The Oxford Oratory News Feed

New Building to start soon

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 11:32:32 GMT

After many months of preparation, work on the nerw accommodation block and parish rooms will begin at the end of this month. The work is bring carried out by Stepnell Ltd of Rugby.

At the moment we have committed ourselves to the £750,000 needed to put the building up and make it weather-proof. To fit out the accommodation and parish rooms we need to raise further funds by the summer. We are waiting for the exact figures for this, but current estimates are that £270,000 is required for the next stage.

Parish Priest's Report 2011

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 11:27:04 GMT

The Parish Priest's Report for 2011 may be accessed via the "Downloads" box to the right.

Parish Census

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 15:53:48 GMT

If you come to Mass in our church, please fill in the census form by clicking here.

Every now and again we notice that a regular parishioner has suddenly stopped coming to Mass. This may be for any one of several reasons: perhaps they have moved away; perhaps they have gone to another parish; or perhaps something has gone wrong. Sometimes we have discovered later that they were sick but we couldnt get in touch with them because we didnt have any contact details. We have even had people complain that none of the priests ever came to see them but, again, we often dont have contact details.

We would like to carry out a census of the parish, and today we shall begin handing out leaflets inviting everyone who comes here to Mass to complete the details and return the form so that we can provide better pastoral care for you, the people who come here to the Oratory for Mass. Even if you think we already have your details, please do complete the form.

The form also includes details about events and groups in the parish that you might not realize exist, so giving you the chance to become more involved in the life of the parish if you would like to.

You will also have the chance to ask questions of the Fathers or of members of the Parish Advisory Group. All the information you offer will, of course, be treated as confidential and will not be handed on to others. You will also be able to complete the form on-line clicking the link above.

Thank-you in advance for helping us to get to know you better.

Fr Gregory Winterton RIP

Wed, 18 Jan 2012 11:01:19 GMT

Of your charity please pray for the repose of the soul of Father Gregory Winterton of the Birmingham Oratory, who died on Wednesday 18th January 2012, fortified by the rites of Holy Church.

May he rest in peace.

Solemn Profession at St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde

Mon, 16 Jan 2012 20:29:28 GMT

Five of the Fathers and many of our parishioners were able to go to St Cecilia's Abbey, Ryde, on the Isle of Wight, on Friday 6th January, Solemnity of the Epiphany, for the Solemn Profession and Consecration of Sister Elizabeth Burgess, formerly of this parish.

The ceremony was very beautiful, consisting of the Monastic Profession, the signing of the Profession Chart, the Investiture in the cowl, the Litany of the Saints, followed by the Consecration to Virginity, with the giving of the black veil, the Ring and the Book of the Divine Office.

St Cecilia's is a Benedictine Monastery of the Solesmes Congregation, and carries out the whole of the Divine Office with Gregorian Chant.

Afterwards, guests joined the nuns for a festive recreation in the large parlour, where there were a number of entertainments:

Is it a race?

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:41:00 +0000

Construction of new Libraries is always an exciting thing. Definite decisions on our new Building including the New Library are expected soon (yes, we keep saying that), and we have taken a significant first step by packing up and placing in store a large proportion of the Oratory's collections of books.

Here they are, boxed up and ready to go. We have been very kindly loaned the use of a warm, dry, safe storage area for boxes, as well as a certain amount of furniture which we hope will be useful in the New Building. But it does mean that for the coming months we will be unable to browse in some of our more interesting ancient books, including the Acta Sanctorum and the Corpus Byzantini, not to mention secular history, archaeology and some other smaller classes, and a selection of the less likely books in other areas. Oh well, if really needed we can drive to the store, locate the relevant box and extract a book quicker than our competitor could get a book back from Swindon.

Our competitor? There is, we find, another library being built in the city. Who will finish first? Up to you, really, and, yes, there is still time for you to have the library named after you for a consideration...

Another Library. But we have books they haven't got.

Epiphany Chalk

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:58:35 GMT

In some countries it is traditional to bless houses at Epiphanytide with blessed chalk. There is some of this chalk at the back of church for you to take away. The inscription for you to write up above your door is:

20+C+M+B+12

CMB stands for "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" - or alternatively, Caspar, Melchior and Balthasar.

Epiphany Benediction in Crib

Sat, 07 Jan 2012 16:50:20 GMT

Today we had our traditional Children's Epiphany Benediction in the Crib. The monstrance was placed instead of the manger, to show how the same Lord whom the Kigns adored is present now in the Blessed Sacrament.

The Fathers and Brothers of the Oratory wish you a Happy and Holy Christmas

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 15:53:31 GMT

Extra times of Confessions:

Christmas Eve: 10-11am, 12-12.30pm, 5-6.30pm, 11.15-11.45pm

Christmas Masses:

Christmas Eve

Vigil Mass with carols 6.30pm

Church reopens at 11pm; Carols from 11.15pm ; Midnight Mass at Midnight

Christmas Day

Latin Mass: 8am; Parish Mass with Children's Liturgy: 9.30am

Solemn Mass: 11am

Solemn Benediction: 5.30pm

NO EVENING MASS

NEW YEAR'S EVE: Mass & Benediction: 11pm

CHILDREN'S EPIPHANY BENEDICTION IN THE CRIB:

Saturday 7th January, 3pm

Like a mighty tortoise

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 16:36:00 +0000

Where have we got to on our Building Plans? A significant step (one small step for tortoisekind) because we have now agreed on a Contractor. We are not announcing the name just yet, because we are waiting to see if their sums come out the same as ours which pretty well agreed with those of our surveyors. But what we expect is that we shall start on Phase I of the building after dividing it into five or six Steps so that we don't take on more than we can pay for. The contractors seem happy with this, and are just costing the Steps.

Step A will be the building or construction work, that means we have the whole of the new block built, covered in and made weathertight, and the building modifications to the old school building completed. Then the Crane (or Stork) can be taken off site. That should be done, we trust, by late spring (the Crane may fly away before Easter).

By then of course more money will have come bubbling in, as people see that at last, at long last, builders are actually and truly on site. Which should mean that we can tell them to get on with Steps B, C, D and so on without a break.

It has certainly taken a long time, and now, of course nothing will happen until January. But we are getting there...

And the fund-raising? Oh, we didn't tell you? Pledges and Donations have now gone significantly over the Two Million mark. No, we mean two million POUNDS - what that will be in Marks we don't yet know. But it's a lot more than two million Euros.

Not that there's all that much in the bank, as we've explained before. So if you are feeling enthusiastic donations can still be made, either by cheque, used notes, or through JustGiving or the American Fund. But perhaps, we hope you won't be offended, if we say not in Euros, please.

Merry Christmas!

Pictures of this Year's Rorate Mass

Sat, 17 Dec 2011 16:17:54 GMT

Photographs courtesy of the Latin Mass Society

Oratory Parishioner working in India

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 12:12:28 GMT

Last Lent our parish project was for Light for the Blind.

- a charity founded by Fr Thomas Rathappillil. Its mission is to improve the welfare of blind, mentally ill, handicapped and dying destitute people living in India.

One of our young parishioners - Nick Griffiths - has gone out to St Joseph's Hospice in Dindigul, TamilNadu, to work with Fr Thomas.

Nick's jobs include gardening, mopping and cleaning, feeding people, dressing wounds and giving medication including injections. He can speak a little Tamil, enough to get by, but finds the language barrier frustrating.

The little boy in the staff photo below had been on a long search for his mother, before discovering her as a patient at St Joseph's Hospice:

Fr Thomas would be delighted to welcome any other volunteers to India. Speak to Fr Daniel if you are interested.

Here is St Joseph's Hospice:

And the view:

A Crane or no Crane?

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 09:34:00 +0000

We have been studying the Tender Documents in some depth. There are now two front runners, both of whom have suggested we could save quite a lot of money by changing the design slightly so that we do not need to have a Crane. You know, one of those massive things that dominate the Oxford skyline as seen from Wytham Woods. This doesn't affect the plans at all, just the method of construction. We are investigating this. In some ways it would draw attention to our site, if we had a massive great thing oversailing the Church, but the Oratory has always tried to avoid drawing attention to itself. Yes, we know, we do need world-wide attention to keep the donations flowing in...how to resolve that one? To the mere layman it seems that the sheer weight of stuff that would have to be got onto the playground site to build a Crane (foundations, ballast, the Crane tower and boom, the operators cabin...) would be more than the weight of stuff the Crane would then be able to lift onto the site. But then, some members of the Community had hoped to be allowed to climb up and see the site from above.

We shall know soon enough, and will pass on the news,

and incidentally, that's a Stork, not a Crane.

Blessing

Mon, 21 Nov 2011 15:24:47 GMT

Here is the last of the series of sermons on the Mass - preached by Fr Joseph Welch on Sunday 20th November, the feast of Christ the King.

"Thy kingdom come; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven."

And so we come to the last in our series of twelve sermons on the Mass, and indeed to the last part of the Mass: the blessing and the dismissal.

The Mass, of course, begins with the Sign of the Cross, a gesture we make so often that we become, perhaps, somewhat blasé about it, making the sign hurriedly without thought or devotion, forgetting that the Sign of the Cross is not merely a perfunctory gesture to introduce and conclude other prayers; it is a prayer in itself and a very profound one at that.

Firstly, when we make the Sign of the Cross, we are acknowledging that we believe that there is but One God, yet three Persons in this One God; three Persons who share the same divine nature, and between whom there is no essential difference, only the distinction of their relationship one to another. It was in the name of this One God, these three Persons, that we were baptized. By being baptized we came to share the very life of that One God; and that share of God's life, given to us in the form of sanctifying grace, is the fundamental principle, the very basis and the moving force, of our entire life as Christians. God's grace was infused into our souls, and at the same time we entered into His life.

Secondly, when we make the Sign of the Cross, we are acknowledging the Cross on which the second Person of that Trinity died. Our Lord offered Himself to the Father, on our behalf, and within the bond of the love of the Holy Spirit. The Cross is the deepest and most admirable expression of what Our Lord Jesus Christ, true God and true Man, has done for us. It is the very means by which our sins are forgiven, by which we are redeemed from the consequences of those sins, and by which we are saved from the grasp of the devil whose disorder and deceit is conquered, and whose power, in the shape of death, is overcome. With the Cross a new order was established, the Kingdom of God, and with it the universal kingship of Christ, a kingdom for the coming of which we pray every time we say the Our Father. Because God created the world in which we live, He and He alone has the right to hold sway over the nations; His laws, and His alone, may rightfully govern the societies in which we live. Any law passed by man that contradicts the Law of the Creator is offensive to God and serves to interrupt the coming of God's Kingdom here on earth.

Thirdly, each time we trace the Sign of the Cross on ourselves, we place ourselves very firmly under the Cross by which divine order was restored; we acknowledge Gods right to govern our lives; and we submit with a humble and generous heart to His will, asking Him to order our lives for the sake of the salvation of our souls as well as for the building up of His kingdom of peace here on earth. And when we make the Sign of the Cross together within our families at home, or when we have our homes blessed, we are placing our families under the protection of that same Cross, and asking Our Lord to guide our every thought, word, and deed.

But the Sign of the Cross within the Church's liturgy does more than this. The two Signs of the Cross, at the beginning and at the end of the Mass, encompass within their embrace the whole sacrificial action which they signify. Lifting our minds and hearts to God at the start of the Mass, the Sign of the Cross serves to help us meditate on the beloved Trinity from whom all life comes; and the blessing at the end of Mass summarizes the fullness of Our Lord's sacrifice of love, the shedding of His blood in expiation and propitiation for our sins. During the Mass, God pours grace upon grace into the hearts of those present and of those for whom the Mass is being offered. With the final blessing, those graces are sealed within our hearts, as it were, by the Sign of the Cross, the Cross from which those graces flow, and we are blessed "in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places" (Eph 1:3).

The word blessing comes from the Latin word benedicere, to speak well or to speak good things. When we speak good things to someone we might be simply wishing them well; but because "the Word of God is living and active" (Heb 4:12) then any word spoken by God actually brings about what that word signifies. So when we receive God's blessing from the hands of a priest, all the goodness of the heavenly places are truly heaped upon us, and we are made sharers in the spiritual blessings of the Mass, sharers in the blessings of Christ's great act of redeeming love.

Then comes the dismissal: in Latin, Ite, missa est. "Go, this is the dismissal." In English, to be dismissed sounds rather as though we are being disposed of somewhat summarily. But, of course, the word comes from the Latin, mitto, "I send". Having received grace upon grace, and having had blessings heaped upon us, Our Lord sends us forth, just as He did His first disciples, to bear those graces and blessings out into the whole world in order to help with His divine mission of converting the world, of bringing sinners to repentance, and of establishing His universal kingship here on earth and in the hearts of every man, woman, and child, so that both heaven and earth may be governed by His law of love, so that the will of God may be done on earth as it is in heaven.

Tender care

Sat, 19 Nov 2011 17:37:00 +0000

The tenders have now come in for our new building - five out of the six companies that were invited have offered to build us a new accommodation block (so that Fr Richard no longer has to live in the cellar, and we can consider taking future novices or guests) better rooms for the parish with a proper office, servery and securely locked bar, a splendid library not only for our own clergy and those training for the priesthood, but also for the scholarly public wishing to consult the Chesterton Library, the Gaisford Library, and our own unrivalled collections. That, with the foundations and "services" for our new Newman Chapel, the connecting Baptistery, and the elegant fire-escape that is dignified with the style and name of an Italian cortile.

Three of the tenders were within the price range we expected, two of them offered to keep to the timetable suggested, which is 38 weeks beginning on Tuesday 3 January. Our surveyors are going to do a detailed analysis of the tenders, and advise us on which to accept. But it does really look as if, at last, after so many months and indeed years of preparation, we are going to make a start.

That means, of course, that the existing parish centre will be out of action, and you will not be allowed to watch building progress - but we will ply you with photographs and progressive reports. No photographs yet, however, so we will have to make do with another curious creature.

Holy Communion

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 14:47:41 GMT

Here is the penultimate sermon in the series on the Mass, preached by Fr Jerome Bertram on Sunday 13th November:

"Do this in Remembrance of Me".

It is in Holy Communion that we are made one with Our Lord, and through Him, we are one with everyone else who is united to Him; thus we are united to those who have died, and brought into communion with those we lament. That it why we celebrate Mass and receive Communion for the dead.

Immediately before we receive Holy Communion we reap the most obvious benefit of the new translation: the brief exchange turns out to consist of direct quotations from Scripture: "Behold, the Lamb of God, behold Him who takes away the sins of the World", words in which St John the Baptist first pointed out Our Lord (John 1:29). We have been calling on the Lamb of God to have mercy on us, and grant us peace, and now He is here, we can see Him! Then we hear, "Blessed are those called to the supper of the Lamb", from near the end of St John's Apocalypse (19:9), for our Holy Communion is a "Pledge of future Glory" (St Thomas Aquinas, antiphon for Vespers of Corpus Christi). And we reply in the words of the Centurion in the Gospel, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof, but only say the word and my servant shall be healed." (Matth. 8:8) Yes, there is one word different: we pray for my soul to be healed. Holy Communion is a remedy for the soul, the heart, the mind it is not primarily a remedy for the body, we have another Sacrament for that. We come to Holy Communion to be cleansed from sin, to be strengthened in virtue, to be united with each other into the One Body of Christ which is His Church.

But how should we receive Communion? Here we enter delicate ground, for there is nothing so divisive as the Sacrament which unites us. We must tread carefully, saying nothing more than the truth, and invoking charity and understanding as we try to avoid the peril on either side. The peril, that is, of breaching Charity.

When we approach the Altar rails, we come in procession up the centre of the church, to express our respect for the Altar and the Sacrifice, and we return by the side-aisles, so that those approaching and those returning do not obstruct each other. As we all know, there are two modes of receiving Holy Communion in the Western Church. Recently the Holy See renewed permission for Catholics in England to receive Communion in their hands, and standing, while reminding us that everyone is free to kneel along the altar-rail, and to receive on the tongue. As the Instruction prefaced to the new Altar Missal says, "individual members of the faithful may choose to receive communion while kneeling. However, when they communicate standing, it is recommended that the faithful bow in reverence before receiving the Sacrament." (General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM), §160, English /Scots version, CTS Altar Missal 2011, p. 69. In Australia the faithful must bow.) The Instruction continues to state that the Faithful communicate "either on the tongue, or, where this is allowed, in the hand, the choice lying with the communicant." (GIRM, §161)

For nearly the whole history of the Latin Church, receiving on the tongue, and kneeling, has been the only authorised posture, with obvious exceptions such as those ill in bed. (Standing Communion has long been the tradition of the Greek Church, although the laity never receive in the hand, but open their mouths wide for the deacon to pour in the leavened Host soaked in the Precious Blood.) There is one single reference in the writings of the Church Fathers to the manner of receiving Communion in the hand, and it is worth quoting in full:

"Approaching therefore, come not with thy wrists extended, or thy fingers open; but make thy left hand as if a throne for thy right, which is on the eve of receiving the King. And having hollowed thy palm, receive the Body of CHRIST, saying after it, Amen. Then after thou hast with carefulness hallowed thine eyes by the touch of the Holy Body, partake thereof; giving heed lest thou lose any of it; for what thou losest, is a loss to thee, as if it were from one of thy own members. For tell me, if anyone gave thee gold dust, wouldest thou not with all precaution keep it fast, being on thy guard against losing any of it, and suffering loss? How much more cautiously then wilt thou observe that not a crumb falls from thee, of what is more precious than gold and precious stones?"

Thus far St Cyril of Jerusalem, writing in 347or 348 AD. (Catechetical Lectures, lect. xxiii, 21, from A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church[translated by J.H. Newman], Oxford 1838, p. 279.) It is obvious that St Cyril believed and taught that what we receive truly is the Body of the Lord, and must be welcomed with enormous respect: we can hardly do less, though his curious instruction on touching the Host to our eyes should, I think, be quietly forgotten. We receive the Host in both hands, we do not "take" it. In many cultures it is important always to use both hands when accepting a gift and we should not forget that it is often considered offensive to receive something in the left hand. When visiting other countries we should be aware of that!

The Instruction concludes, "As soon as the communicant receives the Host, he or she consumes the whole of it." (GIRM, §161) We do not wander away clutching the Body of Christ, but receive Him eagerly into ourselves, under the roof of our mouth.

Many prefer the ancient tradition of receiving the Host directly into the mouth, as Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta did: "Her adoring attitude, gestures such as genuflections even on both knees in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament exposed, and that well into old age her postures such as kneeling and joining hands, her preference for receiving Holy Communion on the tongue all bespoke her faith in the Eucharist." (Mother Teresa, Come be my Light, New York 2007, p. 213) We should open our mouth, and bring the tongue forward onto the lower lip (not sticking right out!) and allow the Priest or Deacon to place the Host gently on the tongue. The earliest unmistakeable allusion to receiving Communion on the tongue is in the Passion of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, an African document dated 203 AD, a good bit earlier than St Cyril, showing that practice varied in different regions. (Passio Sanctarum Martyrum Perpetuae et Felicitatis, §4, in A. Gallandus, Cong. Orat., Bibliotheca Veterum Patrum, Venice 1766, Vol. II, p. 175.) It has certainly been the universal custom in the Latin Church for well over a thousand years, possibly longer, and is still, of course, the norm at the Old Mass (the "Extraordinary Form"). When the Bishops after Vatican II considered changing the custom, they voted overwhelmingly against it (597 in favour of Communion in the hand, 1,233 against it). The Pope afterwards decided to permit it this is called "collegiality". (Austin Flannery, Vatican Council II, the Conciliar and Post Conciliar Documents, Leominster 1981, p. 151) In some countries it is not permitted: common courtesy demands that we should observe the local practice and not try to impose our own preference. But in the same way common courtesy demands that we should not be aggressive in demanding the right to kneel and receive on the tongue in a church where everyone else is standing and receiving on the hand: it is never a good thing to be "singular" or to draw attention to ourselves!

The other choice we have to make is whether to receive Communion also from the Chalice. This again is something new in the Western Church: from the very beginning we know that Christians often received in one Kind only (Luke 24:30, Acts. 2:46, 20:7). From the beginning they knew that Our Lord is received whole and entire, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity, whether we receive only the Host, or (in case of sickness) only the Precious Blood. It is only the sign that is more complete when we receive in both Kinds, and only for that reason that it is recommended in the new Instruction. ("Holy Communion has a fuller form as a sign when it takes place under both kinds." GIRM §281, p. 91.) You should approach in procession, make the gesture of reverence required, and take the Chalice firmly in both hands to drink a little before handing it back to the Deacon or Priest.

For those who find difficulty in swallowing gluten, it is perfectly correct to receive from the Chalice only (although we do have low-gluten Hosts if you ask us before Mass) you receive the entire Lord, Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity from the Chalice as from the Host. Conversely, if you have a cold or any other infectious condition, or if you have reason to believe your immune system is weakened, it is prudent and charitable not to approach the Chalice until you are cured.

Our belief that both bread and wine are truly changed into the Body and Blood of Christ, entire and undivided, is termed the Doctrine of Concomitance: if we truly believe in the Blessed Sacrament, then we know that to receive in either kind is sufficient. In fact the Instruction in the new edition of the Missal urges us priests to "take care to ensure that the faithful who participate in the rite or are present at it, are made aware of the Catholic teaching on the form of Holy Communion ... that Christ, whole and entire, and the true Sacrament, is received even under only one kind ... that the Church ... has the power to lay down or alter whatever provisions, apart from the substance of the Sacraments, that she judges to be more readily conducive to reverence for the Sacraments and the good of the recipients, in view of changing conditions, times, and places." (GIRM 282, p. 91) The Church has the power and the duty to make sure that there is no misunderstanding, or lack of respect for Our Lord in the Sacrament. Practices have changed, and may change again, but we may not consider our own present practice to be better, more correct, or more spiritual than the practices followed in the time of St Francis or St Thérèse of Lisieux. Charity, as always, is the supreme law.

No wrinkles or crinkles in the old Shool

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 16:45:00 +0000

We have been intrigued by many items in the 938-page Tender Document (with supplements) that is being studied by the contractors who are eager to work on our new building. Among hazards which the contractors may encounter are "live services on site", which we would have thought rather predictable for a church. We are reassured to know that the use of explosives and materials liable to spontaneous combustion is not permitted, and that on no account is polychlorinated bihenyl to be introduced. Intriguing too that "swimming pool ventilation is to be provided" - we hadn't realised a swimming pool was included in the site - where can we fit it in? It is also impressive that the new paint is guaranteed not to "slump, flow, crack, flake, split, sag, pit, bubble, blister, float, effloresce, craze, shrink, break, wrinkle or crinkle."

A reference to the British Wood Preserving and Damp-Proofing Association is fascinating. Where do they meet? Are they planning a Christmas party? And what do they talk about over the mince pies? We hear also about "wrought-iron crumpets" (rather indigestible we would have thought), and "reinforcement bars, deformed, in beds" (uncomfortable, perhaps intended only for Lent?). Under the heading of "philosophy for the electrical distribution" we hear that "all busbars will be fully shrouded". Do the philosophers drink in the bus bars while wearing their shrouds?

But what is most interesting of all is that on the Room Data Sheets the existing building is consistently called the "Old Shool Building". Now in fact that is quite correct - for some time in the 1980s, the upper room of the Parish Centre was used as a schul while the synagogue in Richmond Road was being rebuilt. That is why there is a mezuza by the outer door, and another on the door at the top of the stairs.
A mezuza? did we hear you ask. It's a little metal tube which contains a slip of paper with the words of the Shema'

"Shema, Yisrael, Adonai elohenu Adonai echad ... Hear, O Israel: the LORD our God is one LORD; and you shall love the LORD your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your might. And these words which I command you this day ... you shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates." (Deuteronomy 6:4-9)

The mezuzoth are still there today, and we shall take care to rescue them before building work starts.

Ascendit in Jubilatione!

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 09:15:00 GMT

The Women's Oratory sponsored the statue of St Hilda of Whitby on the reredos, and at their meeting on Monday, Fr Anton gave a talk about St Hilda, before blessing the statue, which as you see is on the top row of statues:

Our Father

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 08:48:09 GMT

Fr Dominic Jacob preached this tenth sermon on the Mass on Sunday 6th November:

We have reached the end of the Canon, the Great prayer of Consecration, the main focus of the Mass, during which the bread and wine offered at the altar, become the Body and Blood of our Lord. We now move on to the Communion rite.

This begins with the Pater Noster, the Our Father, which St Thomas calls "The most perfect of prayers." This has always been part of the Mass, but it was not always where it is now, serving as a bridge between the Canon and the Communion, somehow belonging to both, uniting the sacrifice with the Banquet.

It was, Pope St Gregory the Great who had this prayer placed at the end of the Canon, which was the custom in the Greek Church where the prayer was said at that point by all present . One bishop, John of Syracuse, took issue with this innovation in the Roman Liturgy, but Pope Gregory defended his decision vigorously in a letter to the Sicilian bishop: "The Lord's Prayer," he wrote, "is recited immediately after the Canon, because it was a custom of the apostles to consecrate the offerings only when this prayer was also recited. It also seems most inappropriate to me, to recite at the sacrifice a prayer which was composed by some scholar, and to omit the recitation of the prayer which our Saviour himself composed, in the sacrifice of His Body and Blood."

One thing which has been restored in the new edition of the Missal is the more literal translation of the introduction to the prayer. "At the Saviour's command and formed by divine teaching, we dare to say..." it sounds rather more severe than the cosier introductions we were used to in the earlier translation and not a few have raised the question as to why we "dare" to say the Our Father. It's a fair question. But the truth is, we have always "dared" to call God our Father. Not, however, in any craven way as though we were terrified of the Lord. Surely it's about reverence before Almighty God, remembering first that God is God and that here we stand on holy ground. Here, in our presence, the Lord has done something truly awesome in making the Divine Presence a reality in the Sacrament of the altar. More than this - we, who are nothing, have been given through the grace of our baptism, a tremendous privilege: to call God our Father. On this matter, St Peter Chrysologus said: "Our awareness of our status as slaves would make us sink into the ground and our earthly condition would dissolve into dust, if the authority of our Father himself and the Spirit of his Son had not impelled us to cry ...'Abba, Father!'...When would a mortal dare call God 'father', if mans innermost being were not animated by power from on high?"

We "dare" to call God father, because Our Lord has told us we should: "When you pray, say this..." Moreover (and I quote the Catechism here) the "power of the Spirit who introduces us to the Lord's Prayer is expressed... by the beautiful, characteristically Christian expression: parrhesia, straightforward simplicity, filial trust, joyous assurance, humble boldness, the certainty of being loved." (CCC 2778) So when we pray this prayer, we do so confidently, as a child coming before a father. St Philip once taught an old lady how to pray simply by helping her enter into the Our Father, and think about it clause by clause, beginning with what a marvellous thing it is to have God as our Father. It is important that we meditate on this often.

Another reason why the Lord's Prayer is such a good bridge to Communion is expressed in its central phrase: "Give us this day our daily bread." This was understood by early writers such as Origen, Tertullian and St Cyprian as a reference to the Holy Eucharist, "the daily bread which nourishes and preserves the divine life within us."

But there is another clause in the prayer which lends weight to its being included as part of the preparation for Holy Communion. This is the petition for the forgiveness of our sins and our deliverance from all evil. St Augustine puts it rather neatly: "When, because of human weakness, our minds have conceived something improper, or our tongues have spoken something unjust... these things will be removed through the Lord's Prayer, when we say: 'Forgive us our trespasses', and we may approach without fear and not eat and drink what we receive to our own judgement."

The first section of the Lord's Prayer, where we dwell on the nature of God, and implore him to make his presence felt on earth, and the last section, where we dwell on our response to his love, linking the forgiveness he gives us with that we ourselves must show to others, are the two wings that make this prayer so powerful. If you take the wings of a bird apart, you may understand how they work, but the bird will no longer be able to fly. Faith cannot exist without the wings of prayer and there is no better way to make that leap of faith which is so essential to our Christian lives than to speak the language of God himself, using the prayer with which the Son catches us up into the life of the Father, the life of the Kingdom for which our hearts yearn.

moving steadily on...

