Chairman's Blog
Easter Triduum in London: photos
I have processed my photographs from the Easter Triduum at St Mary Moorfields in London, which were organised by the Latin Mass Society. Here are some highlights; click through to find the whole set.
Maundy Thursday: the Mandatum
Maundy Thursday is always well attended. The church was packed.
Carrying the Blessed Sacrament to the Altar of Repose
Good Friday: the clergy prostrate themselves.
This year the Afternoon Liturgy was celebrated earlier than in the past: at 3pm (the church was free), and better attended than ever before. As with the other days, the church was full.
Veneration of the Cross
Tenebrae: we celebrated all three, each anticipated the evening before.
Easter Vigil: blessing the fire
Aspersions
The Gospel
Support the Latin Mass Society
Prayer Vigil for Life with the Traditional Dominican Rite, 10th May
At St Dominic's, Haverstock Hill, in London.
Rigid Catholics: a talk in London
And I ask myself: Why so much rigidity? Dig, dig, this rigidity always hides something, insecurity or even something else. Rigidity is defensive. True love is not rigid.I shall be giving a talk, 'Why do they call you rigid?', in London on Friday.
It is part of the Iota Unum series, and will take place at 7:30pm in the basement of Our Lady of the Assumption, Warwick Street, on Friday 26th (Easter Friday).
Access via the basement steps from Golden Square (map).
£5 on the door; drinks provided.
I shall be discussing the development of the notion of psychological rigidity from the 1930s, the way the theory has been used, problems with the theory, its relationship with the Catholic faith, and how one can respond when accused of rigidity.
What were Catholic schools like in the Bad Old Days?
A friend of mine found a school Religious Instruction curriculum dating from ther 1930s or '40s in the Diocese Clifton, and I've written a LifeSiteNews article about it.
Here's a quote.
Support the Latin Mass Society
London Easter Triduum: World premier of Peter Kwasniewski tenebrae compositions
PRESS RELEASE from the Latin Mass Society
This Holy Week in the heart of London, a rare opportunity to experience one of the oldest services in the Catholic Church along with a feast of chant and polyphony including a Sacred Music World Premiere.
Beginning on ‘Spy Wednesday’ with the ancient office of Tenebrae, The Latin Mass Society will be celebrating Holy Week with a wealth of traditional Latin liturgy at St. Mary Moorfields in the heart of the City of London. This year’s Triduum celebration will be directed by the Latin Mass Society Director of Music for London, Matthew Schellhorn with his group ‘Cantus Magnus.’
Since his appointment as Director of Music, Matthew Schellhorn has involved more professional musicians, both singers, organists and composers, in the work of the Latin Mass Society.
In October 2018, Cantus Magnus gave the World Premiere of new commissions Missa Rex in Æternum and Ego mater along with UK Premieres of several other works by American composer Peter Kwasniewski (b. 1971).
The Latin Mass Society is pleased to announce that the renowned composer and theologian Peter Kwasniewski has been commissioned to write for Cantus Magnus, and his Lamentations of Jeremiah will be sung at the daily Tenebrae during the Sacred Triduum.
This new work, structured in three parts for each day, will allow the entire liturgical text to be sung by incorporating the original chant for the Lamentation narrative, preceded by polyphonic introductions and concluding with a haunting meditation on the text, ‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, convertere ad Dominum Deum tuum’ (‘Jerusalem, Jerusalem, return unto the Lord thy God’).
Matthew Schellhorn writes “I am immensely grateful to Dr Kwasniewski for writing this new set of Lamentations, and for his support of the Latin Mass Society’s work. I hope that this creative form of the Lamentation genre will enable more choral groups to celebrate the Sacred Triduum in a fittingly artistic way.”
Joseph Shaw, Chairman of the Latin Mass Society says '“I am delighted that the Latin Mass Society is able once again to make the older form of the services of the Easter Triduum available with fitting solemnity and with truly worthy musical accompaniment. We are particularly fortunate this year to have Professor Kwasniewski’s new compositons to perform, and I look forward very much to hearing them.”
The Holy Week services commence with Tenebrae at 18.00 on Wednesday 17th April and continue until the great celebration of the Easter Vigil at 18:00 on Saturday 20th April.
As well as the services at St Mary Moorfields, Traditional Triduum liturgies will be celebrated at churches throughout the country. Details of Holy Week Mass listings are:
www.lms.org.uk/sacredtriduum
Pilgrimage to Caversham
Mass for this year's Ember Saturday pilgrimage to the restored Shrine of Our Lady of Caversham was celebrated by Fr Seth Phipps FSSP, and accompanied with chant and polyphony provided by the Schola Abelis of Oxford and the Newman Consort.
We had the full set of prophecies, which make the Ember Saturdays like little Easter Vigils.
With thanks to Mgr Patrick Daly the Parish Priest, and the parish in general for their hospitality.
Sponsorship scheme for embroidery training at the Royal School of Needlework
 |
| Embroidery repair at the Guild of St Clare sewing retreat, Feb 2019 |
From the Latin Mass Society
The Guild of St Clare is launching a brand-new and very exciting initiative: the chance to study for the Certificate course at the Royal School of Needlework (RSN) at a subsidised rate of approximately 50%. The RSN Certificate Course is intended as a part-time course for keen amateurs and can readily be fitted around existing work and family commitments. It enables students to develop solid skills and become part of a long tradition of maintaining the highest standards in hand embroidery. More information about the course can be seen on the RSN website here.
Part of the mission of the Guild of St Clare is the teaching of skills essential to our work. We hope that in sponsoring places on the RSN Certificate Course we will be helping enthusiasts to gain the solid skills needed to repair, maintain, and create beautiful vestments and altar furnishings. Applicants should be able to demonstrate an enthusiasm for and commitment to hand embroidery and the restoration and creation of vestments. Further details about the sponsorship and how to apply can be found here.
 |
| At the Guild Vestment Mending Day in London, March 2019 |
New book by Martin Mosebach
Angelico Press has brought out a new book, a collection of essays, by Martin Mosebach, author of the excellent book The Heresy of Formlessness.
Amazon.co.uk has it here.
I was asked to write a blurb for it, here it is in full.
Martin Mosebach has once more demonstrated his ability to provide provocative insights into the condition of modern Catholicism in this collection of essays. He notes the tension between the liturgical principle, found in East and West, that the rites be "fear-inspiring", and the modern worshipper who "relaxes in an armchair waiting for [God] to arrive". He suggests that the needs of the ordinary believer are satisfied, if at all, in the kitsch products of Lourdes gift-shops, while elite Catholicism offers him an empty aesthetic puritanism. He suggests that the replacement of the monarch with the people, as the holder of sovereignty, makes for fiscal profligacy. He explores the parallel between the prayer wheels of oriental religions with the church bells of European Christianity. These essays are a tonic to our deep-rutted discourse on liturgy, spirituality, and religious sociology, refreshing, challenging, and setting us on new paths of thought.
Should the Pope apologise to Mexico?
A recent article of mine on LifeSite. It begins:
Priest attacked for wearing a clerical collar
A recent LifeSite article by me. It begins: