Sacred Triduum in Reading
Reading
Is the Church One?
In the Creed we profess our faith in the Church as ONE.
And yet later in Holy Mass we ask God to make her ONE.
What does unity actually entail then?
Click here to watch: https://www.facebook.com/fssp.england/posts/2694376134041570.
Crises in Church History
Looking back at three crises in Church history can help us overcome the current one: 1) The Arian crisis, when many bishops said Christ is not God; 2) The Clergy immorality crisis, when St Peter Damian had to tell the pope about widespread homosexuality; 3) The Rival Popes crisis, when good Catholics were made to choose between two or even three popes at a time.
Talk given by Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP for Juventutem London at St Mary Magdalene, Wandsworth, on 12th February 2022.
Pope Francis confirms the liturgical identity of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter
Dear Friends,
His Holiness Pope Francis has confirmed the liturgical identity of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (see below). Deo gratias for such a response from heaven to your prayers!
We note that:
- The meeting of the FSSP superiors with the Holy Father took place during our Novena of Preparation of Worldwide Solemn Consecration of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter to the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
- Further, the Decree confirming our liturgical identity is dated 11th February, the Feast of the Apparitions of Our Lady in Lourdes, and the day of the Worldwide Solemn Consecration of the FSSP. Therefore, after God almighty our gratitude goes to the Immaculate Mother of God, the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- The news was released on 21st February when First Vespers of the Feast of the Chair of Peter occur, it being a First Class Feast in our Fraternity. Thus we also must express our gratitude to our Patron St Peter the Apostle, and must pray further for his successor Pope Francis.
In thanksgiving therefore, we invite you to attend Holy Mass tomorrow, especially if you live near an FSSP Mass centre. At St Mary’s Warrington Holy Mass will be sung tomorrow on Tuesday 22nd February at 12:10pm, followed by a sung Te Deum. We invite all who live at a distance to pray with us via LiveMass.net.
Reminder for members of the Confraternity of Saint Peter: plenary indulgence tomorrow at the usual conditions.
Although we all must pray further for any clergy and laity to benefit from the riches of the Roman traditions of the Church, the communiqué below must strengthen the hopes of all loyal Catholics.
Official communiqué of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter
Fribourg, February 21, 2022
On Friday, February 4, 2022, two members of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, Fr. Benoît Paul-Joseph, Superior of the District of France, and Fr. Vincent Ribeton, Rector of St. Peter’s Seminary in Wigratzbad, were received in private audience by the Holy Father, Pope Francis, for nearly an hour.
During the very cordial meeting, they recalled the origins of the Fraternity in 1988, the Pope expressed that he was very impressed by the approach taken by its founders, their desire to remain faithful to the Roman Pontiff and their trust in the Church. He said that this gesture should be “preserved, protected and encouraged”.
In the course of the audience, the Pope made it clear that institutes such as the Fraternity of St. Peter are not affected by the general provisions of the Motu Proprio Traditionis Custodes, since the use of the ancient liturgical books was at the origin of their existence and is provided for in their constitutions.
The Holy Father subsequently sent a decree signed by him and dated February 11, the day the Fraternity was solemnly consecrated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, confirming for the members of the Fraternity the right to use the liturgical books in force in 1962, namely: the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary.
Grateful to the Holy Father, the members of the Fraternity of St. Peter are in thanksgiving for this confirmation of their mission. They invite all the faithful who feel close to them as a spiritual family to attend or join them in prayer at the Mass tomorrow, on the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, and to pray for the Supreme Pontiff.
Source : www.fssp.org
Photo: Fr. Paul-Joseph (left) and Fr. Vincent Ribeton (right) with Pope Francis – © Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter
Decree of Pope Francis confirming the use of the 1962 liturgical books
The Holy Father Francis, grants to each and every member of the Society of Apostolic Life “Fraternity of Saint Peter”, founded on July 18, 1988 and declared of “Pontifical Right” by the Holy See, the faculty to celebrate the sacrifice of the Mass, and to carry out the sacraments and other sacred rites, as well as to fulfill the Divine Office, according to the typical editions of the liturgical books, namely the Missal, the Ritual, the Pontifical and the Roman Breviary, in force in the year 1962.