Wed, 02 Nov 2011 10:21:00 +0000

Contractors have begun visiting the site to tender for how much they think they can get away with charging. They don't know what our own Quantity Surveyor has already told us! They agree it is a challenging and difficult site, and we have to acknowledge that if we were building on a greenfield far away it would be much cheaper.

People may have wondered, over the years, why after all our efforts in publicity and planning and fundraising, nothing has yet been begun. The reality is that for any building project these days it takes literally years to get the plans to planning permission, then on to tender, and thence to actual construction. To say nothing of all the surveys, geological, archaeological, theological, or just plain logical which had to be done. Plus technical advice on VAT, Rights o'Light, the Party Wall, etc., etc, usw. We have never actually stopped during all these years.

It is true that once the foundations have been laid, half the money has been spent.

And the fundraising? No sooner had we started when the entire world economy collapsed in flaming ruin, with scenes unparalleled since the Fall of the Roman Empire. Which makes it all the more impressive that our Sunday Mass attendance (average 979 this year) has been able to raise very close to two million pounds. That's £2,000 each - remembering that half of our people seem to be under eighteen.

Anyway, we trust now that within a few weeks we can tell you about the successful tender and award of contract, and not long after you should see signs of energetic work.

in the meantime, patience ...

Sacrament

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 09:01:15 GMT

Here is the ninth in the series of sermons on the Mass, preached by Fr Nicholas Edmonds-Smith on Sunday 30th October:

For most of us, the sacraments are our primary encounters with the Church, and the primary expression of our Catholic Faith or rather, those two sacraments the Holy Eucharist and Confession which we celebrate with varying frequency. The other 5 are more occasional: most of us will have been baptised and confirmed but a long time ago. Some of us are married. Some of us are priests or deacons. Perhaps we have been very ill, or in hospital, and have received the sacrament of the Sick. But Mass and Confession are the two that almost define us as Catholics they are what Catholic "do".

Yet it is also true that we tend to think of the sacraments as something peripheral to our faith peripheral not in importance, and certainly not in practice but peripheral in that they are "add-ons", extras to one degree or another. Just look at a catechism or an instruction course you have all the meaty theology, all the essentials of Christian faith first. Creation, Incarnation, Redemption; the Bible,the Trinity, Our Lord, Our Lady and the saints, the Church. And then you have a chapter on the sacraments. In a sense, the sacraments are separate from what we might regard as the fundamental doctrines of Christianity which might be why there have always been Christians who have thought it possible to jettison one or more of the sacraments, or change their nature, or abolish the sacramental system altogether, and yet still be orthodox Christian believers.

The sacraments are certainly not mere additions to a system of belief. Rather, the concept of a sacrament, of sacramentality, is absolutely necessary for making sense of most of our doctrines. It is all pervasive. It is a common thread running throughout Christian teaching. For a sacrament is something that reveals and makes present.

Consider Our Lord himself Christ, through his life and death, through his teaching and miracles, through his very person, reveals God to us. He tells us something about God. He tells us everything about God well ever need to know. But he does more than just reveal Almighty God to us. Christ is the incarnation of the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, he is God the Son himself made flesh. He brings God to us. Christ, in his humanity, reveals God and makes him present. As he himself says, "To have seen me, is to have seen the Father". And as St Paul tells us, He is "the image of the invisible God".

This is the most fundamental doctrine we have: that God became man. And he became Man so that we might know him, that we might love him and serve him. That we might enter into a relationship with him, through faith and through his death and resurrection, both now and into eternity. Christ is, in a sense, the outward sign of an inward grace, an inward spiritual reality the love of God for mankind who actually is himself that love. He is a sacrament. He reveals and makes present.

Or look at the Church. We believe that the Church those billions of believers, united with their shepherds, those alive today, those in heaven, and those awaiting the end of their purification in purgatory this mystical body is the Body of Christ. It not only teaches us about God and Christ, and rules and guides us with his authority; it is actually the living presence of Christ on earth. It is his Body. It both reveals him to the world, and makes him present. It is His Sacrament. It is the outward material expression of that Spirit of the Risen Lord who binds those who believe to each other and to himself, that we might be caught up into the life of the Trinity, the mystery of the love of the God we cannot see.

And finally, look at the seven sacraments: those outward signs of inward grace, instituted by Christ for our sanctification. It is in these seven moments that the Church most perfectly realises her nature as the Body of Christ. In these seven celebrations, something about God is revealed to us, we are told something of what God is doing, of how he loves us, of what he wants for us. But more than that, God is himself made present. Grace is actually given. They do what they say they do. So that in baptism we are told about the love of God which recreates us in the image of his Risen Son and then we are recreated. In the sacrament of Penance, God is revealed as a Shepherd who searches out the lost sheep; a loving Father always ready to embrace and forgive us and we are in that moment embraced and forgiven. Or in the Holy Eucharist, we see that God so loved the world that he sent his only Son, who gave up his life on the cross for our redemption and then we are given that life through Christ's actual body and blood, made present through the action of the Holy Spirit in the elements of bread and wine. It is in this Blessed Sacrament that Christ is most perfectly revealed and most really made present. And this so that we might share his life and the salvation he won for us, that we might have grace in our souls and the love of God in our hearts.

Through our participation in the sacraments, above all in the Mass, we encounter Our Lord, and his power working in us. We celebrate our redemption and our union with the Father, and we are given all the graces and blessings, all the spiritual gifts and power we need to live as sons and daughters of God.

But the sacraments are not to stop there. They do not reveal Christ and make him present for ourselves alone. They are meaningless if they do not empower us to go out and reveal him to the world. And not only reveal him, but actually make him present. Because where we gather, he is present. When we act, it is he who acts in us and through us. The sacraments make us into sacraments the Body of Christ makes us the body of Christ, that we might share him others, that we might show the Love of God and be that Love. The Church most fully IS the body of Christ when we share the body of Christ in the Eucharist. In the sacraments, and especially in the Blessed Sacrament, we become, as the Church, what we are called to be the visible, material, bodily revelation of Christ in the world. An outward sign to others of an inward grace.

Sacrifice

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 16:20:53 GMT

The eighth sermon in the series of the Mass, preached by Fr Daniel Seward on Sunday 23rd October:

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ?."

In the sixteenth century, one of the most controversial debates between Catholics and Protestants was that of sacrifice: is the Mass a sacrifice? Still today you might meet people who say that this idea has no warrant in the scriptures. But sacrifice is essential if we are to understand what we are doing here, and the scriptures themselves show this clearly. Today I shall use just two passages from the New Testament to show this.

If you were a Gentile Christian living in Corinth in the fifties of the first century, you had a problem: in a Greek or Roman city, the normal suppliers of produce to the meat market were pagan temples. The meat that had been offered there to idols was sold in the market and then eaten at home. There was no overt connection between pagan worship and the eating of meat, but the consciences of some Christians were disturbed. Were they themselves guilty of idolatry by co-operating with this trade in sacrificial meat? Were they therefore obliged to be vegetarians, since there was not any other source of meat available to them? St Paul, in his first letter to the Corinthians, dispenses good, sound, practical advice. It is not permitted for Christians to eat meat in the context of a pagan ceremony, but if they have bought meat from the market that may have been offered to idols, they can eat it in good conscience, only they should be careful that in doing so that they did not give the impression that they condoned pagan sacrifice and so lead their weaker brethren astray. What is significant for us is that when Paul goes on to talk about the Eucharist, he explicitly compares it with a pagan sacrifice. The result of taking a meal in which the sacrificial victims of an idolatrous sacrifice were being eaten was to participate in this sacrifice and so become 'partners', that is friends or associates of demons. Whereas, in the Christian Eucharist, we share in the Body and Blood of Christ which has been offered to God in sacrifice, the sacrifice of the Cross. When we take part in the Eucharist, we are expressing our status as partners, friends, associates of God by participating in the sacrifice of Christ. So Paul says,

"The cup of blessing which we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread which we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? ... Consider the people of Israel; are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar? What do I imply then? That food offered to idols is anything, or that an idol is anything? No, I imply that what pagans sacrifice they offer to demons and not to God. I do not want you to be partners with demons. You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons. You cannot partake of the table of the Lord and the table of demons."

In this sacrifice Christ Himself is the priest represented in the Mass by His earthly minister, and He is the pure victim.

The Passover meal, at which Our Lord celebrated the first Mass, was not an historical re-enactment, but a celebration of Gods saving and liberating action now. At the Passover meal, the Jews don't say, "Tonight we remember when our ancestors were set free", but "Tonight we are set free from slavery in Egypt". The one who takes part in the Passover meal becomes a participant in the Exodus from Egypt. What was it caused the angel of death to pass over the Israelites? It was the blood of a lamb, smeared in the form of a Cross upon their doorposts. During the Passover meal there are four cups of wine to be drunk, representing the four promises that God made to Israel at the first Passover: "I will bring you out...I will deliver you...I will redeem you...then I will take you for my people." The third cup is drunk at the end of the meal when grace is said and relates to the promise to redeem Israel. It is followed by the 'hallel', the praise of God, and then by the fourth cup, called the cup of completion. It was at the third cup, at the end of the meal that our Lord gave His Precious Blood to the disciples. The third cup the cup of blessing represents the blood of the lamb that the Israelites smeared on their doorposts. Their covenant with God that He would pass over them was sealed by this blood. In the Gospels we read:

"In the same way, He took a cup after supper, and said, "This cup is the new covenant in My blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of Me.""

Clearly, our Lord is linking this cup of His blood with the sacrifice of the lamb at Passover. It is certain then, that He means this meal, the Eucharist, to be a sacrifice in an analogous way to the Passover. In St Matthew's Gospel we read:

"Drink of it, all of you; for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. I tell you I shall not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father's kingdom. And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives."

After the third cup should come the drinking of the fourth cup the cup of completion. It relates to the last of the four promises "I will take you for my people." But this fourth cup is not drunk by Jesus and His disciples. In fact He quite explicitly says that He will not drink wine again until He does so in his Father's kingdom. The Passover meal is deliberately left incomplete. Why is this? It is because it is only the death of Jesus on the Cross the next day that consummates the action of the Last Supper. Our Lord relates the two of them by saying that His blood is to be poured out for the remission of sins. In the Garden of Gethsemane He prays, "My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt." The cup is the fourth cup of completion which the Son will drink on the Cross. In St Johns Gospel, our Lord cries out from the Cross, "I thirst!" and then is given vinegar on a hyssop stick. When He has drunk this He says, "It is finished!" or consummated or completed. This is the fourth cup of completion, drunk upon the Cross.

"Do this in remembrance of Me" This word 'remembrance' or 'memorial' or simply 'memory' can be confusing when we use it in English, because we use these words simply to mean recalling something in the past. If I remember something, it is usually something that no longer exists, but the Passover meal made the events of the Exodus present there and then to the participants "Tonight God frees us from slavery." So when the Lord says, "Do this as a memorial of Me", He means that whenever we eat this bread and drink this cup, we are proclaiming His death we are making His death present to us. A covenant is not simply a contract between two people it is a sacred blood bond between two people involving the exchange of life "I am yours and you are mine". This is why a covenant has to be sealed with blood, to show the reality of this commitment. Participation in the new Covenant of the Eucharist means then that Christ gives Himself to us, and we must give ourselves to Him. The Eucharist is a Sacrament of total self-giving Our Lord does not give Himself to us in any measure, or only partly. He holds nothing back, because He gives Himself. It is because Christ unites Himself totally with us, that we are enabled to unite ourselves with Him to follow Him through the veil to the holy of holies.

The new English translation of the Missal re-emphasizes such words as sacrifice, oblation and offering to remind us of the importance of this scriptural concept of sacrifice. This is also why the Church is rediscovering her ancient practice of the priest and people facing together towards the altar, to show that the Mass is not a simple meal around the kitchen table but a sacrificial offering to the Father of the one sacrifice made by Christ on Calvary. It is offered for our good, to the praise and glory of His name and for the good of all His holy Church for the living and the dead. From this follows the sacrifice that we make of our time to assist worthily at the Mass, from this follows the sacrifice of our lives in the Lord's service, to which the Mass invites us.

waiting, waiting ...

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:38:00 +0000

Our building plans have now "Gone to Tender", which means that six eager contractors are wading through 938 pages of information, plus six folders of plans and drawings, so that they can give us a price, and a timetable, for our long-awaited New Building (Phase I). It is getting very urgent to start - the latest excitement is the discovery of damp in our existing Library, resulting in having to move a lot of Books quickly, and a good crop of Mushrooms. More and more of our Books are having to go into store until we can place them triumphantly on the new Shelves, which we hope devoutly we shall be doing this time next year. (Many thanks to the Brothers who came and helped move the Books.)

Oh, it has taken a long time, from first dreaming up the project, through various competing designs, to agreeing an Architect, Surveyor and Engineer, to getting Planning Permission, to achieving an amicable arrangement with our Neighbours (who have now professed themselves content with the effect of our new building) to this present stage of Going to Tender.

And there will be weeks yet while they Tender, and we consider their offers, and then their "Run-in" - but surely ere long we shall see diligent Activity in our Site, and then the New Building will spring rapidly out of the Ground.

and don't forget, you can order a copy of the souvenir book about the Statues and how you sponsored them directly from Lulu; Or there are some in the Lodge at £10.00 each.

The Forty Hours 2011

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 14:10:33 GMT

Last weekend saw our annual Forty Hours' Devotion, during which the Blessed Sacrament was solemnly exposed.

An innovation this year was that the Dominicans of Blackfriars came to sing Compline, complete with the Dominican Salve, at midnight on Friday, and the Sisters of the Work sang Matins and Lauds of the Blessed Sacrament at 5am on Saturday morning.

The Offertory

Mon, 17 Oct 2011 09:43:28 GMT

The seventh in the series of sermons on the Mass, preached by Fr Joseph Welch on Sunday 16th October, during the Forty Hours' Devotion:

And so we come to the seventh in our series of Sunday sermons on the Mass, and turn our attention to the Offertory, very appropriately during this weekend of our Forty Hours devotion.

To understand the Offertory, indeed to understand the whole Mass, we have first to be reminded that the Mass is not primarily something that we do. The Mass is, first and foremost, something that Christ does. The Mass is the supreme act of homage and adoration offered by Christ, the Son of God, to His Father, and carried out in humble obedience; an act of expiation to make amends for our sins, and of propitiation to appease the wrath of God because of the injustice of our sins; an act of thanksgiving for all that God has bestowed upon mankind; and an act of supplication, appealing to the Father for all that sinful man yet needs. These are the four ends of the Mass: adoration, satisfaction for our sins, thanksgiving, and supplication.

All of these four ends were accomplished on Calvary when Christ, in dying on the Cross, offered Himself to the Father on behalf of sinful mankind.

The Mass and Christ's offering on Calvary are, then, one and the same thing. The Mass is simply the continuation in time of that offering on Calvary.

So when we come to Mass, we come, not primarily to get something out of it, but to accept Our Lord's invitation to join in His act of adoration, His offering of Himself, to the Father. In other words, we come primarily not to receive but, like Christ arriving on Calvary, to give. And the offertory is the moment in the Mass where this point is, perhaps, most apparent.

At the offertory, the pure and unblemished bread is offered up in preparation for its becoming the Lamb of God sacrificed on the altar of the Cross. But it also represents us. In the bread, offered up to the Father by Christ in the person of His priest, is also offered all that we bring to the Father: our adoration and praise, our thanksgiving for all the gifts He has given us, for all of our joys, our hopes and our aspirations and our longings. But alongside these joys we bring, too, all our sufferings, all that weighs us down or troubles us, our anxieties, our ills, our loneliness, our confusion, our despair, and, in addition we bring to God all those for whom we wish to pray. Even our sins are brought to Him as we beg forgiveness and sanctification.

As the priest raises the patten at the offertory we should, in our mind's eye, place on that patten alongside the bread, all that we have come to give to the Father, asking Our Blessed Lord, the mediator between we sinful creatures and our sinless Creator, to offer it to the Father on our behalf, and to purify our gift from any selfish or vested interest with which our prayers may be tainted.

Then the priest mixes wine and water: a tiny drop of water is comingled with the wine in the chalice. That tiny drop of water, which signifies our smallness, our limitedness, our humanity, is dropped into the vast richness of the wine, the vastness of Gods greatness and mercy, the richness of His grace and His love. Once that drop of water is poured into the wine it is, as it were, lost, no longer detectable, because God's infinitely merciful love absorbs us into His being, into a share of His life, sanctifying and making divine that which is sinful and human. Like the drop of water in the wine, we become lost in God's love.

The chalice too, then, is offered up by Christ in the person of His priest on our behalf but, once more, we, in our mind's eye, place within that chalice all that we have brought to the Father, asking our beloved Lord to offer it to Him.

Here then, at the offertory especially, we see how the Mass is primarily something which Christ does. And we? What is our role? Are we merely spectators? Certainly we, as it were, get caught in the updraft of Christ's offering to the Father; we get caught on the coat-tails of Christs upward movement. But our gift of self is taken up by Christ precisely because we have responded to His call like Mary the sister of Martha, and like Our Lady herself.

When Our Lord went to Bethany after Lazarus has died, Martha rushed to her sister Mary and said, "The Master is here and calls you". Mary rose quickly and went to Him (Jn 11:28,29). So in the Mass our Master calls to us, and we, rising from our places, hasten to Mass to join in His life-giving work.

And just as God courted the chosen virgin of Nazareth, who surrendered herself entirely to her Lord, and was promptly overshadowed by the coming of the Holy Spirit; so, too, God woos us, invites us to surrender ourselves to Him. We do so in the offertory of the Mass, and we, too, are overshadowed by the Holy Spirit as the greatest Gift known to mankind descends from heaven upon the altar in the hands of the priest, and we become one with Our Lord in Holy Communion.

Let us pray, then, that both the priest's sacrifice and ours, which we offer up in unison, may be acceptable to God the Father almighty.

The Gospel

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 15:11:15 GMT

6th sermon in the series on the Mass, preached by Fr Anton Webb on Sunday 9th October 2011, Feast of Blessed John Henry Newman of the Oratory.

"All scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness". [2 Tim. 3:16]. The Church has taken these words of St Paul to Timothy to heart in devising the Lectionary we use in the Mass. The Lectionary, or the Book of Readings, ensures that after every three years, practically the whole of Holy Scripture has been read in church over the course of weekday and Sunday Masses.

If those words of St Paul are true for all the books of the Bible, they are especially true of the Gospel. In Ordinary (green) Time, the selected passages of the Sunday Gospel are sequential, although with some gaps because these other passages are appointed for other seasons or weekdays in the year, particularly St John. Over a three year period, Matthew is assigned to the first year (A), Mark and chapter six of John the second (B), and Luke the third (C). The First Reading from the Old Testament at Sunday Mass is non-sequential: it is picked to reflect in some way the Gospel of the day. So, in the Liturgy of the Word, prominence is given, by this arrangement, to the Gospel.

This prominence is also reflected in the way we hear the Gospel read. For the other readings we sit but for the Gospel we stand. There may be a procession with the Book of Gospels; we turn to face where it has been placed to be read; it may even be incensed. The priest of deacon seeks a special blessing so that they may worthily proclaim the Gospel. When it is about to be read, we trace with our thumb the sign of the Cross over our forehead, mouth, and heart. This is a prayer that we may ponder what we hear in our minds, proclaim it with our lips in daily life, and treasure it in our heart.

Why do we give such heightened reverence to the Gospel? It is, of course, because it treats directly of the words and actions of Jesus. The Old Testament foreshadows Him; the Acts of the Apostles and Epistles are concerned with the time after His coming, but the Gospel concerns itself from the moment "the Word became flesh and dwelt among us" [Jn. 1:14] to when He "was taken up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God." [Mk 16:19]. It encapsulates the whole of His earthly life, cataloguing for us the most significant events. Notice, by the way, that there is only one Gospel, since there is only one Lord and Saviour of us all. That is why the reading is introduced as "from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew/Mark/Luke/John." The Gospel is simply written from four different angles.

The Gospel is not about Jesus in the sense of a biography of the life of a figure from the past. The Gospel, rather, is Jesus in the sense that He lives and reigns and acts among us now for our salvation. It is the proclamation of the One who was, who is, and who shall be for ever. St Paul, in his opening chapter to the Ephesians, preaches what he calls "the word of truth" and "the gospel ofsalvation" [Eph. 1:13]. For him they are the same thing. Our Lord in His own person is the Word of Truth and the Way to Salvation when he proclaims of Himself, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me." [Jn 14:6]. So an encounter with the Gospel goes beyond printed text to being truly an encounter with the Lord, and an invitation to be led by Him to His Father's kingdom.

How persuasive and powerful is the Word of God! In the Book of Genesis, God says, "Let there be light", and there was light. The Almighty decrees, and immediately it is accomplished. "He sends out His word to the earth and swiftly runs His command." [Ps. 147:15]. And so the words of the Word made flesh, enshrined in the Gospel, have especial impact. He comes into Galilee, saying, "Repent, and believe in the Gospel." [Mk 1:15]. Immediately, simple fishermen drop their nets, leaving their family ties and livelihoods to follow Him. In the synagogue at Nazareth, all eyes are fixed upon Him [cf. Lk 4:20] as they "wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth". [Lk 4:22]. "They were astonished at His teaching, for He taught them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes." [Mat. 7:28, 29].

Acceptance of Christ's Gospel, that is, the call to turn to Him and His Kingdom, is truly life-changing. That is one reason why Our Lord often uses examples connected with marriage to describe His kingdom, such as in today's reading from St Matthew. In marriage, two people become one. They will never be with their separate friends and family in quite the same way ever again. It is a new beginning, a new life. So it is with the new life in Christ. Circumstances change dramatically: "the last shall be first, and the first last." [Mat. 20:16]. But one is also transformed interiorly through faith and the sacraments. So St Paul says somewhere that the follower of Christ "becomes an altogether new creature." [Gal. 6:15 J.B.].

According to Blessed John Henry Newman, whose Feast Day it is today, "This has been the real triumph of the Gospel, to raise those beyond themselves and beyond human nature, in whatever rank and condition of life, whose wills mysteriously cooperate with God's grace, who, while God visits them, really fear and really obey God It has made men saints, and brought into existence specimens of faith and holiness, which without it are unknown and impossible." [Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol IV, Serm 10].

Despite the arresting words of Christ and His extraordinary invitation to His heavenly marriage banquet, many refuse to believe His Gospel. We may feel this particularly keenly in our own land where the practice of the Christian Faith is a mere flicker of its former brilliance. Have we failed? Has our hope grown weak? That certainly is a temptation. Spreading the Gospel was always going to be difficult, and many saintly pastors of souls shine out in the Churchamong them our own Blessed John Henryfor their courage in the face of adversity, for their love in the face of indifference. In showing to an heroic degree God's love to the people in their charge, they embodied in themselves the Gospel proclamation. They, in a sense, became the Gospel. In the spirit of St Paul, they were so "affectionately desirous of you [that] we were ready to share with you not only the gospel of God but also our own selves, because you had become so dear to us." [1 Thess. 2:8].

Newman remained strangely positive in the face of the infidelity of the age, pointing out that the Gospel never claims for itself universal acceptance it. While it is certainly true that God "wants all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth" [1 Tim. 2:4], our Lord's message is that by no means all people will accept the truth. For example, in our Lord's comparison [Mat. 22:1-14] of the king's giving a feast for his son's wedding, those first invited "would not come" [Mat. 22:3], despite having been summoned twice. Our Lord concludes by saying that "many are called, but few are chosen" [Mat. 22:14]. I shall leave you with our Blessed Cardinal's own words on the matter: "It is no triumphfor unbelievers that the Gospel has not done what it never attempted. From the first it announced what was to be the condition of the many who heard and professed it. 'Many are called, few are chosen.' 'Broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat. Strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it.' Though we laboured ever so much, with the hope of satisfying the objector, we could not reverse our Saviour's witness, and make the many religious, and the bad few. We can but do what is to be done. With our utmost toil we do but reach those for whom crowns are prepared in heaven." [Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol IV, Serm 10].

Heads and Statues

Sat, 08 Oct 2011 21:04:00 +0000

Ages ago we promised you a souvenir book to commemorate the twenty heads and fifty two statues on the reredos behind the High altar - it is ready at last. The book is of 40 pages in colour, A4 format: it illustrates every statue or head, with a little bit of text about them, and a record of those who sponsored the restoration, or those they wanted to commemorate. There will be copies in the Lodge at £10.00, or you can order your own thus:
go to www.lulu.com (don't forget the "com" with an em, or you get someone quite different!) and search for "Heads and Statues", Oxford Oratory, ID number 1123 1614, and see how to order a copy posted to your home.

Some more pictures of Father Nicholas's Ordination & First Mass

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 21:21:41 GMT

The Gospel

Br Nicholas lies prostrate during the Litany of the Saints:

His Grace the Archbishop celebrates Mass:

The sisters of Father Nicholas bring up the gifts at the Offertory of the First Mass:

Father Nicholas elevates the chalice:

Fr Robert appointed as National Ecumenical Officer

Fri, 07 Oct 2011 18:25:08 GMT

The Bishops' Conference of England and Wales have appointed Fr Robert Byrne as the new National Ecumenical Officer and Secretary to the Department of Dialogue and Unity. Fr Byrne will take up his new post on Monday, 9 January 2012.

Fr Byrne was educated at St Bede's College, Manchester; King's College, London; and the Pontifical University of St Thomas Aquinas (Angelicum), Rome. Fr Byrne entered the Birmingham Oratory in 1980 and was ordained to the priesthood in 1985. In 1990 he was part of a group from Birmingham who moved to St Aloysius parish Oxford to found what was to become the Oxford Oratory in 1993. He was Provost from 1993 until 2011. In 2000 he became Secretary of the Permanent Deputation of the International Oratorian Confederation. He has been a prison chaplain since 1988. He was appointed a Governor of the Oratory School, Woodcote in 1996.

Ordination and First Mass of Father Nicholas

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 15:56:14 GMT

Father Nicholas Edmonds-Smith was ordained priest by His Grace the Archbishop on Saturday 1st October, the feast of St Thérèse of Lisieux.

Beautiful sunny weather before entering the church:

The Archbishop addresses the candidate:

Br Nicholas stands before the Archbishop:

His Grace sings the prayer of Ordination:

The handing over of the chalice and paten:

The Kiss of Peace:

Holy Communion:

First Blessings:

His Grace the Archbishop with Fr Nicholas and his family, who came over from Cape Town for the occasion:

Fr Nicholas with his mother, cutting the cake in the Parish Centre:

The offertory at Fr Nicholas's First Mass on Sunday 2nd October:

The Eucharistic Prayer:

Here Fr Nicholas with his family after the first Mass:

Photography by Tessa Caldecott

The Priesthood

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 13:04:16 GMT

The fifth in the series of sermons on the Mass. Preached by Fr Daniel Seward on 2nd October 2011, at the first Mass of Fr Nicholas Edmonds-Smith.

What we are to witness today in this first Mass is the revelation of the purpose of the whole of creation. When we ask why it was that our Lord chose bread and wine as the forms which would become His Body and Blood, we might think that it is simply because these were the staple foods of His time. This is true, but it looks at the question from the wrong end of the telescope. It is more true to say that grapes and wheat were created by God from the beginning so that they might be changed by us into wine and bread, and so that they might then be offered in the Eucharistic sacrifice of the Mass.

In the same way then, Father Nicholas, in responding to God's call to the priesthood, is fulfilling the whole purpose of his own creation. Why were any of us created? So that we might participate in the Holy Mass. Why are we physical as well as spiritual beings? So that the Lord might become our food. Man was created for worship. The magnificence of the Universe, the beauty of the natural world, the rich possibilities of the human spirit; all of these point towards the Mass, which the Second Vatican Council described as the "source and summit of the Christian life" and we can say that it is also the source and summit of all life.

