Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord . . .

It is a busy weekend at St Ann's with the visit of the travelling Icon and Palm Sunday.

A busy weekend and a joyful one as we celebrate Christ's triumphant entry into Jerusalem, cheered on by palm-waving crowds.

We had our own version, on a somewhat smaller scale, of that palm strewn procession today at the 10am Mass.

Christ wouldn't have had to negotiate his way around parked cars but there would I'm sure have been other obstacles in his path as he made his way on that donkey through the streets of Jerusalem.

Here are a few photos of our procession this morning.  You'll find more on our Flickr stream here.

Gathering in the hall for the blessing of palms and the reading of the Gospel before we begin to process around the church.

The procession weaves its way around our beautiful magnolia which looks as if it will be in full bloom just in time for Easter Sunday.

And back into church to join those who were unable to join the procession. 

And Mass begins.

NB. As usual, for clearer and larger images, please click on the individual photo.

Corpus Christi and our new Baldacchino!

Thanks to the generosity of one of the families in our parish we are now the proud owners of a simply splendid baldacchino. The family have very kindly presented it to the parish in memory of a much-loved family member who sadly died earlier this year.

I couldn't resist having a good look at the canopy today. It has been laid out in readiness for tomorrow's procession after our 10am Mass which is also a Mass of Thanksgiving for all our First Holy Communion children, their families and catechists.

A side view showing the beautiful embroidery.

And a close up showing the detail of the centre-piece.

The shorter side of the canopy.

And the detail of the Agnus Dei motif.

The all-important final details. Note the white gloves almost out of the picture!

Now, for Holy Mass and the procession!

Surrrexit Dominus Vere, Alleluia!

Surrexit Dominus vere, alleluia. The Lord is truly risen.

A very Blessed and Happy Easter to all!

Easter preparations - What a transformation . . . !

After the very prayerful Office of Readings this morning, containing such beautiful readings, in a bare and 'empty' church, our flower arrangers bustled into action.

What a transformation!  I have said it before but it needs to be said often; we are blessed to have such gifted parishioners who are willing to give their time and use their talents for the glory of God in this way.  I am very grateful to you all.

 Wonderful!

 Flowers for Our Lady . . .

 Just look at the Paschal Candle stand!  A really fitting receptacle for such an important part of this evening's liturgy

 One of two magnificent pedestals either side of the altar

Two of our talented flower arrangers who happened to be available for a photo call this morning.  Well done ladies!

More photos later . . .

Changes in the Liturgy during Lent . . .

Every year around this time, I have several questions from parishioners about visible changes to the liturgy that they have noticed during Lent.

First of all, I am delighted that people do notice changes.  There is a reason for everything that we do at Mass and similarly a reason for anything that we do differently at certain times in the liturgical year.

Here is a  very helpful post on this subject. (H/T to Jimmy Akin )

A brief summary of the points made (my comments have been added in blue):

1. Instrumental music with no singing

In some parishes, instrumental music is used at certain points during Mass. A passage will be played on an organ or on another instrument or instruments, even though nobody is singing.

But not in Lent (with a few exceptions).

The General Instruction of the Roman Missal (GIRM) states:

313. In Lent the playing of the organ and musical instruments is allowed only in order to support the singing. Exceptions, however, are Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent), Solemnities, and Feasts.

2. Singing or saying the Gloria

Just after Sunday Mass begins, it is common to sing or say the Gloria ("Glory to God in the highest").

But not on the Sundays of Lent.

The General Instruction states:

53. The Gloria in excelsis (Glory to God in the highest) . . . is sung or said on Sundays outside Advent and Lent, and also on Solemnities and Feasts, and at particular celebrations of a more solemn character.

3. Singing or saying the Alleleuia before the Gospel

During most of the year we sing or say the Alleluia before the reading of the Gospel.

But not in Lent.

The General Instruction states:

62. a) The Alleluia is sung in every time of year other than Lent. The verses are taken from the Lectionary or the Graduale.

b) During Lent, instead of the Alleluia, the verse before the Gospel as given in the Lectionary is sung. It is also possible to sing another Psalm or Tract, as found in the Graduale.

 4. Flowers on the altar

It is common for the altar to be decorated with flowers during most of the year (that is, there will be flowers around the altar, though not on top of the altar table itself).

But not in Lent (with a few exceptions).

