News For This Friday's Old Rite Mass at All Souls, Peterborough

Fr Michael Collis has asked me to publicise the fact that this Friday's Old Rite Mass at All Souls, Peterborough, will be celebrated by him at 6.30 pm.
Please do all you can to support this and all Old Rite Mass in Peterborough!
We keep Fr Collis and his parish in our prayers at all times.

LMS Press Release

22 February 2012

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

For Immediate Release

Sense of Beauty in the Liturgy ‘Umbilically Connected to Music’, Composer Tells Meeting of Choir Directors

James MacMillan, the Catholic composer, and Fr Guy Nicholls, founder of the Newman Institute of Liturgical Music in Birmingham, addressed a meeting of around fifty choir directors and chant experts at the second biennial meeting of the Gregorian Chant Network at the London Oratory on 18 February, sponsored financially by the Latin Mass Society.

The Network, which was founded two years ago by the Latin Mass Society, Una Voce Scotland, the Association for Latin Liturgy, the Schola Gregoriana of Cambridge and dozens of Chant scholas across England and Wales, aims to promote greater knowledge of, and expertise in, the Church’s most ancient musical form with the aim of fostering its wider use in the Catholic liturgy.

Dr MacMillan was the principal speaker and addressed the meeting about the role of music in the Church’s cultural patrimony. He recalled that, as a young boy, he had attended what is now called the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and noticed that, ‘the sense of beauty, the sense of sacred awe, was umbilically connected to the music.’ He observed that beauty as a concept had largely been lost from contemporary Church music. Indeed it had been accompanied by the abandonment of any objective notion of beauty at all. This fitted in with a widespread liturgical trend, namely, celebrations of Mass that have become self-preoccupied and centred on the notion of self-expression; a liturgy that too often focuses on community rather than the divine. In Dr MacMillan’s experience, the singing of Gregorian Chant had helped priests and their congregations to recover their focus on what was important in the Mass – that sense of beauty and the sacred.

Fr Guy Nicholls of the Birmingham Oratory, gave the meeting a brief but fascinating update on the progress achieved at the Newman Institute of Music, which was established in the wake of the Holy Father’s visit to Britain, and which was dedicated to meeting the musical needs of both clergy and laity.

The meeting was chaired by Dr Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society, who reported on the activities of the Gregorian Chant Network over the past two years and looked forward to further success in the months to come.

The very successful gathering concluded with Vespers in the Little Oratory, led by Fr Andrew Southwell, the Latin Mass Society’s National Chaplain.

. . . . ENDS . . . .

For further information, please contact Michael Lord, General Manager, on (T) 020 7404 7284; (F) 020 

7831 5585; (E mail) michael@lms.org.uk

James Macmillan

From the blog of Fr. Ray Blake;

On Friday 9th March at 7.30pm James MacMillan starts a series of talks/lectures with the “The Future of Music, Modernity and the Sacred; a composers perspective”.

"Everyone is welcome to come to the and James's talk and to any of the events that happening later on such as Mgr Andrew Wadsworth Secretary of ICEL who will be speaking give a talk "The Future of the Liturgy" on Tuesday 1st May aqnd Aidan Nichols OP the Balthazaar and Ratzinger scholar who will be speaking on Thursday 7th June on "The Future of the Chuch in England".
Mgr Keith Newton of the Ordinariate has agreed to come to speak about "The Future of Ecumenism" and Fr Alexander Sherbrooke on "The Future of Evangelisation".

