Sunday Bulletin 24 Dec 2023

FSSP Chaplaincy Bulletin, 24 Dec 2023 – 6 January 2024

Served by the Priestly Fraternity of St Peter by appointment from the RC Diocese of Northampton

Residence: St Alban House, 18 Brett Drive, Bromham, Bedford MK43 8RF

Landline: 01234 954 316

Worship: Christ the King Church, Harrowden Road, Bedford MK42 0SP; and on Sundays and major feasts at Our Lady of Perpetual Succour Church, Chesham Bois, 30 Amersham Road, HP6 5PE

fssp.org.uk/bedford or fssp.org.uk/chesham     

facebook.com/bedfordlatinmass

facebook.com/fssp.england

Chaplain: Fr Armand de Malleray, FSSP:

malleray@fssp.org

Visiting Priest: Fr Miguel Coelho:

pe.miguelcoelho@protonmail.com

Secretary: Mrs Rita Carroll: bedford@fssp.org

Receive this newsletter by email https://fssp.org.uk/manageprofile/index.php

Watch daily Mass by the FSSP on www.livemass.net/locations/warrington.html

Daily Holy Mass readings: www.divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/missa/missa.pl

Vespers: https://www.divinumofficium.com/cgi-bin/horas/officium.pl

HOLY MASS TIMES

BEDFORD: Sunday: 8:30am; Mon 10:00am; Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri: 8:00am; Sat 10:00am

CHESHAM BOIS: Sunday: 12noon

Holy Days: 11:30am (check website before travelling)

Bedford CONFESSIONS TIMES

Sat 11:00am-12noon. And during or around Holy Mass when possible, including in Chesham Bois.

Safeguarding: If you have concerns about children or vulnerable adults, please contact the FSSP England Safeguarding Lead, Fr Matthew Goddard: goddard@fssp.org.

Frs de Malleray and Coelho wish you and your families a blessed feast of the Nativity of the Lord. They thank you for your cards, gifts and generous support. Please note that, unlike in some other churches, in FSSP apostolates the Christmas Offertory collections go to support the ministry, rather than being retained by the priests for personal use. Should you wish to donate money to the priests personally, please make sure to clearly label your envelope with the name of the priest, mentioning “Personal gift”. Thank you.  

Join us for coffee after Sunday Mass, both in Bedford and Chesham Bois. Follow the crowd into nearby parish halls.

No dogs inside the church please. Our beloved pets are requested kindly to wait for their masters outside.

VOLUNTEERS URGENTLY NEEDED TO (WO)MAN THE HALL KITCHEN FOR SUNDAY COMMUNITY COFFEE. Thank you to those who enquired. Unless we get more people we cannot use the kitchen, which will impact on our Sunday gatherings in the hall. Can you commit to one Sunday a month? Senior or teenage volunteers welcome. Thank you in advance. Please contact Jo Paul for details: joanna.m.paul@outlook.com.

Congratulations to Peter and Maria Jones on the birth of Vincent on the feast of St Thomas the Apostle, 21 Dec.

[Originally announced for Sat 20 Jan, now POSTPONED BY A WEEK]

Ladies’ group: now Sat 27^th January

12noon shared lunch, 1pm talk and Q&As – in the Patrick Donegan Room. Please note that Holy Mass will now be at 11am, AFTER, not BEFORE confessions. This allows you to come already for Mass and stay on for the group.

Next Men’s group: Thursday 18 Jan, 8:00pm, after 7:30pm tea & biscuit (or beer!) – in the Patrick Donegan Room.

PREPARATION to the SACRAMENTS:

Please kindly email Chaplaincy Secretary Mrs Rita Carroll (bedford@fssp.org) the full details of candidates for First Holy Communion and/or Confirmation (includes date of birth). Also for Holy Matrimony (if any), and Baptism. Schedules for preparation will be communicated in January.

This year one needs to attend Mass on both Christmas Eve (Sunday) and Christmas Day (starts with Midnight Mass) to fulfil the obligation.

On Christmas Day, it is very good but not obligatory, to attend more than one holy Mass.

FSSP UK & Ireland wall 2024 CALENDARS have arrived! Receive your copy after Mass on 24 & 25 Dec. Free (suggested donation £2).

Altar servers training: Fr de Malleray is keen to meet with any boys and men interested. Serving is an honour and brings many graces. One can start with just a Low Mass with one server. As a start, anyone who would like to serve at Midnight Mass is requested to attend a practice led by the Chaplain on Sat 23 Dec, 11:00am to 12noon at Christ the King Church.

Everyone under 18 must have a signed parental consent form (ask Rita Carroll).

For practice purposes, the Latin Mass Society have put together a good series of tutorial videos here

youtu.be/GDfuzBdinUM; and provide printed resources here: lms.org.uk/catalog/altar-servers

Quicker Holy Communion process in Bedford and Chesham Bois: when waiting to kneel at the Communion rail, please do not wait until the entire rail is vacated, but instead go and kneel at the nearest available space.

Congratulations to Jacek and Catherine Witkowski on the birth of their first child Alice, to be baptised on 6^th Jan, 1:30pm, at Chesham Bois.

Three holy Masses this Christmas: In Bedford our traditional Christmas Holy Mass will start at midnight this year again (Mass of the Night), followed by the Mass of Dawn at 8:30am. The Mass of the Day will be offered at Chesham Bois at 11:30am [not at 12noon].

Epiphany: Attending holy Mass on Sat 6^th January for the solemnity of the Epiphany is not an obligation this year. But we invite all to our holy Mass that will take place on the traditional date (Twelfth Night after the Nativity) on Sat 6^th Jan in Bedford at 10:00am (exceptionally, no confessions from 11am to 12noon, but from 9:00am to 9:55am), and at 12:30pm at Chesham Bois, followed by two infant baptisms.

On the Eve of the Epiphany, Friday 5^th Jan, bring containers filled with water clearly labelled to your name, with the cap off, to have them blessed as Epiphany Water from 8:50am, after our usual 8:00am Mass. Please note that this performing this blessing lasts at least 45minutes.

PICK UP AN HYMN BOOK as you enter the church. Can you sing Christmas carols and/or play of an instrument? Contact us. Also, as mentioned from the pulpit, we have started singing hymns right before and after Sunday Mass, plus a simple Latin one during Holy Communion. After a few weeks we should all become familiar with tune and words.

Offertory Collections in Bedford: up to now they were retained by the parish.  Increased expenses for two priests in full time ministry leads to retaining the Offertory collection, as per the Chaplaincy statutes. This will start in January (as has been the case in Chesham Bois for years). The Chaplaincy will of course continue to contribute its fair share to the upkeep of Christ the King Church.

FINANCES: online donations and standing orders are still gratefully received, being also much quicker and easier to process than cash. Thank you in advance for your generosity.

Sort code: 30-80-27   Account number: 44025960

Christmas collections go to the apostolate, not to individual priests. Thank you in advance.

GIFT AID: Increase your donation to the FSSP Chaplaincy by 25% at no further expense to you. Ask Rita for a Gift Aid form, fill it in and hand it back to her. That will help us a lot.

MAILING LIST: Please subscribe for free to the newly created Mailchimp list, now the official medium of information for the Northampton FSSP Chaplaincy. Click on this link: https://facebook.us11.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=c6ff52282548a1c81708fb5ef&id=adabc6323e

Well done Chesham Bois parishioners for the joyful Christmas Dinner last 16 Dec., with quiz, attended by many among our adult congregation!

Good books to buy as Christmas presents. For children: https://www.isaiahbooks.co.uk/product-page/when-the-stars-shone-bright-a-christmas-tale: £7.99, plus shipping. Discounts available on bulk orders.

For adults: Fr de Malleray’s latest novel: https://aroucapress.com/vermeers-angel. Also, Fr de Malleray’s book on the Holy Eucharist, heavily discounted to £10.00 after Sunday Mass.

Baronius hand missals for sale, 1/3 off for FSSP Chaplaincy: £45.00 each. Three colours: white, black and Bordeaux.

Pray  for  the sick in our congregations. Email their names for insertions in next bulletins.

HOLY MASS INTENTIONS  this WEEK

by Fr AM