They may use this faculty in their own churches or oratories; otherwise it may only be used with the consent of the Ordinary of the place, except for the celebration of private Masses.
Without prejudice to what has been said above, the Holy Father suggests that, as far as possible, the provisions of the motu proprio Traditionis Custodes be taken into account as well.
Given in Rome, near St. Peter’s, on February 11, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, in the year 2022, the ninth year of my Pontificate.
Francis
Launch of New Catholic, Classical Academy in Warrington at St Mary’s Shrine: Spread the word, September 2023.
St Mary’s Academy Warrington
http://www.stmarysacademywarrington.co.uk/
A very warm welcome to St Mary’s Shrine and Academy. How did this all start…
St Mary’s Academy is very much a grass roots academy inspired by an article written in the Dowry called ‘The Villiage Option’. Click here to read the whole article. A few Homeschooling families from the Parish got together once a week on Wednesday to learn, pray and socialise. We decided that we would like more of the same thing and therefore wanted to increase it to two, then three days a week. We also realised that it needed to be more structured, so we created a curriculum and a number of resources. So essentially it has become a Catholic classical homeschooling-hybrid academy. We are a growing academy and are currently have reached year 5. We intend to grow up to GCSE and maybe beyond.
Background
At Saint Mary’s Academy we are not trying to do something new or innovative with the Curriculum. In fact quite the opposite we are doing something old, or to put it another way something Classical. Every young person has a desire to be great, and often this is either subdued or misdirected in the modern world towards vice. However, what would this desire look like if it where nurtured into the greatness that God has planned for us. Well we have to look no further than the Saints to see what true greatness looks like. So by classical education we mean an education fitting for saints in the making. In doing so we are standing on the shoulders of giants like Aristotle, St Augustine and St Thomas Aquinas.
I have taught in OFSED judged ‘Good’ or ‘outstanding’ state schools for over 20 years and could honestly say that good or outstanding are certainly not words that I would use to describe them, despite some of their good exam results.
Soon into my teaching career I began to notice something was fundamentally wrong with modern schools. I am not saying the teachers were not good, in fact some of them were outstanding, virtuous and inspirational. It was not for lack of effort, often we would work 70 hour weeks and still take work home. In my opinion the reason modern schools have lost their way is because they have lost sight of what education is for. So it has become for whatever the most dominant force decides it is for, and today that is Modernism in its many guises ie; cultural marxism, moral relativism, and materialism. It is as if the value of the child is only recognised through what they achieve. This is not what the Classical thinkers taught us.
According to Aristotle the aim of all education is Eudaimonia which is human happiness or human flourishing through mastering of the virtues. As the Angelic doctor, St Thomas Aquinas reminds us, True education not only works towards what we must know and do in this life, but always keeps in view man’s ultimate end in God…
To read more please visit https://www.stmarysacademywarrington.co.uk/curriculum/our-philosophy
What are they up to? To find out more,
Please visit http://www.stmarysacademywarrington.co.uk/ for up to date information on the academy.
Dowry 52 Winter Edition is online
In this issue:
Westerners in 2022 can learn from the heroic fidelity demonstrated by Catholic Poland during WWII and later. Hoping against hope, a generation of young Catholic men and women stood up for their faith and country both at home and abroad. We British and Irish Catholics must love deeper Christ, Our Lady, Holy Church and the saints; and gather together in order to save our souls in the present and forthcoming trials. At the heart of the current battle is the education of our little ones as God’s children.
Editorial: It Is Happening – St Mary’s Academy
Fr de Malleray explains why education is central to his Fraternity’s mission, now implemented through the hybrid Regina Caeli Academies in Bedford and Warrington. Four years after it was indicated as the aim of the successful Priory Campaign, the “Village Option” has become a necessity for families to survive and pass on the faith to their children.
