A very successful Altar Servers Training Weekend was held at St Mary’s Shrine Church, Warrington from March 2nd to March 4th.
The course was attended by people from across the country wishing to learn to serve the Traditional Roman Mass, especially the Low Mass.
The weekend was packed with information as students worked hard practising how to assist the Priest at the Altar during Holy Mass and Benediction.
An added bonus was the meals which were beautifully cooked by Choir Member Kirsty.
One of the younger trainee severs said, “I thought the training I received from the F.S.S.P. at Warrington was first class. Superior Father de Malleray was very clear on what he wanted the trainee altar servers to do, i.e. what to carry, directions to walk around the altar, etc.. It was very enjoyable and I consistently prayed to St Stephen to make a success of the training.”
“Sancte Stephane, ora pro nobis!”
Men and youg men interested are invited to contact Fr Loewenstein, FSSP (email: padrek@libero.it) to book for a lesson.
After the Latin Mass at Christ the King on the snowy morning of Sunday 4 March 2018, it was with sadness that we said goodbye to Alex Kovacsics, his wife Maria and his children Emilia, Alexander, Adam and Albert. It was their last Sunday with us, as they are moving back to their native Croatia. Alex has been running a very popular and successful restaurant in Bedford town centre, but is swapping this for the more family-friendly life of setting up a vineyard.
The congregation had signed two cards for Alex and family – one of them showing an English country lane complete with red telephone box and pillar box! – and had contributed towards some flowers, chocolates and good English beer, with which Alex was presented amidst the enjoyment of tasty food.
Alex was instrumental in bringing the Latin Mass to Christ the King, Bedford 2½ years ago and more recently in enabling the FSSP Apostolate to be founded. He has been responsible for setting up the altar for Mass and for serving on the altar. For all this we are truly grateful.
Alex promises that he will be back in Bedford from time to time and we look forward to that. Meanwhile, he and Maria are expecting their fifth child and have already invited Fr Matthew Goddard to Croatia to baptise the baby!
We wish Alex, Maria, Emilia, Alexander, Adam and Albert all the best and Godspeed as they start their new life and will miss them.
Catholic young adults, aged 18 – 35, are invited to a social evening this Saturday 17 March in Bedford. Please arrive for 5pm at the parish room at the eastern end of Christ the King Church, Harrowden Road, Bedford, MK42 0SP. There is parking available in the church car park. After introductions, we will likely go to a nearby place to eat in Bedford town centre.
This is the FSSP’s second such social evening in Bedford. Do contact Fr Mawdsley if you have questions or suggestions or just to let him know you hope to attend.
Want to re-build the walls of Jerusalem? If you would like to learn to serve the traditional Mass, or to join our team at Christ the King Church, please contact Fr Mawdsley to ask about attending the altar server training from 2:30 – 4:30pm on Saturday 17 March at the church.
For practising the responses, there is a useful video here (also works well at 1.25 speed):
Plans are afoot for a delegation from the FSSP communities in Reading and Warrington to participate in the Chartres pilgrimage on Pentecost weekend. The theme of this year’s pilgrimage is “St Joseph, Pilgrim and Servant”.
We will be going with the Latin Mass Society. Departure is from London on Friday, 18 May 2018 at 7:30am. Arrival back in London about 8pm on the following Tuesday, 22 May 2018.
The pilgrimage consists of a walk from Notre-Dame Cathedral, Paris, to Notre-Dame Cathedral, Chartres, covering 70 miles in three days. This involves long hours of walking, early morning starts, arriving at the campsite late in the evenings and requires a reasonable level of fitness.
Payment in full by 25 March (Palm Sunday this year). Bursary may be available for young people to reduce costs.
Unfortunately due to the adverse weather conditions, Bishop Peter Doyle was unable to visit Christ the King, Bedford on the weekend of 3/4 March. The visit has now been rescheduled for 12/13 May. We are hoping that the sun will be out that weekend to welcome the Bishop, as well as a good congregation at the Latin Mass, at which he will preach.
UPDATE Saturday 3 March: Sadly Bishop Doyle will not be able to come to Bedford tomorrow morning for the Sunday Masses. God willing he will be with us on 12-13 May.
Bishop Peter Doyle will give the homily at the 8:30am Sung Mass this Sunday 4th March here at Christ the King Church.
This will follow the Family Catechism Day with Fatima devotions on Saturday 3rd March on the theme of the Incarnation. The programme can be found here.
Click here to open the 24-page pdf, or on the picture below.
(Dowry is the quarterly magazine of the FSSP in the UK & Ireland)
Forward the link to your acquaintances and post it on your own media.
This is a simple way to help us spread the Good News!
In this issue:
Editorial: Overlooked Migrants
Let This Not Be Your Last Dowry!
Should Priests Marry To Be Merry?
Thirsting for Truth
The Veil of Saint Veronica
Young Adults Fall for Old Rite
Filming God?
Prayers for a fruitful General Chapter
Forthcoming events
His + Hers = Heirs
Support our apostolate
The second of our Family Catechism Days with Fatima Devotions takes place at Christ the King, Bedford this coming Saturday 3 March. There will be Mass at 10 am, Rosary, Confessions and catechism for children and adults. The first one was very worthwhile and we hope even more people will come along to this one, which is on the theme of the Incarnation.
On Sunday 4 March the 8.30 am Mass will be sung, and the preacher will be Bishop Peter Doyle, Bishop of Northampton, who is paying a pastoral visit to the parish this weekend. He would very much like to meet the Latin Mass congregation in the hall afterwards, so do come over to welcome him.
Those brining children to the Family Catechism Day either on 3rd March (in Bedford) or 24th March (in Chesham Bois) are asked if possible to prepare your children by giving them a prayer card with an image of Jesus’ Holy Face on the Shroud of Turin and one of Our Lady of Guadalupe as miraculously produced and preserved on St Juan Diego’s tilma. If prayer cards cannot be found or brought along, then a few minutes studying the result of a Google search is another option.
How much God desires to be close to us, to give us everything we need, so that He has arranged most tenderly that we have to this day an image of His incarnate Face, and a true image too of His Mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary! Both images show peace, humility, suffering, strength and an astonishing majesty–not the world’s version of power, but God’s.
As the theme for the Family Catechism Days on 3rd & 24th March will be the Incarnation, it is a perfect preparation for children or adults to gaze on these two beautiful faces of Jesus & Mary. The doctrines are very high, and the pictures very close; thought the greatest mind on earth cannot fathom them, even a child of five can love them.
“Ecce mater tua” (Jn 19:27) “Qui videt me, videt et Patrem” (Jn 14:9)
“Behold thy mother” (Jn 19:27) “Whoever has seen Me, has seen the Father” (Jn 14:9)
“Non relinquam vos orphanos” (Jn 14:18) “I will not leave you orphans“
