Solemn High Mass at SS Peter & Paul

To celebrate the Patronal Feast of the parish EF Solemn High Mass was celebrated this evening.

The celebrant was Fr Michael Brown (parish priest) with Fr David Phillips as deacon and Rev Andrew Bunce as sub-deacon. In choir was Fr Gary Dickson from Thornley.

The Proper of the Mass was sung by the Schola Sancti Baedae whilst the Ordinary was a setting by Palestrina sung by a choir directed by Shaun Turnbull.

The congregation numbered 40+ mainly from the 2 parishes of SS Peter & Paul in Longenton & St Mary's in Forest Hall.

EF Masses were also celebrated today at both Coxhoe and Barnard Castle.

Off to Leeds tomorrow for the Mass with Bishop Rifan.

SS Peter & Paul, Longbenton, Newcastle upon Tyne

Just to clarify the point; Solemn High Mass on Friday 29th June will be celebrated at 7pm

Feast of SS Peter & Paul

This is one of the few Holydays retained on the correct date instead of being transferred to the nearest Sunday. It is also the Patronal Feast of SS Peter & Paul Church, Benton Lane, Newcastle upon Tyne NE12 8PB.

A Solemn High Mass will be celebrated there on Friday 29th June 2012 to celebrate the feast. The Ordinary of the Mass will be a Palestrina setting with the Proper sung to Gregorian Chant. Refreshments will be available following Mass.

You are strongly urged to attend this event.

Ordinariate priest to celebrate EF Mass

Shortly after his ordination as a Catholic priest Fr John Hunwicke is to celebrate Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite on Thursday June 28th in Brompton Oratory by permission of the Provost.  What excellent news!!

Perhaps we should be encouraging the new Ordinariate priests to swell the ranks of our own traditionally-minded priests and thus make the EF Mass freely and easily available to the laity.

It is good to note that more bishops are involving themselves with this form of Mass since our Holy Father spelled out that both forms of the Mass have equal validity.  Bishop McMahon of Nottingham, Bishop Davies of Shrewsbury, Bishop Drainey of Middlesbrough and (by next weekend) Bishop Roche of Leeds will all have taken part in or celebrated the EF.  Our own diocesan bishop, Rt Rev Seamus Cunningham, was present in choir at Missa Cantata at St Joseph's, Gateshead during his Episcopal Visitation. I am not aware of how many other diocesan bishops have done so.

Deo Gratias!

Father Z heads line up of speakers at LMS One-Day Conference

When we throw a pebble into a pond, it sends out ripples in all directions. When we celebrate Mass it is just the same - whether we celebrate well or badly, it will affect the whole Church for either good or ill. This was the stark view that Father John Zuhlsdorf, better known as the blogger 'Fr Z', shared with his audience at the Latin Mass Society's  One-Day Conference in London on Saturday 9th June.

This was the first ever conference that the LMS had organised and it was greeted with widespread and enthusiastic praise from the conference floor. As headline speaker, Fr Z delivered a punchy and inspirational talk centred on his own slogan 'Save the Liturgy; Save the World'.

Other speakers included Dr John Rao of St John's University, New York, who touched on the topics of faith and history raised in his latest book 'Black Legends and the Light of the World'.

Stuart McCullogh's talk about the Good Counsel Network, who provide counselling for women who are facing crisis pregnancies, held the audience spellbound. Of those women who come to the Network, around 95% are intending to go ahead with an abortion when they first meet, but, as a result of the Network's efforts, around 70% change their minds and keep their babies. Stuart emphasised that the Network places traditional Catholic devotions at the heart of their work - especially Eucharistic Adoration, the Rosary and the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.

Priest-blogger Fr Tim Finigan spoke about his experiences of introducing the Traditional Mass into his parish, looking back at the problems he'd faced and also to the improvements to parish life that it had brought about.

The final speaker was Rev John Hunwicke of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. By turns erudite and witty, he brought much learning and humour to the conference hall as he looked at the Anglican patrimony that he anticipated the Ordinariate would bring to the Catholic Church. For many attending the conference, Rev Hunwicke was the 'discovery' of the day. Many had not heard of him before and were won over by his knowledge of his subject and by his schoolmasterly charm.

The day ended with a very successful panel discussion in which the speakers gathered together to answer questions submitted by the audience.