On Saturday 5th September we have another of our regular opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration. St Alphonsus Liguori tells us “You will gain more by praying 15 minutes before the Blessed Sacrament than all the other spiritual exercises of the day”. Our Lord will be exposed on the altar for three hours, from 3 pm – 6 pm, so you will have plenty of time to spend with Him.
Also during this time there will be two priests available to hear Confessions. As Confessions are not being heard after Sunday Mass at the moment, this is an invaluable opportunity. Of this Sacrament, St Francis de Sales says: “Go to your confessor; open your heart to him; display to him all the recesses of your soul; take the advice that he will give you with the utmost humility and simplicity. For God, Who has an infinite love for obedience, frequently renders profitable the counsels we take from others, but especially from those who are the guides of our souls”.
Two very good reasons to be at Christ the King on Saturday week! If you can’t come this time, there will be further afternoons of Adoration and Confession on the first Saturday of October, November and December, also from 3 pm – 6 pm.
Every year for the last 10 years the Latin Mass Society has held an annual Pilgrimage to Walsingham walking from Ely in Cambridgeshire to Walsingham in Norfolk over three days on August Bank Holiday. This year because of the Covid-19 Pandemic we have decided to continue this tradition but this time it is a virtual pilgrimage from Willesden, London to Walsingham and we want you to get involved.
How will it work?
After the success of our July Digital Conference we will be bringing Pilgrims a daily schedule of Live-streamed Masses, Meditations, Online Rosary and prayer sessions as we travel along our virtual route from Willesden in London to Walsingham over the three days and we need you to join the walk in your own locations. Willesden to Walsingham is 118 miles. We need Pilgrims to pledge to walk a distance during the Pilgrimage which can be anything from half a mile to 100 miles! You can do your own pilgrimage in your back garden, in your street or even the local countryside, wherever you are in the world and whatever feels safe and suits you. With as many pilgrims signed up to the virtual pilgrimage and all praying together we can add up the total of miles walked, along with rosaries said and songs sung as we pray this August to Our Lady of Walsingham.
How can l sign up? On our website you can register your name and whether you are a group and how many miles you pledge to walk during the Pilgrimage. We would then like to share your experience during the Pilgrimage online and amongst our other pilgrims. If you are unable to join in with our walk then you can pledge to pray for the pilgrims.
To register an interest:- https://lms.org.uk/civicrm/event/info?id=172&reset=1
It was on Sunday 16 August 2015 that a congregation of 16 faithful gathered at Christ the King with Fr Daniel Horgan, who was celebrating the first Latin Mass there for many years. From those small beginnings that day, who would have thought that five years on, we would have a congregation of 160 over the current two Sunday Masses and a growing hybrid homeschooling Academy, with some families even moving into the area so that their children can attend the latter.
We have got to know a series of priests, in the early days on a rota system and in just under the last three years, from the FSSP, each priest an individual who through his ministry has opened up to us different aspects of the Faith. We have had the benefit of many challenging homilies and catechism sessions, and the humbling experience of recognising and facing up to our sins in the confessional, and the joy of receiving Absolution. We have knelt before Our Lord at Adoration afternoons, and received Him sacramentally at Mass. We have celebrated baptisms, First Holy Communions and weddings, shared joys, sorrows and many a good chat over a cup of coffee, with the new friends we have made.
For all this, we say wholeheartedly today “Deo Gratias”.
By kind permission of Fr Patrick Hutton, there will be two Masses celebrated by the FSSP on Saturday 15th August, the Feast of the Assumption. These will take place at 6 pm and 7.30 pm. Bookings are now open and need to be made in the usual way via bedfordlatinmass@gmail.com.
Hope to see you to celebrate this Holyday of Obligation in honour of Our Lady!
After our very well attended afternoon of Adoration and Confession on 27th June, we are pleased to announce that a further similar afternoon will take place at Christ the King, Bedford, on Saturday 1st August from 3 pm – 6 pm. We very much appreciate the attendance of our FSSP priests from Reading to enable this to happen. In addition, many people are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that all the necessary conditions are met to ensure the church is safe to enter, and we are most grateful to them.
It is hoped that while Confessions cannot be heard after Sunday Mass, these afternoons will take place monthly, possibly on the 1st Saturday of the month, but please watch this space for future dates.
Attending Sunday Mass under the New Guidelines NB: While the booking system is the preferred option, it is not an absolute requirement to book seats in order to come to Mass. However, those who do not book stand the very real risk of disappointment if the church building has reached its capacity, especially as priority should be given to those who have booked.