Tertullian said that all creation gives worship to God - in the animal kingdom by instinct. So he says that the birds pray by flying through the sky in the form of a cross. The psalmist says,

"The young lions roar for their prey and ask their food from God."

But only human beings in the physical creation are able consciously to give praise and thanks to God. One could say that we are able to do so on behalf of all creation, so that man is not only the steward, but also the priest of creation. What we offer or sacrifice to God comes from His own goodness, and it is just and right that we should praise Him by offering Him of His own. The scriptures show the unfolding of this human duty of sacrifice from the time of Cain and Abel onwards, when Abel's offering was acceptable to the Lord.

Israel was chosen by God out of all the peoples of the world not for its own sake only, but rather as a priestly nation for the sake of all others. A higher standard was expected of the chosen people precisely because they had had the Lord revealed to them. "For what great nation is there that has a god so near to it as the Lord our God is to us, whenever we call upon Him?" (Deut. 4:7) Still, the prophets foretold a time when all the nations would stream to worship the Lord upon His holy mountain.

One of these prophecies - that of Malachi - is referred to in the third Eucharistic Prayer of the Mass, and its significance is brought out much more clearly in the new English translation:

"You never cease to gather a people to yourself, so that from the rising of the sun to its setting a pure sacrifice may be offered to your name."

That is our purpose as Christians: to offer that pure sacrifice. Padre Pio once said that the earth could no more exist without the Mass than it could without the sun. Who knows how many disasters are averted, how many invisible graces are won, how many souls are saved unaware by each and every Mass that is celebrated? Someone once calculated that the consecration of the Eucharistic species takes place every eight seconds somewhere in the world. Each time we offer the Mass, we make present on earth the one, eternal sacrifice of Calvary. Without the Mass, the Cross would simply remain an event of history. By our offering of the Mass, as the new Israel, the priestly people of God, Christ is made present, and His life, death and resurrection can be applied for the salvation of humanity.

It is important that each of us is conscious of our vocation as members of the Church in our participation in the Mass - and from among God's people, priests are chosen to be the instruments by which Christ is brought to earth. We can see the exalted purpose the priest has: higher than any archangel, greater than that of Moses, Elijah or King David: his words take bread and wine out of existence and replace them with the Creator of the Universe; at his command sin is forgiven; by his ministry souls are ushered into eternal life. All this should lead us to have a high regard for the sacrament of Holy Orders. St Francis de Sales (of the Oratory) used sometimes to have a vision of his Guardian Angel, but we are told that after his ordination, the angel would never go through a door before him!

But we should not confuse the office with the person. Of all the causes of recent scandals and problems in the Church, one of the greatest is the vice of clericalism. Our reverence for the priesthood should not lead us to think that Father is (necessarily!) always right or that he is subject to different rules from others. The priest is an instrument, a channel through which God's grace flows. It is not his personal goodness that makes the sacraments work, but only the objective fact of his ordination. This is why the liturgy is governed by the rubrics, so as to remind us that the priest is not a master but a servant. We should not come away from Mass conscious of the personality of the priest who celebrates, rather, it is the person of Christ in whose person the priest acts that is the only important factor. This is why, as Pope Benedict says, there is no room whatever for creativity in the liturgy. Every word, every gesture, should come from the Roman Missal. The Holy Father writes:

"What the priest does at that moment, in the eucharistic celebration, is to serve, to fulfil a service to God and a service to humanity. The cult [that is, worship] that Christ rendered to the Father was the giving of himself to the end for humanity. Into this cult, this service, the priest must insert himself."

If we were to think of the priesthood as a job that needed certain abilities, then we would make a mistake. If it were simply a question of being able to communicate, dealing with people, administering a parish and so on, then we would say that anybody who had these qualities could be a priest. But actually the Lord does not choose us because of our merits any more than He selected those twelve illiterate men from Galilee because they were the best qualified. Rather, He calls us so that He might work through us, and so that His life, death and resurrection might become apparent in us. This is why priests are celibate, since their lives must be given wholly to Christ, and why they are of necessity male, since they act in persona Christi, as icons of the humanity of the Son of God.

But remember that this is nothing to do with power and privilege, but of service - or at least that is how it should be. Today we pray for Father Nicholas as he celebrates his first Mass, that he may be conformed entirely to the mystery of the Eucharist. St Thérèse of Lisieux, on whose feast day Fr Nicholas was ordained yesterday, saw her vocation as a Carmelite as to pray for priests: "Alas! how many bad priests there are, priests who are not holy enough...Let us pray, let us suffer for them."

We know that a bad priest can do incalculable harm - St John Bosco said that the walls of Hell are lined with birettas - but only because a priest has the capacity to do infinite good: truly infinite because it is the power of Christ Himself that acts through him. No wonder that St Thomas Aquinas says that a priest needs two Guardian Angels.

So we must thank the Lord that the call has been heard, and pray for those who may shut off the doors of their hearts to His knocking and so go away sad like the rich young man of the Gospel. Let us also ask that those who have already united themselves to the Lord at the altar may imitate Him in their lives, so that graces may be multiplied and all may come to love that God who acts through the anointed hands of His creature.

New novice clothed

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 21:55:58 GMT

Please pray for Brother Oliver Craddock, who was clothed in the habit of St Philip this evening.

There are now nine members of the Oratorian community here, which means that the house is now completely full, with some members condemned to living in the basement. All the more important then that we should press ahead with the building of our accommodation. We are currently in the process of putting the project out to tender. Anyone who can help to fund this vital work - please get in contact!

Announcing the Word

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 09:32:23 GMT

THe fourth sermon in our series on the Mass - preached by Fr Jerome Bertram on Sunday 25th September 2011.

The readings at Mass remain unchanged at this stage of the revision of our English textssave only that we now acclaim "The Word of the Lord" instead of merely stating that "this is the word of the Lord". In that, we are only now doing what other countries have been doing for decades. There will eventually be a new translation of the Scriptures, but they have not yet stopped discussing which one to use or which style to adopt. The one we use at present does rather show up the difference between the old approach to translation, which was a loose paraphrase designed to be easy to understand, and the new emphasis on being faithful to the Word of God as transmitted to us through the Scriptures.

The Scripture readings are not merely an accidental or preliminary part of the Massthey are essential. In the description of the very first Mass we hear, "He interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself" before "he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them". (Luke 24:27, 30) From then until now there have always been Scripture readings at Mass to prepare us "to know him in the breaking of bread." (Luke 24:35) The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, "The liturgy of the Word and liturgy of the Eucharist together form 'one single act of worship'; the Eucharistic table set for us is the table both of the Word of God and of the Body of the Lord." (CCC 1346) That is why the Church "strongly urges pastors of souls that, when instructing the faithful, they insistently teach them to take their part in the entire Mass". (V2, Sacrosanctum Concilium, 56)

Which being interpreted means, it is truly necessary to be present for the Readings at Mass, and to listen to them; we must not excuse ourselves from them merely because we find them difficult to understand, or hard to live up to.

In the early Church a series of Sunday readings was chosen for the whole year, usually with an extract from the Epistles of St Paul to go with an extract from the Gospels. The two readings were related in a very subtle way, often quite mystical, and the connection between them was not always obvious on the surface. The selection of readings we use at present was made on a rather different basis. They follow a cycle of three years (beginning in 1969), using the Gospels of St Mathew, Mark and Luke in turn. Because St Mark is shorter, there is a long insertion from St John in the summer of the second year, and the rest of St John is used at Eastertime and on other special occasions. Each Sunday's Gospel follows on from the Sunday before, though even so, there are still a few passages that are never read out in church, and some Sundays always get lost over the Easter period. The Gospels were originally put together out of short memorable passages (technically called pericopes), and each one is a complete story or parable or teaching, so that the extracts we read make sense on their own. Of the three readings, the Gospel is always the easiest to understandwhich may make it an embarrassing challenge to our behaviour!

To go with the Gospel readings, an extract from the Old Testament was chosen as the first reading (except in Eastertide, when it is the Acts of the Apostles). These Old Testament readings usually have a very obvious literal connection with the Gospel passagefor instance this Sunday Ezechiel makes the same point as Our Lord, that a sinner who changes his mind and repents will be forgiven. Unfortunately very few passages of the Old Testament are self-contained pericopes, and often our extracts make no sense at all unless you already know the story. That means that the Church demands much more of us than in the pastwe are obliged to get to know the Old Testament, and to read the books from which the first readings are taken, in order to have much chance of understanding the first readings at Mass. The Church has always encouraged lay Catholics to read the Scriptures regularly. St Thérèse of Lisieux used to say that if she had been a man she would have learnt Greek and Hebrew in order to read the Bible in the original languages. She was quite wrong of coursethere is no reason at all why women should not learn Greek and Hebrew, and if we have the time and opportunity it is well worth it. Failing that, we can study the Bible in a good translation (the Revised Standard seems to be the best all-round at present) and see how our Sunday first reading fits in. One method might be to look ahead at next Sunday's reading and then read the preceding and following chapters to find out what the sacred author was intending to say. Another method, perhaps better, is to make a point of reading the entire Bible, from "In the beginning" to "Amen", a chapter or so every day, over and over again, until we really know it well, and can recognise any passage at once. But that takes timeabout four years each round. There is a very great deal of the Old Testament that is never read in church, and much that would be most unsuitable. But the Holy Spirit speaks to us through every page, if we can only hear Him.

The first reading is followed by a extract from one of the psalms. This can be very difficult to appreciate, because of the way it is broken up with a "response" that intrudes from time to time. To be fair, the General Instruction of the Roman Missal does not expect us to use the "response" in the way we always do: unless it is sung, "it should be recited in a manner more appropriate to encourage meditation on the Word of God". (General Instruction on the Roman Missal, 2001, §61) It is arguable whether speaking the "response" between every verse really does that, and whether it would be better to listen to the psalm being read in a meditative way, or for the entire congregation to recite it together as we do in the Divine Office. In any case, the better we get to know the Psalms outside Mass, the more chance we shall have of being able to use them for "meditation on the Word of God". The Psalms are the great prayer-book of the Church, and have always formed the basis of the daily prayer of the Church, the Divine Office. Yet if we recite the Office regularly we realise that Psalms varysome are certainly meant to be sung, and really do have a refrain (e.g. 135) others are long poems on the history of Gods people (e.g. 104-6), others are meditations on God's word (e.g. 118). They express every mood and feeling, including some we might think inappropriate in prayer (e.g. 57). It is short extracts that find their way into the Mass, either as "responsorial psalms" or as "antiphons", and it is only through familiarity with the psalms as a whole that we can appreciate them.

The second reading on a Sunday is usually taken from St Paul, but here there is no intention of making a connection with either the first reading or the Gospel. The epistles are simply read through in turn, each Sunday's second reading following on from the previous weekexcept that there are many passages omitted. Throughout September we are reading Philippians, the most cheerful of St Pauls letters. Only by coincidenceor Providencedoes the St Paul reading connect with the other two; we have a completely different theme. And we cannot deny of St Paul's letters that "there are some things in them hard to understand" as St Peter says. (II Peter 3:16) The translation we most often use makes them more difficult againI still think the version by Mgr Knox is the only one that really makes sense of St Paul in modern English. It is well worth finding a copy and studying St Paul for ourselves, so that when we come to Mass we shall be able to hear the Word of God from him with profit.

Before the Gospel we have an acclamation, usually with an Alleluia chorus: this is supposed to relate to the coming Gospel and prepare ourselves to discern its principal message. This week, for instance, the acclamation reminds us to keep the Word of God, to listen to his voice.

Three Scripture readings, a Psalm and an acclamation add up to a great deal of text, far too much to take in all at one, or to follow if we come unprepared. It is a great help if we prepare for Mass every time by studying the readings, looking them up in our own Bibles to see how they fit in, and using them for our own meditation before we come to church. Even so, we cannot expect to be able to take in the full message of even one readingconsider ourselves well satisfied if we remember and take away with us one verse, a few words, from one of the readings, as a souvenir to feed our meditation for the week to come.

Tri-Oratory Challenge

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 15:12:00 +0000

As we told you a few weeks ago, Billy and Nick Griffiths have now established the all-comers record for walking to all three English Oratories and back. Many of you have already sponsored them, and many more paid up on Sunday, but in case you forgot, to save them the trouble of hounding you out, if you did sign up their sponsor forms (at any of the Three Oratories) and haven't yet paid, now's your chance. Cheques etc to Oxford Oratory Trust, and make sure you include Gift-aid information if relevant! You can use the JustGiving button - just put in the comments column a reminder that you are the one who sponsored them whenever it was.
In the meantime plans etc etc are very nearly finished and we hope to see some Action soon.

Gloria in excelsis Deo

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 14:39:56 GMT

The third in our series of sermons on the Mass: preached by Fr Dominic Jacob on 18th September 2011:

Last week, you may remember, Br Nicholas helped us to consider the significance and the purpose of the Confiteor, the acknowledgement of our sinfulness and our need of forgiveness. Today, the mood of the liturgy shifts, modulating from the minor key of the Kyrie to the brighter major tone of the Gloria.

Of course, you recognise the opening words as those which heralded the birth of Our Lord at Bethlehem. Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace to people of goodwill.

Originally included as part of the Midnight Mass at Christmas as early as the 2nd Century, this hymn was sung by the bishop alone; gradually, as the text was expanded, it was given to the priest to chant, and finally, once it developed into the triumphant shout of Praise we know, it came to be said or sung at every festal Mass by everyone. The angels themselves, wrote Dom Gueranger, gave the pitch; and the Church, led as she is by the same Holy Spirit, continued the angels words.

One saint remarked that we should not seek in the Gloria a logical progression of ideas. It is, rather, an impulsive succession of acclamations and words of praise, that spring forth unplanned from soul. Faith, the freedom of prayer, and a love that knows how to weave all things together; these are the only rules. (Bl Hyacinth Cormier O.P) I like this concept of spontaneity, but it has to be said that, there is, in fact, a very definite shape or order in the Gloria. There is an Introduction and three parts following, in which God is praised as Trinity.

The introduction includes the Angels Song which contains Our Lords plan of redemption, the purpose of which, Parsch states, is to restore to God that glory which was outraged by sin, and to bring to man the blessings of Messianic peace. In this sense, it could be said that we celebrate Christmas - the Incarnation of Christ - at every mass, since the same Holy Child Jesus who was born at Bethlehem comes to our altars, though in the form of bread and wine; his purpose remains the same: Glory to God in the highest and peace to people of goodwill.

The first part of the Gloria is a cry of praise and thanksgiving to God the Father. One writer I consulted (Theodor Schnitzler) likened this to the Triumph accorded Roman Emperors and generals on their return from War. Along the crowd-lined route of the via triumphalis, massed choirs would sing out the titles and glories of these heroes and leaders. More and more titles were called out to them in jubilation as they passed by: an echo of this can easily be seen in the group: We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you. Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. And in addition to praising God, we give thanks too, and not for any good he may have done us, nor for any particular gift he may have given. We give you thanks for your great glory. We express our gratitude to the Lord simply for being God and not for any benefit or grace we may have gained from him. It seems an amazing thing to me, reminding us of our duty toward the Almighty, that we should love Him first because He is our God and not for what we may hope to get from Him. Something we ought, perhaps, to remember in our human relationships too.

The second part of the Gloria is addressed to Our Lord and, again, calls to mind Gods plan of redemption. Redemption is the purpose of his coming, and the purpose, too, of the Mass. (Parsch)

Note how Jesus is addressed, first by his name, and then his titles of honour: Lord...Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God...Son of the Father and also by the title given him by John the Baptist: Lamb of God, which brings to mind, our reason for being here at Mass, the celebration of the Sacrifice which takes away the sins of the world. In the Mass we stand at the foot of the Cross, humbly asking the Lamb of God to take away our sins, to have mercy on us and to receive our prayer. I think that we also stand beside St John on the island of Patmos and share something of his tremendous vision of the Lamb of God, slain but now standing in the presence of God the Father, victorious and worthy of all worship and honour and blessing. For you alone are the holy One, you alone are the lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ. The Victim is also the Victor, for in the Mass we also celebrate the glory of the resurrection, Christs triumph over death.

And finally, the Gloria reaches its conclusion, in which brief praise is given to the Holy Spirit in the glory of God the Father rather as in the Doxology at the end of the Canon. Both are Trinitarian and praise the mystery of our God who is known as Father, Son and Holy Spirit: creator, redeemer and sanctifier.

The joy of the Gloria, coming so soon after the plaintive Kyrie, reminds us of two vitally important truths about ourselves: Our very real need of redemption and the knowledge that we have been redeemed. Knowing our weakness and our poverty is truly humbling, but our faith in the Redemption won for us by Christ, makes us aware of our Christian dignity as the beloved children of God.

It is said of St Philip, that on the day of his death he celebrated Mass privately with such joy that at the Gloria he began to sing - and he sang the whole of it with the greatest joy and devotion, and all the rest of the mass he said with extraordinary exultation, and as if singing. (Bacci)

St Philip was able to do this, because he believed in the power of Christs redeeming act - similarly, were we to believe as he did, then not only the Gloria, but our whole Mass, indeed our entire life would be utterly transformed into something of remarkable power and beauty!

Gently getting on with it

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 15:52:00 +0000

While the economic systems of the works continues to collapse, and banks crash in all directions, our project continues serenely on its way. Except that there is nothing much happening at the moment. Only, behind the scenes, engineers are producing beautiful technical drawings, and making complicated specifications about load-bearing concrete and the exact mix of cement. We will very soon be able to "go to tender" which means allowing half a dozen eager contractors to look at the plans and compete with each other on cost and speed. During which nothing much can happen except finishing the details of the "party wall agreement" with our neighbours. After a useful meeting with them this morning, they assured us that they had no concerns or worries apart from the details of how the construction can be done as quietly and cleanly as possible, especiallly during exam time. That is for surveyor to talk to surveyor. so there is not much for the Fathers of the Oratory to do now except contemplate the peaceful countryside.

Well, apart from the parish, the school the hospital, the prison, ... and anything else that takes our fancy.

Confiteor

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 08:27:19 GMT

The second in our series of sermons on the Mass: preached by Br Nicholas Edmonds-Smith on 11th September 2011:

We saw last week how the liturgical greeting, "The Lord be with you", "And with your spirit", is an acknowledgement of the presence of Christ in those who are gathering to celebrate Mass, and in a special way in the Priest himself. In the Scriptures, whenever there is an experience of the presence of God, there is a corresponding experience of unworthiness and incompleteness. Isaiah laments his sinfulness before the Lord, and has to be consoled by an Angel. Ezekiel falls to his face before God. Daniel experiences anguish and terror. Job is silent before the Lord and repents. Peter cries out, "Depart from me Lord, for I am a sinful man". In the presence of God, we see ourselves as we really are rather than as wed like to think we are. It is only in the light of the love of God, that we see how much we need God. St Paul tells us this very clearly in his Letter to the Romans "God shows his love for us, in that Christ died for us while we were still sinners." We only know that God loves us because we know that we are sinners in need of love and mercy. We know that God loves us because Christ died on the Cross to save us. We know that God loves us because without him we are incomplete, we are nothing, we are not even fully human. We know that God loves us because we depend on him for everything. Our acknowledgement, then, of our sinfulness and our need for God, is not an obsession with sin and guilt it is a celebration of the love of God. Confessing sin becomes a confession, a public conviction, of the greatness and the love and the mercy of God.

From that point of view, the Confiteor, the "I confess" acknowledging our sinfulness and our unworthiness before God, the Angels and Saints, and each other becomes not only a good thing to do before we proceed with the celebration of Mass, but a prerequisite; not a laudable way to prepare for the Eucharist, but something without which the rest of the Mass makes no sense at all.

How can we give praise and thanks to the Father for all that he has done and continues to do for us which is what the word Eucharist means if we cannot see why we need God in the first place? How can we join our sacrifice to that of Christ, cling to the Lord's cross, and rise with him in his resurrection all of which we do during the sacrifice of the Mass if we do not recognise that Christ died to save us from sin? The Mass has no meaning if we are not sinners.

How very different from the sort of picture of human beings presented to us by the secular media, the television stations, the magazines, the advertising agencies. We are told we deserve all sorts of things "Because Im worth it"; we are given a "Chicken Soup for the Soul", "Im ok, youre ok", picture of a fulfilled human being where a hot bath, a pilates class, a walk on the beach makes it all better; where earning money and spending money make us happy; where having sparkling white teeth, a flat stomach, and a massive sense of self-worth are the pinnacle of human perfection. Being a human being means I have the right to do anything I like, as long as it makes me happy and doesn't infringe on the rights of others to do the same. There is no place for God in that worldview, and certainly no need for redemption. And if there is no place for God, no need for him if we can be happy and fulfilled without him then going to Mass is a pretty pointless waste of time.

Notice that in the Confiteor we are not confessing individual sins that's what the Sacrament of Penance is for. We are invited by the priest to acknowledge our sinfulness; not so much remembering all the spiteful or greedy or careless things we've done or said or thought recently, but admitting that we are the sort of people who always do or say or think such things. We are not obsessing over individual actions or omissions, but acknowledging that we are sinners, we have sinned, and that without God's grace we'll go on sinning.

And we do this without the many excuses and explanations with which we so often delude ourselves and others. How often do we do something or say something that we know to be wrong, or hurtful, or dishonest with the excuse, "Well, its not that bad really", or "She deserved it", or "Everyone else is doing it", or "The Devil made me do it". In the Confiteor we beat our breasts and say not just once, but three times so that we really mean it "through my fault"! I sin. Me. This person here. And I'm sorry. I am in no position to judge anyone else. I cannot hold grudges against others for the wrongs they do to me. I cannot demand that I'm paid back what I'm owed. I cannot withhold compassion and mercy from other people. Because I am no better than anyone else. I too am a sinner. I too need the love and mercy of God. I too need to be redeemed. Me. This person here.

But confessing our sins is pointless unless we then hear the words of the priest, "May Almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and lead us to everlasting life" and not just hear those words, but know them to be true. We confess our sins because we know that God loves us, forgives us, raises us up, and counts us worthy to stand in his presence and serve him now during this Mass, and forever in the life to come.

open doors

Fri, 09 Sep 2011 11:00:00 +0000

In common with thousands of places all over the Kingdom, the Oxford Oratory is listed in the "Open Doors" booklets produced for those who want to visit places and buildings during the weekend 10th to 11th September. Admittedly we are open every day of the year without charge anyway, but we found last year that lots of local residents came to look round for the first time.

This year we have put on a little exhibition in the Guild Room, to show them something about St Philip, something about Blessed JHN, and something about the past and future of our church. Including, of course, the New Building which we really hope to get going ere long. A chance for new people to become excited about the project, to sign on for an information function, or to make a major donation. Whenever there's an economic disaster, someone out there is making a great deal of money out of it - we just need to find that someone and make her feel guilty.

Nothing new in the way of pictures this week, so here's an open door we found recently.

And with your spirit

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 14:50:14 GMT

The first of a series of twelve sermons on the Mass to coincide with the introduction of the new English translation of the Roman Missal.

Preached by Fr Joseph Welch on Sunday 4th September 2011.

"Today we begin a series of sermons spread over twelve weeks to coincide with the introduction throughout the English speaking world of the new translation of the Roman Missal, and all twelve of these sermons will be posted on our website. The new translation is more faithful to the Latin original and is designed to bring out more fully the beauty and the richness of the theology to be found in the words of the Mass itself. And each of these sermons will open up some aspect or other of that theology.

For example, why does the Latin say, Et cum spiritu tuo, "And with your spirit"?

For the most part we probably think that when the priest says, "The Lord be with you" we're simply responding politely with, "And the same to you, Father". But in fact this is not at all what we are saying. What we are actually doing is two things:

first, we are acknowledging the grace of Christ present and working in the spirit or soul of the priest in a unique way since his ordination;

and second, we are praying for the priest, asking Our Lord to be truly with him so that he may carry out the sacramental, the supernatural, work that he was called by God to undertake when he was ordained.

Like so much of the new translation this wording is more scriptural than the old response "And also with you". The new phrase can be found again and again, for example, in the letters of St Paul. In 2 Timothy 4:22 St Paul writes, "The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you". In Galatians 6:18 he writes, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brethren", and he concludes his letter to the Philippians with the words, "The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit" (4:23). In these passages the Apostle is not merely wishing his readers well. He is praying as the priest at Mass prays every time he says, "The Lord be with you" he is praying that Our Lord will especially bless those to whom he is speaking, and that He, Our Lord, will come and dwell, and act, and reign as King within them, and give them His most powerful help and assistance. He is praying that they may be blessed with all the blessings that come with having Our Lord Himself dwelling, truly living, within them in the form of sanctifying grace.

What a thought! The God of Heaven and earth, the Creator of all things, desires, more than anything else, to come and dwell within the hearts of us all and to make our hearts like unto His, and to draw each one of us more and more deeply into the intimate life of the Blessed Trinity Itself. "With desire," says Our Lord to His Apostles at the Last Supper, "with desire I have desired to eat this pasch with you." So great is that desire, and so intimate the union that He desires, that He gives Himself to us and comes to us in the form of Bread so that we may consume Him and receive Him directly into our hearts in Holy Communion.

And because none of us can do any lasting or supernatural good without the aid of God's grace, without His dwelling within us, we all stand in constant need of this grace, which is why the priest prays, "The Lord be with you" so often during the Mass and, in fact, in all the ceremonies of the Church's liturgy.

And the priest at the altar is able to make this prayer in a very special way because he, as a result of his ordination, has been consecrated and remoulded, as it were, and become an alter Christus, another Christ. The priest has become, like Christ, a mediator, a go-between, who acts as the means by which God the Father gives grace to the souls of His people. So when he prays, "The Lord be with you", the priest is, through his sacramental prayers and actions, actually pouring the grace and love of God into the hearts of the people for whom he is praying. And in order to help him do this day by day the people respond with their own prayer, that the Lord may be with his spirit as well.

Through their heartfelt prayer, God's people pray that the priest may continue to receive and be filled with grace because it is only by grace that the priest can do his work at all. As St John Chrysostom says:

By [the words, 'And with your spirit'] you are also reminded that he who is there does nothing, and that the right offering of the gifts is not a work of human nature, but that the mystic sacrifice is brought about by the grace of the Holy Spirit and His hovering over all. For he who is there is a man, but it is God who acts through him. Do not attend to the nature of the one you see, but understand the grace which is invisible (PG 50, 458-459).

Where there is a longing for the Lord, the Lord will bestow His grace. And that this longing might be fulfilled, the priest prays constantly for his people, "The Lord be with you". And in return we pray, "And with your spirit".

bricks

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 15:17:00 +0000

You may have been wondering when we were going to see the first bricks of our new building - well, wonder no more, here they are!

Actually, er, they are sample bricks, to satisfy the planners that the colour of our new building will not clash horribly with what went before. The red ones will blend in with the old school building, and the yellow ones match the facade of the Church. Difficult to compare clean new bricks with slightly grubby old ones, but they look convincing, don't they?

We shall want rather a lot. someone suggested 60,000 of them altogether. But if 60,000 people wanted to buy a brick at a pound a go, that would cover the cost of transporting them, laying them, and all.

So contributions, singly or in six-packs, to the Oxford Oratory Appeal (JustGiving button, or however you like) would all be gracefully accepted.

Meanwhile, those of you who have already sponsored the walkers who visited the Three Oratories can fulfil your pledges by callling in at the Porters' Lodge, where they have a list of names.

«¡Esta es la juventud del papa!»

Tue, 23 Aug 2011 07:55:06 GMT

This is the cry that has been echoing through the streets of Madrid for the past week during World Youth Day.

Our Oxford Oratory pilgrims went first to Barcelona, where we saw the magnificent Sagrada Familia, the work of the Brother of the Secular Oratory, Antoni Gaudi.

Here is the group outside the Barcelona Oratory:

And outside Barcelona Cathedral:

On Sunday we visited the famous monastery of Montserrat and the Black Madonna.

We also met a goat:

Madrid´s streets were crowded with pilgrims, so it helped to have our flag to follow:

And finally we joined the Holy Father at the airport for a Vigil and Mass with 1.5 million others. The heat was over 40 degrees centigrade by day and a thunderstorm cut short the Holy Father´s words at night, but we go away encouraged by the message of World Youth Day: "Be firm in the faith".

walking on and on ...

Mon, 15 Aug 2011 20:03:00 +0000

As reported last week, our two intrepid walkers completed the trek from the Oxford Oratory, to the London Oratory, to the Birmingham Oratory and back here in less than two weeks, despite attacks by cows, dogs and other beasties. Now many of you have already sponsored them - you kindly signed lists outside the church here, or at London or B'rum. So it's time to call in the revenue!

If you are in Oxford, call in on the Porter's Lodge next to the church, where they have the full list of those who had agreed to sponsor, pay up (cash or cheques to "Oxford Oratory Appeal") and they will check your name off on the list. Simple, really!
There will be a chance after Masses in September, when everyone's back from WYD and other excitements, to meet the boys and settle up.

But of course there is more - every year the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust run a sponsored "Ride & Stride" on the second Saturday in September (10th September this year), to visit as many historic churches as possible in the time; half the proceeds go directly to the church of your choice (that's us!) and the other half to the OHCT, which gave is a hefty donation two years ago for the restoration of the Relic Chapel. Forms from OHCT or from our Porter's Lodge. You can even be sponsored for sitting in the church and being nice to visitors that day!

The New Translation of the Roman Missal

Sun, 07 Aug 2011 14:45:48 GMT

On 1st September the new English translation of the Roman Missal will begin to be introduced.

There will be a series of sermons on the Mass at all Sunday Masses between the beginning of September and Advent. These will also appear on this website. The topics will be as follows:

4th September

"And with your spirit"

11th September

The Confiteor

18th September

The Gloria

25th September

Announcing the Word

2nd October

The Priesthood

9th October

Proclaiming the Gospel

16th October

The Offertory

23rd October

Sacrifice

30th October

Sacrament

6th November

The Our Father

13th November

Holy Communion

20th November

Blessing

Three Oratories Walkers arrive home safely

Thu, 04 Aug 2011 12:47:33 GMT

Our brave walkers have arrived home intact, in time for the 6pm Mass on Wednesday, having completed their epic journey in less than two weeks.

Many thanks to all who sponsored them: now is the time to pay up! You can do so either in person, or via the JustGiving.

site.

The boys managed to collect some sponsorship outside both the London and Birmingham Oratories - so thanks too to their parishioners.

World Youth Day Pilgrims prepare for departure

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 10:34:20 GMT

Our 29 pilgrims to World Youth Day in Madrid are getting ready to set off next Monday. We will be spending some time in Barcelona and visiting the two Oratories there, as well as admiring the architecture of Antoni Gaudi, who was a Brother of the Secular Oratory, and whose Cause for canonization has been introduced.

Then we head for Madrid itself, where more pilgrims have registered than for any previous World Youth Day. There will be catechesis, visits to various pilgrimage sites and the Vocations Fair, the arrival of the Holy Father, Stations of the Cross through the streets of the city, featuring Holy Week statues from all over Spain, the Eucharistic Vigil with the Pope, using the enormous monstrance from Toledo Cathedral, and then finally the Sunday Mass with around two million people.

Then we shall go for three days to Avila, in the steps of St Teresa.

So please keep our pilgrims in your prayers. Thank you to all those who have generously sponsored us, and who supported the cake sale we held last Sunday as our final fundraising venture.

At the Mother House at last

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 20:10:00 +0000

Our two valient walkers, Nick and Billy, have successfully negotiated the Midlands and reached the Oratory in Brummagem in time for Mass this morning; they received a special blessing from the Provost and struck out at once for home, expecting to reach Oxford towards the end of this week. That means the entire trip will probably take just on two weeks, leaving them a moment to recover before setting out for Spain and World Youth Day. (No, not walking all the way, they will have to cross the sea somehow!)

It appears the journey from London to Birmingham was not entirely through waterless desert - and they were joined one evening by the Support Team who have been following them with a camera and clean socks.

Sponsorship still coming in - you can use the JustGiving button, remember to mention the Three Oratories Walk in the "message" section.

Wednesday Morning Group Trip

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 11:51:47 GMT

Our Wednesday Morning Group - for the over sixties - made an enjoyable visit this week to Bourton House Gardens in Gloucestershire, followed by lunch in Stow-on-the-Wold.

Wolves on the Misty Mountains

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 09:16:00 +0000

Our intrepid walkers have been striding out in faith with great vigour since they left Oxford a week ago. Not without adventures - the very first night they were attacked by wolf-like creatures as they neared the misty heights of the Chilterns - they camped out in Longbottom, had to swim the River Wye (? some mishtake shurely? Isn't the Wye in the West country? Oh, another River Wye, I see...) and yes, they discovered there really is an Oratory in London, and the Provost, one Fr Ignatius Harrison, was there to greet them. Their back-up team took the opportunity to extract yet more sponsorship money from the natives of Kensington and Chelsea. After that, Billy and Nick set off to follow the Grand Onion Canal through map-less wastes and passing legendary places like Tring and Milton Keynes. Birmingham looms!

Sponsorship has been coming in from all over the place including through our "JustGiving" button, remembering to put in a remark about the "three-Oratories walk" in the space for "messages".

Mary Selwood RIP

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:13:20 GMT

Of your charity please pray for the repose of the soul of Mary Selwood, who died on Monday 25th July, fortified by the rites of Holy Church.

Mary was a parishioner of St Aloysius' all her life and her husband, Pat, was a permanent deacon here.

Mary's body will be brought into church at 5.50pm on Thursday 28th July and her Requiem will take place at 11am on Friday 29th July, followed by burial at Wolvercote Cemetery.

St Benedict, Patron of Europe

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:12:29 GMT

Some of our parishioners went with Fr RIchard Duffield in the footsteps of St Benedict: to Norcia, where he and St Scholastica were born; and to Subiaco, where he lived as a hermit in a cave, before being discovered and going on to found 13 monasteries.

Friday Abstinence - Why?

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 14:29:06 GMT

As from the 16th September this year, which will be the anniversary of the Papal Visit, the bishops of England and Wales have decided to restore the practice of Friday abstinence from meat as binding on all Catholics in this country.

Why?

Because it was the day on which Our Lord rose from the dead the first Christians celebrated Sunday, the first day of the week, as the principal Christian day of worship rather than the Jewish Sabbath (Acts 20:7). From that time each Sunday has always been viewed as a mini Easter Sunday. Correspondingly, each Friday has been viewed as a mini Good Friday on which we observe the Passion and death of Our Lord on the Cross. From the earliest days of the Church, Catholics have abstained from flesh meat as part of this observance for two reasons: first, to do homage to Christ who died in the flesh on Good Friday and, second, as an act of penance for our sins.

Although many thought this practice had been abolished in recent years, in fact it has continued to be the norm in the Catholic Church throughout the 20th century and down to the present day. However, in some places including in England and Wales the bishops were given authority by the Pope to allow people to substitute some other act of penance instead.

The bishops of England and Wales have decided that abstaining from meat on Fridays should become the norm once again for both of the reasons given above but also for a third reason. When he visited Britain, Pope Benedict called for all Catholics to have the courage and the confidence to take their Faith into the public square. Abstaining from flesh meat on Fridays is a way of marking our Catholic identity and proclaiming, in just one small but distinctive way, that the death of Christ on the Cross is the most important event in human history along with His resurrection on Easter Sunday. We already mark His resurrection by going to Mass on Sunday. Now, once more, we can share a common practice as we mark His Passion and death.

This practice does not mean that we have to eat fish; there are many alternatives to non-meat dishes these days. And if we are already vegetarian we can offer our existing practice up as a penance or undertake some other form of penance instead.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church describes penance as a repentance and a conversion of the heart, an interior conversion, [which] urges expression in visible signs, gestures and works of penance (CCC 1430). It is not that we are parading our good works before men; rather, we are worshipping the living and true God with our whole being, body as well as soul, just as the prophet Joel urges us to do in the readings on Ash Wednesday (Joel 2:12-18), and as Our Lord himself teaches us to do whilst not showing off in Matthew's Gospel (Mt 6:1-6).

Let us respond generously, then, to this call from our holy Mother, the Church, to give witness to the Passion and death of our Saviour who died for us that we might live with Him.

Striding out in Faith

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 13:51:00 +0000

Here are Billy and Nick as they set out from the Oratory on their three-cornered walk to find Three English Oratories. It's Thursday 21st July and they are heading towards London to see if it is true there is an Oratory there. If there is, then they will follow the Grand Union Canal to Birmingham to rediscover our Mother House. And then they will return to Oxford with news and reports of whatever they find. The total distance is rather a long way. Their father, Julian, will be keeping an eye on them and following the route with the support team - he has promised to send us news and photographs from time to time.

Now if you admire their courage and enterprise, you can express that in all sorts of interesting ways. For instance, any donation via our JustGiving page can be accompanied by a message "in support of Three-Oratories walk" or something of the sort (donations have started coming in already).

The Fathers thought they ought to start with a blessing.

Digging Holes and Filling them In again

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 10:33:00 +0000

Parishioners and admirers may have noticed yet more holes being dug in the old school playground, and neatly filled in again. All of that was the engineers wanting to know exactly what is going on below ground, so they can plan the foundations without interfering in the drains, or plan drains without interfering in existing foundations, and they can be sure it all rests on a firm foundation so we don't have embarassing collapses and subsidies in fifty years' time.

So now we know exactly what's down there. The "gravel terrace" remains neatly at 1.2 metres below surface, except for that mysterious round hole which the archaeologists identified last summer, and which we thought might be a Bronze-Age burial pit. We now know it's 4.5 metres deep, and therefore certainly not a B.A. burial pit - it must be a post-mediaeval well. Oh, well. We did find the footings for an old garden wall, running just beside the church wall, which must have been recycled as the back wall of the cottages which stood where the playground now is. At the top is the old wall, crumbling, beside the church wall.

Here is the foundation-laying ceremony in 1873. The cottages are on the left, the brick wall visible behind the crowds. Oscar Wilde is lounging on the scaffolding in the foreground; Bishop Ullathorne is the one in the mitre in the middle.

Legion of Mary Witness on Cornmarket

Thu, 07 Jul 2011 12:45:10 GMT

Our Legion of Mary Praesidium has in the last year been setting up a stall on Cornmarket Street on Saturdays to witness to the crowds of shoppers and make available information about the Catholic Church. Do give them encouragement if you see them - or offer to help in this work of evangelization if you are able.

we have not, after all, struck oil

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 08:02:00 +0000

The geo-technicians have been back, testing the soil to see if we had any interesting petrochemicals, heavy metals or other interesting mineral deposits under our building site. Oh well, it was worth hoping. The late John-Paul Getty I used to say the secret of success was "get up early, work hard, strike oil." We thought we were well on the way, with two-thirds of that programme completed.

Here are the geologians drilling a hole. We told them the Gravel Terrace lies 1.2 metres below surface, 'cos we've seen it - its lovely, level, firm, river-deposited gravel, drains well, ideal foundation. And they said they had gone down and down and found it at 4.5 metres. Which we said was silly. So they tried again, and again, and everywhere else they met it at 1.2 metres. It seems their very first probe was exactly where the one archaeological feature was - you remember last summer - just one circular hole going down through the gravel. We thought it was a Bronze-Age burial pit, but at that depth it is beginning to look much more like a post-mediaeval well. So no Bronze-Age gold, no serious chemical pollution, nothing to prevent us building happily on the site. Except time and, er, money.

"There are no Pantomimes in June"

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 20:52:21 GMT

However there is a crib at the Oxford Oratory.

Timothy Newbery of London has designed us a new structure for the crib, and today has set it up in church to make sure that it fits in the space.

The old structure had reached the end of its life, and we also need to have something that will not damage the paintwork when the Sacred Heart Chapel is redecorated. Hence the new crib is a part of our Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign.

Anyone who would like to contribute towards this splendid new crib should speak to Fr Daniel.

We hope from now on to adopt the Roman custom of keeping the crib up from Christmas day until Candlemas on 2nd February.

Some pictures of the 2011 Oxford Deanery Corpus Christi Procession

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 11:43:47 GMT

As usual, the procession began at the Oratory, stopped at Blackfriars and concluded at the University Chaplaincy.

We were grateful to the Witney Town Band, who accompanied us, on what was the hottest day for five years!

FIRST ORATORIAN BEATIFIED MARTYR

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 16:50:05 GMT

The Congregation for the Causes of Saints today promulgated the Decree of Martyrdom for the Venerable Savio Huix Miralpeix, Bishop of Lérida and formerly of the Oratory of Vic, Catalonia, a martyr of the Spanish Civil War. A date can now be set for his beatification.

The Servant of God, Savio Huix Miralpeix, was born on 22nd December 1877 in Santa Margarita de Vellors in the Diocese of Vic in Catalonia, into a family for whom faith in God and love for the Church were an irrevocable inheritance.

He was ordained priest on 19th September 1903 and four years later entered the Congregation of the Oratory of Vic where for twenty years he gave himself over to an intense ministry of study, preaching and writing, catechising, teaching in the diocesan seminary and promoting associations for Catholic women.

He was the Provost of Vic when, in 1927, he was named Bishop of Ibiza. There he gave an extraordinary stimulus to religious life. Translated to Lérida on 29th January 1935 he continued his zealous apostolic work until 21st July 1936 when Republican forces broke into the Episcopal palace and Mgr Miralpeix, reluctantly and in order to safeguard his associates, took refuge with friends.

Seeing the dangers to which his helpers were exposed, on the night of 23rd he left his hideout and presented himself to the police, revealing his true identity. He was imprisoned at once, together with other prisoners with whom he shared both sufferings and also the joy of secret prayers and Masses, right up to the last moving Holy Communion which proved to be their Viaticum.

At 4.30 on the morning of 5th August they were all of them taken to the local cemetery and shot. The bishop asked that he might be the last to be killed so as to give absolution and comfort to his companions in martyrdom. Before his arrest he entrusted his pectoral cross to a friend, asking him to take it to the Holy Father, for whom he was offering his life and assuring him of his loyalty.

Bishop Kenney blesses new School building and launches Motto and Mission Statement

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 18:27:21 GMT

St Aloysius' School had an exciting day on Tuesday when Bishop William Kenney celebrated our feast day Mass at the Oratory and then officially opened the new courtyard building.

The School Council gave a splendid presentation about the new motto and Mission Statement (see the text of these below) and the music group played beautifully to entertain the guests at lunch.

Our Motto:

"Be ambitious for the higher gifts."

1 Cor. 12:31

Our Mission Statement:

Welcome to our school.

At St. Aloysius' we learn to grow in holiness, to become who we were made to be.

Here we seek to know God, finding Him in all that we learn, and understanding that all that is good, beautiful and true offers us a glimpse of God.

Here we seek to love God, with our hearts, our minds and our souls, meeting Him in prayer and recognising Him in one another.

Here we seek to serve God, making the best use of our gifts to serve those around us. Here, recognising God's delight in us, and by His grace, we become more fully alive.

"A good school provides a rounded education for the whole person. And a good Catholic school, over and above this, should help all its students to become saints."

Pope Benedict XVI

The School has a new website which you can visit here.

St Aloysius' Day 2011

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 22:42:34 GMT

Bishop Kenney will be coming to celebrate the 10 o'clock Mass for St Aloysius' Catholic Primary School, and afterwards he will bless the new courtyard building at school and launch the new school motto and Mission Statement.

The pictures below show Mrs Louise Frith-Powell putting the finishing touches to the artwork in the new courtyard room, which is a graphic representation of the new Mission Statement. Watch this space tomorrow to see the Mission Statement in full.

data outlets and gas inlets

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:00:00 +0000

The planning has now got to the intricate stage of determining exactly how where and why we should have all the fixtures and fittings in each room. How many power sockets does the office need? Should the library have a television aerial? (NO!!) Should the WCs be flushed with re-cycled rainwater and if so do they need a separate set of pipes ? (YES !) Should there be smoke detectors in the organ loft? (NO - far too much incense smoke!) Should those of us who dislike moths and dust-mites have the option of a room without fitted carpet? (YES!) And so on and so fifth. Not very exciting, except that it means we are having to envisage exactly what each room will look like, and what will be happening in it.
What can we show you? the great crested grebes have grown too big to sit on Ma-grebe's back - so how about a dreadful Hartebeeste instead?

All Statues Sponsored and Correct

Mon, 20 Jun 2011 15:51:00 +0000

WE now have an elegant Commemorative Book about the Heads and Statues - it runs to 40 pages of A4, in colour, illustrating each head or statue and giving some information about the saint concerned, with the name of the sponsor when given. Copies are available in the Lodge at £10.00, but you can order your own directly by asking Lulu. Find her at http://www.lulu.com/ and ask for "Heads and Statues", reference numberf 1123 1614.

We had to restore the Sanctuary in 2008 in a hurry, because a stone fell during Mass. So there wasn't time to gather sponsorship in advance, or to apply for grants. Infuriatingly, no grant-giving trust will make grants for work already completed, but that is no reason why individual benefactors should not.

Behind the altar there are fifty two statues of saints and angels, and above them there are twenty heads of saints. All of them were cleaned and restored by Taylor Pearce of New Cross. The statues were all taken out, crated and carted to South London, where they were cleaned, the missing bits restored, and the gilding refreshed. The heads wouldn't come out, so were restored in situ. We have calculated that it cost £350 for each of the heads, and £750 for each of the statues.

In the event this gambit raised over £50,000 (because many of the donations werre Gift-Aided) which covered the entire cost of restoring the statues and the screen in which they stand, with the alabaster spire over the tabernacle.

Here is the full list.
Twenty Heads - on the Gospel side:
a Blessed John Forest
b Blessed Margaret Pole
c Saint Thomas More
d Saint John Fisher
e Saint Thomas Aquinas
f Saint Anselm
g Saint Jerome
h Saint Leo
i Saint Athanasius
j Saint Ephraem the Syrian.
           on the Epistle Side:
k Saint Basil
l Saint John Chrysostom
m Saint Benedict
n Saint Bruno
o Saint Francis of Assisi
p Saint Bernard
q Saint Edmund Campion
r Saint Oliver Plunkett
s Saint Alexander Briant
t Blessed John Storey

Fifty two Statues - upper deck, Gospel side:
1 Saint David
2 St Columba
3 St Edmund of Abingdon
4 St Edward the Confessor
5 St Frideswide
6 St Dunstan
7 St Michael
8 St Bede
9 St Hilda
10 St Alban
11 St Helen
12 St Gregory the Great
13 Our Lady
      lower deck, Gospel Side:
27 St Andrew
28 St Charles Borromeo
29 St Stanislaus Kostka
30 St Francis Xavier
31 St Dominic
32 St Henry the Emperor
33 St Raphael
24 St Augustine of Hippo
35 St Gertrude
36 St Ambrose
37 St Julia
38 St Peter
39 St John the Evangelist

        Upper deck, Epistle side:
14 St Joseph
15 St Augustine of Canterbury
16 St Winifred
17 St Chad
18 St Edith
19 St Cuthbert
20 St Gabriel
21 St Thomas of Canterbury
22 St Bertha
23 St Hugh
24 St Simon Stock
25 St Thomas of Hereford
26 St George.
         lower deck, Epistle Side:
40 St Mary Magdalen
41 St Paul
42 St Cecily
43 St Sebastian
44 St Hubert
45 St Monica
46 St Uriel
47 St Ignatius
48 St Aloysius (Luigi) Gonzaga
49 St Teresa
50 St Francis de Sales
51 St Vincent de Paul
52 St Patrick

This list differs slightly from the one in our parish history "St Aloysius, Oxford, the Third English Oratory" (millennium edition 2000, still available at £2.95 from the Lodge) because some of the statues had been wrongly positioned after the disastrous interventions in the 1950s. We have put them back in their original order, as ashown on the oldest photograohs.

Some saints have been sponsored by individuals on their own behalf, others for children or godchildren, in memory of the dead, or anonymously. Others are sponsored by two or more people together.

Here are the Saints being crated up.

and here is the low-loader with two and a half tons of saint on board;

Chesterton Library

Mon, 13 Jun 2011 11:31:00 +0000

We were delighted to see that Fr Ian Ker's new biography of Chesterton mentions the fact that the Chesterton Library is to be housed here, once we have the first phase of the New Building up. Although G.K.C. himself did not have a personal connection with the Oxford Oratory, he knew many people who did - some of whom still come to Mass here every Sunday. But he is part of the great Catholic Revival in literature and spirituality - that flowering of lay Catholic writers that was so prominent in the first half of the last century. Hilary Belloc was of course intimately connected with the Oratory, being at school under J.H.N. himself in Birmingham, and an undergraduate in Oxford. In connection with the Chesterton books we are also collecting books by and on Belloc, Maurice Baring, Christopher Dawson and the others, not forgetting our own J.R.R.Tolkien, another Oratory boy who came to Mass here regularly.

The detailed drawings for the new Library have just arrived - rather technical, so here's the artist's impression of what it will look like.

Tri-Oratory Challenge

Thu, 02 Jun 2011 16:46:00 +0000

Summer, as we said, and sponsored sporting events are all the rage. During this summer Billy Griffiths, Nick Grifiths and Ben Sivewright are going to link up the Three English Oratories, walking from Oxford to London, London to Birmingham, and Birmingham back to Oxford. Rather a long trek! Much of it can be done along river or canal towpaths, so they don't have to use the Newman Centenary Motorway which was built in 1990 to link London to Birmingham via Oxford.

Now if you want to know more, try 3oratorieswalk.blogspot.com

They have their own sponsorship forms, or you could just give using our own JustGiving procedure - in the comments column say this is in admiration of Billy, Nick and Ben or something to that effect!

Here they are, lined up against the church they are going to support. it's up to you to support them.

St Philip's Day 2011

Sun, 29 May 2011 21:14:16 GMT

Solemn Mass celebrated by His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, Apostolic Nuncio.

His Excellency with the Oratorian community after Mass:

Photographs by Tessa Caldecott

National Pastoral Letter on the new English Translation of the Roman Missal

Sun, 29 May 2011 21:02:56 GMT

CATHOLIC BISHOPS' CONFERENCE OF ENGLAND AND WALES

NATIONAL PASTORAL LETTER

ON THE

NEW TRANSLATION OF THE ROMAN MISSAL

TO BE READ ON THE SIXTH SUNDAY OF EASTER, 29 MAY 2011

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ

At the beginning of Advent this year, when we gather for Mass, we shall be using the new translation of the Roman Missal. This will be the case not only in England and Wales but throughout the English-speaking world. The Mass will remain the same but parts of it will sound different.

Since the Second Vatican Council, the Church has produced three Latin editions of the Roman Missal. At present, we are still using a translation of the first edition which was published in 1973. Although the texts we have been using have served us well, since that time there has been much development in the liturgical texts themselves and in our understanding of them.

We all become very accustomed to the words we hear; and the fact that we have been praying in a certain way for so long has imprinted that style of language and words upon our consciousness and made them very special. The changes in the language now to be introduced, however, do not represent change for change's sake, but are being made in order to ensure greater fidelity to the liturgical tradition of the Church. In the earlier translation not all the meaning of the original Latin text was fully expressed and a number of the terms that were used to convey the teachings of the faith were lost. This was readily acknowledged by the bishops of the Church, even back in the 1970s, and has become an increasing cause of concern since then.

There is an old adage in Latin which states that the way we pray forms the way we believe. So words and language are important for the teaching and the handing-on of the faith.

So what does this new translation offer us? First of all, there is a fuller expression of the content of the original texts. Then, there is a closer connection with the Sacred Scriptures which inspire so much of our liturgy. Also, there is a recovery of a vocabulary that enriches our understanding of the mystery we celebrate. All of this requires a unique style of language and expression, one that takes us out of ourselves and draws us into the sacred, the transcendent and the divine.

The publication of the new translation of the Missal is a special moment of grace in the English-speaking world. It offers an opportunity to deepen our knowledge and understanding of the mystery we celebrate each week. This itself will help us to move towards that fuller and more conscious and active participation in the liturgy to which the Church invites us. It will help us also to examine the dignity with which we celebrate the 'source and summit' of the Church's life.

At the end of his visit last year, Pope Benedict asked us to use this moment for genuine renewal. He said: "I encourage you now to seize the opportunity that the new translation offers for in-depth catechesis on the Eucharist, and renewed devotion in the manner of its celebration. 'The more lively the Eucharistic faith of the people of God, the deeper is its sharing in ecclesial life in steadfast commitment to the mission entrusted by Christ to his disciples'" (Sacramentum Caritatis, 6).

In order to achieve this, the bishops have produced resources for all our parishes and, as from September, we will gradually begin to use the new liturgical texts at Mass and hear why certain changes have been made. Each diocese is already preparing its priests and deacons, catechists and liturgical ministers. Programmes for schools are being developed and new musical settings are being composed. From September until Advent everyone will have the opportunity to study the new texts and familiarise themselves with the prayers and chants. In addition, this period of preparation will allow us to pray these new texts.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist is a gift, something we receive from God through the Church. Saint Paul spoke of it as coming from the Lord Jesus himself. Writing to the Church in Corinth, he said, "for I received from the Lord what I in turn also handed on to you" (1 Corinthians 11:23). So Eucharist is not something of our making but a gift received. Like Saint Paul, therefore, let us receive it with reverence and care, knowing that we are being faithful to what the Lord himself passed on to the Apostles, which has been handed on since, in faithfulness, by their successors to every generation of the Church.

Let us welcome the new translation of the Roman Missal as a sign of our unity and a powerful instrument of God's grace in our lives.

Published by the Catholic Bishops of England and Wales

Thursday 12 May 2011

To be read on the Sixth Sunday of Easter, 29 May 2011

enterprising fun raisers

Wed, 25 May 2011 11:33:00 +0000

It's spring, and a young man's thoughts turn to sponsored events to raise money for our building and restoration reaffirmation and renewal campaign!

Well, they have already finished summer in NEW ZEALAND, where Eamonn McDonald walked for 70 miles along the Queen Charlotte Track in the South Island, during the earthquake time. He raised £4,500, shared out among four causes, so we got our quarter, a very useful contribution. Eamonn writes "I would be very grateful if you could remember the vistoms and families in your prayers and Masses and especially the Catholic Diocese of Christchurch, which lost its Cathedral, and the many Parishes now without a Church."

Many thanks, Eamonn! Here he is being put ashore to begin the great walk.

Watch this space for news of a forthcoming walk by three boys connecting up the three English Oratories!

St Philip's Day - Visit of the Papal Nuncio

Mon, 23 May 2011 09:44:20 GMT

We look forward to welcoming the Apostolic Nuncio, His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini, on Thursday to celebrate the Solemn Mass for St Philip's Day at 6pm.

Born in Rome, Antonio Mennini was ordained to the priesthood on 14 December 1974. He has a doctorate in Theology.

Archbishop Mennini entered the diplomatic service of the Holy See in 1981, serving as an attaché in the Pontifical Representations in Uganda and Turkey, and then in the Council of Public Affairs of the Church of the Vatican Secretariat of State.

In 2000 he was made the Holy See's liaison with Bulgaria (2000-2002) where after arriving in Sofia he began preparing Blessed Pope John Paul II's 2002 pastoral visit.

On 8 July 2000, he was appointed Titular Archbishop of Ferentium by Pope John Paul II. Archbishop Mennini received his episcopal consecration on 12 September from Cardinal Angelo Sodano, with Cardinals Camillo Ruini and Jean-Louis Tauran serving as co-consecrators.

In 2002 he was posted to Russia and from 2008 to Uzbekistan. On 13 February 2010 President Dmitry Medvedev awarded the Nuncio the Order of Friendship for his contribution to the development of Russian-Vatican relations.

