least one of the Masses.

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

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