Welcome

to the Church of SS Gregory & Augustine,

322 Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 7NS
Find us on the map here.

Priest in Charge: Fr. John Saward
Email: sanctusgregorius@btinternet.com

Here is our newly painted reredos, showing St Gregory the Great and St Augustine of Canterbury. Click here for more pictures and an interview with Fr Saward.

Services for the Second Week of Advent
(6th December – 12th December 2009 – The Year for Priests)
Divine Office, Week 2

Saturday 5th December, Vigil of Sunday
Confessions, 5.15 – 5.45 p.m.
Holy Mass, 6.00 p.m. Hilary Kemp RIP

Sunday 6th December, Second Sunday of Advent – Eighth Day of the Novena of the Immaculate Conception
Holy Mass, 8.00 a.m. Philip Wareham & Family
Sung Mass, 10.30 a.m. The People of the Parish

Monday 7th December, St Ambrose, Bishop & Doctor – Ninth Day of the Novena
Holy Mass, 9.30 a.m. Mr & Mrs Joseph Khoo

Tuesday 8th December, Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of Our Lady
Holy Mass, 9.30 a.m. Bertille Almeida
Holy Mass, 6.00 p.m. Fr Vincent Lucas RIP

Wednesday 9th December, Wednesday of Advent Week II – St Juan Diego
Holy Mass, 9.30 a.m. Sheen Gow & Family
Holy Mass, 6.00 p.m. (Traditional Latin Mass – ‘extraordinary form’) Keith Crocker

Thursday 10th December, Thursday of Advent Week II – St Edmund Gennings, Priest & Martyr
Holy Mass, 9.30 a.m. Dorothy Croucher
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, 10.00 – 5.00 p.m.?
Confessions, 4.30 – 5.00 p.m.
Benediction, 5.00 p.m.
Reception of the Body of Sabina Fernandes, 5.20 p.m.

Friday 11th December, Friday of Advent Week II - St Damasus, Pope & Confessor
Funeral Mass of Sabina Fernandes, 11.15 a.m.
Sung Mass, 6.00 p.m. (Traditional Latin Mass – ‘extraordinary form’) Oxford Pro-life Witness Group

Saturday 12th December, Our Lady of Guadalupe
Holy Mass, 9.30 a.m. Arthur Healy RIP
Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, 10.00 – 11.00 a.m.
Confessions, 10.00 – 11.00 a.m.
Benediction, 11.00 a.m.

Saturday 12th December, Vigil of Sunday
Confessions, 5.15 – 5.45 p.m.
Holy Mass, 6.00 p.m. Ronald Busby RIP

Sunday 13th December, Third Sunday of Advent
Holy Mass, 8.00 a.m. Theresa O’Malley
Sung Mass, 10.30 a.m. The People of the Parish

Father John writes:

Thursday & Friday: Sabina Fernandes RIP
Our dear friend Sabina died peacefully in hospital last week. Her body will be received into church this Thursday, 10th, at 5.20 p.m., and her Funeral Mass will be the next day, Friday 11th, at 11.15 a.m. Internment will be at Wolvercote Cemetery. Please pray for the repose of Sabina’s soul, and for the consolation of Joe and the whole family at this time.

This Friday: Advent Party
Our parish Advent party will follow an evening Mass in celebration of my ordination anniversary. The intention of the Mass will be the Oxford Pro-Life Witness. Supporters of the Witness will be joining us for Mass and the party. Mass will be in the Traditional Latin form at 6 p.m., and the party will begin at 7.30. If you would like to come, it’s not too late to complete one of the forms at the back of church and return it to the Presbytery.

Advance Notice: Handicapped Mass
Our next Mass for the handicapped will be on Thursday 17th December at 8 p.m.

Advent and Christmas Reading
In the next week or so, do please pick up from the narthex one or two of the cheaply priced booklets produced by the CTS for prayer and meditation during Advent and Christmastide. Copies of Walk With Me are also available, as is a little book by me, both price £1.

Advance Notice: Christmas Crib Offerings
This year the Crib offerings will be sent to the Christian University in Bethlehem.