Archbishop Mennini was named Nuncio to Great Britain on 18 December 2010 following the early retirement of Archbishop Faustino Sainz Muñoz on 2 December 2010. As the new Apostolic Nuncio to the UK, Archbishop Antonio Mennini, presented his diplomatic papers to Her Majesty the Queen on 2 March 2011.

engineers and surveyors

Sat, 21 May 2011 15:43:00 +0000

After a marathon meeting, we are getting closer to agreeing on Specifications, little details like where should the power sockets be located for the washing machine, what calibre of electric cable goes to the new office, no we don't want a television in the Library, thanks, but yes, we still do want to be able to show EWTN and cover all future Papal Visits to Birmingham in the Hopkins Room. We are pretty well there when it comes to the plans, room layout etc; but it is important to make sure all the pipes and cables are in the right places before they get sealed in under plaster.

Serious discussion still about various forms of heating; solid biofuel, natural gas, thermonuclear, geo-thermal, photovoltaic ... what is going to be cheap and efficient both long-term and short term? Will today's technology still be serviceable in twenty years' time? At present the geo-thermal looks very attractive, having seen (and felt) it in action at Douai Abbey - that means drilling holes into the core of the earth to pick up heat from below. As long as it doesn't cause volcanic eruptions.

So there is still not much to show, as we warned you all along. By the time builders actually move on site (and we are still wondering how they get onto site without blocking the church), half the work is over.

And in the meantime? We were anxious, as undoubtedly all of you were, about not finding the Great Crested Grebes near their nest site, but all is well, they have just moved further up river. Here are three little not-yet-crested Grebelings sitting on the back of Ma-grebe while Pa-grebe tries to feed them.

Ossa Trombone Quartet Concert

Tue, 17 May 2011 13:45:35 GMT

Thank you to all those who suported the concert at Harris Manchester College last Friday. Photographs below by Porter White:

underground, overground, ...

Mon, 16 May 2011 07:52:00 +0000

Visitors may have noticed some mysterious yellow chalk marks on the ground outside the church and in the old playground. They are the result of the underground survey necessary before we start digging any more holes. They have traced the route of the gas mains to the church and the house, which we now know are safely out of the way, they found where the water pipes and electricity cables go, and have had great fun exploring the main drains. And they found two mysterious anomalies, lines of magnetic disturbance running parallel to each other, which may be the exhaust trails from a space craft but just might be old garden wall footings. They were found by Ground Penetrating Radar, which basically does what we used to do with a hazel twig but more respectably.

Then there are a couple of bright yellow triangles. These are what we used to know as "Trig Points", the basis of a new and more accurate survey of the site to make quite sure the building fits together as promised.

in the meantime discussions continue on the finer points of construction, the alternatives of cavity walls or solid load-bearing brick walls, the locations of electric sockets, computer cables, smoke detectors, all the little details. Yes, it all takes time, which is why it is still not expected that we can begin the real work until the autumn. We will try to keep you suppied with pictures until then. No luck yet in snapping the little Crested Grebes riding on their mother's back - in fact we couldn't find them last time we looked, and there were disturbing signs of fox activity. We remain hopeful. In the meantime, here's a Ground Penetrating Radar.

Concert this Friday

Wed, 11 May 2011 10:33:03 GMT

Come along to this trombone concert by members of the Royal College of Music - it is in aid of our World Youth Day pilgrims.

John Paul II is beatified

Mon, 02 May 2011 09:45:03 GMT

The Te Deum was sung at the end of the Solemn Mass on Sunday in honour of the beatification that morning of Blessed John Paul II.

Afterwards there were special Polish refreshments in the Parish Centre - including vodka!

It was Divine Mercy Sunday, with devotions taking place in the afternoon, and around 150 confessions heard in the course of the day.

Honouring John Paul II through Theatre

Mon, 02 May 2011 09:36:09 GMT

An article about "The Quality of Mercy" from Zenit.

Royal Wedding "Street" Party

Sat, 30 Apr 2011 12:54:43 GMT

Only one question gripped the nation and Commonwealth on Friday morning: Who would win the Oxford Oratory Lady's Hat Competition?!

A strong field led to four prizes being awarded. In fourth place was Miss Grace Bale:

Third was Miss Anna Maria Mendell:

Second was Mrs Phyllis Horan:

And in first place, with a hat which she had promised would "stretch from here to Kidlington" was Mrs Carol Wilson:

There was a full Parish Centre to watch the Wedding on television, and abundant food and drink to follow, including a splendid cake:

Photographs by Richard Brown

More pictures here.

Photos from the Dress Rehearsal of The Quality of Mercy

Wed, 27 Apr 2011 16:37:56 GMT

The Quality of Mercy is our play by Leonie Caldecott, on the theme of the Road to Emmaus, in honour of Pope John Paul II. It is to be performed this week, on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8pm at the University Chaplaincy in St Aldate's. Tickets are available on the door.

Faith, Hope and Charity:

Jimmy with the three Virtues:

JP:

Jimmy and Simon:

The Garden of Gethsemane:

Simon and Vee:

The Pilgrims and Charlie:

Photographs by Rosie Caldecott

The Liturgy of the Passion

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:49:19 GMT

Mass of the Lord's Supper

Sat, 23 Apr 2011 08:47:21 GMT

Receptions into the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham

Thu, 21 Apr 2011 16:01:24 GMT

A score of new members of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham were received into full communion with the Catholic Church yesterday evening by Monsignor Andrew Burnham. It is appropriate that this should have taken place at the Oratory, since the Ordinariate is under the protection of Blessed John Henry Newman.

These former Anglicans have been receiving catechisis here during Lent, and are now able to participate fully in the Easter Triduum.

Royal Wedding Street Party *

Thu, 14 Apr 2011 14:06:23 GMT

* Well it won't actually be on the street but in the Parish Centre!

The B.B.C. coverage will be shown from 10am.

Bring & Share food.

Free glass of bucks fizz

Cash bar

Fun and Games!

2011 Paschal Candle

Mon, 11 Apr 2011 18:12:10 GMT

Holy Week is approaching fast and this year's Paschal Candle has arrived, beautifully painted as always by Freddie Quartley:

The Latin text means, "He has risen as He said":

The writing in Greek means, "Christ is Risen":

Grand Master of the Order of Malta becomes Patron of the Oratory Reaffirmation & Renewal Campaign

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 14:54:27 GMT

His Most Eminent Highness Fra' Matthew Festing, 79th Prince and Grand Master of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, (pictured here with Pope Benedict) has kindly agreed to become a Patron of the Oratory's Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign.

Fra' Matthew sent the following message from the Magistral Palace in Rome:

"I am delighted to be a Patron of the Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign. The realisation of Blessed John Henry Newman's vision for an Oratory in Oxford has brought immense blessings not only to the City and the University but to Catholic England as a whole. If these blessings are to continue, the Fathers must have the space to welcome the novices of the future and the means to develop and enhance their distinctive Oratorian missions. I urge you all to support the Campaign."

A new play hails Pope John Paul II

Fri, 08 Apr 2011 08:40:57 GMT

From the Catholic Herald:

Oxford Oratory parishioners are staging a play in honour of John Paul II

Eager thespians at the Oxford Oratory are producing a new play in honour of the beatification of Pope John Paul II.

After successfully staging a play written by the Caldecott family in honour of the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux, the Oratory parish is venturing to stage a new play at the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy called The Quality of Mercy. The play, which is written by Léonie Caldecott, centres around a group of young people who are hiking in the company of a mysterious stranger who calls himself Charlie. Tessa Caldecott is directing. Composer Ben Nicholls has written the music for the play and the choreography has been arranged by Anna Maria Mendell.

Greg Lippiatt, a 24-year-old graduate student, plays Karol Wojtyla and Fr Daniel Seward plays the Logos. The rest of the crew is played by actors attached to the Young Oratory aged between 16 and 25.

The play is set in the last week of Pope John Paul II's life. The central drama develops over seven days: Easter Monday to Divine Mercy Sunday. The presence of the dying Pope is always in the background. A chorus represents a scriptural dimension and punctuates the journey. The Easter week pilgrimage of these young people parallels that of the original disciples on the road to Emmaus, full of confusion and despair and then renewed hope as they encounter the Lord. As they travel, the young people discover things about God, their lives and themselves from their conversations with Charlie.

The play is a mixture of live action, symbolic sequences to music incorporating the words of John Paul II and choral speaking, which include Scripture passages re-worked by Dr Carl Schmitt of Balliol College.

Mrs Caldecott explained that the play aims "to be an experience which brings into vivid focus the meaning of Passiontide and Easter, and particularly on Divine Mercy as expressed in the encyclical Dives in Misericordia. Wojtyla saw the theatre as the ultimate art form for expressing the 'Logos'."

The play will be performed at 8pm from April 27 to 29 at the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy. Tickets cost £10 (£5 concessions) and are available at the Oxford Playhouse (01865 305305) or the from the Oxford Oratory Porters' Lodge.

Oratory Campaign Passes One Third of Target

Thu, 07 Apr 2011 11:47:13 GMT

This week our grand total of gifts and pledges passed one third of our £5 million target. The current total is £1,745,505.48. This means that we can hope to start building the accommodation and library within the next year. The next stage after that will be the restoration of the nave of the church, and then the cloister, Newman chapel and baptistery.

Thank you to all those who are working so hard and have contributed to the Campaign. If you still havent been to find out what we are doing, speak to Br Nicholas about coming to an Information Function.

The picture below shows the back of the church and parish centre, where the accommodation building will go.

Visit of Cardinal Mazombwe

Sat, 02 Apr 2011 16:22:32 GMT

We were honoured today with a visit from Medardo Cardinal Mazombwe, the former Archbishop of Lusaka, Zambia. His Eminence was created the first Zambian Cardinal by Pope Benedict last November. He also paid a visit to The College at Littlemore, where Blessed John Henry Newman was received into the Church.

Olympic Success for the Oratory

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 06:42:33 GMT

It was announced in Rome this morning that our own Fr Anton Webb has been selected to represent the Vatican City at the London 2012 Olympics at the Pentathlon.

At a press conference in the Vatican, Archbishop Capriccio Pesce d'Aprile, Prefect of the Congregation for Sport and Physical Fitness, said, "It is true that with a population of about 800, many of whom are elderly prelates, the Vatican City is never going to win as many medals as the USA or China. But we consider it very important to show the Church's engagement with the modern world, so for the first time the Vatican has entered every Olympic event. We have had to co-opt some clergy and religious from around the world to do this, and they will be brought to Rome to train in the Vatican gardens. The self-discipline and asceticism of the religious life will certainly give them the edge over other competitors."

THe Archbishop was hopeful that the Marche Pontificale might be heard for the first time at an Olympic medal ceremony for some events: "The Swiss Guards have put together a formidable archery team, and of course the Church's expertise in the field of liturgical ceremonies will mean that our synchronised swimming team will have a grace and precision that are second to none."

The full list of Vatican competitors will be published on the Holy See's website at midday today.

The Quality of Mercy - rehearsals and synopsis

Mon, 28 Mar 2011 11:51:05 GMT

Below are some photgraphs of rehearsals for the Quality of Mercy, and also a synopsis of the plot.

The play will be performed at 8pm on 27th, 28th & 29th April at the Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy in Rose Place, off St Aldates

Tickets cost £10 (£5)

and are avialable now at the Oxford Playhouse (01865 305305)

or the from the Oxford Oratory Porters' Lodge.

THE QUALITY OF MERCY

A Divine Comedy Production

"I turn to you, the artists of the world to rediscover the depth of the spiritual and religious dimension which has been typical of art in its noblest forms in every age. It is with this in mind that I appeal to you, artists of the written and spoken word, of the theatre and music... especially to you, Christian artistsYou are invited to use your creative intuition to enter into the heart of the mystery of the Incarnate God and at the same time into the mystery of man."

Letter of His Holiness Pope John Paul II to Artists, 1999

Following on from the success of Divine Comedy: A Theresian Mystery Play, we are producing a new play in honour of the Beatification of Pope John Paul II. It centres on the story of a small group of young people on a hike through a mountainous landscape, in the company of a mysterious guide. Whilst on the road, they learn about each other, and themselves. They discover their strengths and weaknesses, they think about the direction their lives are taking. Through interacting with each other, and with the mysterious man who walks alongside them (who introduces himself simply as "Charlie") they come to a deeper understanding of what God is calling each of them to become.

Set in Easter week 2005, the last week of Pope John Paul II's life, the play operates on several levels. The central drama develops over seven days: Easter Monday to Divine Mercy Sunday. The presence of the dying Pope is always in the background, and along with this a scriptural dimension, represented by a chorus which punctuates the earthly journey. The Easter week pilgrimage of these young people parallels that of the original disciples on the road to Emmaus, full of confusion and despair, and then renewed hope as they encounter the Lord. Then there is another dimension the presence of Faith, Hope and Charity, mirrored in the beauty of the natural landscape they are travelling through As the week unfolds, a pattern emerges which links together not only the pilgrims, but also the charism and prayer life of the dying Pope. It is a journey at once interior and exterior, personal and ecclesial. An 'anamnesis' of a long and fruitful life, reflected in the impact his teaching is having on a new generation as we enter the third millennium.

Using music specially composed in memory of John Paul II's addresses to young people, as well as his poetry, The Quality of Mercy aims to be an experience which brings into vivid focus the meaning of Passiontide and Easter, and particularly on divine mercy as expressed in the encyclical Dives in Misericordia. Karol Wojtyla saw the theatre as the ultimate art form for expressing the 'Logos' the 'Word' which makes sense of human suffering and redemption, and used the art-form which was the passion of his youth even in his time as archbishop, when he put on mystery plays in the Cathedral in Krakow. We will celebrate the spirit of this great Pope by exploring the themes which absorbed him during his life the mystical union with Christ, the call to vocation, the theology of the body, the dignity of the human person, the power of beauty to convey truth, the value of human friendship and solidarity.

Praise for our previous production, Divine Comedy:

"This modern story of two young lovers, which unfolds echoing the structure of Dantes Divine Comedy, becomes mysteriously intertwined with the remarkable adventure of another young lover, Thérèse, and in doing so gradually reveals the profundity and timeless relevance of her message. This dramatic and complex juxtaposition of two spiritual journeys, shot through with the rich symbolism of the medieval miracle play tradition, invokes the sort of mystical realism so characteristic of Karol Wojtyla's rhapsodic theatre. Like Wojtyla, the Caldecotts aim to counterbalance the outer world of actions and events with an imaginative portrayal of their characters' inner drama of ideas, memories and personal struggle."

Photographs by Florence Caldecott-Thornton

Piano Recital

Fri, 25 Mar 2011 09:25:30 GMT

The talented young pianist Seth Cox will be playing pieces by Beethoven, Scriabin, Rachmaninov and Chopin at St Margaret's Church, St Margaret's Road, Oxford OX2 6RX on Saturday 2nd April at 7.30pm. This concert is in aid of our Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign and tickets may be bought either from the Porters' Lodge or on the door. (£8/£6)

The full programme is as follows:

Beethoven Sonata no 12 op. 26;

Chopin Etude op. 25 no 1 in A flat, Nocturnes in E minor and C sharp minor, Ballade No 1 in G minor;

Rachmaninov Etude op. 3 no 2

Scriabin Etude op. 2 no 1.

The Quality of Mercy - buy tickets now!

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 11:16:42 GMT

In the week before Pope John Paul II's beatification,

Divine Comedy Productions present:

The Quality of Mercy

27th, 28th, 29th April

The Oxford University Catholic Chaplaincy

in Rose Place, off St Aldates

8pm

£10 (£5)

Book at the Oxford Playhouse

01865 305305 (Tickets will arrive there by the end of this week)

or the Oxford Oratory

Saint Luigi Scrosoppi - Patron Saint of Footballers

Tue, 22 Mar 2011 09:16:33 GMT

Oratorians show up in the most surprising places. St Luigi Scrosoppi of the Udine Oratory has recently been declared the patron saint of footballers, and a North Italian woodcarving studio has produced this fine statue of him, which was presented to the Italian national team:

More information may be found here

Br Nicholas's Ordination to the Diaconate

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:47:06 GMT

Br Nicholas Edmonds-Smith was ordained deacon by Bishop William Kenney C.P. on 18th March - the Vigil of the Solemnity of St Joseph.

Br Nicholas's family came over from Cape Town. Here, the South African flag flies from the Oratory arch:

The Gospel - read by Br Edward Van den Bergh of the London Oratory:

The Litany of the Saints:

Standing before the Bishop:

The Laying on of Hands:

Clothing in the Dalmatic:

Br Nicholas is given the Book of the Gospels:

The Kiss of Peace:

Assisting the bishop at the altar:

With the Bishop & Br Edward:

Cutting the cake at the party afterwards:

Photography by Tessa Caldecott

Lord Patten at the Oratory

Sat, 19 Mar 2011 21:23:22 GMT

Last Wednesday we were honoured to welcome Lord Patten of Barnes, Chancellor of the University, Honorary President of our Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign and soon to be Chariman of the B.B.C. Trust.

Lord Patten spoke entertainingly and informatively about the organization of the Papal Visit. He said that the cost to the taxpayer had been one tenth of that originally predicted in the press, and that the visit had been an overwhelming success. Lord Patten is the first Catholic Chancellor since the sixteenth century - though he has yet to be made a Cardinal, as was his predecessor!

Apostolic Nuncio to celebrate St Philip's Day Mass

Fri, 11 Mar 2011 14:54:09 GMT

We are delighted to announce that His Excellency Archbishop Antonio Mennini has kindly agreed to celebrate Mass in our church to celebrate the Solemnity of our Holy Father St Philip, on 26th May at 6pm.

Archbishop Mennini was previously the Holy Father's representative in the Russian Federation and Uzbekistan and arrived as Apostolic Nuncio to the United Kingdom in February.

The picture below shows His Excellency on his way to Buckingham Palace to present his credentials to Her Majesty the Queen, as ambassador to the Court of St James's.

Jesus of Nazareth part II

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 15:20:48 GMT

Part two of Pope Benedicts book Jesus of Nazareth is due to be published on March 10th (Thursday) and should be available for sale in our Lodge bookshop later this week priced £14:95. The book explores the life of Christ during the first Holy Week, from the entrance into Jerusalem to the resurrection on that first Easter Sunday morning. Ideal Lenten reading.

Our Parish Lent Project 2011

Mon, 07 Mar 2011 10:12:42 GMT

Light for the Blind is a registered charity based in Leeds, England. Its objective is to improve the welfare of blind, mentally ill, handicapped and above all destitute dying people living in India. It works with Father Thomas Rathappillill: a priest who is working in the Dindigul District near Madurai and in Kancheepuram District near to Chennai in the state of Tamil Nadu, India.

The Dindigul District has a population of over two million people. Chennai has a population of around 18 million.

ST.JOSEPH'S HOSPICE

It is a sad but common sight in the cities of Dindigul and Madurai etc to see homeless and destitute elderly people sleeping on the pavements of the streets. By day they beg and scavenge for food frequently fighting for this with dogs outside food shops and eating places. Father Thomas describes how the sight of these people troubled him deeply and so in 2005, with support from the Trust he began to build a hospice for these people.

Located outside Dindigul, the hospice was opened in March 2006 and was named St. Joseph's. It now has beds for 325 residents both male and female.

Please put aside money throughout Lent for this cause. There will be a second collection on Sunday 10th April, and other donations may be made payable to "The Oxford Oratory". Please mark your cheque "Lent Project" and fill in a parish gift aid form if you haven't already.

Parking Charges in St Giles'

Fri, 04 Mar 2011 09:44:16 GMT

Oxfordshire County Council has announced plans to introduce considerable parking charges in St Giles' and the surrounding area from this June. There is a public consultation about this, so please take the time to register your objections to this proposal by going to this link: Parking Consultation

Do this today - the consultation closes on 24th March

Lent & Holy Week 2011

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 16:18:26 GMT

Full details of services, confessions and events during Lent and Holy Week 2011 may be downloaded from the box to the right.

OxCYP

Thu, 03 Mar 2011 09:31:36 GMT

The Oxford Catholic Young Professionals (OxCYP) held their first meeting of 2011 in the parish centre yesterday evening with a fascinating talk from Br Lawrence Lew O.P. on the devil. The main point was that Satan (the accuser) is still very much alive and kicking but delights in the fact that people have tended to forget him. His greatest victory is that people do not believe he exists. Whereas the world and the flesh tempt us by attraction, the devil tempts us by persuasion. He acts on us by persuading us that something is good and to be desired when in fact it is not. We must use our reason purified and strengthened by God's grace to surmount such temptations in order not to surrender to our passions. Satan, then, is never the direct cause of our sin, only the tempter. We sin because we choose to.

In order to combat such temptations we must make use of the tools God has given us: the sacraments, the intercession of Our Lady and the saints, as well as the weapons of prayer, fasting and almsgiving which are the three mainstays of our Lenten practice. In particular, denying ourselves things which in themselves are morally neutral or even good helps us to overcome our desire for the things of this world so that we can become more firmly attached to God and the things of God instead. In the end, the chief weapon in our battle against the one whom Our Lord called, "a liar and the father of lies" (Jn 8:44) is obedience to the will of God in all things. Why so? Because it is the evil will of Satan to sow rebellion and disobedience to God just as he did in the Garden of Eden. Satan does not care whether we believe he exists; he only cares that we rebel against God's holy will.

After the talk and a discussion we went into the Sacred Heart chapel for Compline before adjourning to the local pub for a pint and more discussion.

OxCYP (a group for people in their 20s and 30s) will meet in the parish centre here at the Oratory at 8pm every first Wednesday of the month from now on. Please join us.

Talk by Lord Patten

Thu, 24 Feb 2011 21:40:06 GMT

The Chancellor of the University, Lord Patten of Barnes, will be talking about his experiences in organizing Pope Benedict's Visit to Great Britain. This will be at 8pm on Wednesday 16th March. Admission is free.

Lord Patten was a Member of Parliament and the last British Governor of Hong Kong. He is also the honorary President of our Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign.

'Gig' for World Youth Day

Mon, 21 Feb 2011 14:05:10 GMT

Thank you to all those who came to the concert by Rosie Caldecott, Ditte Elly Goard, Claire Ewbank and Sophie Caldecott last Saturday at Art Jericho. Not only was it a hugely enjoyable evening, but we raised over £500 to help send our pilgrims to World Youth Day in Madrid. You can hear some of Rosie's music at Rosie Caldecott

New Provost Elected

Wed, 02 Feb 2011 12:49:25 GMT

The Fathers held their triennial election this morning. Fr Daniel Seward was elected as Provost, with Fr Dominic Jacob and Fr Joseph Welch as Deputies. Fr Dominic is the Vice-Provost.

The picture below shows Fr Daniel with Fr Robert Byrne, who has been Provost for the past twenty years, since the foundation of our House.

Parish Priest's Report 2010

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 15:21:30 GMT

This is now available to be viewed on the "Downloads" box to the right of here.

Mea Culpa

Sat, 29 Jan 2011 14:08:12 GMT

Three talks on Confession at 8pm,

Wednesdays 9th, 16th and 23rd February

in the Parish Centre

Perhaps you are new to the Catholic Faith, or havent been to Confession for a long time; maybe you go to Confession frequently but want to understand the Sacrament better; perhaps you feel your Confessions are repetitive and unhelpful,or perhaps you find the prospect of going into a confessional too daunting

Whatever your experience or perspective, come along to these talks in order to discover something of the richness and beauty and grace of this wonderful,sacramental encounter with the forgiving Christ who reaches down from the Cross to embrace sinners.

World Youth Day - Madrid 2011

Tue, 25 Jan 2011 15:14:13 GMT

World Youth Day is an outstanding opportunity for Catholic young people from all corners of the universal Church to celebrate and grow in the Faith together. Every three years, Catholics aged between 14-35 from around the world gather for a week to worship together, in some of the largest gatherings of mankind in history.

Here is an ariel shot of the Papal Mass at Cologne in 2005:

This year, the Holy Father will lead World Youth Day in Madrid, focussing on the theme of 'Firm in the Faith,' in imitation of the exhortation contained in Colossians 2:7.

Some of our pilgrims in Sydney, 2008:

The Oxford Oratory is sending a group to Madrid to take part in this event, and they need your support, which you can give in a number of ways. Firstly, please pray for the success of the pilgrimage; that it may yield rich spiritual fruit for our young people and parish. Secondly, you can support and encourage the pilgrims with your time, by attending some of the many and varied events that will be happening in the coming months: concerts, 'mini-pilgrimages', and of course the ever-present bake sale!

And thirdly, you can help in a very practical way by giving your financial support to this spiritual endeavour. In order to help make this experience available to as many young people as possible, the Oratory is depending upon donations to defray the cost of the trip. The expenses for each participant have been estimated at around £700, which will not only include the main event in Madrid from 15-21 August, but also spiritual preparation in Barcelona beforehand and a pilgrimage to Avila, home of the holy mystic Saint Teresa, afterwards.

The Oxford Oratory pilgrims in Cologne, 2005:

Your generous financial contributions are essential to making this opportunity for community spiritual growth possible. You can donate directly over the internet at the JustGiving page, you can support events throughout the year across Oxford organised by our young people, or you can sponsor individual pilgrims or individual sections of the journey. For example, by contributing £65, you can pay for a pilgrim's air fare to Barcelona, or just £160 will pay for the whole World Youth Day week for someone.

Please help the young people of the parish and the wider community to make this possible. For more information, you can contact the OxOratory WYD Core Team at oxoratorywyd@gmail.com, or speak to Fr Daniel

Father Andrew Burnham's First Mass

Tue, 18 Jan 2011 08:24:45 GMT

Father Andrew Burnham, former Anglican Bishop of Ebbsfleet, celebrated his First Mass in our church on Sunday, having been ordained priest by Archbishop Vincent Nichols in Westminster Cathedral the day before, along with two other former Anglican bishops who have joined the 'Ordinariate' set up by Pope Benedict.

Father Andrew was assisted at the altar by Father Robert. Fr Aidan Nichols, OP preached the sermon, which is reproduced below.

Sermon by Father Aidan Nichols, OP:

We are, at this Mass, on a cusp, or boundary, or threshold. What I have in mind is in the first place the ritual calendar we're using. We are on the cusp between, on the one hand, the Christmas season, which celebrates the Theophany, the manifestation of God the Word as a human being to other human beings, and, on the other hand, so-called 'Ordinary Time', a time which is far from ordinary because it consists in the telling of his story, the story of the public ministry of the Christ as it unfolds in all its dramatic action.

Appropriately, then, today's Gospel-reading points both backwards and forwards, and its key is the identification of Jesus as the 'Lamb of God'. Twice, actually, within a few verses of the Fourth Gospel, when the Baptist wants to identify who Jesus is, to locate him (so to say) on the map of salvation geography, these are the words he comes up with. The best explanation of that, I think, is that John the Baptist is rehearsing what it was his cousin told him. At the Baptism, the heavens were opened for Jesus, and in the open heavens he saw well, what did he see? He saw himself as the Lamb, sent by the Father to make the atoning sacrifice which will reconcile to the Father Israel and all the world, and bring humankind home to the Father's house. Jesus would go on to comport himself in just this fashion in his public ministry, in the strength of the Holy Spirit whose descent on him in the form of a dove verified what it was, in the opened heavens, that he saw.

The Lamb of God: that is the One we follow, it is how the God-man wishes to be known and loved. He came to make sacrifice for us. That is the impetus that drives his ministry forward till it reaches its climax in the Paschal Mystery of his Death and Resurrection. It is the attitude in which he still stands before the Father, showing the marks of his now glorious wounds. And it is why the continuing sign of that sacrifice the Mass is the true centre of the Christian religion.

In the Eucharistic sacrifice, we bring ourselves all we do and are, all we have done and have been to be, through purification and transformation, united with the Lamb, Jesus Christ, in his self-offering to the Father. All we did and do, all we have been and are, our life and labour, we should put (so the spiritual writers advise) onto the paten, into the chalice. Bishop Andrew I've known Andrew so long and closely under that description I find it hard to break the habit is celebrating today his first Mass in full union with the Catholic Church. What does this offering of the gifts mean, then, for him?

What is said of the life and labour of any Christian is said with special force of the apostolic life and labour of an ordained person. 'What we did and do, what we have been and are': all Andrews former ministerial activity, inevitably, is signalled is these words and so it is now taken up into union with the Lamb's oblation of himself, taken up in a new way as the sacrificial offering of a Catholic priest in the full, unclouded, indisputable, sense of those words.

What he has done, what he has been: as with all of us, that must mean the faults and failings from whose weight we ask to be relieved through this renewal of the Lamb's oblation. But is also means the grace-supported actions which we join to the Lamb's offering not for purification but for further enhancement. In the spring of 1843, Newman wrote to a correspondent, 'At present as far as I can analyze my convictions, I consider the Roman Church Communion to be the Church of the Apostles, and that what grace is among us is extraordinary, and from the overflowing of His dispensation.' I've left out in this citation a phrase in parenthesis for the sake of drawing attention to it now 'what grace is among us (which, through God's mercy, is not little)'. The task before Andrew and the others in the Ordinariate of our Lady of Walsingham is to translate into terms of Christian life, thought and worship, what that 'not little' grace has done, in the history of the Church of England what it is that can be placed on the paten, put into the chalice, not for propitiation, in a spirit of repentance, but for the praise of Gods glory, in a spirit of thanksgiving. And this is the second sense in which we stand now on a cusp or boundary or threshold.

It will entail a very great deal of hard work. It is nothing less than the reconfiguring of Anglicanism by union with the Petrine centre and its criteria of orthodoxy. It is taking up again, in a totally fresh context, the task Newman set himself and his fellow Tractarians in 1837:

'We have a vast inheritance, but no inventory of our treasures. All is given us in profusion; it remains for us to catalogue, sort, distribute, select, harmonize,and complete. We have more than we know how to use; stores of learning, but little that is precise and serviceable; Catholic truth and independent opinion, first principles and the guesses of genius, all mingled in same works, and requiring to be discriminated.'

And Newman closed:

'[W]e need peculiarly a sound judgment,

patient thought, discrimination, a

comprehensive mind, an abstinence from

all private fancies and caprices and personal

tastes in a word, Divine Wisdom.'

We rejoice today for Andrew personally as a long odyssey is completed, but since no share in priesthood is ever conferred for the individual's satisfaction but only for some wider good, we also have to draw attention to the task that awaits him. Newman spoke of the 'concentration and adjustment of great Anglican authorities'. Andrew has already begun working on the liturgical dimension of this, entrusted by the Holy See with co-ordinating efforts on that front, in recognition of his outstanding competence in that area.

But there is more than that. There is bringing this new ecclesia particularis, this new 'particular church', into the movement for renovating the whole Church which we associate with the mind and heart of Pope Benedict, a movement which respects the Second Vatican Council but places it, by a hermeneutic of continuity, in the great Tradition as a whole. It is a movement towards the fullness of Catholicity, in which the fathers of the Oxford Movement can take effortlessly their place.

So, Father, let me leave you and this congregation with one final citation from the Blessed John Henry, 'I have a work to do in England'.

Aidan Nichols, O. P.,

16 January 2011

Extra Times of Confession on Christmas Eve

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 12:39:04 GMT

10am-12 noon; 4.30-6.30pm; and of course as usual before all Masses

London Oratory Carol Service

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 15:33:13 GMT

We have unfortunately had to cancel the trip to the London Oratory because of weather conditions. Bing Crosby has a lot to answer for.

Rorate Mass

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:22:26 GMT

A good number braved the cold and snow for the Rorate Mass at 7am on Saturday 18th December. The Mass was celebrated in honour of Our Lady, with Gregorian chant sung by a small schola, and the church was lit entirely by candlelight.

Photographs by Mike Lord. (from the Latin Mass Society website)

World Youth Day Pre-Christmas Festival

Sat, 18 Dec 2010 12:17:16 GMT

The first fundraising event for next year's World Youth Day was held on Friday: a pre-Christmas festival with carols, mince pies, mulled wine, and even, as you can see, a visit from St Nicholas! You can help our young people on their pilgrimage to Barcelona, Madrid and Avila, joining over a million other young Catholics and the Holy Father, by donating at JustGiving

Sermon for the Immaculate Conception

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 14:14:05 GMT

Fr Nicholas Schofield, Parish Priest of Uxbridge, Diocesan Archivist of Westminster and former Brother of the Secular Oratory (when he was an undergraduate at Exeter College) came to preach at the Solemn Mass for the Immaculate Conception. His sermon is reproduced below:

Rejoice, so highly favoured! The Lord is with you.

Whenever I come to Oxford, I try to make a short pilgrimage to the porch of the University Church of St Mary the Virgin. You all know it better than I - jutting out on to the High with its 'barley sugar columns', echoing Bernini's baldacchino in St Peter's, Rome. Built in 1637, I always think it offers a tantalising glimpse of the sort of architecture we might find across the country had there been no Protestant Reformation, had the English Baroque been Catholicised. The statue of Our Lady in the porch was actually used against Archbishop Laud at his trial in 1641, an example (it was thought) of his dangerous Romanising tendencies and such was the opposition the statue aroused that you can still see to this day the bullet-holes left by Cromwell's men.

That 'Virgin Porch' in the heart of this city seems to sum up the whole history of English devotion to Our Lady and, in particular, to the mystery of the Immaculate Conception, which we celebrate here tonight. Even though the statue dates from after the Reformation, its baroque splendour reminds us of this country's dignity as Mary's Dowry, a place where there had long been a devotion to the Immaculate Conception. In fact, one of the earliest mentions of a feast of Our Lady's Conception comes from an old Winchester Calendar, dating from around 1030. It seems that the Normans initially discontinued the Feast, for they tended to be suspicious of Anglo-Saxon observances. But then a Norman Abbot was saved from shipwreck after promising to establish the feast of the Conception and it henceforth became increasingly popular around the country.

If the magnificence of the 'Virgin Porch' reminds us of the English love for Our Lady, then the Cromwellian bullet-holes represent the story of turbulence and destruction, of shrines razed to the ground and images burnt. The Immaculate Conception was, of course, discarded as a corrupt superstition at the Reformation, though it is interesting to also remember that, not yet defined by the Church, the doctrine was vigorously debated in the medieval schools including Oxford. One historian said that 'as England has the honour of having first celebrated the festival of Our Lady's Conception, so have her schools the credit of being the first to defend it scientifically.' Eadmer of Canterbury, for example, wrote a treatise in support of the doctrine and introduced the famous (though not entirely convincing) maxim: decuit, potuit, ergo fecit in other words, the Immaculate Conception was possible, because nothing is impossible to God, and fitting, for how could the Mother of God not be Immaculate, therefore it came about, it was accomplished.

So, the Blessed Virgin has been debated by the schoolmen and rejected by the reformers, and yet in more recent times there has been something of a Marian revival. And part of this rediscovery was achieved by that scholarly-looking clergyman who would have been seen scuttling through the Virgin Porch and into the University church during the 1830s as one of his disciples put it, 'walking fast, without any dignity of gait, but earnest, like one who had a purpose; yet so humble and self-forgetting in every portion of his external appearance, that you would not have thought him, at first sight, a man remarkable for anything'. His name: Blessed John Henry Newman.

Even as an Anglican, Newman had a strong devotion to Our Lady 'in spite of my ingrained fears of Rome, and the decision of my reason and conscience against her usages', he wrote in the Apologia, 'in spite of my affection for Oxford and Oriel, yetI had a true devotion to the Blessed Virgin, in whose College I lived, whose Altar I served, and whose Immaculate Purity I had in one of my earliest printed Sermons made much of'. There's the amazing thing: that an Anglican in the early nineteenth century could associate the words 'immaculate' and 'Mary'. He refers to a sermon he preached in 1832, the year before the 'official' start of the Oxford Movement, where he spoke of Mary as the 'Second Eve' and hinted at the Immaculate Conception, though he dared not use such popish terminology. Yet his beliefs were clear: 'what, think you, was the sanctified state of that human nature, of which God formed His sinless Son; knowing as we do, "that which is born of the flesh is flesh", and that "none can bring a clean thing out of an unclean?"'

As a Catholic, Blessed John Henry was more forthright in his views and asked: 'what is there difficult in this doctrine? What is there unnatural? Mary may be called, as it were, a daughter of Eve unfallen.' He wrote elsewhere: 'we do not make her nature different from others. Though, as St Austin says, we do not like to name her in the same breath with mention of sin, yet, certainly she would have been a frail being, like Eve, without the grace of God. A more abundant gift of grace made her what she was from the first. It was not her nature which secured her perseverance, but the excess of grace which hindered Nature acting as Nature ever will act. There is no difference in kind between her and us, though an inconceivable difference of degree. She and we are both simply saved by the grace of Christ.'

Why was Mary preserved from the stain of original sin? Those who come near to God, the source of all goodness and holiness, must be holy themselves. No human being came as near to Him as Mary did. A prophet who acts as His oracle; a mystic who reaches the highest mansion; a priest who consecrates the bread and wine none of these are as close to God as Our Blessed Lady. As Mother of God she carried the second person of the Trinity in her womb, she became, if you like, a living, walking tabernacle, the new ark of the covenant. And so it was fitting that Mary was prepared in this unique way.

Returning to Oxford's 'Virgin Porch': the statue of St Mary the Virgin remains a discreet but ever maternal presence in the heart of this city, watching no longer the passings of Cavaliers and Roundheads with their pikes and muskets but successive generations of undergraduates, rushing by with their iPods and iPhones. Tonight we turn to her, as patroness of this diocese and patroness of the Oratory. She points us, as ever, towards her Son and reminds us of the primacy of grace, which St Paul calls God's 'free gift to us in the Beloved'. Because without grace, Mary would have been nothing; likewise, whatever our talents, we cannot achieve anything without first acknowledging our total dependence on God. Mary was given the highest fullness of His Kingdom. We too are granted wonderful graces, hour-by-hour of the same kind but not to the same degree. As we honour the unique privileges for Our Blessed Lady, let us become more aware of this invisible life of grace, without which we are vessels of clay and only that. As we prepare for Christ's coming, let us follow in the footsteps of the Immaculate Virgin 'for nothing is impossible to God.'

Fr Nicholas Schofield, 8.xii.2010

Christmas & New Year Mass Times 2010

Wed, 17 Nov 2010 15:17:51 GMT

A full list of Masses and services for Christmas and the New Year may be found in the "Downloads" box to the right of this screen.

Jack Valero to speak at the Oratory

Mon, 08 Nov 2010 20:39:19 GMT

Find out the background to the Pope's Visit:

JACK VALERO

Press Spokesman for Blessed John Henry Newman's Beatification & the Papal Visit and Chair of Catholic Voices will speak on

"Preparing for the Pope's visit: Newman, the media and Catholic Voices".

8pm, Thursday 18th November in the Parish Centre

Women's Oratory presents cheque for the Campaign

Fri, 05 Nov 2010 11:29:40 GMT

The Women's Oratory and friends have been working hard to raise sponsorship money for the walk to Santiago in August. Last Sunday they were able to hand over a grand total of £4,491.22. Some further pledges and Gift Aid may still be due to come in. Any other fundraising ideas are always welcome!

Opening Mass of the Forty Hours

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 21:13:54 GMT

Br Nicholas sings the Epistle:

The Gradual:

Blessing before the Gospel:

The Canon:

Night adoration of the Blessed Sacrament:

Blessed John Henry's first feast day

Wed, 20 Oct 2010 12:24:38 GMT

9th October was our Cardinal's first liturgical feast day. There was a whole weekend of events in Oxford, all of which were attended by large numbers of people.

The Night Walk (pictured above) takes place each year on the evening of 8th October, from the Oratory to the College at Littlemore. It commemorates Blessed Dominic Barberi's arrival to receive Mr Newman into the "one fold of the Redeemer" on 8th October 1845.

On Saturday 9th October there was a Mass in honour of Blessed John Henry in the Parish Church at Littlemore, and then in the evening, Nigel Cooke of the Royal Shakespeare Company read Newman's sermon "The Cross of Christ the Measure of the World" to an appreciative congregation in the University Church of St Mary the Virgin, where Blessed John Henry was the vicar.

Finally, on Sunday 10th October, the feast was transferred at the Oratory. There was veneration of the relic after all Masses, and Bishop John Arnold celebrated the Solemn Mass.

Father Dominic at St Philip's

Thu, 07 Oct 2010 21:02:56 GMT

The New Liturgical Movement website has a story here about St Philip's School in London, where Fr Dominic is the chaplain.

FORTY HOURS 2010

Sat, 02 Oct 2010 16:47:31 GMT

FRIDAY 22nd OCTOBER:

6pm Solemn Mass of Exposition in the Extraordinary Form

SATURDAY 23rd OCTOBER:

12 Midnight Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament

ALL NIGHT VIGIL

Refreshments available in the Parish Centre

5am Matins & Lauds of the Blessed Sacrament

6am Mass

10am Mass

6.30pm Mass for Peace

12 Midnight The Blessed Sacrament is reposed

SUNDAY 24th OCTOBER:

8am Latin Mass in the Extraordinary Form

9.30am Parish Mass

11am Solemn Mass of the Sacred Heart

After which Exposition resumes

5pm Solemn Vespers of the Blessed Sacrament,

Procession and Benediction

6.30pm Evening Mass

Holy Father's Audience address (Wednesday 22 September)

Tue, 28 Sep 2010 11:09:09 GMT

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

As you know, I have just returned from my first Apostolic Journey to the United Kingdom, and I wish to send my affectionate greetings to all those I met and those who contributed to the visit through the media during four days, which have begun a new and important phase in the long-standing relations between the Holy See and Great Britain.

Last Thursday, I was honoured by the warm welcome of Her Majesty The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh in Scotland's historic capital Edinburgh. Later that day, I celebrated Mass in Glasgow in the presence of many bishops, priests, religious and a great concourse of the faithful against the backdrop of a beautiful sunset at Bellahouston Park, within sight of the place where my beloved predecessor celebrated Mass with the Scots twenty-eight years ago.

Upon arriving in London, I met thousands of Catholic students and schoolchildren at a very joyful celebration, reminding all of us of the excellent and essential work being done by Catholic schools and teachers throughout the land. I then had the pleasure of meeting the clerical and lay representatives of different religions and of discussing the search for the sacred common to all men.

Later, I had the honour of calling upon His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury who has come on several occasions to meet me in Rome. Our meeting at Lambeth Palace, in the presence of the Bishops of the Church of the England, was very cordial and fraternal. I then crossed the river to Westminster where I was given the unprecedented opportunity to address both Houses of Parliament gathered in Westminster Hall on the importance of a fruitful dialogue between religion and reason, a theme as relevant in the time of Saint Thomas More as it is in our own day. Finally that day, I had the privilege of kneeling in prayer with the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Tomb of Saint Edward in Westminster Abbey, and of giving thanks to God with the Archbishop, the Moderator of the Church of Scotland and other British Christian leaders, for the many blessings God has bestowed upon our efforts to re-knit the fabric of our Christian fellowship.

The next morning, I had the pleasure of greeting Prime Minister David Cameron, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Ms Harriet Harman, leader of the Opposition, before celebrating Mass in Westminster Cathedral, with a liturgy evocative of the best of the English musical tradition in the celebration of the Roman rite. That afternoon, I was welcomed very cordially by the Little Sisters of the Poor and the elderly people they look after. There I also had the chance to thank and encourage those charged with the safeguarding of children in Britain. That evening I participated at a beautiful vigil of deep prayerfulness and stillness at Hyde Park with tens of thousands of the faithful.

On Sunday morning, I travelled to Birmingham where I had the joy of celebrating the Beatification of Cardinal John Henry Newman. Later that day, after a warm and fraternal meeting with all the Bishops of Britain, I was bidden farewell by Prime Minister Cameron during a very cordial speech at Birmingham International Airport on the Governments wish to build a partnership for development with the Catholic Church and others.

Sunday, then, was a moment of deep personal satisfaction, as the Church celebrated the blessedness of a great Englishman, whose life and writings I have admired for many years and who has come to be appreciated by countless people far beyond the shores of his native land. Blessed John Henry Newmans clear-minded search to know and express the truth in charity, at whatever cost to his own personal comfort, status and even friendships, is a wonderful testimony of a pure desire to know and love God in the communion of the Church. His is surely an example that can inspire us all.

Carpenter's hand-made box given to Pope

Sat, 25 Sep 2010 11:31:03 GMT

From the Oxford Mail, by Reg Little:

SEMI-RETIRED carpenter John Leather spoke of his pride at being asked to make a special gift for the Pope for his historic visit to the UK.

Mr Leather, 68, was asked by the Oxford Oratory to make a presentation box to hold a rosary that had once belonged to Oxfords Cardinal Newman.

It was handed to Pope Benedict XVI in Birmingham on Sunday as the Pontiff beatified the cardinal, who died in 1890.

The gift was to mark Oxford's links with the great Victorian churchman, beatified in front of 50,000 pilgrims at Cofton Park, Birmingham. The cardinal is now likely to be made a saint.

Mr Leather, of Wyndham Way, in North Oxford, has worshipped and carried out jobs at the Oxford Oratory of St Aloysius Gonzaga in Woodstock Road, Oxford, for 20 years.

Mr Leather, who runs Leather Building Services, said: "I made it from a nice piece of English oak.

"I'm semi-retired now. It was a tremendous honour to be asked to do it. My wife Mary made a green velvet pouch which it was placed in.

"Father Jerome Bertram at the Oratory is quite artistic, so he was able to give me some drawings and exact measurements to work from. Sadly I was away on Sunday, so I was not able to see the presentation to the Pope."

The rosary was presented to the Pope by Father Richard Duffield, a priest at the Oxford Oratory who was seconded to the Birmingham Oratory to help with the papal visit.

Mr Leather's presentation carries a bronze plaque with an inscription saying the rosary had belonged to Newman and had been presented to the Pope.

But the man who engraved it, Adrian Shepherd, said he had no idea who his work was for because the inscription was in Latin and only found out its recipient from the Oxford Mail.

He said: "That's fantastic. I was asked to engrave something in Latin, which I don't read very well. I had no idea that it was for the Pope.

"I have engraved things that have been presented to some very famous people, such as Nelson Mandela and Mikhail Gorbachev, but never for a Pope."

There are plans to build a chapel dedicated to Cardinal Newman at the Oxford Oratory, forming the centrepiece of a £5m development with a new library and cloistered courtyard.

Pushkin and the Pope

Thu, 23 Sep 2010 09:47:36 GMT

By popular request: to see a clip of the Holy Father meeting Pushkin the cat at the Birmingham Oratory, click here: Pushkin.

Blessed John Henry Newman of the Oratory - Pray for us!

Wed, 22 Sep 2010 09:20:01 GMT

We give thanks to God for the grace-filled visit of the Holy Father to Great Britain, and especially for the Beatification of our Cardinal, John Henry Newman.

Seven coaches left very early in the morning from the Oratory to go to Cofton Park for the Papal Mass.

Despite rain in the early morning, the sun came out as soon as the Holy Father arrived. Newman may the first beatus whose banner was unfurled electronically. The picture is that by Ouless, which hangs in the Birmingham Oratory, and a copy of which has been used for our own shrine in Oxford.

Here, Father Gregory Winterton greets Pope Benedict. Fr Gregory was Provost of the Birmingham Oratory at the time of the foundation of the Oxford House.

The Holy Father paid a private visit to the Birmingham Oratory. He was the first pilgrim to pray at the shrine of Blessed John Henry and went to the Cardinal's room. Pope Benedict was also delighted to meet Pushkin the cat, to whom he spoke in "cattish German"! Afterwards he greeted the large crowds who had collected on the Hagley Road. The splendid white and gold Papal hangings on the front of the house were lent by the Naples Oratory.

Here, Pope Benedict emerges from the Oratory House, accompanied by Father Richard:

Over eighty Oratorians were present for the Beatification. Here we see some of them at the Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving the next day. Photograph by James Bradley.

Our own Mass of Thanksgiving was held in Oxford on Tuesday 21st. Many friends and distinguished guests were present. (Photographs by Rosie Caldecott)

The Archbishop explained that the chalice used for the Mass was that given to the Archdiocese by Pope Benedict on Sunday.

After Mass, His Grace blessed the shrine of Blessed John Henry. Eventually, we hope to build a chapel specially dedicated to our Cardinal, but the present small altar serves to focus devotion for the time being.

It has been wonderful to receive many pilgrims to our church over the past few days; from the United States, Poland, Austria, France, Italy, Germany, Belarus, Canada, Japan, South Africa, Ireland, Spain, Argentina and many other places.

Relic of Newman is prepared for veneration

Fri, 17 Sep 2010 15:25:23 GMT

In 1875, Charles Henry Poole obtained a locket of John Henry Newman's hair - from the barber! - and later presented it to Trinity College, in whose archive it has resided ever since. The College has graciously allowed this relic to live on permanent loan at the Oxford Oratory and a reliquary has been acquired for this purpose.

Here Father Dominic carefully places the hair into its capsule:

It is then sealed, to guarantee its authenticity:

The relic will be exposed at the Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving on Tuesday (21st September) at 6pm, when the Archbishop will also bless the new shrine to the newly-beatified John Henry Newman.

Welcome Holy Father!

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 14:03:52 GMT

There will be Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament from 6.30-7pm on 13th, 14th & 15th September, to pray for the success of Pope Benedict's visit to our nation.

There will be a special Papal Party in the Parish Centre after the 6pm Mass on Friday 17th September.

Sunday Masses on 19th September will all be at the usual times, but without ceremony or music. We are grateful to the Dominican friars from Blackfriars for helping out while the Fathers are all at the Beatification of our Cardinal!

There will be a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving on Tuesday 21st September at 6pm, at the end of which His Grace the Archbishop will unveil and bless the Newman shrine at the back of our church.

The Camino to Santiago

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 11:54:48 GMT

Fr Daniel and six companions walked from Leon to Santiago (340 km) in nine days.

The paths were well marked with yellow arrows, shells and signs:

Alternatively we could simply follow our shadows:

We walked along a variety of paths:

Most of the churches provide good spots for storks' nests:

And inside, we were able to celebrate Mass. Spain has the privilege of using blue vestments at Masses in honour of Our Lady. Here at Santa Caterina de Somoza:

On the whole the locals were friendly:

Mass at the tomb of the Apostle St James, where we remembered the intentions of all our sponsors, of the Oratory and of the Oratory parish:

We were able to see the famous bottafumeiro twice in Santiago Cathedral. It is the largest thurible in the world, and swings dramatically along the transepts. When Catherine of Aragon witnessed this in 1499, the bottafumeiro came loose and flew out through the window. No such worrying portents occurred during our visit.

This year is a Holy Year in Santiago. We queued in the rain for an hour and a half to go through the Holy Door, before hugging the statue of St James just as the Archbishop was celebrating Mass and had reached the consecration.

The Women's Oratory has done a fantastic job in raising sponsorship for the walk, in aid of the Oratory Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign. It is not too late to sponsor us retrospectively. Simply go to our JustGiving page. Thank you!

Wednesday Morning Group on Rose Hill

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:20:14 GMT

The Holy Child Sisters on Rose Hill recently entertained the over-60s Wednesday Morning Group to coffee, cakes and scones at their convent.

Pilgrimage to Santiago

Mon, 09 Aug 2010 09:12:34 GMT

You can now sponsor Fr Daniel and his 6 fellow pilgrims on their walk to Santiago de Compostela in Spain online by going to their JustGiving page. They will be starting in Léon, around 300km from their destination, the Cathedral of Santiago, which houses the relics of St James the Apostle.

All of the money they raise will go to the Campaign fund.

Dramatic Retreat at Minster

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 18:18:00 GMT

Following the success of our Theresian mystery play "Divine Comedy" last year, some of the young people of the parish went to stay at Minster Abbey in Thanet for a few days, where we worked on some new ideas for a future production, based on the Road to Emmaus. We were warmly welcomed by the Benedictine nuns, who spoke to us about their life and made us able to participate in the monastic Liturgy of the Hours. They joined us for pizza on the final night, and were kindly appreciative of our dramatic efforts. There was also the opportunity to sample the delights of the English Channel at Broadstairs!

Photography by Rosie Caldecott

Wednesday Morning Group conquers new territories

Fri, 23 Jul 2010 09:00:14 GMT

Our over-60s group rarely stays still for long. Last week we went to Chichester, where we were enthralled by the exhibition "Surreal Friends" at the Pallant House Gallery. It included works by the artist Leonora Carrington. In the afternoon we visited Chichester Cathedral.

Newman's Golden Nugget

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:41:02 GMT

From Independent Catholic News

By Amanda C Dickie

The Oxford Oratory recently organised a week of fund raising events with an American theme, culminating in a dinner on Friday at Harris Manchester College,Oxford,which is twinned with Harvard University and the Catholic Boston College. £10,000 was the week's target towards the building fund, for a chapel dedicated to Cardinal Newman and a library to exhibit his work.

The week began with a Cajun band, L'Angelus, from New Orleans, making their first visit to England, and included special guided tours by historian John Whitehead on Newman's Oxford and a talk on CS Lewis by Walter Hooper, his last secretary.

Cecilia De Maria, 2008 BBC Young Musician of the Year finalist played the harp at a champagne reception prior to the college dinner. Fr Richard Duffield, Provost of Birmingham and postulator for Newman's beatification and making final plans to welcome the Pope in September, returned to Oxford to give the after dinner speech saying that from his recent visits to America he realised that Newman was loved even more there.

This love goes back to Newman's own time, expressed in the most practical terms by offers of financial help," he said.

Fr Duffield, who flew to America on Sunday, to raise further funds, quoted from Newman's letter to the Archbishop of New York, in 1854, Fundraising is a rather thankless task. I have found it is in some ways easier in America where there is a culture of unembarrassed generosity.

He added that it was New York Catholics who paid for Newman's' burial place.

Fr Duffield then displayed an amazing ring sent by Californian Catholics to Newman in 1854 to help him cover costs from a libel trial. It was a gold nugget from the Californian gold rush, weighing over 17 ounces.

Concluding with an auction led by parishioner Michael Welch, from the BBC Antiques Roadshow and Bonhams' auctioneers, the evening raised £3,767.

Campaign director Fr Jerome Bertram said that a temporary altar and shrine for Cardinal Newman was being constructed and would be ready by September to be placed in the Oxford Oratory church, and finalised plans for the new building and Newman chapel would be unveiled at a press conference on 22 July.

OFSTED success for St Aloysius' School

Sat, 10 Jul 2010 16:59:39 GMT

The complete report may be downloaded here. Our school has been assessed as Good and improving, which is an excellent result for the new Headteacher, Tom Walker, who receives particular praise in this report. We can expect further progress!

Fr Joel Warden Visits from Brooklyn

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 13:53:32 GMT

As part of the "In(ter)dependence Week" we were able to welcome Fr Joel Warden of the Brooklyn Oratory to celebrate and preach at the High Mass on the Fourth of July.

Fr Joel is an old friend of our community, having lived here for three years while studying for the priesthood.

Some pictures from the Oratory Summer Festival

Mon, 05 Jul 2010 12:44:59 GMT

"L'Angelus", all the way from Louisiana, perform:

Paige Rees of L'Angelus:

"Cor ad Cor" perform:

Badge-making by Dora Nash:

L'Angelus with Fr Robert after the evening Mass:

Circumdederunt me sicut apes

Fri, 02 Jul 2010 14:09:13 GMT

You may have noticed the swarm of bees on the side of the Oratory House last Sunday. A member of the Oxfordshire Beekeepers' Association was able to come in the evening, when the bees were sleepy:

He managed to scoop up most of the swarm, together with the Queen, and put them into a box. When the bees on top of the box performed the waggle dance, showing that the Queen was in there, the remaining bees were anxious to join them. Here is the waggle dance:

Bees are in greatly reduced numbers at present, so it is good that this particular swarm was able successfully to be rehoused.

St Francis de Sales, an Oratorian at Thonon in France, and later Bishop of Geneva, draws this spiritual lesson from bees: "Look at the bees upon the thyme; they find there a very bitter juice but in sucking it they turn it into honey."

