Our new youth group met for the first time last Sunday after the evening Mass. Everyone enjoyed the free dinner, and we ended with Compline in Church. We will meet again every Sunday at the same time (about 7:30). If you are aged 16–30, come along!

This Sunday will be (by popular vote!) a games night. If you have a game you want to play, bring it with you. Food and drink will be provided again, for a small donation of £2.

Sadly, on 2nd October, the feast of the Guardian Angels, the statue of St Anthony of Padua in our church caught fire and was destroyed. Happily, the fire did not spread, nobody was injured, and no other damage was done to the church. We should all give thanks to the Guardian Angels for watching over us.

We shall of course be reviewing our safety procedures, and hope to replace the statue of St Anthony as soon as this can be arranged.

Fr Daniel and Br Oliver are both alive and well after their parachute jump this morning!

The plane flew to 12,500 feet before they jumped out, strapped to a fully-trained professional.

Here we have Fr Daniel exiting the plane and entering free-fall until the parachute opened at 120mph. Free fall lasts for 45 seconds until the parachute opens.

Fr Daniel was followed by Br Oliver, seen here exiting the plane in a backwards somersault.

The airfield at Hinton, as seen from above:

Coming into land:

There were some friendly faces waiting to meet them on the ground.

Thank you to all those of you who have supported them with your donations, and to the many fundraisers who have been so generous with their time.

The current total is £9,915.55. It’s not too late to help beat the £10,000 target. You can add your donation by visiting www.justgiving.com/Oratory-Jump or in person (for the last time) after Sunday Masses this weekend.

Our new season of Evangelium began last week, and things are much more comfortable in the new parish rooms. Today, Fr Richard spoke on the Sacraments of Confession and Anointing:

The course continues each Saturday at 11am, with tea and coffee served beforehand.

Fr Richard took some of our Wednesday Morning Group to Houghton Hall yesterday to visit the exhibition of paintings formerly owned by Sir Robert Walpole and later sold to Catherine the Great. They have been in the Hermitage in St Petersburg ever since, but have returned for the first time in over 230 years for a special exhibition, curated by one of our former parishioners, Dr Thierry Morel.

After visiting Houghton Hall, the group went on to Walsingham and were able to pray in the Slipper Chapel before visiting the village. Here, unfortunately, the minibus acquired a puncture, and help was hard to find in North Norfolk. Eventually Anglia Rescue came to our aid, but in the meantime our parishioners were stranded. Their desperate fate can be seen in the poignant photograph below:

Every second weekend in September all the historic buildings in Oxfordshire are open to the public, and many walkers and cyclists “Ride and Stride” around the county to gain sponsorship for their own churches. Large numbers of visitors have been seeing our church and also the exhibition in the new library, including some selected items from the G.K. Chesterton Library.

As you can see, the books are still being unpacked and sorted, but everything is beginning to take shape. At the moment we have temporary shelves and fittings, awaiting the day when we can afford the permanent, wooden fixtures.

The Evangelium course – an explanation of the Catholic faith with using art – begins again this Saturday at 11am. The theme this week will be “Virtues and Vices”. We will now be able to meet in the more spacious parish rooms. Tea and coffee will be available beforehand.

Pope Francis has asked all the Catholics of the world to fast and pray this coming Saturday – the Vigil of Our Lady’s Birthday – for peace in the world, especially in Syria and the Middle East.

To this end, the Blessed Sacrament will be exposed in our church from after the 6.30pm Mass until Benediction at 10.45pm, coinciding with the time of prayer the Holy Father will be making in St Peter’s Square. Do try to come along, and to join with this day of prayer and fasting: a concrete way in which we ourselves can contribute to the urgent search for peace.

Speaking at last Sunday’s Angelus, Pope Francis said:

“Dear Brothers and Sisters, Hello!

Today, dear brothers and sisters, I wish to add my voice to the cry which rises up with increasing anguish from every part of the world, from every people, from the heart of each person, from the one great family which is humanity: it is the cry for peace! It is a cry which declares with force: we want a peaceful world, we want to be men and women of peace, and we want in our society, torn apart by divisions and conflict, that peace break out! War never again! Never again war! Peace is a precious gift, which must be promoted and protected.

There are so many conflicts in this world which cause me great suffering and worry, but in these days my heart is deeply wounded in particular by what is happening in Syria and anguished by the dramatic developments which are looming.

I appeal strongly for peace, an appeal which arises from the deep within me. How much suffering, how much devastation, how much pain has the use of arms carried in its wake in that martyred country, especially among civilians and the unarmed! I think of many children will not see the light of the future! With utmost firmness I condemn the use of chemical weapons: I tell you that those terrible images from recent days are burned into my mind and heart. There is a judgment of God and of history upon our actions which are inescapable! Never has the use of violence brought peace in its wake. War begets war, violence begets violence.