Masses Times (which are all Low Masses) in Bedford on Sunday 19th July: 8.30am, 1pm, 5pm
Test and Trace
The government’s webpage regarding the maintaining of records for the NHS Test and Trace service, for settings including places of worship, makes it is clear that the sharing of these details is “voluntary” and that “If a […] visitor informs you that they do not want their details shared for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace, they can choose to opt out, and if they do so you should not share their information used for booking purposes with NHS Test and Trace.” It also recommends “… that consent is sought in sensitive settings such as places of worship.” In light of this, if you choose to use our bookings system for Sunday Masses then please note: If you are happy for us to share your booking information with the NHS Test and Trace service in the event that the service requests it should a case of COVID-19 be confirmed, then please state clearly in your bookings email or voice message “I consent to my name and contact information being shared with the NHS Test and Trace service.” Your name and contact information will then be held for a period of 21 days before being permanently erased.If you do not want us to share your booking information with NHS Test and Trace in the event that the service requests it should a case of COVID-19 be confirmed, then please state clearly in your bookings email or voice message: “I opt out of having my name and contact information being shared with the NHS Test and Trace service.” Your record of attendance will then be permanently erased after the Mass that you attend.
If you wish to share your details for the purposes of NHS Test and Trace at Reading’s weekday Masses, then a box is available for this purpose at the entrance porch of St William of York Church. You should include your name, a contact telephone number and the day you visited the church. Your information will be held confidentially, will not be further processed and will be destroyed after 21 days. However, within the 21 day time-frame, it could be handed over to the NHS Test and Trace service at their request, in the event that a case of COVID-19 is confirmed.
Information required for making a booking for seats at Mass
To book your place, you must email one of the addresses below with the following information:
(1) your name
(2) the number of adults and children from your household attending
(3) which Sunday Mass you wish to attend. If you don’t have a preference, then please state that.
(4) whether or not you consent to your information being forwarded to the NHS Test and Trace service in the event that a member of the congregation is confirmed to have contracted COVID-19.
On Saturday 1st August from 3pm to 6pm, adoration will take place at the church of Christ the King in Bedford. Confessions will be available during this time.
Since no priest wishes to be mediocre, why do many think priestly holiness too ambitious a goal? This book identifies sinful hindrances and spiritual resources for a fruitful and rewarding priestly life in the twenty-first century. These reflections are drawn from the author’s traditional priestly formation and from his twenty years of experience as retreat master for clergy and laity, and as vocations promoter.
Praise for the book:
This call ‘back to basics’ for the Latin clergy, set within a clear doctrinal framework, is written with both imagination and rigour, and merits a wide readership, including bishops and religious superiors. – Fr Aidan Nichols, O.P., author of Holy Order: The Apostolic Ministry from the New Testament to the Second Vatican Council, (Veritas Publications)
No priest doing his duty, trying to love God and neighbor, and trying to pick up his daily cross will suddenly decide, “I think I’ll have a go at some adultery.” He might wind up in grave treason to Our Lord, but the winding will not be sudden. He will slide into it. Conversely, he will not be able to jump up to the heights of sanctity; he’ll have to climb. This book will be of great value to anyone who would like to know how to avoid the slide, and what to do in order to climb. Fr. de Malleray’s timely yet classic approach to the priesthood in our times is a jewel. I thank God he wrote it. – Fr James Jackson, FSSP, author of Nothing Superfluous (Redbrush)
This book presents a convincing and compelling account of the stamp and character of the priest. It is at once profoundly practical and sublimely spiritual. We have over forty men in our Faculty preparing for lives as priests across China, Latin America, East and South East Asia. I am convinced that every single one of them will profit greatly and be strengthened in their vocations by reading and re-reading carefully, attentively and prayerfully Fr de Malleray’s advice. – Revd Prof Stephen Morgan, Rector of the University of Saint Joseph, Macao, China
Written from an unapologetically traditionalist position, this book is in no way the less spiritually challenging and thought provoking. One does not have to agree with everything in it to come away with much material to help one discern how to be a better priest in the contemporary Church. There is also a good section on vocations. – Revd Dr Michael Cullinan, M.A.(Oxon.), M.A.St.(Cantab.), Ph.D. (Cantab.), S.T.D. (Alfonsianum), Director of Maryvale Higher Institute of Religious Sciences
Fr de Malleray’s reflections on the nature of the priesthood are fascinating and perceptive, and will edify both clerical and lay readers. – Dr Joseph Shaw, PhD, Oxf, Chairman of The Latin Mass Society
Father de Malleray has once more strengthened the sensus fidei, refining the themes introduced in Ego Eimi to focus more particularly on the gift of the Sacred Priesthood. We are grateful to Father for having penned these reflections, covering a wide scope of aspects of the greatest dignity conferred on man. His words gain particular resonance among our Sisters, who are dedicated to prayer, sacrifice and hospitality toward priests, as well as the making of sacred vestments. May Father’s meditations spur on an even deeper urgency in spiritual support of our priests, that they may ever remain faithful to their own vocations, and in handing down the traditions and fullness of our holy faith. This is wonderful book that I heartily recommend. – Mother Abbess Cecilia, osb, Abbey of Our Lady of Ephesus (Benedictines of Mary, Queen of Apostles, Gower, MO)
Full of instruction yet easy to read; an inspiring vademecum for priests, seminarians and those considering a priestly vocation. – Fr Thomas Crean, O.P., author of The Mass and the Saints(Family Publications)
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