The General Instruction states:

305. During Lent it is forbidden for the altar to be decorated with flowers. Exceptions, however, are Laetare Sunday (Fourth Sunday of Lent), Solemnities, and Feasts.

In the UK Laetare Sunday also coincides with the celebration of Mothering Sunday or Mother's Day which is a secular celebration.  Whilst we do remember and honour all Mothers on this day, and rightly so; the changes to the liturgy such as the provision of flowers in the sanctuary and the rose-coloured vestments worn by the Priest and Deacon are in celebration of Laetare Sunday rather than Mother's Day.  

5. Emptying holy water fonts

In recent years, some parishes have taken the holy water out of the holy water fonts during Lent. They have even filled them with sand in some cases.

The idea, they say, is to convey the thought that Lent is a time of spiritual dryness--a "desert" experience--that precedes Easter, in which we refrain from using the sacramental of holy water.

Despite its popularity in some places, this practice is not permitted.

It has been the Church's practice to empty the holy water fonts during Triduum, but for a different reason. It is not permitted to have them empty through the whole season of Lent.

The Congregation for Divine Worship has stated:

This Dicastery is able to respond that the removing of Holy Water from the fonts during the season of Lent is not permitted, in particular, for two reasons:

1. The liturgical legislation in force does not foresee this innovation, which in addition to being "praeter legem" [i.e., "apart from the law"] is contrary to a balanced understanding of the season of Lent, which though truly being a season of penance, is also a season rich in the symbolism of water and baptism, constantly evoked in liturgical texts.

2. The encouragement of the Church that the faithful avail themselves frequently of the sacraments is to be understood to apply also to the season of Lent. The "fast" and "abstinence" which the faithful embrace in this season does not extend to abstaining from the sacraments or sacramentals of the Church. 

The practice of the Church has been to empty the Holy Water fonts on the days of the Sacred Triduum in preparation of the blessing of the water at the Easter Vigil, and it corresponds to those days on which the Eucharist is not celebrated (i.e., Good Friday and Holy Saturday) [3/14/03: Prot. N. 569/00/L].

6. Veiling crosses and statues before the Fifth Sunday of Lent

This practice is permitted beginning with the Fifth Sunday of Lent, but not before.

The Roman Missal states:

In the Dioceses of the United States, the practice of covering crosses and images throughout the church from this [Fifth] Sunday may be observed.

Crosses remain covered until the end of the Celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday, but images remain covered until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.

Notice that the practice is option (the practice "may be observed" not "is to be observed").

If it is not observed, in a particular parish, from the Fifth Sunday of Lent, there is additional encouragement to do remove or veil crosses after the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday.

The rubrics in the Roman Missal for that day state:

At an appropriate time, the altar is stripped and, if possible, the crosses are removed from the church.

It is expedient that any crosses which remain in the church be veiled.

NB. These notes refer to Dioceses in the USA but they also apply to England and Wales.

Liturgical Dance . . .

This video interview with Cardinal Arinze seems to be 'doing the rounds' on social media at the moment.

For those of you who have not have seen it, you might like to hear what Cardinal Arinze, former Prefect of the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, has to say about the place (or otherwise) of Liturgical Dance in the Holy Mass.

He is very clear and leaves no room for misunderstanding.

40 Hours Devotion . . .

On Thursday Our 40 Hours Devotion came to end with a beautiful Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament. This was followed by a Mass of Thanksgiving for all the graces poured out on our parish during the 40 Hours. I have no doubt that these are many and we shall see their impact in the days, weeks, months and even, years to come.

After the parish Mass, many of those present came together in our parish meeting room to celebrate and reflect on their experiences whilst enjoying a cup of tea or coffee and a piece of cake.

It was wonderful to see the excitement and joy on people's faces as they talked about the recent 40 Hours Devotion. All the comments I heard were very positive. People were very moved by the beautiful Solemn Mass of Exposition on Tuesday evening.

I was delighted that Fr James Bradley of the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham was able to accept my invitation to preside at the Mass and also to preach. I know many people were impressed with the beautiful liturgy and gained a lot from Fr James' homily.

Another very encouraging 'fruit' of the devotion was the number of people who came for Confession over the three days. A great blessing.

Several people commented that they felt sad that it was all over and many asked, 'when can we do it again?'

Of course we will do it again - next year, God-willing.