With all my strength, I ask each party in this conflict to listen to the voice of their own conscience, not to close themselves in solely on their own interests, but rather to look at each other as brothers and decisively and courageously to follow the path of encounter and negotiation, and so overcome blind conflict. With similar vigour I exhort the international community to make every effort to promote clear proposals for peace in that country without further delay, a peace based on dialogue and negotiation, for the good of the entire Syrian people.

May no effort be spared in guaranteeing humanitarian assistance to those wounded by this terrible conflict, in particular those forced to flee and the many refugees in nearby countries. May humanitarian workers, charged with the task of alleviating the sufferings of these people, be granted access so as to provide the necessary aid.

What can we do to make peace in the world? As Pope John said, it pertains to each individual to establish new relationships in human society under the mastery and guidance of justice and love (cf. John XXIII, Pacem in Terris, [11 April 1963]: AAS 55, [1963], 301-302).

All men and women of good will are bound by the task of pursuing peace. I make a forceful and urgent call to the entire Catholic Church, and also to every Christian of other confessions, as well as to followers of every religion and to those brothers and sisters who do not believe: peace is a good which overcomes every barrier, because it belongs all of humanity!

I repeat forcefully: it is neither a culture of confrontation nor a culture of conflict which builds harmony within and between peoples, but rather a culture of encounter and a culture of dialogue; this is the only way to peace.

May the plea for peace rise up and touch the heart of everyone so that they may lay down their weapons and let themselves be led by the desire for peace.

To this end, brothers and sisters, I have decided to proclaim for the whole Church on 7 September next, the vigil of the birth of Mary, Queen of Peace, a day of fasting and prayer for peace in Syria, the Middle East, and throughout the world, and I also invite each person, including our fellow Christians, followers of other religions and all men of good will, to participate, in whatever way they can, in this initiative.

On 7 September, in Saint Peter’s Square, here, from 19:00 until 24:00, we will gather in prayer and in a spirit of penance, invoking God’s great gift of peace upon the beloved nation of Syria and upon each situation of conflict and violence around the world. Humanity needs to see these gestures of peace and to hear words of hope and peace! I ask all the local churches, in addition to fasting, that they gather to pray for this intention.

Let us ask Mary to help us to respond to violence, to conflict and to war, with the power of dialogue, reconciliation and love. She is our mother: may she help us to find peace; all of us are her children! Help us, Mary, to overcome this most difficult moment and to dedicate ourselves each day to building in every situation an authentic culture of encounter and peace.

Mary, Queen of Peace, pray for us!”

News of the parachute jump on the 26 September is spreading, and it seems that people are quite keen for Fr Daniel and Br Oliver to jump out of a plane!

The current total is £5,091.26. If you want to add your own voice of encouragement, you can sponsor online at www.justgiving.com/Oratory-Jump or in person after any of the Sunday Masses.

We are sorry to disappoint those of you who have asked, but the company running the jump do not allow people to jump in cassocks…

Fr Daniel went with a group of young pilgrims from our parish to the Marian shrine of Mariazell, walking along the “Via Sacra” through the beautiful scenery of Upper Austria and Styria.

We began in Vienna, where we visited the Oratory at St Rochus and celebrated Mass at the altar of St Philip:

We were graciously made at home by Fr Felix Selden, Apostolic Delegate to the Confederation of the Oratory and Provost of the Vienna Oratory:

We walked for five days, and our first stop was at the magnificent Cistercian Abbey of Heiligenkreuz. Vespers was very impressive and we met Fr Karl Wallner, OCist, Rector of the Benedict XVI Seminary.

On the next day we went to the beautiful Conventual Mass in the Abbey, and afterwards met Fr Werner Christoph Brahtz of the Vienna Oratory:

At Kaumberg we were warmly welcomed by the local people. The Kapellmeister (left in the photo) kindly played the organ for our Mass and the Burgomeister (right), who is also the local baker, presented us with this splendid loaf of bread, which says, “Oxford goes Via Sacra!”:

We also visited the Cistercian Abbey at Lilienfeld:

The last part of the journey passes along the hilltops from Annaberg, to Joachimsberg, to Josefsberg and then to Mitterbach:

Finally we arrived in Mariazell itself:

The shrine dates back to 1157, when a monk was sent from the Abbey of St Lambrecht to the area, with a statue of the Virgin. When a boulder blocked his path near his destination, the monk invoked the Mother of God and the boulder was split, making his way clear. Arriving at his destination, the monk placed the statue on a tree stump and began to build a “cell” as both a chapel and his lodgings. “Maria in the Cell” gave the place its name. The image of Our Lady became famous for its miraculous powers and was much venerated by the Imperial Family of Austro-Hungary. Today, Our Lady of Mariazell is still honoured as the “Magna Mater Austriae, Magna Domina Hungarorum, Alma Mater Gentium Slavorum” – “Great Mother of Austria, Great Lady of Hungary and Mother of the Slavic Peoples”.

We took part in the light-procession around the town, led by His Eminence Cardinal Dominik Duka, O.P., Archbishop of Prague, who also celebrated the Solemn Mass for the Assumption the following day.