Educating the Saints of Tomorrow
Justin Bozzino presents the hybrid model of the Regina Caeli academies, successfully adapted from America for UK families. He invites families to register for the Warrington Open Day on Saturday 5th March (11am-2pm): www.rcahybrid.org.uk/info.
Heroic Poles in the Battle of Britain
Richard Kornicki reminds us of the crucial role of Polish pilots in the Battle of Britain. Air Officer Commanding RAF Fighter Command Hugh Dowding said: “Had it not been for the magnificent material contributed by the Polish Squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say the outcome of Battle would have been the same”.
Young Women reflect on the Warsaw Uprising
Dowry asks two Polish young women settled in England how they relate to the heroism of a late fellow-Pole Cecylia Wolkowinska portrayed in her autobiography When the Summer Ended (written in collaboration with Joanna Bogle), from her youth in free Poland after WWI until the Nazi invasion of her country and the heroic uprising against the occupier in 1944. What inspiration, what lessons can young people in 2022 Britain learn from their heroic forebears fighting for freedom?
A Polish Army liberates Monte Cassino
Mark Kudlowski pays tribute to the determination of the Polish units who first reached the world-famous Abbey of Monte-Cassino eventually freed from Nazi occupation. Since Europe was civilised largely by the Benedictines stemming from Monte-Cassino, this victory over the anti-Christian forces of Adolf Hitler can inspire us in our third-millennium struggle for the Christian civilisation.
Elizabeth Prout, Mother Teresa of Manchester
Rosalind Starkie reviews Edna Hamer’s book on the Venerable Elizabeth Prout (1820–1864), Foundress of the female branch of the Passionist Order in Victorian England. A convert, Elizabeth Prout brought solace, education and hope to many women, girls and families suffering under inhuman conditions in the slums of Manchester during the Industrial Revolution.
A Bigger God
James Gillick shows that modern telescopes have given men a better idea of the magnitude of the cosmos. This humbles the wise, but terrifies the proud. They react with violence and manic ambition at the expense of true culture and spirituality. Christian artists and thinkers must depict anew the splendour of the Saviour for the benefit of mankind.
Meditations on the Stabat Mater
Religious superiors and theologians express their interest for the medieval liturgical sequence displaying the sufferings of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the foot of the Cross on Good Friday. A commentary on the Stabat Mater just released by CTS can be a good companion for the forthcoming Lent.
Dowry is the quarterly magazine of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter in the UK & Ireland. Since its inception in 2008, the magazine has published dozens of articles on topics as diverse as theology, family life, education, the sacraments, Church Magisterium, art, politics, literature, cinema, spirituality, liturgy and more.
- Articles can be accessed as sorted by authors and topics here:
https://fssp.org.uk/dowry-articles/. - All issues of Dowry are accessible online for free here:
https://fssp.org.uk/category/dowry/. - You can also subscribe to Dowry online for free and have each
new issue posted or emailed to you here:
https://fssp.org.uk/manageprofile/index.php.
We welcome submissions of articles, poetry, pictures and drawings if deemed compatible with our traditional Catholic scope. Any submission must be by email to malleray@fssp.org with (small) attachments in digital format. We cannot guarantee to answer, let alone publish, each and all submission. Thank you for your interest.
Contact us to be sent bulk quantities of Dowry for dispatching among your friends and acquaintances, especially if you are part of a parish, or a community or some other institution.
Dowry belongs to FSSP England, a registered charity no.1129964
(Fraternitas Sacerdotalis Sancti Petri Ltd).
Solemn Consecration of the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 11 February
To seek Our Lady’s increased protection on the Fraternity of St Peter and all those entrusted to our care, there will be a wordwide Marian consecration on 11 February, the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes.