Breaking News: St Gregory’s Care Packages To Be Sent to Afghanistan After All!
St Gregory’s SVP wasn’t going to let bureaucracy stand in the way of our helping the lads on the front line. Thanks to the kindness of Ian Smith, Joy and Mick’s son, who is a former Marine Commando, your care packages will be sent directly to the Marines currently serving in Afghanistan, and with the help of another contact we shall also be able to get gifts to the Household Cavalry. Please keep these brave soldiers – and their families - in your prayers.

Please Pray for the Priests of our Archdiocese
In the cycle of prayer for the Year for Priests: 6th December, Fr Thomas Kelly; 7th December, Fr Gerard Kelly; 8th December, Fr Eric Kemball; 9th December, Fr Oliver Kemp; 10th December, Fr David Keniry; 11th December, Fr Anthony Kenny; 12th December, Bishop William Kenney.

Please Pray for the Sick
David Armstrong, Dominique Barrett, Bernard & Viola Burns, Nobbie Clarke, Ted Donovan, Deborah Eaton, Trudy Edwards, Joe Fernandes, Gertrud Fuss, Francesca Gibbons, Alice Hipkiss, Phil Kemp, Peggy Knopps, Charles Lambert, Monsignor Graham Leonard, Manolita Macasero, Maisie McGuigan, Maria Luisa Montes, Sheila Neill, Fr John Nightingale, Salome Odoi, Fr John Osman, Bryan & Willow, Fr Charles Smith, Maria Thaller, and Gladys Tinnion.

Please Pray for the Souls of the Faithful Departed
Please pray for the repose of all the holy souls, and for Brian Gimson, William Hall, Michael Henderson, Warlito Lapidez, Fr Vincent Lucas, and all those with anniversaries at this time.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The Church ‘in the course of the year... unfolds the whole mystery of Christ
from the Incarnation and Nativity to the Ascension,
Pentecost, and the expectation of the blessed hope of the coming of the Lord’ (Vatican II).
In this way, ‘recalling the mysteries of the redemption,
[The Church] opens up to the faithful the riches of her Lord’s powers and merits,
so that these are in some way made present for all time;
the faithful lay hold of them and are filled with saving grace’.
[T]he centre of the liturgy is Christ,
around whom revolve, like the planets around the sun,
the Blessed Virgin Mary, who is closest to Him,
and the martyrs and the other saints, who ‘sing God's perfect praise in Heaven and intercede for us’.
Pope Benedict XVI

Inside the church

The main altar during Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament. The newly restored reredos includes a 'throne', a space for the monstrance to be displayed above the tabernacle, where the crucifix normally hangs. There is Exposition twice a week, during the Holy Hour on Saturdays and Thursdays from 10 to 11am.

On either side of the church door, there are ceramic statuettes of the Virgin and Child and St Joseph.

At the back of the church there is a small statue of St Anthony, and the font and Paschal Candle are to be found here.



There is also an interesting devotional image of the Veronica, the veil on which the image of Jesus' face was imprinted during the carrying of the cross.

On either side of the nave, there are fine wooden Stations of the Cross; see here.

In the santuary there is a large, painted wood statue of the Virgin and Child, on the right, and of St Joseph, on the left, of Tyrolean workmanship. These have recently been restored, and have newly carved plinths.



There is also a smaller statue of the Sacred Heart.

The one side chapel is dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima; for the statue, and a note about devotion to Our Lady of Fatima, see here.
During the Easter Triduum it is used as the Altar of Repose.

Fr John Saward

Fr John Saward was born in 1947, and first trained for the Anglican ministry, receiving Anglican orders in 1972. He was received into the Catholic Church in 1979.

After many years teaching theology in Catholic institutions, he was ordained priest in 2003 and made Priest in Charge of SS Gregory & Augustine in 2005.

Fr Saward is also a Fellow of Blackfriars, the house of studies of the Dominicans, which is a Permanent Private Hall of Oxford University.

He is the author of numerous works of theology, and the official English translator of Pope Benedict XVI's work, 'The Spirit of the Liturgy.'