ON THE ATTRIBUTES AND MARKS OF THE CHURCH

122. Q. Which are the attributes of the Church? A. The attributes of the Church are three: authority  infallibility, and indefectibility. 123. Q. What do you mean by the authority  of the Church? A. By the authority of the Church I mean the right and power which the Pope and the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles, have to teach and to govern the faithful. 124. Q. What do you mean by the infallibility of the  Church? A. By the infallibility of the Church I mean that the Church  cannot err when it teaches a doctrine of faith or morals. 125. Q. When does the Church teach infallibly? A. The Church teaches infallibly when it speaks through  the Pope and the bishops, united in general council, or through the Pope alone when he proclaims to all the faithful a doctrine of faith or morals. 126. Q. What o you mean by the indefectibility of  the Church? A. By the indefectibility of the Church I mean that the  Church, as Christ founded it, will last till the end of time. 127. Q. In whom are these attributes found in their  fullness? A. These attributes are found in their fullness in the Pope, the visible Head of the Church, whose infallible authority  to teach bishops, priests, and people in matters of faith or morals will last till the end of the world. 128. Q. Has the Church any marks by which it  may be known? A. The Church has four marks by which it may be known:  it is One; it is Holy; it is Catholic; it is Apostolic. 129. Q. How is the Church One? A. The Church is One because all its members agree in one faith, are all in one communion, and are all under one Head. 130. Q. How is the Church Holy? A. The Church is Holy because its founder, Jesus Christ, is holy; because it teaches a holy doctrine; invites all to a holy life; and because of the eminent holiness of so many  thousands of its children. 131. Q. How is the Church Catholic or universal? A. The Church is Catholic or universal because it subsists in all ages, teaches all nations, and maintains all truth. 132. Q. How is the Church Apostolic? A. The Church is Apostolic because it was founded by  Christ on His Apostles, and is governed by their lawful  successors, and because it has never ceased, and never  will cease, to teach their doctrine. 133. Q. In which Church are these attributes  and marks found? A. These attributes and marks are found in the Holy Roman Catholic Church alone. 134. Q. From whom does the Church derive its undying  life and infallible authority? A. The Church derives its undying life and infallible authority from the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth, who abides with it forever. 135. Q. By whom is the Church made and kept One, Holy, and  Catholic? A. The Church is made and kept One, Holy, and Catholic by the  Holy Ghost, the spirit of love and holiness, who unites and sanctifies its members throughout the world.

Excerpts from the Baltimore Catechism, Book 2

I have recently alluded to the use of the Baltimore Catechism in the instruction of candidates for the Sacrament of Confirmation. I include below Lesson the Eleventh which deals with the Church. I post it because this is the topic I am presently covering with my daughter.

LESSON ELEVENTH: ON THE CHURCH 114. Q. Which are the means instituted by our Lord to enable men at all times to share in the fruits of the Redemption? A. The means instituted by our Lord to enable men at all times to share in the fruits of His Redemption are the Church and the Sacraments. 115. Q. What is the Church? A. The Church is the congregation of all those who profess the faith of Christ, partake of the same Sacraments, and are governed by their lawful pastors under one visible head. 116. Q. Who is the invisible Head of the Church? A. Jesus Christ is the invisible Head of the Church. 117. Q. Who is the visible Head of the Church? A. Our Holy Father the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is the Vicar of Christ on earth and the visible Head of the Church. 118. Q. Why is the Pope, the Bishop of Rome, the visible Head of the Church? A. The Pope, the Bishop of Rome, is the visible Head of the Church because lie is the successor 119. Q. Who are the successors of the other Apostles? A. The successors of the other Apostles are the bishops of the Holy Catholic Church. 120. Q. Why did Christ found the Church? A. Christ founded the Church to teach, govern, sanctify, and save all men. 121. Q. Are all bound to belong to the Church? A. All are bound to belong to the Church, and he who knows the Church to be the true Church and remains out of it cannot be saved. 122. Q. Which are the attributes of the Church? A. The attributes of the Church are three: authority infallibility, and indefectibility. 123. Q. What do you mean by the authority of the Church? A. By the authority of the Church I mean the right and power which the Pope and the bishops, as the successors of the Apostles, have to teach and to govern the faithful. 124. Q. What do you mean by the infallibility of the Church? A. By the infallibility of the Church I mean that the Church cannot err when it teaches a doctrine of faith or morals. 125. Q. When does the Church teach infallibly? A. The Church teaches infallibly when it speaks through the Pope and the bishops, united in general council, or through the Pope alone when he proclaims to all the faithful a doctrine of faith or morals. 126. Q. What o you mean by the indefectibility of the Church? A. By the indefectibility of the Church I mean that the Church, as Christ founded it, will last till the end of time. 127. Q. In whom are these attributes found in their fullness? A. These attributes are found in their fullness in the Pope, the visible Head of the Church, whose infallible authority to teach bishops, priests, and people in matters of faith or morals will last till the end of the world. 128. Q. Has the Church any marks by which it may be known? A. The Church has four marks by which it may be known: it is One; it is Holy; it is Catholic; it is Apostolic. 129. Q. How is the Church One? A. The Church is One because all its members agree in one faith, are all in one communion, and are all under one Head. 130. Q. How is the Church Holy? A. The Church is Holy because its founder, Jesus Christ, is holy; because it teaches a holy doctrine; invites all to a holy life; and because of the eminent holiness of so many thousands of its children. 131. Q. How is the Church Catholic or universal? A. The Church is Catholic or universal because it subsists in all ages, teaches all nations, and maintains all truth. 132. Q. How is the Church Apostolic? A. The Church is Apostolic because it was founded by Christ on His Apostles, and is governed by their lawful successors, and because it has never ceased, and never will cease, to teach their doctrine. 133. Q. In which Church are these attributes and marks found? A. These attributes and marks are found in the Holy Roman Catholic Church alone. 134. Q. From whom does the Church derive its undying life and infallible authority? A. The Church derives its undying life and infallible authority from the Holy Ghost, the spirit of truth, who abides with it forever. 135. Q. By whom is the Church made and kept One, Holy, and Catholic? A. The Church is made and kept One, Holy, and Catholic by the Holy Ghost, the spirit of love and holiness, who unites and sanctifies its members throughout the world.

