Fr Goddard (the new Shrine Rector) and Fr Evans (Assistant Priest) would like to express their sincere thanks for the warm and generous welcome that they have received, since moving to Warrington a week last Wednesday. Thank you, in particular, for those who organized the (unexpected!) party after the 11am Sunday Mass last week. Frs Goddard and Evans are very much looking forward to ministering to this committed vibrant community and to meeting you all in due course. Please keep them both, and all our priests, in your prayers.
All Saints Day (1 Nov.) is a Holy Day of Obligation – all Catholics must attend Mass on pain of mortal sin, and to the extent possible, abstain from servile works. Masses in Reading will be at 10am (Low Mass), and 7pm (Sung).
After the morning Mass, there will be a children’s All Saints party – come dressed as your favourite saint! Please bring a packed lunch and something to share.
All Souls Day is not a Holy Day of Obligation, but it is strongly encouraged that you attend Mass and pray for the poor souls in purgatory. Priests have the privilege this day of offering three Requiem Masses – three different formularies are provided in the missal. In Reading, there will be two consecutive Low Masses at 10am, and a Sung Mass at 7pm.
Indulgences
A reminder of the indulgences available in November, applicable only to the poor souls in purgatory:
1-8 November: a plenary indulgence is granted for visiting a cemetery and praying for the dead, if only mentally. Partial indulgences are granted to those who recite Lauds or Vespers of the Office of the Dead, and to those who recite the prayer Requiem æternam dona eis Domine, et lux perpetua luceat eis (‘eternal rest grant unto them O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them’).
On 2 November, a plenary indulgence (applicable only for the dead) is granted to the faithful who devoutly visit a church or an oratory and recite there an Our Father and the Creed.
Only one indulgence may be gained per day. To gain the indulgence, one must be in the state of grace at the time of performing the work, and fulfil the following three conditions: sacramental confession, Eucharistic Communion (both within a few days), and prayer for the intention of the Sovereign Pontiff.
Great Catholic holiday for Boys, and Girls, in the Peak District. Organised and staffed by our Fraternity, with the help of lay staff.
Please tell your friends urgently as the deadline is looming ahead! Spread the word now!
The St Peter’s Summer Camp for Boys runs 7-12 August (see pics here and Facebook Event here)
The St Petronilla Summer Camp for Girls runs 14-19 August (see pics here and Facebook Event here)
The cost is £200 for the first child of a family attending each camp, and then £100 for subsequent children from that family.
No children to send? But can you sponsor a child? Your generosity will help us provide unforgettable holidays for more children.
There is an online booking form here. (NB this form does not include a facility for online payment. Please either send a cheque in the post to Fr Phipps, or use bank transfer as below).
Alternatively, please print off a booking form here and send to Fr Phipps, either by post or by email to fsspcamps.uk@gmail.com. A place will be reserved on receipt on the £30 deposit. NOTE there is a deadline of 1st July to receive the booking form and deposit.
Postal address:
Fr Seth Phipps FSSP St John Fisher House 17 Eastern Avenue Reading RG1 5RU
Cheques should be made payable to FSSP England
Bank Transfer: please use reference S/CAMP23
Bank Name: Lloyds Bank Sort Code: 30-93-04 Account number: 02027225 Account name: FSSP England
For international transfers, you may also need:
Bank Branch: Palmerston Rd Southsea Bank Address: Ariel House, 2138 Coventry Road, Sheldon, B26 3JW IBAN: GB09LOYD30930402027225 SWIFT code: LOYDGB21361
8.30 am Stephen Carroll RIP 12.30 pm Private intention
CONFESSIONS Saturdays 3 pm—5 pm
ASH WEDNESDAY AND LENT Low Mass and Imposition of Ashes on Wednesday 22nd February at 7.30 pm. There are some hints for keeping a good Lent below.
FEAST OF THE CHAIR OF ST PETER AND CONFRATERNITY Our prayers are with all our FSSP priests and seminarians on Thursday 23rd February, the transferred Feast of the Chair of St Peter, which is celebrated as a First Class Feast in apostolates of the Fraternity. Members of the Confraternity of St Peter pray daily for the priests and seminarians and have a Mass offered for them once a year. If you are interested in becoming a member of the Confraternity, please contact Fr Phipps (sphipps@fssp.org) for further information and to apply.
FINANCIAL GIVING Our Offertory collection money is shared between the Parish of Christ the King and the FSSP whose priests minister to the Latin Mass faithful. The FSSP is reliant on regular supplementary financial giving in order to maintain their apostolate in Bedford. If you have not done so already, please consider setting up a standing order to them. These need to be set up by you through your own bank using the following details: account name: FSSP England (Reading); sort code 30-93-04; account number 02027330. If you are a UK tax payer, Gift Aid forms are also available. Thank you for your generosity.
ACCESS TO THE SACRAMENTS If there is the need for sacraments — baptism, confirmation, sick calls etc — please contact Fr Goddard on telephone number 0118 966 5284 or by email: goddard@fssp.org.