For his academic biography, see here.

Our Patron Saints

Pope St Gregory the Great
Pope Gregory II, 'the Great', born c540, died 604; reigned from 590. He is one of only two popes to be called 'the Great' (the other being Leo the Great), and is one of the most important popes of all time. He codified the Roman liturgy in the form it was to retain until 1970, and gave his name to the Chant in which the liturgy and divine Office is sung (i.e. 'Gregorian Chant'). He was himself a monk and a key supporter of the Benedictine order, which was to do so much to transform Europe, and by virtue of his great body of sermons, letters and other works, is one of the four great Latin Fathers (the others being St Augustine, St Ambrose, and St Jerome). See here for the Catholic Encyclopedia article. For St Gregory's role in the history of chant, see here. Both of Gregory's parents, Gordion the Senator and Silvia of Rome, are saints, see here.


St Augustine of Canterbury
St Augustine of Canterbury, birth date unknown, died in 604, the first bishop of Canterbury, sent by Gregory the Great to evangelise the pagan English. He had been a monk of St Gregory's monastery on the Caelian Hill in Rome, and he was sent to England in 595/6 as the Abbot of a group of monks, who were to assist him in his work. He established himself at Canterbury, the capital of the then powerful Kingdom of Kent, and in due time baptised King Ethelbert. As well as sending missionaries to other kingdoms, he founded a monastery adjacent to his cathedral. The pattern of having a monastery attached to a cathedral, copied elsewhere, became a distinctive characteristic of England in the Middle Ages. See here for the Catholic Encyclopedia article.

Our Lady of Fatima
The only side altar of the church is dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima. Our Lady has this title in commemoration of her appearances in Fatima, Portugal, over several months of 1917 to three children, Lucia dos Santos and her cousins Jacinta and Francisco Marto. These apparitions, recognised as 'worthy of belief' by the Church in 1930, are perhaps the most important Marian visions of the Church's history, culminating with the spectacular public 'miracle of the sun', seen by many thousands of onlookers, many of whom has come to mock the children, and reported in the secular press. See here for the Wikipedia article.

Our Lady appealed, in these apparitions, for Catholics to undertake prayer (especially the Rosary), penance, and a reformation of life. She encouraged the devotion of the 'First Saturdays' in honour of her Immaculate Heart. She also asked the visionaries to add a prayer to their recitationon of the Rosary, after the Glory be at the end of each decade:

'O Jesus, forgive us our sins, save us from the fires of Hell, and lead all souls to Heaven, especially those who have most need of Thy Mercy.'

Although not obligatory, this prayer has been widely adopted by the faithful.

The children were also taught the following prayers:

My God, I believe, I adore, I trust, and I love Thee! I beg pardon for those who do not believe, do not adore, do not trust and do not love Thee.

O Most Holy Trinity, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, I adore you profoundly. I offer you the most precious Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ, present in all the tabernacles of the world, in reparation for the outrages, sacrileges, and indifference by which he is offended. By the infinite merits of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart of Mary, I beg conversion of poor sinners.

Wolvercote Cemetry

is located in the Parish of SS Gregory & Augustine. See the Oxford City Council page.

The Lodge,
447 Banbury Road,
Oxford OX2 8EE

Tel: (01865) 513962
Fax: (01865) 311896
Email: cemeteries@oxford.gov.uk

Open from: Mon-Fri: 8am; Sat & Sun: 9am
Closes at different times according to the time of the year:
Jan: 4pm
Feb: 5pm
March: 6pm
April-September: 7pm
October: 6pm
November: 5pm
December: 4pm

Wolvercote cemetry serves the whole Oxford area and many famous people are buried there - it even has an entry in the on-line encyclopedias Wikipedia and Answers.com.

The Catholic academic and author J.R.R. Tolkien and his wife Edith are buried there. This is picture of Tolkien's grave. JRR was a parishoner, and his eldest son was ordained in SS Gregory & Augustine's.


Prayers for all those buried in a cemetery
(For more on Catholic devotions to the Faithful Departed, see here and here.)

