Shining Pearl of York

What a wonderful day in York where in excess of 600 joined in attending Holy Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite to celebrate the feast of St Margaret Clitherow. This was probably the first Latin Mass in the Tridentine Form celebrated in York Minster since the Reformation.
The Missa Cantata was celebrated by Fr Stephen Maugham of English Martyrs Church in York. Fr Stephen had been responsible for much of the discussions which took place with the Dean and Chapter to allow this Mass to take place. It must be said that the Dean and Chapter as well as the Minster staff were most welcoming and accommodating. Fr Stephen also preached on the life of St Margaret.
9 priests of various dioceses were also on the sanctuary in choir and 2 robed canons of the Minster were also present.
The music was performed by The Rudgate Singers of York and their schola also sang the Proper of the Mass from the Liber Usualis. The Mass setting used was Byrd's Mass for 5 Voices and the motets were all by Byrd too; Justorum Animae at the Offertory, Ave Verum Corpus at Communion and the Marian motet Ave Regina Coelorum following Mass. All of this music may have been heard by St Margaret as William Byrd was her contemporary.
It was thrilling to celebrate this Mass in the form that St Margaret would have known so well and in a church which would have been very familiar to her.
Following Mass the clergy, servers and congregation processed through the city reciting the Rosary via The Shambles - where St Margaret lived with her husband and family - across the Ouseburn Bridge - where she was cruelly martyred by being pressed to death (a particularly painful and long lasting form of execution) - to English Martyrs Church for Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament - given by Fr Michael Brown the Northern Chaplain of the LMS - and Veneration of St Margaret's hand. Again The Rudgate Singers provided the music with the O Salutaris Hostia and Tantum Ergo by Thurlow Green. The Adoremus in Aeternum was composed by Gregorio Allegri. The service ended with the Laudes Regiae and the English hymn Faith of our Fathers.
Following this the ladies of English Martyrs had prepared most welcome tea and coffee for tired pilgrims.
Today was Ad Majorem Dei Gloria 'To the Greater Glory of God'!!

Communion in the hand

May I, respectfully, direct you to Fr Simon Henry's blog http://offerimustibidomine.blogspot.com/ which gives chapter & verse of the popes, saints etc who have spoken out against this from the earliest centuries of the Church to the present day.

Ash Wednesday

We had a Low Mass to follow the blessing and imposition of ashes by Fr Michael Brown. This year it took place at the alternative church of SS Peter & Paul in Longbenton - the other parish under Father's wing.

Few LMS members were present but about 20+ parishioners turned up & seemed quite happy to follow the Mass with the Mass books. The Mass had been advertised on the parish news-sheet as a Latin Mass and Fr Brown was pleasantly surprised at the turnout. Perhaps this is the start of something good?

Latin Mass Society to Sponsor young Catholics attending World Youth Day in Madrid 16-21 August 2011

Thousands of young Catholics will be travelling to take part in World Youth Day (WYD) 2011 in the presence of the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI.

Previous WYDs have been attended by Juventutem, the worldwide youth movement for young people (age 16-25) who are attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.  At WYD in Madrid, Juventutem will again be present and the Latin Mass Society (LMS) is subsidising the cost for young Catholics in England and Wales attending with them.

At WYD 2011, Juventutem will take part in all the official events, but will have its own chapel and daily Mass in the Extraordinary Form plus its own catechesis classes.

There will also be an optional retreat in the week before WYD (9-15 August).  This will take place at a former convent for Discalced Carmelites at Amorebieta-Etxano near Bilbao in northern Spain.  There will be Traditional Mass, Lauds, Rosary and Compline, plus spiritual conferences as well as recreational activities, such as visits to the cities of Bilbao and Burgos, wine tasting in Rioja for older participants, one-day walking pilgrimages through the local countryside and more.

Amorebieta Convent

The Latin Mass Society will sponsor young Catholics from England and Wales who attend either WYD Madrid only with Juventutem or the Retreat and WYD with them.  This is a limited offer on the basis of first come, first served, and it is not necessary to be a member of the LMS.

The LMS will cover half the cost of attending with Juventutem (which includes accommodation, food and travel within Spain) plus half the cost of budget air travel to Spain to join the Juventutem group.  Likely Juventutem cost for WYD only is Euro250.00 (airfare not included); for the retreat and WYD Euro400.00 (airfare not included).  The cost to applicants with the LMS subsidy will work out at £95.00 for WYD only and £170.00 for the Retreat and WYD combined.

The LMS sponsorship will make it affordable for many more young people to attend WYD with Juventutem. The LMS is providing sponsorship as a service to the Church.

To apply for LMS subsidy, youngsters should first register with Juventutem and then register for sponsorship with the LMS by filling in an application form or by phoning the LMS office on 020 7404 7284.

Michael Lord, General Manager of the LMS said: "Throughout 2011, the LMS is rolling out new initiatives and activities aimed at making those attached to the Extraordinary Form into one of the most vibrant groupings in the Church in England and Wales.  I am very excited by this sponsorship scheme, particularly the fact that it is available to young people throughout England and Wales, many of whom may only recently have discovered the Traditional Form of the Mass."