Practical Suggestions for Lent – Fr Matthew Goddard Try to get to Mass more often during Lent. Try to get to Confession at least once during Lent. If you are not already saying a daily Rosary then Lent would be a good time to start. If you do already, then why not take a second Rosary during Lent for the needs of others. The Stations of the Cross is a popular devotion which focusses us on the direction Lent leads us, namely salvation won for us through Christ’s Passion and Death. Why not take up a particular prayer intention for Lent. This could be personal or for others in your life, and/or o For the needs and development of our FSSP Latin Mass Chaplaincy in Bedford. o For the FSSP (the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter) and all those entrusted to its care. o For our Regina Caeli Academy. o For an end to abortion clinic buffer zones.
Lent would be a good time to make an effort in spiritual reading. Only take on things which you think you can manage for 40 days – don’t overstretch yourself. Don’t choose something that will make you “crabby”, thus leading you and those around you into sin. Don’t give up if you slip up in your resolve, but keep starting again for the 40 days. If charity towards a challenging person in your life is particularly difficult, refraining from a lack of charity and trying to get on with that person can be a greater penance and mortification than, for example, giving up chocolate or the internet Consider supporting a pro-life charity, such as SPUC or The Good Counsel Network. Consider supporting a charity which supports persecuted Christians, such as Aid to the Church in Need.
The Latin Mass Society will be celebrating the Sacred Triduum in St Mary Moorfields Church, Eldon Street, London EC2M 7LS, by kind invitation of Fr Christopher Vipers, the Parish Priest. Music will be supplied by Cantus Magnus, directed by Matthew Schellhorn.
WEDNESDAY 28 MARCH – Spy Wednesday
21:00 Tenebrae
Hieremiæ prophetæ lamentationes a 5, Lassus
Responsoria pro Triduo Sacro in
Nocturno II et III a 4, Lassus
THURSDAY 29 MARCH – Maundy Thursday
18:00 High Mass
Missa super l’Homme Armé Anerio
Christus factus est Pitoni
Pater noster Lassus
21:00 Tenebrae
Hieremiæ prophetæ lamentationes a 5, Lassus
Responsoria pro Triduo Sacro in
Nocturno II et III a 4, Lassus
FRIDAY 30 MARCH – Good Friday
18:00 Solemn Liturgy
Passio secundum Joannem, Byrd
Popule meus, Richardson
Caligaverunt oculi mei, Lassus
21:00 Tenebrae
Hieremiæ prophetæ lamentationes a 5, Lassus
Responsoria pro Triduo Sacro in
Nocturno II et III a 4, Lassus
SATURDAY 31 MARCH – Holy Saturday
18:00 Solemn Vigil
Petite messe solennelle, Battmann
Tantum ergo O salutaris hostia, Dubois
The cost to the LMS of celebrating the full Triduum is quite considerable, if you would like to make a donation towards the cost, please do by visiting www.lms.org.uk
Today was the first Mass in Bedford of Father Patrick O’Donohue, a young priest who has recently joined the FSSP in Reading to test his vocation. 75 people were at Christ the King; a record for a Sunday morning. We thank God for such a wonderful blessing and pray that it may continue. Many of us had the pleasure of meeting Fr. O’Donohue in the church hall afterwards and learning more about his background. We look forward to seeing him again soon!
Fr. O’Donohue gave a wonderful sermon in which he mentioned the Sacred Heart, the Eucharist and the little girl who inspired Venerable Fulton Sheen to make a daily Holy Hour. He also talked about the immense act of charity of inviting someone to Mass.
Next week, Fr. Goddard will be saying Mass – the clocks go back on Sunday and so 8:30am is a little more comfortable for those of us who aren’t “morning people”. So, if you are thinking of coming, or haven’t been in a while, you’ll have an extra hour in bed before the 8:30 Mass next week! And if you know someone who might be interested, next week is a good time to bring them along to Mass!
Latin Masses at Bedford will, from next week (8th October), be celebrated by priests from the international Catholic order the Fraternity of St. Peter from their base in Reading. They also anticipate celebrating Mass on most Holydays of Obligation at 7:30pm.
Fr. Matthew Goddard FSSP, the Superior in Reading, will celebrate the first Mass of the regular FSSP apostolate next week, at 8:30am. All are welcome and he would love to meet you afterwards over tea and coffee in the hall.
We are extremely appreciative of the FSSP’s support, both supplying priests on a one off basis when holiday season struck down our regular celebrants, and now making a longer term commitment to the area through regular Masses. But it’s not just looking forward to exciting times ahead – we are tremendously grateful to the priests who have said Mass in Bedford over the last 26 months; some making six hour round trips three weekends in a row, others cutting short holidays to be able to make the Mass, still others getting up at 5am for an early morning taxi or train in the middle of winter. Secular culture seems solely able to find priests they can portray in a bad light (see here for why), but our experience in Bedford could not have been more different. We are lucky to have met many wonderful priests and begun to understand different approaches to the Latin Mass, all of which have enriched our faith.
Finally, none of this would have been possible without the openness and hospitality of Fr. Patrick and his wife Rita. Their wisdom and experience has made the integration of a Latin Mass into the thriving Bedford parish much easier than it might have been, and they, along with the parishioners attending the English Mass, have made us feel welcome at every moment of our time in Bedford.
Deo Gratias! Please do come to the Masses if you are within range of Bedford and if you aren’t please pray for us and consider supporting the FSSP’s apostolate in the UK.
(Mass times for Bedford/Reading 