The 40 Hours Devotion provides a wonderful opportunity for us all to grow in holiness individually and for the spiritual growth of our parish as a whole.

In our world today, where we are see evil all around us, where there is a decline in devotion to the Mass and the Blessed Sacrament, and where many no longer see the need for Confession, this is even more important than ever.

Latin is sooooo hard to learn . . .

I was very taken with this post by Mulier Fortis, I thought I'd share it with you.

Quite often one hears the comment when discussing Mass settings, choice of music etc. 'Oh, but Latin is so difficult for our young people to learn.' 'They aren't used to it'. 'They don't learn it in school any more' and so on . . .

Well, here is a delightful clip of a very gifted young man, just four years old, singing the Salve Regina and obviously enjoying it too.

See and hear for yourself here. Well done Edward! We look forward to your rendition of the Alma Redemptoris Mater very soon!

It's all going swimmingly here . . . !

I don't know how it's going where you are, but the New Translation is going very well here.

I think introducing the texts gradually over a few weeks earlier in the year with a short explanation in our parish newsletter has helped, and also introducing the New Translation for the weekday Masses during the week leading up to the 'launch' on Sunday 4th September has been beneficial too.

Of course, we still make mistakes from time time, both in the pews and in the sanctuary but that is only to be expected with anything new. I don't think it's my imagination but I feel that the natural 'slips of the tongue' are slowly becoming fewer.

Personally, I'm now impatient to receive the full Missal and look forward to seeing the New Translation of the texts for Advent. It will be good too to have a 'proper Missal' on the altar rather than the rather flimsy interim version.

Thank you to all in the parish who have helped to make the transition from the 'old translation' of the Missal to the new go so smoothly.

40 Hours and 75 years . . . !

Well, what a wonderful time we had in the parish yesterday.

Before we began our 40 Hours Devotion we celebrated a Mass in thanksgiving for all the blessings received during the 75 years since the foundation of the parish of St Ann's.

I am very pleased that several priests who have connections with the parish were able to attend. Fr Stephen Dingley, who was ordained at St Ann's, kindly agreed to preside and Fr Seán Finnegan who was also ordained at St Ann's delivered a very fitting homily. You can see some of the concelebrants pictured below.

They were joined by some former parish priests and assistant priests. I was also delighted to welcome some of the Community of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal who have become welcome visitors to St Ann's ever since they preached a parish mission here a few years ago.

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament followed after Mass; the lights were lowered and those who were able to stay knelt in Adoration and Prayer . . . and so began our 40 Hours Devotion.

Passiontide and the veiling of crucifixes and statues . . .

Our church after Mass this morning with everything ready for Benediction in the afternoon.

We have re-introduced the practice of veiling the crucifix and the statues during Passiontide. The crucifix will remain covered until the end of the celebration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday. The statues will remain veiled until the beginning of the Easter Vigil.

I refer you to an excellent post by Fr Z on why we continue with this practice

Another very good explanation can be found here.

Beauty in the Liturgy . . .

Have you seen this excellent article with Mgr Guido Marini, the Papal Master of Ceremonies?

As Mgr Marini says, ' . . . the celebrations the Holy Father presides over are to be the points of reference for the whole Church. The Pope is the highest priest, the one who offers the sacrifice of the Church, the one who shows the liturgical teaching through celebrations – the point of reference for all.'

I wonder what you think?

Have you noticed any differences in the way that Pope Benedict presides over the liturgy?

How would you feel if, for example, Mass were sometimes celebrated ad orientem, in other words, facing East, in the same direction as the congregation?

Would this help you to focus on the sacrifice of the Mass rather than on the celebrant himself?

I would be interested to hear your views?

The New Translation of the Missal . . .

We at St Ann's are beginning to get quite excited about using the new translation of the Missal.

As we know, the new translation will be used in all parishes in England and Wales from September of this year.

Here at St Ann's we are beginning to look at some of the texts already, concentrating on the people's responses at the moment so that it won't be a big shock to us when we begin using the new translation.

Most of the changes are quite minor but it's surprising what a wealth of meaning can be added to the familiar texts by just a few changes and how much it will enhance our liturgy.

Today, I was looking at an interesting article on the new CTS blog 'Catholic Compass'. (This is definitely a site worth adding to your bookmarks). The item I refer to is a description of the proposed cover for the new Missal and an explanation of the reasons why this particular design has been chosen.

