Oratory closed for ten days
The Oratory Church will be closed for 10 days. We hope to reopen on Friday 22nd January.
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01, 2021
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12, 2020
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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 [...]
7
09, 2020
Conservation of Cardinal Newman’s Library
Cardinal Newman’s personal library situated in the Oratory House in undergoing extensive refurbishment. The library roof has become extremely unsafe and has allowed rain to leak through, causing some of the books to become damp and mouldy. Now, extensive work has begun to save this most important collection, which represents Saint John Henry’s patrimony. At present, conservators [...]
14
06, 2020
Sermon on the Opening of Churches
In the Bible, there is no hard and fast distinction between public worship and private prayer. In the Gospels, Our Lord, quoting the Prophet Isaiah, condemns those who honour God with their lips, but whose hearts are far from Him. In other words, engagement in external ritual without an inward dedication of heart is of no use spiritually. Equally, the [...]