Pray for the dead this November

The Latin Mass Society is selling the perfect collection of prayers this November: prayers for the Faithful Departed, taken from the Raccolta, the old official manual of indulgenced prayers, which was filled with prayers for all occasions authorised and encouraged by the Holy See.

Single prayers, prayers for every day of the week, prayers for the bereaved, can all be found in this handy little book.

Yours for £1.95 and not available anywhere else.

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What everyone wants to see...

...judging by the comments on Facebook, is more photos of the, er, striking church of Our Lady of Light in Long Crendon, which the Schola Abelis filled with Gregorian Chant last Saturday.

Mass in Long Crendon tomorrow (28th Oct)

The last time the EF was celebrated in the church, back in 2009.

The feast of SS Simon and Jude will be marked by a Sung Mass in the traditional form in the Church of Our Lady of Light, Long Crendon, at 11:30am.

The address of the church is 4 Chearsley Rd, Long Crendon, Aylesbury HP18 9BS

It will be celebrated by Fr Anthony Conlon, and accompanied with chant by the Schola Abelis of Oxford.

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Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday, 12th November, is coming up in the UK: the Sunday nearest to the 11th of November, the date the First World War ended, when by longstanding permission priests in England and Wales are allowed to celebrate a Requiem Mass for our war dead.

There will be truly worthy sung celebrations of the ancient Mass for the Dead in the Birmingham Oratory, and in St William of York, Reading, with the Fraternity of St Peter.

Those locations are about 100 miles apart, or a two hour drive. Between them, the only place where you will find a Sung, Vetus Ordo Requiem Mass on Sunday will be in Holy Trinity, Hethe, at 12 noon (click for a map).

This is the oldest Catholic parish church in Oxfordshire, noted for the beauty of its decorations. Mass will be celebrated by Mgr Bruce Harbert, the well-known liturgical scholar, and the singing will be led by Dominic Bevan.

Please join us to pray for the war dead, some of whom are buried in the graveyard next to this church.

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A renewed attack on celibacy?

Reposted from December 2015
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The word is out that the next subject for discussion at a Synod of Bishops will be celibacy. I don't know if this is true, but it is worth reminding ourselves of exactly why the Latin Church (as opposed to the Byzantine, Maronite etc. churches) should not abandon celibacy.

A while ago I wrote a short series of posts on the topic:

The Crisis of Celibacy

The Attack on Celibacy is an Attack on the Priesthood

The Attack on Celibacy is an Attack on Marriage

Here are a few points from those posts.

First, we have come to this stage in the debate because, in a series of choices between strengthening or weakening celibacy, the Church's leadership has chosen to weaken it. These decisions have been understandable - it is important to stress that, taken individually, they may seem inevitable, or even laudable - but the cumulative effect has been to erode the principle of priestly celibacy. Examples of such decisions have been: the giving way to the massive departure of priests from their vows, and the moral support given by bishops to laicised priests, including groups calling openly for the end of celibacy; the promotion of married deacons, and the endemic confusion about deacons' obligations; the taking over of various liturgical functions by lay people, including women; and concessions made to former Anglican (and occasionally Lutheran) convert clergy.

LMS Pilgrimage to the Holy Land

Fr Martin Edwards celebrating Mass in his church of St Mary Magdalen, Wandsworth

A 9-day pilgrimage with Traditional Masses at the Holy Sites

Fr Martin Edwards, Parish Priest of St Mary Magdalen’s Wandsworth, will be leading a pilgrimage to the Holy Land 10th-18th November 2017, with a daily Traditional Mass at the holy sites.

Flying from Heathrow on Friday 10th November, among the places pilgrims will visit during the eight day pilgrimage are Bethlehem, Mount of Olives, Mount Zion, Jerusalem, Qumran, Dead Sea, Galilee, Acre, Cana and Nazareth.

Unlike other pilgrimages to the Holy Land, this pilgrimage will have a Traditional Latin Mass every day. The cost is £1,369.

The pilgrimage is organised by Pax Travel and a full itinerary can be downloaded here.

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LMS Annual Requiem Sat 4th Nov

Bishop Jabale at the Cataphalque in 2016 (Photo: John Aron)

The Latin Mass Society's Annual Requiem Mass will take place in Westminster Cathedral on Saturday 4th Nov at 2:30 pm

It will be Pontifical High Mass; the celebrant will be the Rt Rev. Mark Jabalé O.S.B., Emeritus Bishop of Menevia, with the assistance of priests from the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest.