And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.
Acts 2:42
Kalendar
| DAY | DATE | OFFICE | NOTES |
| SUN | 03.02 | Quinquagesima | |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking fast | Roedean | |
| MON | 04.02 | Feria II | St Cassimir C. |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| TUE | 05.02 | Feria III of Quinquagesima | Shrove Tuesday |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 17:30 | Evening Prayers | Chapel | |
| WED | 06.02 | ASH WEDNESDAY | |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | with Ashes | |
| 08:30 | The Hub drop-in | BCH Hall | |
| 09:30 | Breaking fast | The Hub | |
| 17:00 | Holy Communion | with Ashes | |
| 17:30 | Holy Hour & Benediction | Chapel | |
| 18:45 | Fish Supper | Bardsleys | |
| 20:00 | Ad orientem Conference | Chapel | |
| THU | 07.02 | Feria V of Quinquagesima | St Thomas Aquinas |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 09:30 | Breaking fast | BCH Cafe | |
| FRI | 08.03 | Feria VI of Quinquagesima | St John of God |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking fast | Rodean Cafe | |
| SAT | 09.03 | Sabbato | St Frances of Rome |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 09:30 | Catechism Class | Chapel | |
| SUN | 10.03 | Quadragesima I | |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking fast | Roedean Cafe |
DIARY THIS WEEK
ASH WEDNESDAY is March 6th THIS WEEK and the Blessing of Ashes & Mass will be offered at 8.30am and again at 5pm followed by Fish Supper and then the first of the Lent Study sessions (see below).
Ash Wednesday is from a liturgical point of view one of the most important days of the year. In the first place this day opens the liturgical season of Lent, which formerly began with the First Sunday and comprised only thirty-six days. The addition of Wednesday and the three following days brought the number to forty, which is that of Our Lord’s fast in the desert.
In the Old Law ashes were generally a symbolic expression of grief, mourning, or repentance. In the Early Church the use of ashes had a like signification and with sackcloth formed part of the public penance. The blessing of the ashes is one of the great liturgical rites of the year. It was originally instituted for public penitents, but is now intended for all Christians, as Lent should be a time of penance for all. The ashes used this day are obtained by burning the palms of the previous year. Four ancient prayers are used in blessing them, and, having been sprinkled with holy water and incensed, the priest puts them on the foreheads of the faithful with the words: “Remember, man, that thou art dust, and unto dust thou shall return.”
THE LITURGY in Lent itself reflects the season in various ways aside from the penitential colour of violet and the absence of the Gloria etc. Tradition assigns a particular Mass for every day of Lent i.e. an individually tailored Mass with its own readings and prayers. Each Mass is also assigned a “stational church” in Rome where the faithful and the Bishop of Rome gathered for the Mass – the history of these stational churches will be posted every day on this website. Additionally every Mass concludes with an extra prayer of blessing for the faithful to remain constant in their observance. Most feasts of Saints become commemorated only to keep our focus on the season and even when they are celebrated, it is muted and the Lenten Feria commemorated with it’s prayers and Gospel.
CATECHISM CLASSES will begin THIS first Saturday of Lent, March 8th immediately following the end of the Mass, approx’ 0930 finishing at 11am. This is the perfect opportunity to invite enquirers to the Faith or come along yourself to revisit the basic tenets of Christianity. “Catechumen” i.e. those enrolling to be received into the Church at Easter will be baptised/Confirmed during the Vigil on Holy Saturday morning. 
The weekly discussions will be framed around study of the old Penny Catechism. This excellent pocket catechism provides a wealth of detailed guidance on, and explanation of, the Catholic faith. It explains Faith in God and the Apostle’s Creed, Hope and Christian Prayer, Charity as lived out in the Ten Commandments and other guidance of the Church. Participants will be expected to do some light prep and study in the week as well as attend the Saturday morning sessions.
Other news…
Cherubs Kitchen an exciting new project is on the horizon for Cherubs in 2019 and a team of core volunteers are needed for a regular commitment from January to April to facilitate a new SWEP (Severe Weather Emergency Protocol) homeless night shelter to prepare and serve food on an ad hoc basis. IF you’re interested, please ring 07423 074517
The MYBRIGHTON & HOVE Photo Project are running Photography Mentoring and Workshops which kicked off on the 2nd of Feb 2019. The group is open to anyone who is homeless or has a history of homelessness. It is an opportunity to work with professional photographers from across the city in a relaxed and supportive environment and a chance to prepare work to be exhibited as part of the Brighton Fringe in May at One Church Brighton. This is a great way to build confidence and self-esteem and brought some great results for those involved in 2018.
Workshops take place fortnightly between 2-4pm on Saturday at the Justlife Studios in the Open Market. A group of professional photographers are volunteering their time to run workshops and support participants, so it’s a fantastic opportunity for some creative advice and direction.
LENT STUDY is now finalised. On Wednesday evenings following the Fish Supper at Bardsleys, in the Chapel from 8pm Fr Jerome will be leading a new study series called “Turn to the Lord” explaining through Scripture and Tradition the significance and relevance of ad orientem i.e. “facing east” in worship. The series has been devised in response to a request from the faithful in the Philippines and will take the form of a weekly series of broadcast conferences, video presentations and notes released weekly ahead of each conference. This will be of particular interest to those keen to know the reason for the orientation of our churches liturgically and architecturally.
