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:
The theme for this year’s Summer Camps will be True Devotion to Our Lady according to St Louis Marie de Montfort. Children on the camps will learn how simple it is to devote oneself to Jesus through Mary, and how incomparably beneficial for both this life and the next.
We will not ask children to make any consecration of themselves, as this is properly a decision to be taken within their family. Instead we will use the catechism and the play to inform and inspire interest.
The theme for the 2017 camps was “The Reformation” and for 2016 was “Fatima”.
This year’s theme is chosen with prayerful gratitude to the priests, brothers and staff of the Company of Mary (the De Montfort Brothers) who have hosted our Summer Camps in recent years with such generosity at their beautiful house and grounds in the New Forest. As the numbers of participants on the camps keeps increasing from year to year since we began in 2013, we have needed to find a larger venue.
St John Bosco, pray for us.
St Louis Marie de Montfort, pray for us.
Our Lady Conceived without sin, pray for us.
“Tribus miráculis ornatum diem sanctum cólimus:
hódie stella Magos duxit ad præsépium: hódie vinum ex aqua factum est ad núptias:
hódie in Iordáne a Ioánne Christus baptizári vóluit, ut salváret nos, allelúia.”
“This day we keep a holiday in honour of three wonders:
this day a star led the wise men to the manger;
this day at the marriage, water was made wine;
this day was Christ pleased to be baptized of John in the Jordan, for our salvation. Alleluia.”
— Magnificat Antiphon, last day of Epiphanytide
Three theophanies are traditionally celebrated together, for they are intimately linked: the worship of Jesus by the Magi stands for the revelation of the Son of God to the Gentiles; Jesus’ baptism in the Jordan stands for His revelation to the Jews; and the marriage feast at Cana stands for our Lord’s revelation to His Apostles.
The order is significant. The first happened at the beginning of Jesus’ life on earth, as the Gentiles having been converting to Christ from the beginning. The second happened toward the end of Jesus’ mortal life, as St Paul and the Prophet Malachi tell us the Jews will convert to Christ at the end. This is also foreshadowed in the final chapters of Genesis, when all the world has gone to Joseph, Saviour of the World, to beg for bread, for life, and then finally Joseph’s brothers come too, and recognise him whom they thought was dead, and great was their love! And the third, Jesus’ revelation to His chosen ones, His friends, in the context of marriage, tells us that the final vision of the Divine Glory will mean eternal union between Christ the Bridegroom and the Church His Bride.
Blessed Epiphanytide. May our new website be all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.
13 January 2018, Commemoration of the Baptism of Our Lord
Due to interest from local families, founders of the Regina Caeli academy will be coming to give a talk on 21st April in Bedford, with a view to opening a satellite programme in one or more UK locations, if there is sufficient demand.
Regina Caeli is a private, independent tutoring centre operating in the Catholic tradition. They offer classes that meet twice a week to boys and girls aged 4-18, and have grown rapidly since their launch in 2003, now operating in 14 locations in the United States. Regina Caeli is a response to the need for affordable, authentic, classical education taught in light of the Catholic tradition.
Kari Beckman, one of the founders of Regina Caeli, and Erika Ahern, the Director of Education, will give a talk in Bedford on Saturday 21st April about the hybrid academy and answer any questions that families might have. Please spread the word and, if you have children of school age and live within reach of Bedford, do come along and hear what they have to say!
You can book tickets here. The ticket costs serve as a contribution to cover the costs of Kari’s travel and accommodation. There’s an early bird rate of £25 until 10th February, when the price goes up to £35.
More information on them is here and an introductory video is here
Ladies – come and learn more about the Miraculous Relic Image of Our Lady of Guadalupe, this country’s replica of which lives in the Shrine in Bedford. A talk about Our Lady, which had been scheduled for 12 December last year, unfortunately had to be postponed. It has now been rearranged for Tuesday 16 January, the next meeting of the Ladies’ Group which has arisen from the Latin Mass at Christ the King. This meeting is open to all ladies and will take place at the group’s usual venue in Ampthill at 10.30 am. Tea and coffee will be available before the talk. Please contact the host, Grace Bozzino, on grace.escargot@gmail.com or Barbara Kay on mbky3@outlook.com for directions. Do come and bring a friend; you will be made most welcome.
Epiphanytide House Blessing was a new experience for us and we were not quite sure what to expect. Fr Mawdsley arrived with a crate containing a thurible, charcoal, incense, a lighter, a bottle of holy water, a sprinkler and blessed chalk. He gave us a sheet containing the words of the blessing so we could follow and join in where appropriate. Most of this was in Latin. Having vested in surplice and stole and after an antiphon and the Magnificat, Fr Mawdsley asked me to led him round each room (including the bathrooms) with Martin, my husband, following him with the thurible. Each room, and the garden, was sprinkled three times with holy water, and incensed three times. The Pater Noster, some responses and the Collect for the day were said. The lintel of the front door was marked with blessed chalk: 20 + C + M + B + 18, standing for the century, the initials of the Three Magi, and the year, with the words: “I place the marks of their holy names over the door of this home to remain there as a constant reminder to us and to all who enter here that this house is truly a house of the Lord”.
It is lovely that our house has been blessed this Epiphanytide and I would thoroughly recommend it – further home blessings are taking place on Fr Mawdsley’s next visit to Bedford on 20/21 January and there is still time to sign the sheet.
Fr. James Mawdsley FSSP said the first of what we hope will be many Masses here in Bedford. He gave a very powerful homily on the Ten Commandments.
This Saturday, 6th January, Fr. Mawdsley will say Mass at 11a.m. for the Epiphany, as well as confessions as part of the First Saturday devotions; 100 years after Fatima is a good time to start carrying out Our Lady’s requests! Fr. Mawdsley will also say Mass on Sunday morning at 8:30am, as usual.
Following our first practice a few weeks ago, we have scheduled a further one for Saturday 20 January, 2 pm – 3.30 pm in the Patrick Donegan room at Christ the King (the green building alongside the church hall). All are welcome and we are all learning together, therefore please don’t be put off if you have never sung Gregorian Chant before. We are aiming to offer our first Sung Mass on Sunday 4 February at 8.30 am.
Please feel free to contact me on mbky3@outlook.com if you have any questions. Looking forward to seeing you on the 20th!
The theme for 