PRESS RELEASE FROM THE LATIN MASS SOCIETY

2 February 2012

For Immediate Release

LMS Holds Annual Requiem Mass in Westminster Cathedral

LMS Announces Its 8^th Priest and Server Training Conference, Belmont Abbey, Hereford, 16-19th April 2012

To meet the continuing and growing demand for the Extraordinary Form, the Latin Mass Society will be organising another in its series of much-praised residential training conferences for priests and servers wishing to learn Mass in the usus antiquior. On this occasion, it will be held at Belmont Abbey, Hereford, HR2 9RZ. This will be the eighth such conference organised by the LMS since 2007, which has now trained well over 100 priests in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. Bookings have already started to come in for the Belmont event.

Tuition, which will be given by experienced priests, will be tailored to suit the needs of each priest. The conference will also be open to servers who wish to learn or improve their skills with the older form of the Mass.

The fee for attending is £120, inclusive of board and lodging at Hedley Lodge, which is adjacent to the abbey. There is a concessionary rate available of £60.

How To Get There:

Hereford is close to the motorway network and is easy and quick to get to from most parts of England and Wales.

Rail: Hereford mainline station is two hours 50 minutes from London, around 90 minutes from Birmingham, two and half hours from Manchester, one hour from Cardiff and 90 minutes from Bristol.

Road: The M50 motorway (which connects from the M5) is about half an hour (or less) from Hereford. Belmont Abbey is about a mile and a half outside the city of Hereford.

How To Apply:

Please fill in an application form and send with your cheque (payable to 'Latin Mass Society') to the address on the application form.

Photo credit: Belmont Abbey

Handing on the Faith

The great synthesis begun by St.Thomas Aquinas in the 13th century may be said to have reached maturity in the 16thy century and the Council of Trent. An important distillation of the Council  was the Roman Catechism, which, although designed for parish priests, catered for the spiritual education of all the faithful. The small catechisms that many of us grew up with, such as the famous Penny Catechism and the Baltimore Catechism, are direct descendants of the Roman Catechism. Even the Catechism of the Catholic Church (1994) follows the same basic format.

As I begin instructing my daughter in preparation for her Confirmation in November, I should like to share with you some of my methods in her instruction.

Which book(s)?

There are many good books available these days which adhere strictly to the Church's Magisterium. Personally I have adopted the Baltimore Catechism of 1885.

There are three versions available, depending on the age and level of  understanding of the candidate. For Confirmation book 2 is probably about right. The method, like the Penny Catechism,follows a question and answer format. The idea however is not to teach by rote, but to unpack the answers and develop them as appropriate. I tend to teach for no more than about 20 minutes per day from the catechism. This teaching is then complemented by a further 15 or so minutes of Bible reading of appropriate passages. At the moment we are looking at the Fall and Original Sin, so the appropriate passages from Genesis were chosen. Also, once a week, we may look at a dvd from the well-known Bible series.

Finally, never forget that the best instruction of all is that given by attending the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.