Year for Priests

Our Holy Father the Pope has proclaimed a year of prayer for priests, in celebration of the 150th year from the birth of the holy Cure d’Ars

“Without the Sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there in that tabernacle? The priest. Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest. Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for its journey? The priest. Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest, always the priest. And if this soul should happen to die [as a result of sin], who will raise it up, who will restore its calm and peace? Again, the priest… After God, the priest is everything! … Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is” – St. John Marie Vianney

“O Priest, who are you?
You are not yourself because you are God.
You are not of yourself because you are the servant and minister of Christ.
You are not your own because you are the spouse of the Church.
You are not yourself because you are the mediator between God and man.
You are not from yourself because you are nothing.
What then are you? Nothing and everything.
O Priest!
Take care lest what was said to Christ on the cross be said to you:
‘He saved others, himself he cannot save!’”

Our Holy Father St. Norbert

PRAYER FOR THE YEAR FOR PRIESTS

Lord Jesus,
In Saint John Mary Vianney you have deigned to give the Church a living image of yourself and a personification of your pastoral charity. Help us during this Year for Priests to live good lives by being close to him and his example.
Grant that we may learn from the saintly Curé of Ars how to rest contentedly before the Holy Eucharist; to know that only your Word enlightens us each day; to know how tender is the love with which you welcome repentant sinners; how consoling is the confident abandonment to the care of the Holy and Immaculate Mother; how necessary is the ever-vigilant battle against Evil. Amen.

Lauda Sion Salvatorem

With photographs from the recent 40 hours devotions held in the priory chapel

“No-one partakes of this Flesh before he has first adored it” – Our Holy Father Augustine

“You have the Blessed Sacrament, what more do you want?” - St. Peter Julian Eymard

 “With sin, O Jesus, I gave you the death, but I do not despair of your forgiveness. Those scourges call me, those arms extended invite me, that injured Heart offers me a secure shelter.” – St. Gabriel of Our Lady of Sorrows

 ”Our holy faith teaches us, and we are bound to believe, that in the consecrated Host, Jesus Christ is really present under the species of bread. But we must also understand that He is thus present on our altars as on a throne of love and mercy, to dispense graces and there to show us the love which He bears us, by being pleased to dwell night and day hidden in the midst of us.” – St. Alphonsus

“Heaven comes down to earth, God’s tomorrow descends into the present moment and time is, as it were, embraced by divine eternity” – Pope Benedict XVI

Forty Hours Devotion

As part of our celebration of the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ we will be holding the Forty Hours Devotion in the Priory chapel.

Timetable

 Thursday 11th June

6 p.m. Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament

followed by Solemn Vespers

9 p.m. ~ Compline and Benediction

12 Midnight ~ Rosary

Friday 12th June

6.45 ~ Matins

7.30 a.m. ~ Lauds

8 a.m. ~ Holy Mass

12 noon ~ Midday Prayer

3 p.m. ~ Rosary

6 p.m. ~ Vespers

9 p.m. ~ Compline and Benediction

12 Midnight ~ Rosary

Saturday

12 Midnight ~ Rosary

6.45 a.m. ~ Matins

7.30 a.m. ~ Lauds

12 noon ~ Holy Mass

 

Bees fly from flower to flower to gather honey everywhere; likewise a soul must search into the various mysteries of our faith to acquire therefrom devotion and piety.  Especially when the Blessed Sacrament, the true Body of Christ, is exposed on the Altar or received by you in Holy Communion, be mindful to use all your strength in endeavoring to offer to your Divine Guest all the faculties of your soul, especially your will and to awaken in your heart the most fervent love. – St. Norbert

 

Feast of St. Norbert

Magdebúrgi sancti Norbérti, ejúsdem civitátis Epíscopi et Confessóris, qui Fundátor exstitit Ordinis Præmonstraténsis.

On this, the 875th year from the death of Our Holy Father Norbert, the community at St. Philip’s thanks all our friends, relatives and benefactors throughout the world for their prayers and support.

May Our Holy Father intercede for us and bless us his sons, here in Chelmsford, The Lord Abbot General and all communities throughout the world that we may faithfully bear witness to all that he did and taught.

 In cloistered hearts thou didst awake
The love of Him, Who for our sake
Dwells on our altars, closely veiled.
When Tanchelin’s profane touch assailed
That sacred Mystery, thou didst raise
Thy trumpet voice.  And with amaze
The Gallic nation stood to hear
Thy matchless accents, rich and clear; 
St. Bernard, too, proclaiming thee
A lute of heavenly melody.
Angels of peace, at thy command
Fierce discord vanished from the land,
And hearts by thee to Jesus given
Brought forth abundant fruit for Heaven.
When comes, at last, the harvest hour,
Oh! garner us, with saintly power.

 

Whit Friday

On June 5th, in anticipation of the feast of St. Norbert the following day, the community, together with priests from the diocese and beyond, celebrated a High Mass for Whit Sunday in Our Lady Immaculate Church.