O God, by whose loving kindness the souls of the faithful find rest: grant, in Thy mercy, the forgiveness of thier sins to Thy servants and handmaids, and to all who here or elsewhere sleep in Christ: that cleansed from all stain of sin they may rejoice with Thee for evermore. through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen. (Roman Missal.)


O God, who art the light of the souls of the faithful, hearken to our fervent prayers, and appoint to Thy servants and to Thine handmaidens, whose bodies, here and elsewhere, rest in Christ, a place of solace, of peaceful happiness and of glorious light. through the same our Lord Jesus Christ, who liveth and reigneth with thee and the same Spirit ever, one God, world without end. Amen. (Roman Missal.)

Catholic Institutions based in the Parish

St Barnabas Society, 4 First Turn, Wolvercote (01865) 513377
The St Barnabas Society, a registered charity, operates in Great Britain and Ireland and exists to provide pastoral and financial help on behalf of the whole Catholic community to former clergy ministers and religious from other churches, who live in Great Britain and Ireland, and who have been led by faith and conscience to come into full communion with the Catholic Church.

The Polish Chaplaincy, 59 Carlton Road, Oxford OX2 7SB (01865) 510354

History of the Parish

The Parish church of SS Gregory and Augustine was founded in 1911, the same year as SS Edmund and Frideswide (Iffley Road, now run by the Capuchin Franciscans). Previously the Oxford area had been served by the Jesuits at St Aloysius (now an Oratory of St Philip Neri), which was founded in 1875, replacing the church of St Ignatius (in St Clements), which had been founded immediately after the relaxation of the penal laws forbidding the building of Catholic places of worship, in 1795. More Catholic parishes were established in the ensuing decades.

The architect was Ernest Newton, a much admired member of the Arts and Crafts movement. The fabric of the church is very little changed from the time of its foundation.

Nikolaus Pevsner described the church thus (1974): "By Ernest Newton. Small and stuccoed. A rectangle, white, with a cupola. W. window with a gently double-curved head. Plaster tunnel-vault inside with tie beams."

For more on the history of Catholic Oxford, see here.

The Traditional Mass at SS Gregory & Augustine's

The 'Traditional' Mass ('usus antiquior', 'extraordinary form': i.e. Mass according to the Missal of 1962) is usually offered

every Wednesday at 6pm (Low)

And every First Friday of the month, at 6pm (often Sung)

(The devotion of the 'First Fridays' is a devotion to the Sacred Heart.)

Anyone interested in serving or singing in these Masses should contact Fr Saward or the local LMS Representative, Joseph Shaw.

For more Traditional Masses in the Oxford area, see here. A talk Fr Saward gave to the Oxford University Newman Society on the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum can be read here.

Gregorian Chant Training Day

SS Gregory & Augustine hosts this annual event, which was led by Dr Mary Berry CBE in 2006 (see here for a report), and by Mr Philip Duffy in 2007 (see here for a report) and in 2008 (see here for a report).

In 2009 it will take place on Saturday 23rd May.

Booking enquiries please to Joseph Shaw: joseph.shaw@philosophy.ox.ac.uk

Stations of the Cross

with meditations by St. Alphonsus Liguori

illustrated with the Stations in the Church of SS Gregory & Augustine

---

Preparatory Prayer

(to be said kneeling before the altar)

ALL: My Lord, Jesus Christ, / Thous hast made this journey to die for me with unspeakable love; / and I have so many times ungratefully abandoned Thee. / But now I love Thee with all my heart; / and, because I love Thee, I am sincerely sorry for ever having offended Thee. / Pardon me, my God, and permit me to accompany Thee on this journey. / Thou goest to die for love of me; / I desire, my beloved Redeemer, to die for love of Thee. / My Jesus, I will live and die always united to Thee.

