A Day in the Life of an Oratorian Novice

For anyone wondering what this Oratory thing is all about this video made by the novices of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation may be of interest!

Corpus Christi

There will be a Solemn High Mass with procession and Benediction for Corpus Christi again this year at St Joseph`s on Thursday 26th May at 7pm. Refreshments afterwards. Music by the Westland Singers. The celebrant once again will be Fr Bede Rowe.

And yet another Oratory.

No sooner do I mention it and another appears! From the website of the Sacred Heart, Bournemouth.

Sacred Heart, Bournemouth

A    new    Oratory    in    formation    is    being    inaugurated    at    Sacred    Heart    Church    in    Bournemouth    on    September    8    2016.            Bishop    Philip    Egan    of    Portsmouth    has    invited    Fr    Dominic    Jacob    CO    (co-founder    of    the    Oxford    Oratory)    and    Fr    Peter    Edwards    and    Fr    David    Hutton,    generously    released    by    the    Archbishop    of    Southwark    for    this    project    in    his    Province,    to    begin    an    Oratorian    Community    of    St    Philip    Neri    as    part    of    a    major    evangelisation    drive.            Fr    Peter,    Fr    Dominic    and    Fr    David    will    begin    their    ministry    on    the    feast    of    Our    Lady’s    Birthday,    at    the    church    which    is    situated    in    the    heart    of    Bournemouth,    surrounded    by    university    accommodation,    many    language    school    students,    diverse    ethnic    communities,    and    homelessness,    beside    long-standing    residents,    the    hospitality    industry,    business    and    commerce.            In    accordance    with    the    charism    of    their    Patron,    St    Philip    Neri,    the    Oratory    in    formation    will    be    devoted    to    offering    sacramental    support    through    daily    Mass    and    Confessions,    Eucharistic    Adoration    and    formation    in    the    spiritual    life,    alongside    pastoral    care    of    students,    the    growing    number    of    homeless,    others    in    need,    all    who    make    up    the    local    population,    and    the    thousands    who    pass    the    doors    of    Sacred    Heart    each    day.       

Following    the    announcement,    Bishop    Philip    Egan    of    Portsmouth    said:    “The    Diocese    has    areas    of    real    deprivation    and    poverty.    There    are    immigrants    and    foreign    nationals    from    Eastern    Europe    and    overseas,    as    well    as    university    and    college    students    away    from    home.        This    is    a    pastoral    situation    that    is    urgent.    It    impels    action.            “We    need    to    engage    with    those    who    have    not    yet    met    the    Lord    Jesus    in    Person    nor    taken    to    heart    the    salvation    and    eternal    life    He    offers.    More    than    ever    we    need    today    to    be    confident    and    clear    in    witnessing    to    the    Person    of    Jesus    Christ    and    the    truths    of    the    Catholic    faith,    in    order    to    help    people    find    the    Way    to    authentic    humanism    and    happiness.    This    is    why    I    am    delighted    by    the    new    project    beginning    at    Sacred    Heart    parish.”            St    Philip    Neri,    Apostle    of    Rome    and    Saint    of    Joy,    continues    to    inspire    secular    priests    today    to    form    communities,    without    vows,    living    together    in    the    bond    of    charity,    with    the    Oratorian    charism    of    prayer,    preaching    and    celebration    of    the    Sacraments,    not    least    in    the    Confessional.  

St    Philip’s    primary    apostolate    of    forming    young    people    in    the    life    of    prayer    and    pastoral    care,    particularly    for    the    sick    and    needy,    also    attracts    many    by    excellence    in    liturgy    and    music,    through    catechesis,    and    in    the    New    Evangelization    through    culture    and    the    arts.            This    latest    Community    of    St    Philip    Neri    is    a    Society    of    Apostolic    Life    under    the    direction    of    the    Oratorian    Confederation’s    Procurator    General    in    Rome    for    whom    the    Oxford    Oratory    and    York    Oratory-in-Formation have been the formative inspiration.

Oratory Explosion

Cardiff Oratory in formation.

