“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 | 31.03 | DOMINICA IV IN QUADRAGESIMA | Mothering Sunday |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking fast | Roedean Cafe | |
| MON | 01.04 | Feria II Quadragesima IV | . |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 09:30 | Breaking Fast | BCH Cafe | |
| 17:30 | Evening Prayers | Chapel | |
| TUE | 02.04 | Feria III Quadragesima IV | St Francis of Paola |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking Fast | Roedean Cafe | |
| 17:30 | Evening Prayers | Chapel | |
| WED | 03.04 | St Richard of Chichester | Feria IV Quad’ IV |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | The Hub drop-in | BCH Hall | |
| 09:30 | Breaking Fast | The Hub | |
| 17:30 | Holy Hour & Benediction | Chapel | |
| 18:45 | Ad orientem Conference | Chapel | |
| 20:00 | Fish Supper | Bardsleys | |
| THU | 04.04 | Feria V Quadragesima IV | St Isidore of Seville |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 09:30 | Breaking Fast | BCH Cafe | |
| 16:30 | One Voice solidarity Gathering | Hove Town Hall | |
| 17:30 | Evening Prayers | Chapel | |
| FRI | 05.04 | Feria VI of Quadragesima IV | St Vincent Ferrer |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking ~Fast | Roedean Cafe | |
| 17:30 | Evening Prayers | Chapel | |
| SAT | 06.04 | Sabbato of Quadragesima IV | . |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 09:30 | Breaking Fast | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Catechism Class | Chapel | |
| SUN | 07.04 | DOMINICA DE PASSIONE | Fifth in Lent |
| 07:30 | Morning Prayers | Chapel | |
| 08:30 | Mass & homily | Chapel | |
| 10:00 | Breaking fast | Roedean Cafe |
Laetare Sunday, fourth Sunday in Lent in the Western Church, so called from the first word (“Rejoice”) of the introit of the liturgy. It is also known as mid-Lent Sunday, for it occurs just over halfway through Lent, and as Refreshment Sunday because it may be observed with some relaxation of Lenten strictness. In medieval England simnel cakes (special rich fruitcakes) were consumed on this day. It is sometimes called Mothering Sunday, with reference to a verse in Galatians (4:27). The old practice of visiting the cathedral, or “mother church” of the diocese on this day is another reason for the name. Like the third Sunday of Advent (“Gaudete Sunday”), the fourth Sunday of Lent is a break in an otherwise penitential season. The vestments for this day will be rose, as they are on Gaudete Sunday in Advent, and flowers may adorn the Altar.
MAIN PHOTO: Fr Jerome with former Hub guest, Kieron now working for FareShare Sussex the charity that distributes surplus food to community projects in the city and supplies the Hub drop in at the Salvation Army. Kieron used to attend the Hub when living on the streets, after being placed in a hostel he was introduced to FareShare as a volunteer and a year later was successful in applying for a full time job with the charity. He’s turned his life around, addiction free, a private tenant and in full time employment! Stories like Kieron’s highlight the importance and relevance of our now ten year partnership with the homeless drop in that Fr Jerome cooks for every Wednesday and was the inspiration for Cherubs Kitchen.
DIARY THIS WEEK
The works of mercy are charitable actions by which we come to the aid of our neighbor in his spiritual and bodily necessities. The corporal works of mercy consist especially in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and imprisoned, and burying the dead. Instructing, advising, consoling, comforting are spiritual works of mercy, as are forgiving and bearing wrongs patiently.
1. Instruct the ignorant – “Philip ran up and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and said, ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ He replied, ‘How can I, unless someone instructs me?'” – Acts 8:30-31
2. Counsel the doubtful – Saint Teresa of Avila, Saint Faustina Kowalska, as well as Saint Margaret Mary Alocoque all were strongly dependent on spiritual direction so as to discern God’s will in their lives. They all are canonized saints and one of the reasons was that they humbly admitted that they were ignorant in many ways, had many doubts and had to submit their judgments, inspirations and thoughts to a higher authority—their Confessors and Spiritual Directors.
3. Admonish sinners – “If your brother sins [against you], go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church. If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector.” – Matthew 18:15-17. Also known as “fraternal correction,” admonishing sinners should never be done as a judgement, but as a service of truth and love, addressing the sinner not as an enemy, but a brother.
4. Bear wrongs patiently – “He who is slow to anger is better than the mighty, / and he who rules his spirit than he who takes a city.” (Pv 16:32). To patiently endure in a free and loving way a relationship with someone who is annoying, unfriendly, boring, sluggish, uncouth, is in line with the love of enemy. It is also an art when this attitude encourages reflection on oneself to discover within us that which is also annoying and unbearable.
5. Forgive offences willingly – Love of enemies is Jesus’ most demanding requirement and often considered the hallmark of Christian life and conduct. The key is this: forgive immediately! As soon as anybody hurts or wounds you, then pray for that person and forgive immediately. If done you have won a major victory over self and shown God how much you love Him by practicing mercy.
6. Comfort the afflicted – God comforts us with the kindness of a shepherd, the affection of a father, the ardor of a bridegroom and a husband and the tenderness of a mother. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and God of all encouragement, who encourages us in our every affliction, so that we may be able to encourage those who are in any affliction with the encouragement with which we ourselves are encouraged by God. For as Christ’s sufferings overflow to us, so through Christ does our encouragement also overflow.” (2 Cor 1:3-5)
7. Pray for the living and the dead – One of the greatest acts of charity we can do in our lives is to simply pray for others both the living and the dead. With respect to the living, there should be a hierarchy of importance. If married and with a family this should be the order: first spouse, children, parents, brothers and sisters, relatives, friends, co-workers and associates, and we should also pray for those we do not like and even for our enemies! Then with respect to the dead, we should pray constantly for the dead. Saint Francis de Sales emphasizes the fact that this is one of the greatest acts of charity that we can do. Why this? For this simple reason: they are totally dependent on the mercy of God and on our prayers, almsgiving or charity, as well as our sacrifices.