 

The Mass of Reparation

Each week in our community a Mass is offered in reparation for the sins of sacrilege committed against Our Lord, present in the Most Blessed Sacrament. These sins not only include the public insults suffered by Our Lord in the Holy Eucharist but also the sacrilege of those who neglect their Sunday duty of attending Mass. St. Philip’s Priory is the centre of the Archconfraternity of the Blessed Sacrament in England. The Archconfraternity was founded by the Norbertine sister Rose of Bonlieu who promoted the devotion amongst the faithful. Members of the Archconfraternity promise to attend one extra Mass during the week in reparation for all those who neglect their Sunday obligation. Pope Leo XIII, who had a great desire to see the return of England to the Faith, raised the Mass of Reparation to an Archconfraternity. St. Pius Xth graciously bestowed his blessing on the work of the archconfraternity and in ackowledgement presented the Norbertine Canons with a gift of a beautiful chalice in 1907.

For further details please see here.

Our Holy Father Norbert was partiuclarly known for his devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and his triumph over the Sacramentarian heresy of Tanchelm. Iconography of Our Holy Father often depicts him holding high the Eucharist above the errors of Tanchelm. This devotion was bequethed by St. Norbert to his sons and thus as Norbertines we have a particular devotion to Christ present in the Blessed Sacrament.

Solemn High Mass

In anticipation of the Solemnity of Holy Father Norbert there will be a Solemn High Mass at Our Lady Immaculate, Chelmsford on Friday 5th June at 7pm

The Conversion of St. Augustine

Today marks the liturgical memorial of the conversion of Our Holy Father Augustine

 The streams of my eyes gushed out an acceptable sacrifice to thee. And, not indeed in these words, but to this effect, I cried to thee: “And thou, O Lord, how long? How long, O Lord? Wilt thou be angry forever? Oh, remember not against us our former iniquities.” For I felt that I was still enthralled by them. I sent up these sorrowful cries: “How long, how long? Tomorrow and tomorrow? Why not now? Why not this very hour make an end to my uncleanness?” I was saying these things and weeping in the most bitter contrition of my heart, when suddenly I heard the voice of a boy or a girl I know not which–coming from the neighboring house, chanting over and over again, “Pick it up, read it; pick it up, read it.” ["tolle lege, tolle lege"]

- from ‘The Confessions’

It is also the fourth anniversary of the inauguration of the Supreme Pontiff, His Holiness Benedict XVI. The Holy Father has done much in these few years to promote devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, traditional liturgy and union amongst all Catholics.

Ad multos annos!

Oremus pro Pontifice nostro Benedicto. Dominus conservet eum, et vivificet eum, et beatum faciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in animam inimicorum eius. [Ps 40:3]

Let us pray for Benedict, our Pope. May the Lord preserve him, and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth, and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. [Ps 40:3]

For England and St George

Together with our fellow countrymen we celebrate today the feast of St. George, principal patron of England. Whilst St. Edmund of Abingdon also has a claim to the title of England’s patron saint, it is St. George who is principally invoked for the protection of this country.

Today is a perfect opportunity to rededicate ourselves to praying for the conversion of ‘Mary’s Dowry’ to true faith.

“We humbly call on St. Gregory, whom the English have ever rejoiced to greet as the Apostle of their race, on Augustine his disciple and his messenger, and on those other Saints of God, through whose wonderful virtues and no less wonderful deeds England has merited the title of “Island of the Saints;” on St. Peter and St. George, those special patrons, and above all on Mary, the Holy Mother of God, whom Christ Himself from the Cross left to be the mother of man­kind, to whom your kingdom was dedicated by your forefathers under that glorious title ., The Dowry of Mary.” All these with full confidence we call upon these our pleaders before the Throne of God that, renewing the glory of ancient days, He May “fill you with all joy and peace in believing: that you may abound in hope and in the power of the Holy Ghost” (Rom. xv. 13). Care should be taken that the prayers for unity already establish amongst you Catholics on certain fixed days should be made more popular and recited with greater devotion. Especially that the pious practice of the Holy Rosary, which we ourselves have so strong­ly recommended, should flourish, for it contains as it were a summary of the Gospel teaching, and has always been a most salutary institution for the people at large.”

- Pope Leo XIII ‘Letter to the English people who seek the kingdom of God in the Unity of Faith’

Sanguis martyrum semen Christianorum

Today, in the Hagiologion of the Order, recalls the death of Abbot Matthew Mackerell, abbot of our order’s abbey of Barlings and titular bishop of Chalcedon, who was put to death for the faith under Henry VIII at Tyburn, London.

Through the work of Divine Providence there now exists on that very site a Benedictine convent devoted to Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. Tyburn Convent was established for this end and also to pray, through the intercession of the English Martyrs, for the conversion of England.

Prayers for conversion of England can be found here.

Fr. Prior and other members of the community had the delight of returning to Tyburn Convent this week for the solemn profession of Mother Mary Columcille.

Mother’s cake!