“Do you wish your prayer to fly toward God?
Give it two wings: fasting and almsgiving.”
–St Augustine
Please read Bishop Peter Doyle’s thoughtful pastoral letter for Lent, exhorting: “Between now and Wednesday, Ash Wednesday, let each of us plan what we can do to pray, to fast, and to give alms.”
Yesterday the faithful in Chesham Bois responded generously to an appeal on behalf of the victims of human trafficking, giving alms through the Medaille Trust. After the Mass, Tony Burton explained more about the Trust’s work (pictured below).
Today the FSSP UK priests’ meeting included a visit to Lancaster.
Image (above): close to the spot in Lancaster Castle where St Edmund Arrowsmith was held before being martyred in 1628.
Image (above): A memorial stone marking the location of several martyrdoms in Lancaster. Among those whose intercession we invoked was Bl James Bell, born in Warrington, and martyred in Lancaster in 1584 under Bloody Queen Bess.
Downhill from where the martyrs died is the plot on which in 1859 the Catholic Cathedral of St Peter was built. The cathedral’s fine windows tell of St Peter’s life and death in Christ. Above:
As well as the Sung Mass on 4 February described under a separate article, Saturday 3 February saw the first of five Family Catechism Days with Fatima Devotions at Christ the King. The day started with a Rosary, followed by 15 minutes of meditation, during which time Confessions were available. Mass was at 11 am, celebrated by Fr James Mawdsley, FSSP, who gave a very stirring homily on the widespread effects of abortion. Then, having refreshed souls, it was time to refresh bodies, and we had lunch. In the afternoon, Catechism was offered for the under 8s and the under 16s respectively, where the Holy Trinity was explained at a level appropriate for the participants’ ages. There were some 15 participants in each age group. It was lovely to see how much about the Faith they already knew. It was the adults’ turn after this and our talk was on the Holy Eucharist.
Practice for the Sung Mass, both for singers and altar servers, rounded off a very successful day. People came and went as they were able and it was well attended by about 60 adults and children. Our grateful thanks are due to Fr Mawdsley for arranging this day and we look forward to the next one on Saturday 3 March.
It can truly be said that a window into heaven was opened at Christ the King, Bedford, on Sexagesima Sunday, 4 February. After several rehearsals, this was the day when our own schola sang its first Mass. Although we have had two Sung Masses at Bedford previously in the last two years or so, thanks to the Bedford Choral Society, the arrival of the priests from the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter last October has given us the continuity we needed to form our own schola. Five men and four ladies gathered in the choir loft and we sang the complete Mass under the direction of Katherine Smith. No, it wasn’t perfect, but members of the congregation were kind enough to tell us that our efforts had been uplifting. We also had a team of five altar servers led by MC Nick Ross, some of them serving for the first time, and for them, like the schola, each Sung Mass will be progressively better.
As our celebrant, Fr James Mawdsley, said “Heaven is surely pleased by our efforts to do what ‘all generations’ have done!”.
We are looking forward to our next Sung Mass at Christ the King, which will be at 8.30 am on Sunday 4 March. We will be rehearsing in church on Saturday 17 February from 2.30 pm – approximately 4.30 pm, and at the same time on Saturday 3 March. We are always looking for more singers; please contact the Schola Secretary, Barbara Kay, on mbky3@outlook.com if you are interested.
FSSP England has launched its new website today. Many hours of work have gone into creating this. Each Apostolate has its own page, including ours at Bedford!
The introduction looks like this:
Welcome to FSSP England’s new website. While the site was born on the Commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord, it is going public today, Feast of the Presentation of Our Lord. Remembering also the Purification of Our Lady today, the Church sings the Ave Regina Caelorum at the end of Compline from tonight until Wednesday of Holy Week. Of your charity, please say a prayer for the good fruit of this website, asking Our Lady’s patronage, so that it serve the mission of her divine Son.
Welcome to FSSP England’s new website. While the site was born on the Commemoration of the Baptism of the Lord, it is going public today, Feast the Presentation of Our Lord. Remembering also the Purification of Our Lady today, the Church sings the Ave Regina Caelorum at the end of Compline from tonight until Wednesday of Holy Week. Of your charity, please say a prayer for the good fruit of this website, asking Our Lady’s patronage, so that it serve the mission of her divine Son.
V. Dignare me laudare te, Virgo sacrata. R. Da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos.
Oremus. Concede, misericors Deus, fragilitati nostrae praesidium: ut, qui sanctae Dei Genitricis memoriam agimus; intercessionis eius auxilio, a nostris iniquitatibus resurgamus. Per eundem Christum Dominum nostrum. Amen.
For the website itself, the homepage is a simple portal:
There are dedicated pages for apostolates in Bedford, Chesham Bois, Reading and Warrington, plus a link through to FSSP Scotland. And given the regular visits by FSSP priests, there is a dedicated page for Ireland. Under ‘Activities’ the ‘Calendar’ gives notice of forthcoming events–with options to display weekly, monthly or as agenda:
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A reminder that the first of our Family Catechism Days with Fatima Devotions takes place this Saturday 3 February at Christ the King, starting with Rosary at 10 am and Mass at 11 am. Fr James Mawdsley, FSSP, will say the Mass and lead catechism sessions for children, teenagers and adults in the afternoon. All you need to bring is a packed lunch; tea and coffee will be provided.
Then on Sunday 4 February, the 8.30 am Mass will be sung for the first time. We hope this will become a regular event on the first Sunday of each month. Practices for this will be held as part of the First Saturdays and also on the third Saturday of each month in church at 2.30 pm.
Looking forward to seeing you at Christ the King this weekend!
This Sunday the 8:30am Mass at Christ the King Church in Bedford will be a Sung Mass. A beautiful recording of the chanted Introit can be heard here.
The Introit pleads with God, and who can doubt we need this prayer always: “Arise, why sleepest Thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to the end. Why turnest Thou Thy face away, and forgettest our trouble? Our belly hath cleaved to the earth: arise, O Lord, help us and deliver us. Vs. (Ps. 43: 2) We have heard, O God, with our ears: our fathers have declared to us. Vs. Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit. As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen. Arise, why sleepest Thou, O Lord? arise, and cast us not off to the end. Why turnest Thou Thy face away, and forgettest our trouble? Our belly hath cleaved to the earth: arise, O Lord, help us and deliver us.”
If you wish to practice some singing, it will be Mass XI (Orbis Factor). The Kyrie can be heard here and Credo III can be heard here. Note from Septuagesima until Easter there is no Gloria on Sundays.
Fr James Mawdsley, who is one of our regular FSSP priests from Reading, came to say Mass at Bedford for the first time on 31 December 2017. He has a fascinating and moving story to tell, which is recorded in an interview he gave while he was at Warrington. Fr Ray Blake has written a useful introduction to the interview. Here is the link:
It can truly be said that a window into heaven was opened at Christ the King, Bedford, on Sexagesima Sunday, 4 February. 