"The cross which is the centrepiece of the design has been designed to communicate the continuity but also the differences with the 1970 translation of the Mass. The cross is the same shape as that used on the previous Liturgical Books but is more complex, laden with symbolism and hopefully more beautiful, encapsulating some of the aims of the new text. The cross also aims to represents something of the ancient character of the texts contained and the liturgy celebrated using the Missal."

You can read about it here.

It certainly is a beautiful Missal and will look very fitting on our altar. I think you could say that we are now eagerly awaiting it's arrival.

Looking at the main CTS website it appears that the new Missal will become available in progressive stages.

Firstly, in June of this year, the Order of Mass will be available in several forms including pew cards so that we can all become familiar with the revised texts.

Then the Altar Missal will be available in two stages. The initial version will contain the texts necessary for the priest to celebrate Mass from September to Advent 2011.

Finally, from Advent 2011 the rest of the texts will be in use and available to all, including people's Missals.

I hope many of you will be including a new Missal on your Christmas list this year!

Rejoice in the Lord, always . . .

'Rejoice in the Lord always; again I say, rejoice! The Lord is near!'

The liturgy of today's Mass repeats St Paul's words to the first Christians at Philippi, 'Rejoice in the Lord, always; again I say, rejoice!' Then he give us the real reason for this great happiness: 'The Lord is near.'

This is the joy of Advent and of each and every day and St Paul gives us the key to understanding the origin of any unhappiness we may experience; unhappiness comes from putting a barrier between ourselves and God, through our sins, through our lukewarmness or indifference.

Of course every day the Lord is nearer to us. However if there are barriers, he will not force an entry.

There is still time to celebrate the sacrament of Confession. If not in your own parish, then any priest would be delighted to make time to hear your Confession. Here are details of times for Confession at St Ann's:

Saturdays: 10.30am to 11.30am

5.00pm to 6.00pm

After each Mass on the first Sunday of the month

And at call

Advent Penitential Service - Tuesday 15th December at 7.30pm

St John Vianney, pray for us

Our Lady, Queen of Confessors, pray for us

Liturgical colours . . .

A little while ago I posted a video from iPadre describing the vestments worn by a priest and the symbolism of each garment. Some of you may have missed this earlier video and others of you may like to refresh your memories by following the link here.

Here is another excellent video from the same source in which Fr Finelli explains why different colours are used in the Church at different times in the liturgical year.

I hope you find it helpful.

"He who sings, prays twice . . "

Like many parishes, we are blessed at St Ann's to have a very good, enthusiastic and dedicated choir, including some instrumentalists.

This morning at the 10 O'clock Mass they sung for the last Sunday Mass before their well-earned break during the summer holidays. Some of them will be heading off to Lourdes this coming week with our Diocesan Pilgrimage to swell the ranks of the diocesan choir singing at the various liturgies that take place at Lourdes during the pilgrimage.

I would like to record my appreciation, and that of the parish, for all that they add to our worship throughout the year; for their time and the commitment that they give so generously and with such good humour. Most of the parish are probably not aware of the hours spent at choir practices and courses attended in addition to singing, not only at the 10am Mass, but at Confirmations, weddings, funerals and other occasions.

We shall miss your singing of course, but we'll put up with it knowing it is only temporary; you deserve a break.

Just make sure you come back in September!

By the way, I know that Flick is always on the lookout for new choir members and instrumentalists. You don't need to be a professional singer; the main qualifications are enthusiasm and a willingness to learn. Have a word with Flick if you are at all interested. I can assure you of a very warm welcome.

Sit, Stand or Kneel?

Thank you to Idle Rambler for posting this video. I have in the past put out various leaflets and explained in 'asides' the reasons for different postures adopted during the Mass, but nothing reaches people as well as seeing it and hearing it in a light-hearted way. This video gives an excellent explanation in a humorous way. I hope you enjoy it.

Choir and Musicians ...

We are very blessed at St Ann's to have a super choir and some super musicians too.

I'm always very impressed by their dedication and commitment. They spend many hours practising throughout the year and in the run-up to Christmas they have been in church perfecting their art all hours of the day and night.

We look forward to hearing the results of all their labours during the Christmas Masses. They do make a big difference to the liturgy and certainly add a great deal to it.

Well done to all concerned!