And again: "When the young bees first begin to live they are mere grubs, unable to hover over flowers, or to fly to the mountains, or even to the little hills where they might gather honey; but they are fed for a time with the honey laid up by their predecessors, and by degrees the grubs put forth their wings and grow strong, until they fly abroad and gather their harvest from all the country round. Now we are yet but as grubs in devotion, unable to fly at will, and attain the desired aim of Christian perfection; but if we begin to take shape through our desires and resolutions, our wings will gradually grow, and we may hope one day to become spiritual bees, able to fly. Meanwhile let us feed upon the honey left us in the teaching of so many holy men of old, praying God that He would grant us doves wings, so that we may not only fly during this life, but find an abiding resting-place in Eternity."

Article in the Times

Thu, 24 Jun 2010 08:22:06 GMT

Ruth Gledhill has written an article in her Times column "Articles of Faith" about our Reaffirmation & Renewal Campaign. She says, "The Oratory (is) one of the most serene and spirit-enhanching churches I've visited in Britain" To read the full article, click here

or see the accompanying video on YouTube here

St Aloysius' Day 2010

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:11:10 GMT

Fr Simon Bishop, SJ, Chaplain to the University, came to preach at the Solemn Mass for St Aloysius' Day. He spoke about Aloysius' motto: "Ad majorem natus sum" - "I was born for greater things". This was the response Aloysius made to his father when shown the crown and wealth of the Gonzagas.

When we see those in need - the sick, the homeless or distressed, they too say to us "We were born for greater things". The remarkable purity of St Aloysius also teaches us the need to live courageous lives of purity in the face of an over-sexualized culture, for the people of our own time were also "born for greater things."

We had a very welcome surprise visit from Bishop Peter Elliot of Melbourne, who sang the Mass of St Aloysius.

Bishop Elliot is the delegate of the Australian bishops for the implementation of the Ordinariate for former Anglicans within the Catholic Church. At Mass on the feast of SS John Fisher & Thomas More, he spoke of the need to pray for this project, which will be the last ever possiblity of any kind of corporate reunion. Just as Thomas More and John Fisher stood for conscience, so many are called to do today in seeking union with the successor of St Peter.

Some more pictures of this year's Corpus Christi Procession

Tue, 22 Jun 2010 14:04:53 GMT

Who photographs the photographers?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 10:42:27 GMT

48 children made their First Holy Communion in our church on the weekend before St Aloysius' Day (21st June).

As you can see, the paparazzi came too!

Photograph copyright Tom Brett

Over 60s Group Trip to Woburn Abbey

Thu, 10 Jun 2010 12:50:17 GMT

Fr Richard and Fr Daniel took our Wednesday Morning Group to Woburn Abbey on 9th June.

Her Grace the Duchess of Bedford kindly welcomed us to her home.

It was at Woburn that the Duchess Anna Maria is said to have invented English afternoon tea and we were treated to a sumptious tea.

Corpus Christi Procession 2010

Mon, 07 Jun 2010 20:39:48 GMT

This was the eleventh consecutive year that the Deanery Corpus Christi Procession has taken our Eucharistic Lord through the streets of Oxford, and the crowds this year were larger than ever.

The Procession began at the Oratory:

Large numbers of the lay faithful were joined by a Passionist bishop, diocesan priests, Dominican friars and sisters, Oratorians, Jesuits, Salesian priests and sisters, Holy Child Sisters, Sacred Heart of St Aubin Sisters, the Sisters of the Work, Capuchin friars and novices, Knights of Malta and others:

A sermon was given at Blackfriars:

The Prior of Blackfriars and the University Chaplain both took turns to carry the monstrance:

The Procession concluded with Benediction at the University Chaplaincy

The above photographs are by Br Lawrence Lew OP

Processing can be hard work!

Dedicated Gifts

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 16:53:44 GMT

How your donation will help our Campaign

£1.5 million or 5 gifts of £300,000 will fund the Newman Chapel and Baptistery

£260,000 will fund the restoration of the High Altar & Blessed Sacrament throne

£250,000 will build the cloister

£75,000 will pay for a room in the new accommodation building

£60,000 will fund the new parish kitchen

£60,000 for the new bar and store

£60,000 will build the new parish office

£40,000 will restore the area at the back of our Church

£20,000 will restore the Sacred Heart Chapel

£20,000 will redecorate St Philip's Chapel

£16,000 will decorate the organ loft

£15,000 will decorate one bay of the nave

£10,000 will redecorate the gallery above St Thérèse

£10,000 will light the facade of our Church

£5,000 will light the chapels and side aisles

£3,000 to decorate the bay by the sacristy (Our Lady of Lourdes)

£3,000 to light the organ loft

£1,000 to provide 5 feet of shelving in the archives & Library

£750 to sponsor one of 92 squares of the nave ceiling

£750 to sponsor one of 52 statues on the sanctuary

£350 to sponsor one of 20 carved heads above the sanctuary

Ask one of the Fathers if you would like to sponsor a particular area of the work

Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign reaches first Million

Tue, 01 Jun 2010 15:27:04 GMT

As of last Sunday the Campaign total in cash and pledges has passed the first million pounds out of the five million we need. Thank you to all who have already given or pledged. We hope that we might reach the second million by the end of 2010.

Current Total: £1,054,229.60

What comes next?

There are some small jobs in church, such as the repair and replacement of some of the parquet floor to be carried out later this month. Then, a small temporary shrine for our Cardinal, ready for his beatification (the proper chapel will come later).

If we can keep on target, the next major work will be the accommodation block behind the Parish Centre.

We must build these extra rooms if the Oratory is to respond to those wanting to join our community. Otherwise, we cannot flourish and grow.

If you are not yet involved with the campaign, speak to Fr Daniel.

Archbishop Longley celebrates Solemn Pontifical Mass on third Sunday of Easter

Mon, 19 Apr 2010 08:51:19 GMT

The Most Reverend Bernard Longley, Archbishop of Birmingham, made his first visit to our church as our archbishop on Sunday 18th April, when he sang the High Mass. In his sermon, His Grace recalled how he used to come to Mass here when he was an undergraduate at New College.

After Mass, His Grace was able to meet parishioners:

The Archbishop came to the Parish Centre, where, as Patron of our Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign, he urged everyone to support the building of new accommodation for the community, the Newman Chapel and Library and the restoration of our church:

Photographs by James Bradley

Parish Pilgrimage to Lourdes

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 15:51:23 GMT

23 pilgrims from the Oratory went to Lourdes during Easter week. Here are some of them:

Here, Mass celebrated at the Grotto where Our Lady appeared to St Bernadette in 1858:

Good Friday 2010

Sat, 03 Apr 2010 14:06:26 GMT

Paschal Candle

Mon, 29 Mar 2010 15:36:29 GMT

Palm Sunday

Sun, 28 Mar 2010 19:13:13 GMT

Photography by Tessa Caldecott

Divine Mercy Devotions

Mon, 22 Mar 2010 12:04:10 GMT

There will be devotions to the Divine Mercy on Sunday 11th April from 2.30-5pm. The afternoon includes Mass, the Blessing of Images, Chaplet, 3pm Prayer, Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament and Confessions throughout.

Tea and Refreshments available.

Papal Visit

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:22:38 GMT

The Official website of the Papal Visit to Great Britain may be found here: Papal Visit

Date of Newman's Beatification announced

Tue, 16 Mar 2010 16:20:02 GMT

The Holy See and Buckingham Palace have today (16th March) confirmed the details fo Pope Benedict's visit to the United Kingdom in September. The highlight of the Holy Father's visit will be the Beatification of the founder of the English Oratory, John Henry Newman, on 19th September. A statement follows below from the English Oratory:

The Fathers and many friends of the English Oratories are delighted by the official announcement that our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI will beatify our founder, the Venerable John Henry Newman, on Sunday 19th September in the Archdiocese of Birmingham. Newman made his home in the Archdiocese for all his adult life, first in Oxford, where he lived as an Anglican and was received into the Catholic Church, and later in Birmingham itself where he founded and worked in the Birmingham Oratory for over forty years.

The Holy Father's life-long devotion to Newman has made a profound contribution to understanding the depth and significance of our founder's legacy. His decision to beatify Newman in person confers a unique blessing upon the English Oratories and all who have drawn inspiration from Newman's life and work.

We joyfully look forward to welcoming the Holy Father, as well as the many pilgrims and visitors who will come to the Beatification ceremony and visit Newman's shrine at the Birmingham Oratory.

We also look forward to the challenging work of preparing for the Beatification in conjunction with Church and civil authorities. We pray that the Beatification will fittingly reflect both Newman's significance for the Universal Church and the honour paid to our city and our country by the Holy Father's presence among us.

Very Rev. Richard Duffield

Provost of the Birmingham Oratory

and Actor of the Cause of John Henry Newman

'God's Grandeur' at the Oxford Oratory

Wed, 03 Mar 2010 11:55:00 GMT

Robert Hardy, the well-known actor who appeared at the Oratory in 2008 in the role of the west country Tom the Shepherd, will generously appear again - in aid of the Oratory's Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign - on Friday March 12th at 8 pm, along with the small choral group Vox Angelica, and Fr Richard Duffield Cong. Orat. The recital features the music of St Hildegard of Bingen, and settings of eight of the poems of Gerard Manley Hopkins by the choir's director, Julien Chilcott-Monk. Fr Richard will introduce the items and Robert Hardy will, as Hopkins himself, read from Hopkins' journals and letters (with permission from OUP), and read part of The Wreck of the Deutschland, The Windhover and God's Grandeur. He will also read from the Times' report of the wreck, in the character of the correspondent, and appear as the witty twelfth century German monk, Br Joseph, an imaginary character, who, nonetheless, will throw some light upon the person of St Hildegard. The mezzo-soprano, Elizabeth Barlow, will sing a substantial part of the Wreck, and The Starlight Night; the choir will include in the recital settings of The Lantern out of doors, The Candle indoors (written at St Aloysius') Thou art indeed just, Lord, Heaven-Haven, The Habit of Perfection, and Hopkins' translations of Adoro te and Jesu dulcis. The eight hymns and sequences of Hildegard will include Ave Generosa and Columba aspexit and will be sung variously in parallel organum; with vocal drone; by upper voices, lower voices and both. Tickets from the Oratory and from Oxford Playhouse £10 (£8 with concessions) or £5 for Oxford undergraduates.

Feast of the Chair of St Peter

Tue, 23 Feb 2010 00:04:00 GMT

Monday 22nd February was the Feast of the Chair of St Peter. We were asked to pray especially on this day for the unity of Christians, especially in the light of the Holy Father's recent offer to Anglicans in Anglicanorum Coetibus. There was a Holy Hour from 8-9pm to pray for this intention.

“Every division among the baptized in Jesus Christ wounds that which the Church is and that for which the Church exists”

Pope Benedict XVI in Anglicanorum Coetibus

Parish Priest's Report 2009

Tue, 09 Feb 2010 17:44:00 GMT

The Parish Priest's report, delivered at the Parish Annual General Meeting may be downloaded from the panel on the right, or here: Report

Candlemas

Tue, 02 Feb 2010 11:02:00 GMT

John Henry Newman founded the English Oratory at first Vespers of Candlemas, 1st February 1848.

The children from St Aloysius' Primary School came to the 10am Mass for the Feast of the Presentation and took part in the Candlemas Procession. They have been learning the Salve Regina, which they sang at the end of the Bidding Prayers.

Monsignor Graham Leonard RIP

Fri, 22 Jan 2010 21:30:00 GMT

The Requiem Mass took place in our church on Thursday 21st January for the Rt Rev & Rt Hon Mgr Graham Leonard, KCVO, PC.

Monsignor Leonard was the Anglican Bishop of London, and in retirement was received into the Catholic Church, where he became a priest of the Archdiocese of Westminster.

Bishop Alan Hopes, Auxiliary in Westminster, was the main celebrant at the funeral. He was assisted by Bishop William Kenney and thirty-four other priests.

The Anglican Bishop of London was represented by the Bishop of Edmonton, and the Bishop of Woolwich and Bishop Emeritus of Paramatta were also present.

Photographs by Br Lawrence Lew OP

Tercentenary of Blessed Sebastian Valfrè

Mon, 18 Jan 2010 11:54:00 GMT

Saturday 30th January will be the third centenary of Blessed Sebastian Valfrè of the Turin Oratory - "The Father who had Paradise in his eyes". We will celebrate him at the 10am Mass on that day. To find out more about Blessed Sebastian's life: click here

Amongst his other claims to fame, Sebastian is the patron of Italian military chaplains and had the honour of sewing the Shroud of Turin back together after it had been damaged by fire.

Fr Gregory Mitchell of the Port Elizabeth Oratory

Sun, 10 Jan 2010 15:45:00 GMT

Fr Gregory Mitchell of the Oratory in Port Elizabeth stayed with us for two years while pursuing his priestly studies at Blackfriars. On his return to South Africa he was ordained priest on 10th January 2009. On the first anniversary of his ordination, Fr Gregory celebrated the Solemn Mass in Oxford. All three sacred ministers were born in Africa! (Fr Daniel in Ndola, Fr Gregory in Port Elizabeth and Br Nicholas in Cape Town)

After Mass, Fr Gregory gave first blessings:

Epiphany Benediction in the Crib 2010

Sat, 09 Jan 2010 15:59:00 GMT

Fr Joseph bleses the Epiphany chalk:

Writing the blessing with chalk above the door:

C+M+B "Christus Mansionem Benedicat" - "May Christ bless this House" or "Caspar, Melchior & Balthasar"

A White Epiphany!

Wed, 06 Jan 2010 09:13:00 GMT

The Very Reverend Fr Ignatius Harrison preaches at the 6pm Mass on 5th January, which Fr Robert celebrated on the 25th anniversary of his ordination:

After dinner the Fathers enjoy the snow!

Greetings to Fr Robert from the Procurator General

Tue, 05 Jan 2010 09:23:00 GMT

Father Edoardo Cerrato, Procurator General of the Confederation of the Oratory, (seen here with Father Visitor) has written the following letter to Fr Robert Byrne on the occasion of his Silver Jubilee:

Rome, 25th December 2009

The Nativity of our Lord Jesus Christ

To the Very Reverend Fr Robert Byrne, C.O.,

Provost of the Oxford Oratory

Secretary of the Permanent Deputation

Very Reverend and dear Fr Robert,

The 25th anniversary of your priestly ordination is a proper occasion to send you the most fraternal felicitations and also to thank you for the work which you perform in presiding over the Permanent Depuation of the Oratorian Confederation.

I unite myself with your joy in singing "Te Deum" for the gift of the priesthood: "Gift and mystery" as was so splendidly affirmed by the Servant of God Pope John Paul II.

Your joy is certainly deepened by the celebration of the Year of Priests given to us by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI. It is the realization of the radical fidelity of Christ that makes possible our own faithfulness and you will also be encouraged by the forthcoming Beatification of the Venerable Cardinal John Henry Newman, founder of the English Oratory and by the celebration of the third centenary of the death of our Blessed Sebastian Valfrè (of the Turin Oratory). Blessed Sebastian was the first of St Philip's disciples to be raised to the glory of the altars, and he will be solemnly remembered in Turin on 30th January as well as receiving veneration in all our Congregations as we follow him in our Oratorian vocation.

In the light of these great events which our Lord gives us the joy of celebrating, I offer you, dearest Father, best wishes as they joyfully occur, and I invoke for you from the Child of Bethlehem, by the intercession of the most Blessed Virgin and all the saints, the gift of a new stage in your priestly ministry and the joy of a renewed devotion.

Fraternally in the Heart of Christ in in our Holy Father St Philip,

Edoardo Aldo Cerrato, C.O.,

Procurator General

The Epiphany of the Lord - Silver Jubilee of Father Robert

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 18:53:00 GMT

The Provost of the Oxford Oratory, the Very Reverend Fr Robert Byrne, was ordained at the Birmingham Oratory on 5th January 1985 by Archbishop Maurice Couve de Murville. At the Solemn Mass on Sunday 3rd January 2010, Fr Robert celebrated his Silver Jubilee of Priesthood. The choir sang Haydn's Mariazeller Messe, accompanied by strings and timpani.

A large number of visiting clergy were present - from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, from California and from the Oratories of Genoa, Birmingham, London, Vienna and Port Elizabeth.

Afterwards there was a reception at St Benet's Hall, by gracious permission of the Master.

Fr Mauro di Gioia, Provost of the Genoa Oratory, talks to the Very Reverend Fr Felix Selden, Delegate of the Holy See to the Confederation of the Oratory:

Photographs by Rosie Caldecott

New Archbishop of Birmingham enthroned, 8th December

Thu, 10 Dec 2009 15:35:00 GMT

Fr Richard and Fr Daniel were among the 325 priests who concelebrated at St Chad's Cathedral on the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at the enthronement of the Most Reverend Bernard Longley as the Ninth Archbishop of Birmingham. His Grace is very familiar with our city, having been a choral scholar at New College. We look forward to when he will visit Oxfordshire next year.

From the diocesan website:

Archbishop Bernard Longley was Installed as the Ninth Archbishop of Birmingham, in the Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of St Chad, Birmingham, during a special Mass on the Feast of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Tuesday, 8 December, one of the two Patronal Feasts of the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

The climax of the memorable and deeply prayerful 2 1/4 hour ceremony was the moment when Archbishop Vincent Nichols, now Archbishop of Westminster and President of the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales, presented his successor Archbishop Bernard Longley, with the crozier of Bishop William Bernard Ullathorne, OSB, first Bishop of Birmingham, 1850-1888.

The Holy See announced on Thursday, 1 October, the Feast of St Thérèse of Lisieux, that Pope Benedict XVI had appointed Bishop Bernard Longley, Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster, as the new Archbishop of Birmingham.

As he handed him the crozier, Archbishop Vincent Nichols said: "Archbishop Bernard, at the wish of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, you have assumed the pastoral charge of the Church of Birmingham. I hand on to you this Crozier, the sign of the shepherd's office and ministry. May the Lord sustain you in your care for the people of the Archdiocese."

Everyone in the packed St Chad's Cathedral of more than 600 people stood and applauded the newly enthroned Archbishop Bernard Longley, aged 54, who looked resplendent in the vestments of his predecessor, Archbishop Edward IIsley, the second Bishop and the first Archbishop of Birmingham, 1888-1921.

More than 325 priests from the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Westminster, Southwark, and the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton, concelebrated the Mass, together with most of the hierarchy of England and Wales. Archbishop Mario Conti, Archbishop of Glasgow, who has family connections with Birmingham, represented Cardinal Keith O'Brien, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh.

Among Archbishop Bernard Longley's personal guests were his father, Fred Longley, aged 81, and his sister Kathleen Lloyd. Before he came into the Cathedral, the Archbishop-Elect, accompanied by his Secretary and Master of Ceremonies, Fr Martin Pratt, visited the nearby Grimshaw Room and spoke to more than 100 people who watched the ceremony via close-circuit television.

At the start of the Mass of Installation, Bishop David McGough, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, and Provost of the Metropolitan Chapter welcomed the congregation. He said: "As a sign of his authority, the new Archbishop is to be installed in the Bishop's throne or Cathedra and presented with the Crozier."

The Metropolitan Chapter in their red robes received the Archbishop-Elect at the West Door of the Cathedral. Then a crescendo of sound filled this great Pugin architectural jewel, situated near Birmingham city centre, as everyone joined in singing Cardinal Newman's great hymn "Praise to the Holiest in the height", from his poem "The Dream of Gerontius", set to music by Elgar.

It was a most appropriate choice as Archbishop Bernard Longley, who studied and has a great love of music, will be closely involved in the preparations for the beatification ceremony of Cardinal Newman, likely to take place in the Archdiocese of Birmingham on a Sunday during mid-September 2010.

Then on the instructions from the Papal Nuncio to Great Britain, Archbishop Faustino Sainz Munoz, the Diocesan Chancellor read the Apostolic Letter.

Afterwards Bishop David McGough led the Archbishop-Elect to the cathedra and said: "In the name of God, I David McGough, Provost of the Metropolitan Chapter of St Chad, Birmingham, do install you, Bernard Longley, Archbishop in this Church of Birmingham. May our Lord Jesus Christ watch over you now and always." He then installed the Archbishop in the cathedra.

Bishop William Kenney, CP, Auxiliary Bishop of Birmingham, presented the new Archbishop with the Book of the Gospels and said: "Archbishop Bernard receive this book of the Gospels and preach the Word of God to the Church of Birmingham, teaching always with zeal and love."

At this point in the ceremony, the most significant moment, Archbishop Vincent Nichols presented the Bishop Ullathorne Crozier to Archbishop Bernard Longley. He was now the pastor of his flock in the Archdiocese of Birmingham.

The new Archbishop was greeted by a group of representatives of the Clergy, Religious and People of the Archdiocese, before the Canons of the Metropolitan Chapter greeted him individually.

Archbishop Longley then greeted the civic leaders and ecumenical guests. These included the Anglican Bishop of Birmingham, Bishop David Urquhart, and the Lord Mayor of Birmingham, Councillor Michael Wilkes and the Lady Mayoress.

Lord Camoys of Stonor, in the Archdiocese of Birmingham, Lord in Waiting to HM The Queen from 1992-97 and a Permanent Lord in Waiting since 2000, represented Catholic members of the House of Lords.

The magnificent St Chad's Cathedral Choir, under its well-known conductor, Mr David Saint, sang the Gloria from the Mass of St Nicolas, by Franz-Josef Haydn. During the Offertory Procession the choir sang "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me", Isaiah 61, from "The Apostles" by Sir Edward Elgar.

The music during the Mass would undoubtedly have been much appreciated by Archbishop Bernard who lists his principal hobbies as music, and in particular singing, especially English songs and German lieder.

The first reading from the Book of Genesis was read by Craig Davies, the most recently Installed Lector at St Mary's College, Oscott, the Diocesan Seminary, situated in the outskirts of Birmingham. It was here in July 1852 that Cardinal Newman preached his famous "The Second Spring" sermon, at the First Synod of the New Province of Westminster.

The second reading from the letter of St Paul to the Ephesians was read by Sister Patricia Kelly, ODN, from Notre Dame Convent in Cobham, Surrey, where Archbishop Bernard Longley lived while he was working for the Bishops' Conference of England and Wales. The Gospel according to St Luke was read by Permanent Deacon Brian Cox from St John the Baptist parish in Tamworth.

Archbishop Bernard Longley began his first ever homily in St Chad's Cathedral: "In preparing for this day I have been very conscious that I am entering into the life of a Christian family that has a long and rich history as well as its distinctive vocation to make Jesus Christ present, known and loved in this, the heart of England."

He emphasised: "Our Patronal Feast of the Immaculate Conception makes us aware of the power of Christ at work within us, as individuals and as communities, when we are least aware of it. The Feast of the Immaculate Conception reminds us, through Mary's example, of the Church's calling to be holy and to bear Christ to the world."

The new Archbishop of Birmingham then spoke about the example of Blessed Dominic Barberi and Cardinal Newman. He said: "Blessed Dominic Barberi was so driven by God's call that he saw from an early age that he must leave his native Viterbo and come to England to preach the Gospel where Catholic faith was beginning to flourish again. We know how hard he worked in Stone in Staffordshire and how his dedicated life as a priest so touched and influenced Cardinal John Henry Newman and helped Newman to find the future direction of his own life and work."

Archbishop Longley stressed: "In the remarkable year ahead when we prepare for his Beatification, we will be influenced by the way that Cardinal Newman responded both within the Church of England and in the Catholic Church to the call from God: "Where are you?" His Apologia Pro Vita Sua makes plain his diligent and unselfish search for truth in his own life and for the world, and his hymn Lead Kindly Light sums up his complete confidence in the guiding hand of God. During this Year for Priests Cardinal Newman and Blessed Dominic offer us two wonderful, complementary examples of how to be faithful to the path of life mapped out for us in God's providence when we were ordained."

Archbishop Bernard added: "I only arrived in my new home last Wednesday (2 December) and on the next day I saw posters and banners advertising the Nativity Trail at the City's Museum and Art Gallery. I felt so encouraged to see this prominent institution, with the support of the City Council, enabling the story at the heart of Christian faith to be experienced and appreciated through the beauty and the message of great works of art in public ownership. I am grateful that our Civic Leaders have been able to join us today."

Archbishop Bernard Longley concluded: "I also recall the early experience of Bishop William Ullathorne. As a teenager he experienced something that changed the whole course of his life when far from home in the Baltic port of Memel, modern-day Klaipeda. Through the faith and devotion of the local people at Mass he felt God's power claiming his own life. As I visit the parishes and school of our Archdiocese in the years ahead I pray that I too may continue to be moved by the faith and witness of our priests and people and always open, after the example of our Lady, to the claim of God upon my life. Please continue to pray for me."

During the Sign of Peace the new Archbishop of Birmingham warmly greeted the Ecumenical and Inter-Faith guests.

Before the Final Blessing the Apostolic Nuncio, Archbishop Vincent Nichols and Cardinal Cormac-Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop Emeritus of Westminster, addressed the congregation. The Cardinal, who ordained Archbishop Bernard Longley to the Priesthood for the Diocese of Arundel and Brighton on 12 December 1981 at St John's Seminary, Wonersh, and as Auxiliary Bishop of Westminster on 24 January 2003, said: "Every work that he (Archbishop Bernard) has done in the service of the Church he has done with wisdom and with zeal, and always with kindness." Cardinal Cormac added: "I think you are very fortunate as an Archdiocese to have this good man as your new Archbishop."

Archbishop Vincent Nichols, whose appointment as Archbishop of Westminster was announced by the Holy See on 3 April 2009, said: "He (Archbishop Bernard) will grow to be a really great Archbishop of this Diocese. So welcome him as you welcomed me so that together this Diocese may grow in the blessings and love of the Lord."

During the recessional hymn, "Tell out my soul, the greatness of the Lord!", the colourful processions made their way slowly out of St Chad's Cathedral and into the bright, cold early afternoon.

Archbishop Bernard Longley was accompanied by Bishop David McGough, Bishop William Kenney, CP, his two Auxiliary Bishops, Bishop Philip Pargeter, retired Auxiliary Bishop, and Archbishop Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham from 2000 until 2009. They paused briefly by the main door for pictures, before Archbishop Bernard Longley was greeted by the deacons, priests, and his brother bishops, who had formed four lines along the forecourt.

The new Archbishop of Birmingham then made his way past the Diocesan Curial Offices to the nearby Salvation Army Citadel, where he was warmly welcomed by Major Samuel Edgar, Divisional Commander of the Salvation Army, West Midlands Division.

Inside, Archbishop Longley greeted an overflow congregation of more than 200 representatives of parishes throughout the Archdiocese of Birmingham who had watched the ceremony via close-circuit television. He thanked Major Edgar and the Salvation Army and invited Major Maurice Hunt, Commander of the Citadel to say a prayer for him. Major Hunt put his arm on the new Archbishop's shoulder and prayed for God to bless him at the start of his ministry in the Midlands.

Canon Patrick Browne, Administrator of St Chad's Cathedral, and his staff had worked tirelessly to ensure that as many people as possible were able to take part in the Mass of Installation.

The visit to the Salvation Army Citadel was a deeply poignant ecumenical moment that enhanced a moving and inspirational occasion in the life of the Archdiocese of Birmingham, now home to Archbishop Bernard Longley, the music loving lad from Manchester!

Immaculate Conception Novena

Thu, 26 Nov 2009 15:49:00 GMT

The Novena in preparation for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception begins at 6pm on Sunday 29th November and continues each weekday at 6.30pm and on Saturday & Sunday at 6pm.

On Monday 7th December there will be Solemn First Vespers & Benediction at 6.30pm.

On Tuesday 8th December there will be a Solemn Mass at 6pm at which Fr Vivian Boland, O.P. will preach.

Baronius Lecture

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:00:00 GMT

On Wednesday 18th November, Dr Judith Champ of Oscott College gave our third annual Baronius Lecture.

