The relics of the saints have been taken in and the relic of the True Cross has been placed on the high altar. O Crux, ave, spes unica! #oxfordoratory
Requiem for Pat Collins
There will be a Requiem Mass streamed from our church for Pat Collins at midday on Friday 3 April.
Have you ever noticed the six-winged seraphim who guard the tabernacle of our church? They follow the description of the spirits guarding the throne of God in Isaiah’s vision (Is. 6:2–6). Now is a good time to ask your own guardian angel for help, while it is impossible to attend Mass:
O holy angel at my side, go to the church for me.
Kneel at my place at Holy Mass where I desire to be.
At the offertory in my stead, take all I am and own
and place it as a sacrifice upon the altar throne.
At holy consecration’s bell adore with the seraphs above
my Jesus hidden in the host come down from heaven above.
And pray for those I dearly love and those who cause me grief.
That Jesus’ heart may cleanse all hearts and suffering souls relieve.
And when the priest communion makes, O bring my Lord to me,
that his sweet heart may rest on mine and I his temple be.
Pray that this sacrifice divine may mankind’s sins efface
then bring thy blessing home, the pledge of every grace!
#oxfordoratory
England successfully rededicated as Our Lady’s dowry. #oxfordoratory #rededicationathome @behold2020
The rededication of England as Mary’s dowry is still taking place across the country today, in a slightly lower key format than originally planned. Join us in the dedication as we say the Prayer for England after Benediction this evening. #oxfordoratory
Observant followers will have noticed that we’re not streaming from the church! Instead we’re in the Guild Room that connects to the Porter’s Lodge (and has WiFi!). The room was originally built as another classroom for the primary school, and then became a meeting room for parish guilds (hence the name). It now serves as a small chapel that can be used for Mass with a small group, and it’s where the Fathers and Brothers meet every evening for ‘Oratory’ — the way of praying that St Philip taught his followers in Rome 500 years ago. #oxfordoratory
Observant followers will have noticed that we’re not streaming from the church! Instead we’re in the Guild Room that connects to the Porter’s Lodge (and has WiFi!). The room was originally built as another classroom for the primary school, and then became a meeting room for parish guilds (hence the name). It now serves as a small chapel that can be used for Mass with a small group, and it’s where the Fathers and Brothers meet every evening for ‘Oratory’ — the way of praying that St Philip taught his followers in Rome 500 years ago. #oxfordoratory
Booking Masses Online
Mass intentions can now be booked online! To book a Mass follow these simple steps:
- Go to www.oxfordoratory.org.uk/massbookings, which will take you to our PayPal donations page. You don’t need to have a PayPal account — you can pay by card without signing up.
- Choose how much you would like to offer as a stipend.
- Select ‘Mass Intention’ from the drop-down menu.
- Click ‘Donate’ (if you have a PayPal account) or ‘Donate with a card’ (if you don’t have a PayPal account).
- In the box that says ‘Write a note (optional)’, fill in the name of the person or the intention for which you would like a Mass to be offered.
- Complete your payment details, and you’re done!
There isn’t currently a way of co-ordinating online bookings, which means we can’t guarantee bookings for a particular date. If you would like a Mass to be said on a particular day, you can enter this in the note with your intention and we’ll do our best, but please be aware that the Mass may be said on another date.
If you prefer to do things the old-fashioned way, you can also book Masses by writing a cheque to ‘The Oxford Oratory’ together with a note of the Mass intention and your contact details, and posting it to us at: Mass Intentions, The Oratory, 25 Woodstock Road, Oxford. OX2 6HA.
What to do when you can’t get to confession
When it’s not possible to go to confession, perfect contrition can also obtain the forgiveness of all sin, including mortal sins. Perfect contrition is a sorrow for sins and a repentance motivated by the love of God (not just fear of punishment). It includes within it a resolution to make a sacramental confession at the next opportunity. (CCC 1451–1452) Perfect contrition is a state of the soul, but we may express it in prayer through the words of the Act of Contrition used during sacramental confession.
It is also important to remember that while it is a very good practice to make regular confession of all of our sins, we are only required to confess mortal sins, because mortal sin separates us from the life of God. “For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: ‘Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.’” (CCC 1857) If we have not committed a mortal sin, then we do not need to be afraid that we have been unable to go to confession.
Forms of the Act of Contrition
O my God, because you are so good, I am very sorry that I have sinned against you, and with the help of your grace, I will try not to sin again. Amen.
O my God, I am heartily sorry for having offended thee, and I detest all my sins, because I dread the loss of heaven and the pains of hell, but most of all because they offend thee, my God, who art all good and deserving of all my love. I firmly resolve with the help of thy grace to confess my sins, to do penance, and to amend my life. Amen.
I love thee, Jesus, my Love, above all things. I repent with my whole heart for having offended thee. Never permit me to separate myself from thee again. Grant that I may love thee always; and then do with me what thou wilt.
My God, I am sorry for my sins with all my heart. In choosing to do wrong and failing to do good, I have sinned against you whom I should love above all things. I firmly intend, with your help, to do penance, to sin no more, and to avoid whatever leads me to sin.