At the minute there is a lot of soul-searching in Hexham and Newcastle. We are well into the three year programme `Forward Together in Hope`. This has involved parish meetings to respond to a big questionnaire about what goes on in the parish and what our hopes for the future are.We attend deanery meetings at which we are asked `What is the Church for?` I thought that had been worked out by Christ and the apostles but, while I suppose it is useful to ask if only to remind ourselves, it does suggest that the `Forward` bit of FTIH doesn`t really know where the it is going. Then we have the deanery meetings of clergy where we spend hours mulling over `What is confirmation for?`The last discussion was drawn to a close after nearly two hours so we have to meet again to continue mulling. I have developed an inability to listen to the word `community` as it gets mentioned sometimes in every sentence.

In the meantime decline goes on.

Not everywhere however. Today on Facebook I came across something I`d not seen: a page on the Oratory in Formation in Cardiff. This was the first I`d heard of it. So in recent years the two original houses of the Oratory in London and Birmingham have been joined by new houses in Oxford, Manchester and York and now Cardiff. This is quite amazing growth at a time when most the time all we hear from the Catholic Church in England and Wales is about places closing down. So we don`t have to be in decline. Vocations are there. The FSSP draws many inquirers and I imagine the Institute of Christ the King does too,  yet I don`t bother mentioning this in the deanery meetings as people wouldn`t be interested. Lancaster, Middlesborough, Salford, Liverpool and Shrewsbury now all have either an Oratory or the house of an Ecclesia Dei institute and the new bishop of Leeds is said to want to create a centre in his diocese for the Extraordinary Form. Hexham and Newcastle is looking like the odd man out in the Northern Province.

This is from the Archdiocese of Cardiff website.

Oratory of St Philip Neri in formation in Cardiff

On 11th February 2016 The Archbishop of Cardiff, Most Rev George Stack, gave his permission for the establishment of an Oratory of St Philip Neri at the University Chaplaincy, Cardiff. This ‘community in formation’ was established by decree on 22nd March 2016 of Fr. Mario Aviles, Procurator General of the Confederation of the Oratories, Rome. Fr. Ignatius Harrison was appointed Delegate to the community in Cardiff. Fr. Sebastian (Gareth) Jones was appointed Moderator of the community in formation.
On Friday 29th April, Fr. Ignatius Harrison visited Newman Hall and the University Church to formally cloth Fr. Sebastian and Bro Ambrose Jackson establishing this new community of ‘Oratorians’.  The Congregation of St. Philip Neri is Pontifical Society of Apostolic Life.  It is made up of priests and lay brothers who live in community in a bond of charity, with no formal religious vows. Although some oratories may have a dominant mission, such as maintaining a school, in general the members of the Oratory spend the day involved in various ministries: teaching, parish work, spiritual direction, campus ministry, hospital chaplaincies, administration or maintaining the fabric of the community house. 
In order for the Cardiff Oratory to be formally founded, the community will need to increase to four members comprising two priests and two brothers.  Fr. Sebastian will continue his work as Chaplain to Cardiff University.
More information about the Cardiff Oratory information can be found here.  We wish the new community well as they start out within the Welsh Province.

The appointment of priests can be a difficult business

Bishop Prasad Gallela

Priests are sometimes disappointed in their appointments. Some, it seems, can be so disappointed they kidnap the bishop. This story popped up recently from India. This was their fifth attempt to kidnap him. More here.

MUMBAI – Police in India on Monday arrested 14 people for the kidnapping and beating of a Catholic bishop on April 25, including three of the bishop’s own priests, at least one of whom is believed to have been upset that he was recently denied a requested position in the diocese.

The main culprit charged in the arrest is Father Raja Reddy from Jammalamadugu, located in the diocese of Cuddapah in southern India, which is led by Bishop Prasad Gallela, 54, who is currently recovering from injuries sustained in the kidnapping.

Sources told Crux that Raja Reddy had requested the position of “procurator” in the diocese, which would have allowed him to exercise certain powers in the name of the bishop, but was turned down.Gallela and his driver were kidnapped on April 25 at a village called Nagasanepalle by a group of persons who showered blows on him, blindfolded and tied him up, and took him to an undisclosed place and demanded a ransom of roughly $75,000.

Major breakthrough:Kadapa SP Navin Gulati presenting the arrested persons before the media in Kadapa on Monday. Presumably the guilty priests are among the hooded men.