MORNING & EVENING PRAYERS just a reminder that the Chapel is open from 0730 and again at 1730 for morning and evening prayers. These are not formal liturgies but simply a time for private reflection and prayer in the chapel. Fr Jerome is also available at these times to hear Confessions.
This week’s feast… Wednesday
The Feast of St Richard of Chichester is on Wednesday 3 April.
Bishop and leading figure in England during his era, also called Richard de Wyche. Born at Wyche, Worcestershire, England, he was orphaned while a young lad, managed to regain his fortune which had been mismanaged by others, and received an excellent education at Oxford, Paris, and Bologna, Italy. At Oxford, he studied under the famous Robert Grossteste and became friends with St. Edmund Rich. He earned a doctorate in law from the University of Bologna. He was appointed chancellor of Oxford in 1235 and then chancellor to Edmund Rich, who by now was archbishop of Canterbury. After accompanying Edmund into retirement at the Cistercian abbey of Pontigny, France, he departed the community upon Edmund’s death, taught at the Dominican house in Orkans, and was ordained there in 1243. Upon going home to England, he was named chancellor to Edmund’s successor, St. Boniface of Savoy. When King Henry Ill appointed Ralph Neville to the see of Chichester in 1244, Boniface declared the nomination invalid and named Richard to the post, an act which caused an uproar in the kingdom. Finally, in 1245, Pope Innocent IV found in Richard’s favour, but Richard was prevented from entering his palace by the machinations of Henry. Only after the king was threatened with excommunication was Richard able to take up his duties. He insisted upon strict adherence to discipline among the clergy, aided the poor, and fearlessly denounced the corruption and vices of the contemporary Church and the royal court. His death came at Dover, in a home for poor priests, while delivering a plea for a crusade. Richard was canonized in 1262, and his tomb became a popular shrine noted for its miracles until the Reformation in England.
The Primus’s Lent Appeal 2019
Our Orthodox Catholic mission in Cuba is currently in desperate need of funds to continue the SCHOOL FOR POOR CHILDREN Santa María de las Vegas Nuevas it provides every Saturday.
In Cuba, approximately 10% of the population lives below the poverty-line. However, even poor Cubans still have access to basic services such as healthcare, education, clean water etc. The lingering economic crisis, emigration, and teachers’ meager salaries though have led to a critical shortage of educators in primary and secondary schools throughout Cuba, with schools severely understaffed. Private remedial instruction is on the rise, as are private schools that teach English and other supplemental skills. Some children, in accordance with family custom, must work. In rural areas, children have to help their families with farm work or housework, so it’s more difficult for rural children to pay as much attention to their studies throughout the day and into the night. This has can have a negative impact, be it physical or psychological, on the lives and mentality of children.
The Santa María de las Vegas Nuevas Saturday School for kids is located in Camino de Vegas Nuevas on the outskirts of Santa Clara. The volunteer staff strive to provide a free supplementary education for children from a variety of impoverished homes both from the shanty town on the city outskirts and the poor from the surrounding countryside. The children are the sons and daughters of cheap prostitutes, peddlers, excavators (those who rummage in the municipal garbage dump to recycle raw materials), smugglers and agricultural workers without farms (poorly paid) who are forced to alternate their jobs with skullduggery and economically criminal activities e.g. the Black Market and worse.
With high priority given in the State schools to literacy and numeracy there is nothing in the limited budget left for extracurricular activities nor arts or creative projects. The Saturday School provides a place where poorer kids can be assisted with their education, have an alternative activity than slave-work and a safe place to play and be creative, free to express themselves, their hopes and their dreams.
The Primus of the Holy Synod, Metropolitan Jerome of Selsey has chosen the Saturday School project for our Communion’s Lent Appeal. The monthly rent of the school building is $40 per month or approximately £30, we’d like to raise a year’s rent this Lent, approximately £360 almost $500 and perhaps a little more to contribute to materials and resources for the activities.
Please prayerfully consider contributing to this worthwhile cause, perhaps donating a month’s rent for the school building? Use the button below and be clear to make the donation for “Saturday School Cuba” when prompted. God bless you.
To donate just press the button!
LENT STUDY continues on Wednesday evenings followed by the Fish Supper at Bardsleys. From 6.45pm/following Holy Hour, Fr Jerome leads 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. Below is last week’s Conference…
PLEASE NOTE the Conference will begin after Holy Hour BEFORE the Fish Supper with the idea being that conference/supper attendees can discuss the conference over supper!
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 continue THIS Saturday, March 16th immediately following the end of the Mass there’ll be a quick break fast and class starts at 10am 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.
SACRISTY SUPPLIES in preparation for the special liturgies of Holy Week and the Sacrum Triduum or “Great Three Days” the mission is in need of some sacristy supplies. It’s been a while since some of these items were renewed and the existing ones are now tired and past their best. We should of course desire to give God our very best! The following have been researched and are very competitively priced, perhaps dedicate the purchase of them to the memory of a loved one, or in thanksgiving for a prayer answered?
Altar Linens we need x8 Corporals x8 Purificators
Holy Water Sprinkler
Paschal Candle – required for Holy Saturday
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/
Other news…
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.
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 |
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, Richard (Ricky) Belmonte
DONATIONS
The Brighton Oratory and our apostolates are completely dependent on the generosity of benefactors and supporters. If you appreciate our daily Mass posts and broadcasts, if you support our efforts for the homeless and neglected of society, please consider making a donation using the button below…
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