Cardinal Baronius succeeded St Philip as Provost of the Roman Oratory and he is known as the "Father of Church History" after writing his "Annals of The Christian Church". The Baronius Lecture is given each year on a topic of Church History.

Dr Champ spoke about "Newman, Ullathorne and the Oxford Oratory". Dr Champ has written a noted biography of Archbishop Ullathorne, the first Bishop of Birmingham, and she spoke about his long friendship with John Henry Newman, despite them sometimes having disagreements, and how the plan to found an Oratory in Oxford in the 1860s was thwarted.

Newly restored Relic Chapel

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 09:22:00 GMT

These photographs show the Relic Chapel, which was restored by IFACS during the summer of 2009.

The statue of St Aloysius Gonzaga is a reminder of the faithful service that the Society of Jesus gave to our church from 1875-1981, and before that to the Catholic mission in the whole county during times of persecution. The niche in which our patron saint stands has been decorated with the IHS Monogram - symbol of the Jesuits, and with the letters "SA" for Saint Aloysius, topped with a marquess's crown. (St Aloysius' father was the Marquis of Castiglione)

The centrepiece of the chapel is the image of Our Lady of Oxford. This picture was acquired by Hartwell de la Garde Grissell, along with a large collection of relics, including many autograph letters of various saints, which will be displayed in the Relic Chapel on their feast days. The image of Our Lady of Oxford was blessed by Bd Pope Pius IX, who granted a plenary indulgence for anyone who recited the Litany of Loreto or the Salve Regina before it.

The ceiling of the chapel is decorated with images from the Roman catacombs. Many of the bones venerated here come from catacomb martyrs.

The relic cupboards are lined with red baize to symbolize the blood of the martyrs:

Most of the relics come from the former Carmel at Chichester. Some are recently acquired, such as the relic of the veil of Blessed Lucy of Narnia which was recently presented to us by the Dean of the Cathedral in Narni.

The screen of the chapel has been beautifully gilded, and was the choir grille at Chichester Carmel.

The resoration of the Relic Chapel was made possible by the Oratory Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign and by the generosity of the Oxfordshire Historic Churches Trust

Fr Jerome has written a pamphlet "On Relics" (described in the Tablet as "excellent") which is available from the Porters' Lodge.

See the full set of these pictures at James Bradley

Forty Hours 2009

Tue, 17 Nov 2009 00:22:00 GMT

Here are three photographs by James Bradley of this year's Forty Hours Devotion. The Blessed Sacrament was exposed from Friday 13th-Sunday 15th November. The Forty Hours concluded on Sunday evening with Solemn Vespers, Procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

Deacon Jack Sullivan Visits the Oratory

Wed, 11 Nov 2009 15:31:00 GMT

On Saturday 14th November, Deacon Jack Sullivan assisted and preached at the 10am Mass. Deacon Sullivan was cured of a serious spine condition at the intercession of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman.

After Mass, Deacon Sullivan signed many copies of the Catholic Truth Society booklet about his cure - including for Tricia and Mary Curran, two natives of Braintree, Massachusetts, his own home town:

Visit newmancause.co.uk for more information about the Cause for Newman's canonization.

Br Nicholas given Ministry of Acolyte

Mon, 02 Nov 2009 08:45:00 GMT

At the Solemn Mass on All Saints' Day, Br Nicholas Edmonds-Smith was made an acolyte. The ministry of Acolyte is the last stage before ordination to the Diaconate. Please keep Br Nicholas in your prayers as he prepares for the priesthood.

22 Unforgettable Hours

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:08:00 GMT

Some comments from among the 6,200 pilgims who came to pray before St Thérèse's relics:

"I have never experienced such a welcome."

"It was like being in heaven"

"It was so wonderful to see thousands of people wanting to be the best they can."

Bishop Philip Boyce O.C.D. gives Benediction at the closing service:

Emotions were powerful as the relics went on to their next destination:

More Pictures of the Visit of St Thérèse's Relics

Fri, 09 Oct 2009 10:00:00 GMT

The arrival of the Relics at Solemn Vespers:

We were honoured that six Carmelite nuns from the Wolverhampton Carmel were present for the arrival of the relics and stayed throughout the night vigil. They were able to meet some of the cast from the Divine Comedy and given an impromtu performance of two of the scenes! They seemed hugely amused as one of the demons proclaimed "I loathe Carmelites!"

An enormous team of volunteers worked to steward and refresh our pilgrims, as well as provide First Aid and man the bookstall. Here, ready to serve cups of tea:

Fr Daniel celebrated the 8.30am Missa Cantata:

And the pilgrims kept coming for 22 hours:

Welcome Little Flower!

Thu, 08 Oct 2009 13:57:00 GMT

At least 6,000 have thronged our church during the visit of the relics of St Thérèse of Lisieux. Despite the rain on the evening of Wednesday 7th October, crowds queued down the street, some waiting for several hours.

Six boys from the Oratory School carried the 22 stone reliquary in and out of church:

Solemn Vespers of St Thérèse were celebrated:

Bishop William Kenney C.P. celebrated a Solemn Mass:

Pilgrims continued coming all through the night:

Oxford prepares for Relics visit with play at Oxford Oratory

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 23:07:00 GMT

By: Amanda C Dickie

from Independent Catholic News

The relics of St Thérèse will be welcomed to Oxford on Wednesday with a peal of bells from the Anglican church of St Giles, opposite the Oxford Oratory, and a few yards from the Martyrs Memorial at the heart of Protestant Oxford. The church has offered use of its hall and facilities to those visiting the relics at the Oratory church of St Aloysius.

Photographs of Thérèse will be projected outside the church as she arrives. Thérèse of Lisieux wrote eight plays and took the lead in five of these performed as recreation in the Carmel so it was apt that Oxford parishioners decided to stage a theatrical extravaganza in preparation for the visit of her relics to the Oratory.

Performed over three days.,including Thérèse's' Feast on 1 October, all performances were sold out.

Divine Comedy - A Thérèsian Mystery Play, complete with devils and angels locked in battle with twirling banners, and a cast of 55 was written by Leonie Caldecott. Her daughter, Tessa, directed this ambitious project incorporating an updated version of Dante's Divine Comedy and a time travelling female doctor, complete with Dr Who-like scarf, who takes Dan and Bea back to 1873 showing them the life of Thérèse of Lisieux. and her message for today. Devised as a modern version of a mystery play all parts of the church were used. Photographs of Thérèse were illuminated onto the exterior of the church before and after the production.

Professional lighting was on hand from parishioner Ashley Bale of the Oxford Playhouse, whose wife played Thérèse's mother, Zelie Martin and their children took part too.

Parish priest Fr Daniel Seward skilfully played Therese's father with pathos, revealing hidden acting talent He had even grown long side burns for the part. Oratorian Fr Dominic Jacob, was a benevolent Pope Leo XIII, and Fr Richard Duffield played Monsignor Reverony with aplomb. An interesting interjection was the appearance of Cardinal Newman by Fr Jerome Bertram carrying his Apologia. Clare Coggins brought intensity and vibrancy as the older of three actresses playing Therese and conveyed her sense of fun.

A Dominican and a Franciscan played other clergy. A Carmelite nun from Wolverhampton, present on the opening night, said that the second half portrayed life in the Carmel very well and added that her convent had supplied the nuns' habits.

Fr Michael McGoldrick, Discalced Carmelite Superior in this country, thought that the play was a wonderful introduction to Thérèse and said that it would be great if it could be reprised in London.

It was wonderful that all the generations were involved from young children to a lady in her eighties, he said.

The childrens' matinee performance starred an extra cast member -a dog called Truffle- as the young Thérèse's pet dog and stole the show!

Still more Divine Comedy Pictures

Sat, 03 Oct 2009 17:26:00 GMT

BACKSTAGE

The Director, Tessa Caldecott:

Thérèse and Céline backstage:

Three angels resting:

The Cast warm up!

THE PERFORMANCE:

Dan & the Doctor:

Thérèse and Pauline:

Thérèse and Louis:

Thérèse, Pauline and Céline:

Céline and Thérèse:

Healing of Thérèse:

The Virgin of the Smile:

Older Céline and Thérèse:

Thérèse:

Thérèse asks her father's permission to enter Carmel:

Henri Pranzini: a soul saved by Thérèse's prayers.

With Nietszche in a Paris Lift:

IN CARMEL

Sister Thérèse of the Child Jesus:

Sister Marie of the Sacred Heart:

Finale: The Fight between Good & Evil:

Dan & Sister Françoise Thérèse (Léonie):

Dan & Beatrice:

Death of Thérèse:

Photographs by Richard Brown

More photographs from the Divine Comedy:

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 17:41:00 GMT

Photographs by Br Lawrence Lew OP

New Archbishop of Birmingham

Thu, 01 Oct 2009 11:00:00 GMT

The Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI, has announced that Bishop Bernard Longley, currently Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Westminster, will be the next Archbishop of Birmingham.

Bishop Longley was named the ninth Archbishop of Birmingham on 1 October 2009. He succeeds the Archbishop of Westminster, the Most Reverend Vincent Nichols (2000-2009).

On learning of the Papal announcement, the Archbishop of Westminster, Vincent Nichols said: I welcome the news of the appointment of Bishop Bernard Longley as Archbishop of Birmingham. I am confident that he will be warmly welcomed, right across the Archdiocese: in Stoke on Trent, Stafford, Wolverhampton, Coventry, Birmingham, Worcester and Oxford. The clergy, religious and laity of the Archdiocese will appreciate the qualities he brings: his gentleness and sensitivity; his firmness and intelligence; his profound and joyful faith; his willingness to listen.

I am sure, too, that Bishop Bernard will grow to love this fine Archdiocese, just as I did.

The Diocesan Administrator for the Birmingham Archdiocese, Bishop William Kenney, CP, said: I am delighted to hear that Bishop Bernard Longley is to become the new Archbishop of Birmingham. I am sure that the Auxiliary Bishops, Priests, Deacons and the Lay people of the Archdiocese will make him feel very welcome in the Midlands. We look forward to Bishop Bernard becoming a follower in the footsteps of Bishop Ullathorne, the first Roman Catholic Bishop of Birmingham and to his taking a lead in the preparations for the Beatification of Cardinal Newman.

After receiving news of his appointment, Bishop Bernard Longley said: I feel immensely honoured and very humbled that the Holy Father has appointed me to succeed Archbishop Vincent Nichols as Archbishop of Birmingham. I look forward to serving the Priests and Deacons, the Religious and all the People of the Archdiocese and to working alongside my brother Bishops there. I also look forward to knowing and appreciating the life of the Diocese and the many ways in which it reaches out with the love and truth of Christ, in its parish and school communities and through ecumenical and inter-religious friendships. I am grateful to Bishop William Kenney for his faithful service as Diocesan Administrator over recent months and for the welcome that he has already shown to me.

It wont be easy to leave the Diocese of Westminster which has been my home for the past seven years. It will be sad to say goodbye, especially to the East and Central London parishes where the Priests, Parishioners and Religious have become good friends. It has been a privilege to work with Cardinal Cormac Murphy-OConnor and my fellow Auxiliary Bishops and more recently with Archbishop Vincent, and I thank them for all that I have learnt from their insights and experience.

Bishop Longley will be Installed as Archbishop of Birmingham at the Metropolitan Cathedral and Basilica of Saint Chad on 8 December 2009, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and one of the patronal feasts of the Archdiocese (St Chad being the other).

Papal Visit to Oxford?

Wed, 30 Sep 2009 10:23:00 GMT

No - it's the Divine Comedy! The picture shows Thérèse asking Pope Leo XIII whether she may enter Carmel at 15.

Here, Clare Coggins as the Carmelite Thérèse:

And here, Marie, Thérèse and their father Louis Martin:

Pictures by James Bradley

Divine Comedy Rehearsals - latest pictures!

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:11:00 GMT

Thérèse makes her first Confession:

Monsignor Reverony caught in an informal moment:

The stars take a break:

An Unusual View of our Church from the Radcliffe Observatory:

Mon, 14 Sep 2009 14:06:00 GMT

The wasteland is where parts of the Radcliffe Infirmary stood and where the University is developing.

"Ubi Caritas" Award for Kathleen Watson

Sat, 12 Sep 2009 20:56:00 GMT

On Saturday 12th September, Bishop William Kenney came to present the diocesan award "Ubi Caritas" to Mrs Kathleen Watson, for all her dedicated work for the parish over many years. The text on the medal is taken from the antiphon for Maundy Thursday: "Where there is love and kindess, there is God".

Fr Vincent O'Hara gives the first of three talks on the Little Flower

Thu, 10 Sep 2009 09:13:00 GMT

Fr Vincent O'Hara, O.C.D. gave a clear and inspiring introduction to the life of St Thérèse on Wednesday 9th September.

He will be followed by two more Carmelite Speakers:

On Wednesday 16th Fr Michael McGoldrick O.C.D. will speak on "St Thérèse a Spirituality of Trust" at 8pm.

On Wednesday 23rd, Fr James McCaffrey O.C.D. will speak on "St Thérèse, Friend of God".

SAINT THERESE ARRIVES ONE MONTH FROM TODAY: On the 7th October

Mon, 07 Sep 2009 17:42:00 GMT

Click on the link above to read our Thérèse blog.

Divine Comedy: A Thérèsian Mystery Play will be performed at the Oratory Church of St Aloysius in Oxford on the 30th September, 1st October and 2nd October at 8.00pm. Tickets are £5 each (£3 concessions) and are available through the Oxford Playhouse (www.oxfordplayhouse.com or 01865 305305) as well as the Oratory itself.

The following article by Elizabeth Dodd appeared in the Catholic Herald of 6th September:

A MODERN MYSTERY PLAY

St. Thérèse is lying on the sanctuary steps of the Oxford Oratory. Its a dusky Friday evening and, feverish and hallucinating, the child Thérèse is clearly uncomfortable - until a Carmelite bystander receives inspiration.

St. Philips cushions! Why dont we use St. Phillips cushions?

And so the cast of Divine Comedy - written, rehearsed and performed in honour of The Little Flower breaks up, as a team of nuns and stage-hands go in search of spare kneelers.

The play a modern take on the medieval Mystery Play - is to be performed by a cast ranging from the parish priest (who takes the role of Thérèses father) through to angels (and demons) recruited from local schools. The diverse troupe hope to do more than just revive a traditional devotional art-form: they aim to bring people together to create a living response around the visit of St. Thérèses relics to Oxford, and indeed the rest of the country.

I wanted to do more than just tell the story of Thérèses life, says Leonie Caldecott, who has written the play one that is, in some senses, a modern rendition of Dantes Divine Comedy. Faurés Requiem underscores the narrative, which brings spiritual themes to life against a backdrop lit by characters as diverse as a time-lady known as the Doctor, through to Cardinal Newman and Friedrich Nietzsche. The most important thing, I think, is to convey to young people at the start of the 21st century who this young saint was, what is her charism. Why is she so relevant to us today?

I asked Leonie, who has researched and written on Thérèse for over a decade, as well as writing several shorter childrens plays, what you can express about Thérèse in a play that you couldnt convey in a book or an article. One of the attractive traits of this saint is that she linked her own life so powerfully and imaginatively to the Gospels. All her life, she sat at the feet of Christ, watching and listening to him with rapt attention. And then she did what all of us ought to do but so often dont she allowed her soul to be imbued with his presence, and to be shared with her fellow men and women in the most frank and transparent fashion. So in many ways, using drama as she herself used it in Carmel, notably in her portrayal St Joan of Arc is a very natural expression of devotion to her.

Hence the contemporary setting of the Divine Comedy, with its focus on the spiritual journey of a young man lost in a dark wood, searching for his girlfriend. Updating the moral quandaries of the medieval everyman, the script grapples with contemporary problems: filtering Church teaching through pop culture references as well as traditional ones. Everyman is drawn into the story of Thérèse, experiencing purgatory, hell and heaven in the process. At the end, he has become one of the many souls whose lives the saint has helped to turn around.

Needless to say, Divine Comedy is a complex work to produce: there are conflicting timetables, school terms and work schedules and the logistical tangles inherent in performing within a church. Of course, it's very hard using the church as a theatre - we have to keep on using it for Masses, even on the days of the performances, Fr. Daniel Seward, who plays Louis Martin, explains. Some of the scenery is provided by the church itself however, such as the backdrop of the saints. Normally a church is only used for the liturgy, but this is a play with a purpose - St Philip, the founder of the Oratory, used to use art and music as a way of drawing souls to God. Philip put on Musical Oratories that were not quite concerts and not quite services. Divine Comedy fits into this framework: Thérèse is certainly a saint for everyone and we hope that the play will help to make her life accessible to all kinds of different people.

Then there were the weeks spent sourcing authentic Carmelite habits, finding the space and time to paint the backdrops, working out how to get sound equipment and a lighting rig. Leonie is convinced that Thérèse herself is helping with the production. Logistical problems which we could never have resolved ourselves have just been sorted, after prayer to her, she says. The other saint who has helped me personally is John Paul II, who had a deep understanding of the importance of live theatre as a religious art-form, and used it as such himself. After re-reading his Letter to Artists, I was overwhelmed by the sense that we must do this, no matter how difficult it might be.

Working as stage manager on the play has brought home to me the spiritual dimension of directing a Mystery Play, which is unlike any other piece of theatre. The script has had to evolve to take actors needs and responses into account; the whole process is as much about benefiting the people who are participating as presenting something interesting and entertaining for the audience. Marie Lewin is one of the five actresses playing Thérèse. Responsible for seeing the teenage Thérèse through some of the most difficult parts of her life, Marie portrays the transition from childhood into spiritual adulthood. It is quite hard to become Thérèse, Marie acknowledges, I think about how she would act, not how I would. Its had quite a lot of impact on my spiritual life - because Thérèse was so holy, I really want to be like her!

The cast hope that an audience watching the play will take away as much from the devotional aspect as they have received. I think that it will really prepare me to see Thérèse again, in October, Marie confirms. I hope that the play will make people understand more, as it is a fun way to learn about her. Hopefully it will help other people with their spiritual life, not just those acting in the play!

Back in the Church, the Carmelites have found some cushions, and the Vierge du Sourire scene can continue, with Thérèse perched on her bed. Cast members not involved in the scene watch as the child Thérèse, played by eight-year old Marie-Thérèse Brown, struggles through Thérèses moment of darkness, to express her euphoria at her miraculous vision of Our Lady. Its strange to think that, in just a few months, it will be Thérèse herself resting in the place currently taken up by our makeshift Les Buissonets.

Her relics will be a concrete manifestation of her presence among us in this country, Leonie explains. In the same way, living people will be concrete manifestations of our immersion in her story. And thats fundamentally what the communion of saints is all about: living manifestations of Gods presence, Gods glory, from time immemorial until our own times.

St George's, Victoria, Gozo

Sat, 22 Aug 2009 15:26:00 GMT

Father Geoffrey Attard of Gozo writes an article about the visit of the Maltese and Gozitan Legionaries of Mary to our parish here: St George's Victoria

The Basilica of St George in Victoria, Gozo is one of the finest in Malta, and celebrates the solemnity of its patron each year with huge festivities and much joy. Pictures can be seen on their website. (See the link above)

More Pictures from Divine Comedy Rehearsals

Sat, 01 Aug 2009 18:46:00 GMT

The Carmelites Practise their chant:

Our Lady cures the young St Thérèse:

Three of the actresses playing Thérèse at different stages of her life:

A scene from Rehearsals

Fri, 31 Jul 2009 07:37:00 GMT

The Divine Comedy is our Thérèsian mystery play, to be performed on 30th September, 1st & 2nd October in preparation for the visit of St Thérèse. Buy tickets now from the Porter's Lodge or the Oxford Playhouse!

Peregrinatio pro Christo

Wed, 15 Jul 2009 20:43:00 GMT

This week we have been privileged to welcome a group of Legionaries of Mary from Gozo and Malta, who have been visiting houses in the western part of the parish. They have distributed information about the Church and about the visit of St Thérèse's relics and they have had many conversations with people of all religions and none. Like the disciples, they have followed Our Lord's command in the Gospel to go out in pairs to the places He Himself is to visit.

After Sunday Masses the visting legionaries, together with members of our own Legion were able to speak to parishioners about the apostolate of the Legion of Mary. The Legion meets in the Parish Centre every Monday evening. There are also auxiliary members whose task is to pray for the work of the active legionaries.

Lead Kindly Light

Sun, 12 Jul 2009 22:24:00 GMT

On Sunday 12th July there was a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving for the forthcoming Beatification of our Cardinal, John Henry Newman, followed by the singing of the Te Deum.

Among the clergy in choir were the Very Reverend Fr Ignatius Harrison, Provost of the London Oratory and Fr Brendan Callaghan SJ, Master of Campion Hall.

Photographs by Rosie Caldecott

Newman to be Beatified

Sat, 04 Jul 2009 00:36:00 GMT

The Holy Father has today (3rd July) signed the decree approving the Beatification of the Venerable John Henry Cardinal Newman, founder of the English Oratory.

There will be a Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving and Te Deum at 11am on Sunday 12th July at the Oxford Oratory.

We await further news of the date of the beatification ceremony.

A press release from the Fathers of the Oxford Oratory may be seen here:

Newman Press Release

and a statement from the Fathers of the Birmingham Oratory here:

Birmingham Oratory Press Release

St Aloysius' Day

Tue, 23 Jun 2009 08:40:00 GMT

Fr Brendan Callaghan SJ, Master of Campion Hall, preached at the High Mass to celebrate our parish patron, St Aloysius Gonzaga. You can read his homily here:

St Aloysius Sermon

Even More Pictures of the Corpus Christi Procession

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 20:54:00 GMT

Photos by Rosie Caldecott:

More pictures from the Corpus Christi Procession

Mon, 15 Jun 2009 11:57:00 GMT

Pictures by James Bradley

Corpus Christi Procession 2009

Sun, 14 Jun 2009 21:24:00 GMT

It is hard to assess how many people came to the Deanery Corpus Christi procession - but the crowds stretched from one end of Cornmarket to the other. This year for the first time we were accompanied by the Witney Town Band, who included some Maltese processional music in their repetoire.

Here are some pictures of the event by Br Lawrence Lew OP

Fr Dominic explains things to the Dominicans!

The Procession begins at the Oratory:

Fr Richard Ounsworth OP preaches at Blackfriars:

Passing the Ashmolean:

In Cornmarket:

Benediction at the University Chaplaincy:

Confirmation Mass

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 08:44:00 GMT

Bishop William Kenney confirmed 35 candidates on Thursday 4th June. 19 of these were from St Aloysius' School.

Copies of the photographs below and other images from the confirmation are available from Tom Brett: tcbbrett@googlemail.com

Father Dominic in Philadelphia

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 14:44:00 GMT

Father Dominic has been to Philadelphia, where he preached at the Oratory on Pentecost Sunday.

Left to right: Fr Philip Bochanski, Fr Brian Gaffney, Fr Dominic Jacob,

V. Rev. Fr Georges Thiers, Fr Paul Convery.

Both Fr Philip and Fr Brian have spent time living at the Oxford Oratory as part of their formation.

New Campaign Blog

Sat, 30 May 2009 16:25:00 GMT

Visit our new Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign blogspot at Campaign Blog

Aid to the Church in Need

Sat, 16 May 2009 00:19:00 GMT

David Jenkins from ACN has written to thank us for the very generous response to last weeks appeal. £1,603.10 was collected, of which £900 was gift aided. In addition £479.50 worth of goods were sold. He writes, You will all have made an enormous amount of difference to our work around the world and this is a true reflection of your love for our brothers and sisters in the wider Catholic community who need our help so much.

Solemnity of Our Holy Father Saint Philip

Fri, 08 May 2009 21:31:00 GMT

St Philip's Day falls on Tuesday 26th May.

************************************************

Novena and Benediction each evening from Sunday 17th May: Sat/Sun at 6pm; Weekdays at 6.30pm

************************************************

Monday 25th May 6.30pm:

Solemn First Vespers, Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and Veneration of St Philip's Relic.

************************************************

Tuesday 26th May 6pm: Solem Mass.

Preacher: Fr Michael Barber SJ

Chaplain to the US Navy.

************************************************

St Philip's Altar in our Church:

St Philip's shrine at the Roman Oratory - the "Chiesa Nuova":

Apostolic Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Thu, 07 May 2009 15:50:00 GMT

Pope Benedict XVI is visiting the Holy Land from 8th-15th May 2009.

During his pilgrimage there will be special prayers at each Mass in our Church to accompany the Holy Father on his important and difficult mission.

May - Month of Our Lady

Sun, 03 May 2009 11:36:00 GMT

On Sunday 3rd May our annual May Procession was held at the 9.30 Mass.

Our Lady was crowned and garlanded by two girls:

and then carried in procession around the Church:

while flower petals were scattered:

Marriage Preparation Day

Sat, 25 Apr 2009 14:08:00 GMT

Twenty-two couples attended our Marriage Preparation Day on Saturday 25th April. Rupert and Gwen Sheppard gave their ever-popular talk about their own experience of 32 years of married life, including how to resolve conflict, how to communicate and how to keep love alive. Fr Joseph explained the Church's teaching on the Theology of the Body, Dora Nash taught about Natural Family Planning and Fr Daniel went through the wedding ceremony and the meaning and obligations of marriage.

Divine Mercy Devotions

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 09:49:00 GMT

Fr Anton led the devotions to the Divine Mercy on Sunday 19th April:

Oxford Oratory Reaffirmation and Renewal Campaign

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 11:00:00 GMT

The Oxford Oratory has a major development campaign, Reaffirmation & Renewal

We want to raise five million pounds for the following projects:

The restoration of the church

New accommodation, vital if our community is to grow

A library to house our 10,000 books and manuscripts and to make them available to scholars

An Oratory Chapel and Baptistery to commemorate the founder of the English Oratories, the Venerable John Henry Newman

So far we have raised £610,000

There will soon be a dedicated web-site with on-line giving

Meanwhile, if you would like to know more, please contact Fr Richard Duffield at: campaign@oxfordoratory.org.uk

Pictures by James Bradley

The Fathers and Brothers of the Oratory wish you all a Happy Easter

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:20:00 GMT

The Easter Vigil - celebrated by Bishop William Kenney CP

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 16:15:00 GMT

The Easter Fire:

The 9 newly baptized and confirmed with the Bishop and Fr Daniel

Photography by Rosie Caldecott

Preparing the Church on Holy Saturday

Sun, 12 Apr 2009 00:01:00 GMT

Spices for the Easter Sepulchre:

Flower arranging:

Cleaning:

Doing the Washing up:

Counting the collection!

Resurrexit sicut dixit!

Sat, 11 Apr 2009 14:26:00 GMT

Good Friday: Liturgy of the Lord's Passion

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 21:16:00 GMT

The Singing of the Passion:

The Unveiling of the Cross:

The Veneration of the Cross:

The Sepulchre:

Photography by Rosie Caldecott

Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 09:40:00 GMT

The Mandatum:

Procession of the Blessed Sacrament:

The Altar of Repose:

Photography by Rosie Caldecott

Chrism Mass

Fri, 10 Apr 2009 00:17:00 GMT

Fr Robert and Fr Daniel went on Wednesday to the Chrism Mass at St Chad's Cathedral in Birmingham. This was the tenth and last such Mass over which Archbishop Vincent has presided in our diocese. He spoke very movingly of the history of the Archdiocese of Birmingham and its place in the revival of the Catholic Church in England in the last century.

Archbishop Vincent will be enthroned as Archbishop of Westminster on 21st May. Please pray for him and for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in choosing a successor as Archbishop of Birmingham.

Paschal Candle

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 00:50:00 GMT

This year's paschal candle has as usual been beautifully painted by Freddie Quartley. It depicts the Risen Christ at the top:

and St Paul at the bottom - to mark the Year of St Paul:

Lent Project

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 22:12:00 GMT

Many thanks for your generous response to the Lent Appeal last Sunday. £2,838.80 was given, of which £1,789.80 was gift-aided. This gives a total of £3,343.62 so far. Further donations should be given to Fr Daniel so that they may be sent off to South Africa during Eastertide. Visit scrosoppi.org to find out more about this work.