Holy Week Schedule
HOLY WEEK begins on Palm Sunday, April 14 and ALL the liturgies (except Palm Sunday) will begin at the usual time of 8.30am in the Brighton Chapel. The Brighton Oratory is still the ONLY congregation in the South East to offer ALL the sacred rites of Holy Week according to the traditional Tridentine form encapsulating centuries of tradition. Do invite those you know or think would be interested to experience Holy Week as Christians did in the first millenium, through the middle ages right up to only a century ago!
| DAY | DATE | OFFICE & LITURGY |
| SUN | 14.04 | PALM SUNDAY |
| 08:00 | Blessing of Palms, Procession & Mass | |
| MON | 15.04 | HOLY MONDAY |
| 08:30 | Low Mass & Passion Reading | |
| TUE | 16.04 | HOLY TUESDAY |
| 08:30 | Low Mass & Passion Reading | |
| WED | 17.04 | SPY WEDNESDAY |
| 08:30 | Low Mass & Passion Reading | |
| 16:30 | Tenebrae | |
| THU | 18.04 | MAUNDY THURSDAY |
| 08:30 | Pontifical Mass of the Lord’s Supper & Solemn Blessing of Chrism |
|
| 16:30 | Tenebrae | |
| 20:00 | Watch at the Altar of Repose | |
| FRI | 19.04 | GOOD FRIDAY |
| 08:30 | Veneration of the Cross & Mass of the Presanctified |
|
| 12:00 | Stations of the Cross | |
| 16:30 | Tenebrae | |
| SAT | 20.04 | HOLY SATURDAY |
| 08:30 | Paschal Fire, Praeconium, Vigil, Litany, Baptism &/ Confirmation, Mass & First Vespers of Easter |
|
| 16:30 | Paschal Mattins | |
| SUN | 21.04 | EASTER SUNDAY |
| 08:30 | PONTIFICAL PASCHAL MASS |
Christianophobia refers to the state of being hateful or spiteful to Christians. A Christianophobe hates or despises Christians and/or what they stand for. The existence of Christianophobia should not be surprising. Jesus Himself predicted the world’s hatred for Christians: “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you” (John 15:18–19). Christians are called not to conform to the world but to be transformed into the image of Christ (Romans 8:29; 12:1–2). The unbelieving world hates what it does not understand and, therefore, will hate those who follow Christ.
Home Office statistics from last year on religious hate crimes in England, Wales and Northern Ireland indicate there were 316 incidents (out of a total of 4213) affecting Christians between March 2015 and March 2016. Organisations like National Churchwatch who describe themselves as a ‘leading organisation for security and advice in the Christian sector’, believe anti-Christian hate crime is significantly under-reported.
A Stop Christophobia campaign has been launched by Premier Christian Radio. The success of this campaign depends highly on the number of people who support it so please share this link with your contacts on social media and sign it yourself! There is currently a momentum building, but change won’t happen unless people stand up and be counted. Together we can ensure that Christian minorities are protected from discrimination and persecution.
https://www.thestopcampaign.org/
MICK HOWELL or “one arm Mick” as he was affectionately dubbed by The Hub guests on Wednesdays, sadly passed away last December 13. Since the death of Sandra his great friend and co-worker at the drop-in both at BCH and at the Lightway Centre in Whitehawk, Mick was never quite the same and retiring from his voluntary work lost touch with the folk at The Hub and the Salvation Army. A chance meeting by Fr Jerome with Fr David Porter at Fr John Wright’s funeral discovered the sad news of Mick’s passing, his funeral took place in January.
Of your charity, please pray for the repose of Mick’s soul and for the comfort and consolation of Val his daughter and remaining family.
Please remember also remember the following who have recently passed away; Alfie one of our Hub guests only recently housed passed away after a long period of ill health and his funeral is on Wednesday at 10am at Woodvale Crematorium. Please also remember Jill Lewes, the mother of Catherine one of our Hub volunteers who passed away from cancer. Also the mother of Fr George Conger, Cynthia who also passed away last week. Please remember those who mourn too that they may be comforted by their knowledge of God’s love for them and mercy for those who’ve died.
For prayer…
Of your charity, please hold the following in your prayers…
For those in need… Christopher, Lyn B, Simon G, Dagmar B, Karen, Debbie G, Fr Graham F, Fr Stephen D, Heather & Susanna L-D, Finley G, Diane C, Pat, Paul, Bishop Rommel B., Penny E, Colin R, John, Ronald, Fr Gerard H, Lilian & family, Ruth L, David G, David P, Patrick H, Debbie G, Karen K, FR Graham F, S&A, Dave G, Metropolitan Charles of Wisconsin,
For those discerning… James, Manuel, Vincent, Darren, Akos, Roger, James, Adrian, Carlos, Yordanis, Nicholas
For those who mourn… Barbara R & family, Brenda W & family, Joseph S, Catherine L & family, Rev George C & family, Jean C, Margaret & Bonita C
For the recently departed… Lauretta (21.01.19), Clive Reed (23.01.19), Fr John Wright (24.01.19), Shelley Luben (11.12.18), Mick Howells (13.12.18), Daniel Callaghan (13.02.19), Alfie (Hub guest), Jill Lewis, Cynthia Sharpe Conger
Revive & Renew Conferences on Personal Holiness if you missed them or would like to hear them again are presented below via YouTube.
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