Easter Sunday with the FSSP in Reading

Fr Matthew Goddard FSSP celebrated Mass in St William of York, Reading, on Easter Sunday. This is the first time we have the Eastertide chant for the sprinkling of the Faithful before Mass on a Sunday, 'Vidi Aquam' instead of 'Asperges me'.

'I saw water flowing from the right side of the Temple, alleluia: and to all that water came were saved, and they shall say: alleluia, alleluia.'


This refers to Ezekial's vision of the Temple (47.1):

And he brought me again to the gate of the house, and behold waters issued out from under the threshold of the house toward the east: for the forefront, of the house looked toward the east: but the waters came down to the right side of the temple to the south part of the altar.
Ezekial goes on to talk about how the stream grows into a mighty river, makes the Dead Sea pure and drinkable, and has healing properties.



The liturgy applies this to the Passion of Our Lord, and the water, representing Baptism, flowing from his right side on the Cross. This is the kind of embedded Scriptural reference that those who suggest the EF doesn't have enough of the Bible in it tend to forget. The whole of the ancient Mass is saturated with Scripture.



Those who only attend Sung EF Masses on special occasions such as feasts and pilgrimages never experience the 'Asperges' ceremony, which is one of the very visually dramatic and touching rites of the Church's liturgical tradition. It is, in fact, an option in the 1970 Missal, but only at the expense of the 'Penitential Rite', and it is very rarely used.

Tenebrae in Reading

On Easter Saturday, I attended (and sang in) Tenebrae in Reading, with the FSSP in St William of York.

They have a truly splendid, brand new 'hearse': the triangular candelabrum with fifteen candles holders. One candle is extinguished after each psalm, leaving one, which is taken out, hidden, revealed, and then extinguished at the end. The symbolism relates to the death and resurrection of Our Lord. It works better in the evening, when Tenebrae was celebrated until the Holy Week reforms of 1955. More about that here.



James Bogle, President of the FIUV, was also at the service.

Good Friday with the FSSP in Reading

The church of St William of York was packed for the Solemn Afternoon Liturgy of Good Friday, celebrated by the Fraternity of St Peter.



The Gospel of the Passion.

 

The Intercessions.

 

The veneration of the Cross.



The Communion Rite.

 

More photos.

Maundy Thursday with the FSSP in Reading

On Maundy Thursday the Fraternity of St Peter had a very well-attended High Mass in St William of York, Reading. Fr de Malleray and Fr Goddard were joined by a seminarian, the Rev James Mawdsley.

 

The procession with the Blessed Sacrament.



The Altar of Repose.

 

The stripping of the Altar.

More photos.

Tenebrae in St Mary Moorefields

The Latin Mass Society organises a celebration of the Triduum in St Mary Moorefields in the City each year, with Tenebrae of Maundy Thursday anticipated on Wednesday.



It is accompanied with polyphony - for the Responsaries - by Cantus Magus, led by Matthew Schellhorn.



Before it started Canon Newby, the parish priest, had to remove the monstrance in which the Blessed Sacrament had been exposed during the day.

Joseph Pearce coming to England!

Like Bishop Schneider, Joseph Pearce is giving a talk to the LMS One-Day Conference on 24th May.

He is the author of numerous books (see Wikipedia), including many biographies of Chesterton, Belloc, Tolkein, Oscar Wilde, and Solzhenitsyn, and books of and about poetry.

He has written on the relationship to the Catholic Faith of C.S. Lewis, Shakespeare, and Tolkein's Lord of the Rings.

One very important work of his, in my view, is Literary Converts, describing the great wave of intellectual converts in the first half of the 20th century.

His latest, autobiographical, book, Race with the Devil, will be on sale at the conference. It describes his conversion from far-right political activism to Catholicism; see the Catholic World Report feature on it here.

At the conference he will be talking about the role of the Traditional Mass in conversions.

The evening before, Friday 23rd May, he will address the Catholic Writers' Guild, the Keys. This event is open only to guild members and their guests. If you are a member, or know one ou can drag along, do come!

Book your place at the LMS Conference here.

Palm Sunday with the FSSP in Reading

The church of St William of York was fuller than I have ever seen it. The empty spaces in the pews in some of the photos are reflective only of the fact that there was a very long queue for confession!

 

















More photos here.

Bishop Schneider is coming to England!

Bishop Schneider at the LMS Priest Training Conference at Downside Abbey in 2010

Bishop Athanasius Schneider, author of 'Dominus Est', a short book about the importance of receiving Communion on the tongue, is coming to England at the invitation of the Latin Mass Society.

He will be giving a talk at the LMS One Day Conference on Saturday 24th May, alongside Joseph Pearce, Fr Michael Mary of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (from Papa Stronsay in the Orkneys), and others.

We have helped to create quite a schedule for him, which will take him to five different dioceses in ten days. I hope that he becomes better known in England. At the Conference he will be talking about the Traditional Mass as a tool of Evagelisation; he will address various other topics to other audiences on his tour.

Saturday 17 May: LMS Pilgrimage to West Grinstead in Sussex. Pontifical High Mass at 12noon, followed by lunch, spiritual conference and devotions. Our Lady of Consolation, Park Lane, West Grinstead RH13 8LT

Sunday 18 May: Pontifical Low Mass in Reading, 11am, with the Fraternity of St Peter at the Church of St William of York, Upper Redlands Road, Reading RG1 3HW.

Tuesday 20 May: address to The Newman Society: the Oxford University Catholic Society. 'Catholicism in Russia: the Experience of the 20th Century.' 8.00-9.15pm. Open to members of Oxford University and their guests. At the Catholic Chaplaincy, The Old Bishop's Palace, Rose Place, St Aldates, Oxford OX1 1RD.

Our Lady of Consolation, West Grinstead, Sussex

Wednesday 21 May: Address to the Conference of Catholic Clergy at 6pm, St Patrick’s, Soho Square, London W1D 4NR.

Thursday 22 May: Address to the London Oratory: 'Living under Communism',
8pm. London Oratory, Brompton Road, London SW7 2RP.

Saturday 24th May: Latin Mass Society Conference, Regent Hall, Oxford Street, London, W1C 2DJ, from 11am to 6pm. Book tickets here.

Sunday 25 May: Pontifical Low Mass in the London Oratory at 9am. Bishop Schneider will attend First Vespers of St Philip’s Day, 6pm, and celebrate Benediction.

Monday 26 May: LMS pilgrimage to Ramsgate - Mass at the Shrine of St Augustine of Canterbury, for the Feast of St Augustine of Canterbury, at 12noon; Procession with relic at 11am. St Augustine's Shrine, St Augustine Rd, Ramsgate, CT11 9PA.

Bishop Schneider will also be preaching at the 6pm Mass at the London Oratory for St Philip’s Day.

EWTN series: 'Extraordinary Faith'

EWTN are about to begin showing a new monthly series, 'Extraordinary Faith', which looks at traditional Catholic liturgy, spirituality, music, architecture, and history.

It is being co-presented by Mary O'Regan, who lives in London and blogs at The Path Less Taken.

For those with EWTN, the first episode, about the Spanish mission in Southern California where the Traditional Mass is celebrated, is broadcast

Monday, April 14 at 4:30 AM U.S. Eastern time: that's 9:20am British Summer Time, assuming they are on Summer Time themselves.
And again on Friday, April 18 at 2:00 AM U.S. Eastern time: that's 7am BST.

I've been informed also:

'EWTN have a dedicated UK output, they have informed me it will air this side of the pond on the 9th May at 0200, 1030 and 2100.'

 
Extraordinary Faith Series Promo from Extraordinary Faith on Vimeo.