At the cross her station keeping
Stood the mournful Mother weeping
Close to Jesus to the last

---

The First Station:
Pilate Condemns Jesus to Die

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Teemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how Jesus Christ, after beihou hast redng scourged and crowned with thorns, was unjustly condemned by Pilate to die on the cross. (Kneel)

R: My adorable Jesus, / it was not Pilate; / no, it was my sins that condemned Thee to die. / I beseech Thee, by the merits of this sorrowful journey, / to assist my soul on its journey to eternity./ I love Thee, beloved Jesus; / I love Thee more than I love myself. / With all my heart I repent of ever having offended Thee. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Through her heart, His sorrow sharing
All His bitter anguish bearing
Now at length the sword has passed

---

The Second Station:
Jesus Accepts His Cross

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider Jesus as He walked this road with the cross on His shoulders, thinking of us, and offering to His Father in our behalf, the death He was about to suffer. (Kneel)

R: My most beloved Jesus, / I embrace all the sufferings Thou hast destined for me until death. / I beg Thee, by all Thee suffered in carrying Thyr Cross, / to help me carry mine with Thy perfect peace and resignation. / I love Thee, Jesus, my love; / I repent of ever having offended Thee. / Never let me separate myself from Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

O, how sad and sore depressed
Was that Mother highly blessed
Of the sole Begotten One

---

The Third Station:
Jesus Falls the First Time

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider the first fall of Jesus. Loss of blood from the scourging and crowing with thorns had so weakened Him that He could hardly walk; and yet He had to carry that great load upon His shoulders. As the soldiers struck Him cruelly, He fell several times under the heavy cross. (Kneel)

R: My beloved Jesus, / it was not the weight of the cross / but the weight of my sins which made Thee suffer so much. / By the merits of this first fall, / save me from falling into mortal sin. / I love Thee, O my Jesus, with all my heart; / I am sorry that I have offended Thee. / May I never offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Christ above in torment hangs
She beneath beholds the pangs
Of her dying, glorious Son

---

The Fourth Station:
Jesus Meets His Afflicted Mother

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how the Son met his Mother on His way to Calvary. Jesus and Mary gazed at each other and their looks became as so many arrows to wound those hearts which loved each other so tenderly (Kneel)

R: My most loving Jesus, / by the pain Thee suffered in this meeting / grant me the grace of being truly devoted to Thy most holy Mother. / And Thee, my Queen, who was overwhelmed with sorrow, / obtain for me by Thy prayers / a tender and a lasting remembrance of the passion of Thy divine Son. / I love Thee, Jesus, my Love, above all things. / I repent of ever having offended Thee. / Never allow me to offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Is there one who would not weep,
'whelmed in miseries so deep
Christ's dear Mother to behold.

---

The Fifth Station:
Simon Helps Jesus Carry the Cross

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how weak and weary Jesus was. At each step He was at the point of expiring. Fearing that He would die on the way when they wished Him to die the infamous death of the cross, they forced Simon of Cyrene to help carry the cross after Our Lord. (Kneel)

R: My beloved Jesus / I will not refuse the cross as Simon did: / I accept it and embrace it. / I accept in particular the death that is destined for me / with all the pains that may accompany it. / I unite it to Thy death / and I offer it to Thee. / Thou hast died for love of me; / I will die for love of Thee and to please Thee. / Help me by Thy grace. / I love Thee, Jesus, my Love; / I repent of ever having offended Thee. / Never let me offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Can the human heart refrain
From partaking in her pain
In that Mother's pain untold?

---

The Sixth Station:
Veronica Offers Her Veil to Jesus

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider the compassion of the holy woman, Veronica. Seeing Jesus in such distress, His face bathed in sweat and blood, she presented Him with her veil. Jesus wiped His face, and left upon the cloth the image of his sacred countenance. (Kneel)

R: My beloved Jesus, / Thy face was beautiful before Thee began this journey; / but, now, it no longer appears beautiful / and is disfigured with wounds and blood. / Alas, my soul also was once beautiful / when it received Thy grace in Baptism; / but I have since disfigured it with my sins. / Thou alone, my Redeemer, can restore it to its former beauty. / Do this by the merits of Thy passion; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Bruised, derided, cursed, defiled
She beheld her tender Child
All with bloody scourges rent.