Fuller information about Juventutem (including contact details), Worlf Youth Day and the LMS can be found at this link:

http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/juventutem-at-world-youth-day-2011

Follow the link to download an application form:

http://www.lms.org.uk/news-and-events/wyd-2011-application-form

Pilgrimage in honour of 'The Pearl of York'

Pilgrims are expected to converge on York on Saturday 26th March to pay their respects to St Margaret Clitherow, a former resident of York, who was crushed to death rather than deny her Catholic faith. The pilgrimage is being organised by the Latin Mass Society, an organisation dedicated to the promotion of the Mass in its more traditional Latin form. There will be a sung Mass at the High Altar of York Minster at 1.30pm. This will be followed at 3pm by a procession which will pass through The Shambles, where Margaret Clitherow lived, over Ouse Bridge, where she was executed, and finish up at the Church of the English Martyrs in Dalton Terrace. Benediction will be given there at around 4pm, followed by veneration of the relic of Margaret Clitherow, which is normally kept at the Bar Convent. The Latin Mass Society is delighted to have the use of York Minster, which is by kind permission of the Dean and Chapter. Margaret Clitherow, who is often referred to as the Pearl of York, would have been very familiar with the Minster, although she would not have worshipped there after her conversion to Catholicism at the age of 18. She would also have been familiar with the Latin Mass in its traditional form, as she harboured priests at her home in The Shambles where Mass was regularly said in that form. Indeed it was for harbouring priests that she was arrested and put to death in 1586 by crushing under a great weight of stones. The Mass on 26th March, which is the feast day of St Margaret Clitherow, will be sung by Fr Stephen Maughan, and the music will be provided by the Rudgate Singers. The Mass setting will be by Byrd, the great English composer of liturgical music and contemporary of Margaret Clitherow. The Mass in York Minster will be open to all, regardless of religious denomination, and no tickets are required. Similarly, it is hoped that the public will join in the procession, and attend Benediction at English Martyrs' Church.

Cathedral Mass without our bishop

Following the well attended EF Missa Solemnis in St Mary's Cathedral, Newcastle upon Tyne we have decided to approach the cathedral dean, Fr Peter Leighton, for permission to repeat the experience which drew Catholics from across the diocese and beyond. Bishop Cunningham was unable to be present at the Mass in November due to a full diary. To facilitate his attendance this year we decided to find out which dates were presently free for him so that we could then approach the cathedral in an endeavour to match one of his available dates. It is with great sadness that we received his response this week saying that he has no available dates and is therefore "unable to accept your offer of joining you." Whilst appreciating that His Lordship does have a full diary and that he does, as he says, " (have) an opportunity to meet those who come together to celebrate the EF Form [sic]", we would still have been delighted to have welcomed him to a solemn diocesan celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite in solidarity with those of his people in the diocese who have an affinity for this form of Mass. Of course all parishes within the diocese do not have Mass in the EF so his Sunday visitations would only allow him to meet those of us who are fortunate in having a Mass when he is likely to be present. Those without Sunday (or indeed any access) to the EF only come together in such celebrations of EF Mass either on weekdays (and such access is very sparse) or on occasions such as the special Mass we arrange in the cathedral. His attendance there would have enabled him to meet those without EF Sunday Masses. Sadly Bishop Cunningham has also recently said that he is unable to confer the sacrament of Confirmation in the EF although he has offered to delegate a priest to do so on his behalf. We must continue to pray that the celebrations of EF Masses in the Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle continue to grow and that those who have not had the opportunity to recognise its beauty and prayerfulness.

Solemn High Mass for the Feast of the Chair of St Peter

On Tuesday 22nd February 2011 Fr Gary Dickson celebrated his first Solemn High Mass in the EF at his church in Thornley, Co Durham. The Mass was on the Feast of St Peter's Chair and the intention was "In thanksgiving for Pope Benedict XVI and Summorum Pontificum". Father Gary's ministers were Fr David Phillips from Stella as deacon and Fr Michael Brown from Forest Hall as subdeacon. The Ordinary of the Mass was "Missa de Angelis" sung by the Schola Sancti Baedae under Dr Michael Dunn. They also sang the plainchant motets "Attende Domine" and "Ave Verum" as well as the Proper from the Liber Usualis. The 3 Lydon sisters sang Cesar Franck's "Panis Angelicus" at communion as this is Father Gary's favourite motet. Also on the sanctuary was Fr Simon Henry who preached a most uplifting sermon on what we have lost liturgically since Vatican II. He also quoted from the writings of Cardinal Pacelli (later Pope Pius XII) on the subject of liberalism and speaking prophetically of how his papacy would be denigrated later. Pope Benedict was also quoted telling us to avoid materialism and to remember Christ's words that "the gates of Hell will never prevail against His Church". Also in choir was Fr Aldo Tapparo of Birmingham Archdiocese based in Oxford. A congregation of over 75 attended the Mass and joined in the recessional hymn "Hail Queen of Heaven". The evening ended with a buffet provided by the ladies of the parish. Low Mass in the Extraordinary Form is celebrated every Sunday in the church of The Sacred Heart & English Martyrs.