Every day after Mass, 2-10 of February, we will pray a novena for the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter in preparation for this consecration. All members of the Confraternity of St Peter, and any faithful in our apostolates are invited to join in this novena, as follows:
Decade of the Rosary
Memorare:
Remember, O most gracious Virgin Mary, that never was it known that anyone who fled to thy protection, implored thy help, or sought thine intercession was left unaided. Inspired by this confidence, I fly unto thee, O Virgin of virgins, my mother; to thee do I come, before thee I stand, sinful and sorrowful. O Mother of the Word Incarnate, despise not my petitions, but in thy mercy hear and answer me. Amen.
Act of Consecration on Friday 11 February:
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and Help of Christians, behold this day before thy feet, the priests and seminarians of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, together with all those who, united with us as a spiritual family, place their hope and trust in thee.
O Queen and Mother of all priests, it was by thee that Jesus, the High Priest and Victim, was given unto the world, and He in turn has given thee as Mother to us. Intercede, therefore, we implore thee, for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross. Look with favor upon the work we seek to do for the glory of God and the salvation of souls. Obtain for us by thy prayers the graces we need as members of the one Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church, to be instructed and enlightened by her Magisterium, to be devoutly zealous for the graces of her Sacraments, and to be unfailingly loyal in our unity with the Vicar of thy Son.
The rest of the text is recited only by priests and seminarians of the Fraternity:
Conscious of our own frailty, and of the hatred of the world for the works of light, we offer this day to thy Immaculate Heart our Priestly Fraternity and beg thee to take it under thy patronage. We chose thee, this day and evermore, as our advocate and Queen, and devote ourselves and all those souls who seek our priestly care, together with all our works and all we have and are, to thy loving protection. To thee and to thy Immaculate Heart, we entrust and consecrate ourselves. Assist us in our endeavours to spread the Kingdom of thy Son, so that those who have strayed from the truth may once more attend to the teaching of the Church; those separated from her unity may return to the one true fold; those
in sin may be restored to a state of grace; and those who have abandoned the Sacraments may return with fervor to receive them.
O Virgin Most Pure, do thou, together with Saint Peter, and all the angels and saints, pray for us all in these times of trial. May thy love and protection be ever upon our Fraternity, so that we may faithfully proclaim the Holy Gospel and bring the Sacraments to ever more souls. Obtain for us by thy prayers that we may persevere in grace until death, when we may be united with thee, our loving Mother, in the house of the Father. Amen.
Why Young People Choose Consecrated Celibacy
Scroll down to two videos on this topic by Fr de Malleray
By Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP, Chaplain to the Juventutem London Youth Group (this article first appearead in Dowry Mag No51, Autumn 2021)
Who is left? Looking at the group picture of about twenty young Catholics, my finger points at one face after another while next to me a young friend comments: “Gone. She’s also gone. He’s gone as well. They’re gone too.” The picture was taken on retreat in Berkshire in July 2019, the summer before Covid began. Since then, a dozen of them have disappeared… Where did all these young people go? Are they sick with a virus in some hospital ward? Are they in gaol? Are they dead?
Under arch-tyrant Joseph Stalin, official group pictures underwent regular updating as more and more collaborators in the entourage of the suspicious Communist leader were executed. Long before digital graphic design, technicians in Soviet communication had learnt to delete faces and replace them by credible clouds or trees. The young adults on our group picture were spared such a fate. Their youthful features can still be identified on that photo among their friends still in the world, whether married or single. Meeting them in the flesh, though, has become impossible. Why? Because they have left the world.
Twelve of them have embraced the state of consecrated life. They are now scattered in convents, monasteries, and seminaries. How extraordinary! Could there have been less favourable a time to make such an absolute decision? Remember, the whole world was gripped by a virus seemingly lethal. No one could travel anywhere, least of all to visit some abbey overseas. One could not even enter a church to pray and ask God for the grace of discernment, as all places of worship were locked up. Spiritual directors and confessors were little able to provide adequate guidance, confined as they were in their presbyteries and chaplaincies. If anything, they might have suggested to postpone the choice of consecrated celibacy until the end of Covid, whenever it may come. And yet, against formidable odds, a dozen young adults in London and across Britain heard a call, assessed it, and bravely answered it. They had little more in common, it seemed, than being in their twenties and having come across the traditional Latin Mass. They attended it wherever permitted and met at the monthly Juventutem London gathering.
They all joined communities where the same traditional liturgy is offered in full communion with the Church. P. is a Redemptorist in Papa Stronsay, Scotland. R. is a parish nun in Minneapolis, America. V. is a Eucharistic Adorer in Naples, Italy. X. is a novice at the Marian Franciscans’ in Gosport, England. D. and L. are seminarians in Tuscany; while D. and H. from Cheshire, C. from Ulster, T. and M. from London and F. from South Wales study for the priesthood in Bavaria and in America. G, from Wales is on pastoral stage in England. E. is a Carmelite in Birkenhead, England. Y. from Wales, and S. are Benedictine nuns in Gower, America. F. is a Franciscan Nun of the Immaculate in San Giovanni Rotundo, Italy. In addition, S. just announced that he will begin with the Gosport Franciscans by Easter. S. is actively discerning with the Naples Adorer Sisters. F. started at the Lanherne Carmel and T. will begin with the Redemptorists in Scotland around Easter.
More have joined some communities a few years before Covid, like at Silverstream Priory in Ireland, or without previous involvement with Juventutem, like T. who is trying his vocation with a Thomistic clerical community in America. A few more, at least among those known to me, are in communities where the traditional Latin Mass is offered regularly, if not exclusively, like the various Oratories in England and Wales, the Norbertines in Chelmsford and the Order of Malta in which an erstwhile parishioner of mine just became a solemnly professed religious. Young people once connected with Juventutem or with traditional Mass centres have also joined Novus Ordo communities with use of Latin, like H. from Edinburgh at St Cecilia’s on the Isle of Wight, and T. from Basingstoke now at Douai Abbey in Berkshire. I had indication of more, not personally known to me, who have joined other communities.
If focusing on those whose vocation lead them to traditional communities, one will find that the proportion is very high, since these young people are much fewer than those attending Novus Ordo parishes across the dioceses. In addition, their chances to proceed with discernment are thin, as spiritual directors actively supportive of the traditional Latin Mass are not many. Even when benefitting from sympathetic direction, these young people have very few places they might join in Great Britain, and not many more abroad, should Covid regulations allow them to travel. Finally, all the traditional communities listed above are young. The Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter, by far the largest (with 530 members on four continents) and the oldest, was founded only thirty three years ago. Most others are between one and fifteen years old (like the Benedictines Nuns of the Immaculate in Northern Italy), or if older, have adopted the traditional liturgy in the past year or so.
So many uncertainties combined could have deterred our young people. And yet, by the grace of God, they did not. How and why so many, proportionately, have answered the call in the past few years, is a mystery to me. Since my first appointment in England twenty years ago, time and again through retreats, articles and spiritual direction I have urged the importance and beauty of consecrated life. While the response has been rewarding as regards priestly vocations, it had remained practically null for religious life, especially for religious nuns. What a blessing that divine Providence choses to reach out to so many precisely now, when circumstances are most adverse. No doubt this is an answer to the prayers and sacrifices of many, lay and consecrated alike, alive and dead. I know of families who offer up their evening rosary for such a crucial intention. I am sure that religious in dwindling communities also intercede for the torch to be passed on. Nor should our British saints and martyrs in heaven be forgotten: so many died for the Faith in gruesome torments. Even better than we, they must see how urgently England and the world need a revival of religious life. They must be praying hard to the Master of Harvest to send many, many generous and sacrificial souls to reclaim the land.
Admittedly, these numbers are still small, since what are twenty or even forty young religious compared with the large and well-established monasteries, convents and friaries which have closed over the past fifty years? In addition, the new communities they join are just this: new, with all the risks inherent to a recent beginning, such as little experience, limited resources and very few powerful friends either in the Church hierarchy or in secular society. And yet, it would not be the first time that the Holy Ghost selected instruments left out of the most professionally designed pastoral plans.This November fifty young men and women attended a day of conferences and prayer on the vocation to consecrated life organised by Juventutem London. Later this same month, fourteen men between 18 and 29 years of age attended a weekend of vocational discernment at St Mary’s Shrine in Warrington. In addition, not a few of these young people are converts or reverts who found their way to Holy Church together with their parents and siblings. This shows that God’s invitation reaches every generation, not only the young, as evidenced in the increased attendance at traditional Mass centres across the country.
We, English Catholics in our bleak or anxious 2020s, are given the grace of witnessing what could be a crucially promising revival. Can there be any doubt that our Isles, across which monasticism grew of old and bore such glorious fruit, from Rievaulx and Jarrow to Glastonbury, and from Iona, Fountains and Bury to Westminster, await a new wave of gentle conquerors, armed not with arrows and chains, but with crosses and beads?
How can one help foster such a timely revival, you may wonder? The Catechism of the Catholic Church (#2233) teaches that, “Parents should welcome and respect with joy and thanksgiving the Lord’s call to one of their children to follow him in virginity for the sake of the Kingdom in the consecrated life or in priestly ministry.” Our readers already settled in a state of life may pray for consecrated vocations to be granted among their own children, nephews and nieces, godsons and goddaughters and young friends. They can also join this 8,000-strong international prayer network for vocations: fssp.org.uk/about-the-confraternity/. Last autumn (2021), a record number of 49 seminarians were admitted in the First Year with the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter (more had applied but we lacked space). As to you, dear young readers, please see whether this balanced portrait of would-be religious offered us by the meek and gentle St Francis de Sales might perhaps strike a chord in your heart:
“…religious orders have been called hospitals in every age and religious are known by a Greek word which means healers because they are in a hospital to heal one another like the lepers of Saint Bridget (n19) (v36). We need not expect that those who enter religious life will be immediately perfect; it is enough for them to tend to perfection, and to embrace the means for growing in perfection. Our community, no more than any other religious community, is not a group of perfect women but rather a group of women who are aiming at and tending toward perfection. It is a school where we come to learn about the means that we must use to become perfect. And in order to do this, it is necessary to have this firm and constant will such as I spoke of, to embrace all the means of growing in perfection that are proper to the vocation in which one is called.
Therefore, it is not the tearful, sorrowfilled and sighing person who is the best one called; nor those who are consumed mostly with the cross, nor those who will not move from the chapel, nor those who are always in the hospital [i.e. to tend sick patients], nor even those who begin with a burst of fervour. We must not pay any attention to the tears of the weepers, nor listen to the sighs of the sighers, nor look for bearing and deportment to find those who are truly called. But we should look for those who have a good, strong and constant resolve to be healed and who because of that resolve work faithfully to recover their spiritual health.” □
(Above quote cf Conference Seventh, in www.oblates.org/spiritual-conferences/.)
Why young people choose consecrated celibacy:
Despite Covid travel restrictions and churches locked up, more young adults have entered traditional convents, seminaries and monasteries over the past few years. Fr de Malleray explains what consecrated celibacy entails and why such a demanding ideal appeals to the younger generation. Juventutem London (UK), 13 November 2021.
Click on links below to launch videos:
Juventutem London – Day of Recollection Nov 21 – Part 1
Juventutem London – Day of Recollection Nov 21 – Part 2
Watch our short video Called to become a priest…
Re-read earlier articles and homilies on Vocations:
Light the Beacons! (2015)
Are You the Fiftieth? (2010)
Great Conversion Story in London
This entire family became Catholic during lockdown. Now they are actively committed. Another great conversion story by our friends at OneOfNine:
Upcoming Events in Reading
Saturday 4 December
Solemn candlelit Rorate Mass – 7am
Advent Recollection, 10.15am-1pm, led by Deacon Gwilym Evans, FSSP.
Tuesday 7 December
Solemn First Vespers for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception – 6pm