Dear brothers and sisters,
Heartfelt thanks to those who supported our rather different Sunday service, with the chanting of the Ninth Hour and the Typika in the Oratory Church, with the added blessing of having our familiar shrines and the candlestands from the old Sheffield parish at the centre of our worship.
Praise God that we were able to pray together and partake of the Holy Mysteries, trying to keep the service as familiar and normal as possible, with the choir singing most of the service, rather than a reader chanting everything.
It was strange not to celebrate the Divine Liturgy, but nevertheless a joy to mark the second day of the Meeting of the Lord, having kept the feast in Cheltenham, on Saturday.
Parishioners commented how reassuring and comforting it was to receive such a warm welcome from the Oratorian Fathers and the Latin Mass congregation, and were touched by such kindness and generosity, and it was reassuring to see parishioners relax and enjoy time in the hall after Liturgy.
Although we still await news of St Philip’s, I am pleased to anounce that through the good offices of the Reverends Elaine Jenkyns and Ruth Greenaway-Robbins, we will soon be able to celebrate Sunday Liturgies in St Faith’s Church, Morris Avenue, Llanishen, CF14 5JD, as a temporary solution.
I am awaiting confirmation as to whether we would be able to start this Sunday, so please keep an eye on our social media and on your email inboxfor updates.
This week, we will follow our current practice of chanting an akathist on Thursday evening, in Nazareth House at 18:00. This week, we will chant the akathist to the Mother of God, in honour of her icon,”The Softener of Evil Hearts” – «Умягчение Злых Сердец».
We will celebrate devotions before the relic of the Cross in the Oratory Church on Friday afternoon at 15:00.
As Great Lent approaches, we are keen to arrange the cutomary Lenten parish Psalter reading group, wishing to ensure that the complete Psalter is recited every day. Those wishing to participate should email psaltergroup@fastmail.com
Our Lenten services will greatly depend on what happens in the next few weeks, in terms of permissions for church use. We will endeavour to have as full a week of worship as possible in the first week of Lent, but we must bear in mind that our first week of the Great Fast conincides with the beginning of western Lent, so this may affect the evening chanting of the Great Canon.
Last year saw us anticipate compline by chanting the Great Canon at 15:00, which was not ideal, but there was no alternative in the Oratory. We will however explore opportunities for evening worship, though public worship on western Ash Wednesday may not be possible.
Please think about spiritual reading for the approaching Fast, and consider some of the titles already recommended, as well as acquiring a copy of the Great Canon: an essential resource for the season.
- The Great Canon: The Work of St. Andrew of Crete
- The Ladder of Divine Ascent, by St. John Climacus
- The Lausiac History of Palladius (Lives of the Monks of Egypt):
- The Sayings of the Desert Fathers: The Apophthegmata Patrum: The Alphabetic Collection: 59 (Cistercian Studies Series, 59)
- The Paradise of the Holy Fathers Vol II (Sayings of the Fathers and Questions and Answers about the monastic life)
- The Arena, by St. Ignatii (Brianchaninov)
- The Field: Cultivating Salvation: 1 (Complete Works of Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov)
- The Refuge: Anchoring the Soul in God: 3 (Complete Works of Saint Ignatius Brianchaninov)
- My Life in Christ, by St. John of Kronstadt
- A Spiritual Psalter or Reflections on God (St Ephrem the Syrian)
- Father George Calciu: Interviews, Talks, and Homilies
- Our Thoughts Determine Our Lives: The Life and Teachings of Elder Thaddeus of Vitovnica
- Monk of Mount Athos: Staretz (St) Silouan 1866-1938
- Saint Silouan, the Athonite
- The Divine Liturgy: A Commentary in the Light of the Fathers:
- Homilies on the Divine Liturgy, by Hieromartyr Seraphim Zvezdinsky
As the Great Fast draws closer, we must continue to pray fervently as we await permissions to settle into our hoped-for new place of worship, and be ready to be flexible, creative and resourceful in the meantime.
Asking your forgiveness for Christ’s sake.
May God bless you.
Hieromonk Mark