---

The Seventh Station:
Jesus Falls the Second Time

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how the second fall of Jesus under His cross renews the pain in all the wounds of the head and members of our afflicted Lord. (Kneel)

R: My most gentle Jesus, / how many times Thee have forgiven me; / and how many times I have fallen again and begun again to offend Thee! / By the merits of this second fall, / give me the grace to persevere in Thy love until death. / Grant, that in all my temptations, I may always have recourse to Thee. / I love Thee, Jesus, my Love with all my heart; / I am sorry that I have offended Thee. / Never let me offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

For the sins of His own nation
Saw Him hang in desolation
Till His spirit forth He sent.

---

The Eighth Station:
Jesus Speaks to the Women

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how the women wept with compassion seeing Jesus so distressed and dripping with blood as he walked along. Jesus said to them, ``Weep not so much for me, but rather for Thy children.'' (Kneel)

R: My Jesus, laden with sorrows, / I weep for the sins which I have committed against Thee / because of the punishment I deserve for them; / and, still more, because of the displeasure they have caused Thee / who have loved me with an infinite love. / It is Thy love, more than the fear of hell, / which makes me weep for my sins. / My Jesus, I love Thee more than myself; / I am sorry that I have offended Thee. / Never allow me to offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

O sweet Mother! Fount of Love,
Touch my spirit from above
Make my heart with Thys accord.

---

The Ninth Station:
Jesus Falls the Third Time

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how Jesus Christ fell for the third time. He was extremely weak and the cruelty of His executioners was excessive; they tried to hasten His steps though He hardly had strength to move. (Kneel)

R: My outraged Jesus, / by the weakness Thee suffered in going to Calvary, / give me enough strength to overcome all human respect / and all my evil passions which have led me to despise Thy friendship. / I love Thee, Jesus my Love, with all my heart; / I am sorry for ever having offended Thee. / Never permit me to offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Make me feel as Thee have felt
Make my soul to glow and melt
With the love of Christ, my Lord.

---

The Tenth Station:
Jesus Is Stripped of His Garments

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how Jesus was violently stripped of His clothes by His executioners. The inner garments adhered to his lacerated flesh and the soldiers tore them off so roughly that the skin came with them. Have pity for Thy Savior so cruelly treated and tell Him: (Kneel)

R: My innocent Jesus, / by the torment Thee suffered in being stripped of Thy garments, / help me to strip myself of all attachment for the things of earth / that I may place all my love in Thee who are so worthy of my love. / I love Thee, O Jesus, with all my heart; / I am sorry for ever having offended Thee. / Never let me offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Holy Mother, pierce me through
In my heart each wound renew
Of my Savior crucified.

---

The Eleventh Station:
Jesus Is Nailed to the Cross

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider Jesus, thrown down upon the cross, He stretched out His arms and offered to His eternal Father the sacrifice of His life for our salvation. They nailed His hands and feet, and then, raising the cross, left Him to die in anguish. (Kneel)

R: My despised Jesus, / nail my heart to the cross / that it may always remain there to love Thee and never leave Thee again. / I love Thee more than myself; / I am sorry for ever having offended Thee. / Never permit me to offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Let me share with Thee His pain,
Who for all our sins was slain,
Who for me in torments died.

---

The Twelfth Station:
Jesus Dies Upon the Cross

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how Thy Jesus, after three hours of agony on the cross, is finally overwhelmed with suffering and, abandoning Himself to the weight of His body, bows His head and dies. (Kneel)

R: My dying Jesus, / I devoutly kiss the cross on which Thee would die for love of me. / I deserve, because of my sins, to die a terrible death; / but Thy death is my hope. / By the merits of Thy death, / give me the grace to die embracing Thy feet and burning with love of Thee. / I yield my soul into Thy hands. / I love Thee with my whole heart. / I am sorry that I have offended Thee. / Never let me offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Let me mingle tears with thee
Mourning Him who mourned for me,
All the days that I may live.

