Lenten Lectures – 1. The Liturgy of Palm Sunday
To prepare for Holy Week, the Fathers are recording a series of Lenten Lectures on each of the major liturgies. A new talk will be released every Sunday of Lent. 1. Palm Sunday
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02, 2021
26
02, 2021
Masses and Offices of Holy Week
Please note the revised times for Tenebrae (8pm), the Mass of the Lord's Supper on Maundy Thursday (6pm) and Good Friday Stations of the Cross (6pm). As usual, High Mass on Palm Sunday begins at the earlier time of 10am. There will be an additional English Mass on Maundy Thursday this year to allow for distancing. All Masses and offices [...]
14
02, 2021
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament during Lent
The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed daily in church from the First Sunday of Lent until Holy Week: On weekdays, from 4.30pm to 5.15pm (followed by the Rosary and the evening Mass). On Thursdays, as above, with Benediction following immediately after Mass. On Fridays, as usual from 2pm to 5pm. On Saturdays, from 9.30am to 10.40am, concluding with Benediction. On [...]
2
02, 2021
Sermon for Candlemas
Candlemas brings the extended Christmas season to a close. With Septuagesima the next season of our liturgical year is now already upon us. As we say farewell to the crib we start to prepare for Lent and Passiontide. The Presentation and the Purification were the remote preparation for Passiontide, both for the Lord Himself, and for His sinless Mother, and [...]
15
12, 2020
Sermon for Gaudete Sunday in Advent
Today’s introit and epistle bid us always to rejoice in the Lord. Should we make this a daily resolution? “Today I’m going to be joyful.” No, that won’t work. We might resolve to be more charitable or more patient. Charity and patience are virtues, good habits. We acquire those virtuous good habits by repeating them over and over again. We [...]
9
12, 2020
Sermon for the Immaculate Conception
The Birmingham Oratory parish is dedicated to our Lady’s Immaculate Conception and so we have the privilege of being under her special patronage. In order for our understanding of our Lady’s sinlessness to be more than merely theoretical, God has given us a way of approaching it that is personal and truly human. He has given us the beautiful devotion [...]
28
11, 2020
Nine Lessons and Carols – Saturday 19th December
The Oratory's annual service of Nine Lessons and Carols will take place on Saturday 19th December at 7pm, with organ and choral music sung by the Oratory Choir. All are welcome. You are advised to arrive a little early to ensure a seat, in light of social distancing requirements. Sadly present circumstances do not permit congregational singing. [...]
28
11, 2020
Christmas Mass Times
The Oratory will be open as usual for Christmas Masses. This year we are increasing the number of Masses to ensure we meet social distancing requirement. In addition to our usual Masses, there will be an extra English Mass at 4pm on Christmas Eve, and an additional Missa Cantata (sung Latin EF) at 9pm. There will also be a [...]
9
10, 2020
Sermon for St John Henry Newman’s Feast
We are told that four babies are born on earth every second. In the same moment, a comparable number of souls who have lived their allotted span in this world are leaving it behind as they are called to their final destiny in eternity. The flow of individual human souls in and out of this world is unending. New lives [...]
5
10, 2020
Elgar’s Dream of Gerontius original score digitised
The original score of Edward Elgar's The Dream of Gerontius, a setting of the poem by Cardinal Newman, is now available to view online after a digitisation project completed at the Oratory earlier this year. The project was carried out in partnership with Dr Joanna Bullivant of Oxford University, the National Institute for Newman Studies, the British Library and the [...]