---

The Thirteenth Station:
Jesus Is Taken Down from the Cross

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how, after Our Lord had died, He was taken down from the cross by two of His disciples, Joseph and Nicodemus, and placed in the arms of His afflicted Mother. She received Him with unutterable tenderness and pressed Him close to her bosom. (Kneel)

R: O Mother of Sorrows, / for the love of Thy Son, / accept me as Thy servant and pray to Him for me, / And Thou, my Redeemer, since Thou hast died for me, / allow me to love Thee, / for I desire only Thee and nothing more. / I love Thee, Jesus my Love, / and I am sorry that I have offended Thee. / Never let me offend Thee again. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

By the cross with Thee to stay
There with Thee to weep and pray
Is all I ask of Thee to give.

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The Fourteenth Station:
Jesus Is Placed in the Sepulcher

V: We adore Thee, O Christ, and we bless Thee. (Genuflect)

R: Because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the world. (Rise)

V: Consider how the disciples carried the body of Jesus to its burial, while His holy Mother went with them and arranged it in the sepulcher with her own hands. They then closed the tomb and all departed. (Kneel)

R: Oh, my buried Jesus, / I kiss the stone that closes Thee in. / But Thou gloriously didst rise again on the third day. / I beg Thee by Thy resurrection that I may be raised gloriously on the last day, / to be united with Thee in heaven, to praise Thee and love Thee forever. / I love Thee, Jesus, and I repent of ever having offended Thee. / Grant that I may love Thee always; and then do with what Thou wilt.

(Our Father, Hail Mary, Glory be.)

Virgin of all virgins blest!
Listen to my fond request:
Let me share Thy grief divine.

---

Prayer to Jesus Christ Crucified

My good and dear Jesus, I kneel before Thee, asking Thee most earnestly to engrave upon my heart a deep and lively faith, hope, and charity, with true repentance for my sins, and a firm resolve to make amends. As I reflect upon Thy five wounds, and dwell upon them with deep compassion and grief, I recall, good Jesus, the words the Prophet David spoke long ago concerning Thyself: "They pierced My hands and My feet; they have numbered all My bones.''

The faithful who, after receiving Communion, recite this prayer before a picture of Christ Crucified may gain a plenary indulgence on any Friday in Lent and a partial indulgence on other days of the year, with the addition of prayers for the Holy Father's intention.
Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, no. 22

A Plenary indulgence is grated to the faithful who make the pious exercise of the Way of the Cross. Those who are impeded can gain the same indulgence if they spend at least one half an hour in pious reading and meditation on the Passion and Death of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, no. 63

Pictures of Church interior from 1940s

These excellent photographs (double-click on them for a bigger version) were recently found by Fr Saward. They show that the church has changed very little, except in some interesting respects:

What is now the side chapel, dedicated to Our Lady of Fatima, was at that time a wooden confessional. Although the wood carving is rather fine, it was found to be insufficiently sound-proof! It can't have been long after this photograph was taken that a special extension was built on the other side of the nave, to house the confessional more securely.

The altar is unchanged (although it is now movable, and can be moved forward for Mass versus populum), but the sanctuary lamp now hangs to the right, rather than in the centre. This picture was taken at Easter (hence the Easter candle); notice the expert flower arrangments. And both Our Lady and St Joseph are wearing copes in honour of the feast!

The statues of Our Lady and St Joseph are also worth examining: the last picture shows clearly how she originally had a star-spangled halo, and her Son (if you look carefully) a sort of crown. Notice too the details on her robes, which was lost when the statues were repainted.

If you have any comments or memories connected with these, the 'comments' facility has been enabled, and we'd love to hear what you have to say.

Pictures of Corpus Christis Procession, 1940s

More photos from the archives. There was a Deanery Corpus Christi procession in those days (a tradition which has been recently revived), and the parish procession took place on the Sunday after the Feast of the Sacred Heart.

Outside Altar for the Corpus Christi procession, 1940s

These photographs show the impressive outside altar which was used (no longer in existence, alas), and the participation of Dominicans and Benedictines from their houses of study in the University. It must have been a truly splendid occasion.

Notice that when the priest is preaching (second picture), the exposed Blessed Sacrament is hidden behind a special screen called a 'baffle'.