Thirteenth Sunday After Pentecost 1863

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23 SUNDAY Thirteenth after Pentecost. St Philip Benizi, Confessor, double. Second prayers and Last Gospel of the Sunday. White. First Vespers of St Bartholomew with  commemoration only of the feast of St Philip. 

24 Monday. (Feast of Devotion) St BARTHOLOMEW, Apostle, double of the second class. Creed. Preface of the Apostles. Red. [In Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle second prayers for the Bishop.]

25 Tuesday. St Louis, King Confessor, semidouble. Second prayers A Cunctis. Third prayers at priest's choice. White.

26 Wednesday. St Zephyrinus, Pope Martyr, simple. Second prayers Fidelium (for the Dead). Third prayers A Cunctis. Red. [In Diocese of Hexham and Newcastle, St Jane Frances de Chantal, Widow, double (transferred from 21 August). Second prayers of St Zephyrinus. White. In Diocese of Plymouth, St Leo II, Pope Confessor, semidouble (transferred from 28 June). Second prayers of St Zephyrinus. Third prayers A Cunctis. White.

27 Thursday. St Joseph Calasanctius, Confessor, double. White.

28 Friday.  St Augustine, Bishop Confessor Doctor, double. Second prayers of St Hermes, Martyr. Creed. White. Abstinence. [At Newcastle, The Octave of the Dedication of the Pro-Cathedral, double. Second prayers of St Hermes. Creed. White.]

29 Saturday. The Beheading of St John the Baptist, greater double. Second prayers of St Sabina, Martyr. Red.

If you want to know about localism: only four churches (the Cathedral, St Andrew's, St Patrick's and St Charles') are included in the "At Newcastle" rubric on Friday, but included they are. Rubrics aren't just unfeeling, inflexible rules: they prescribe, but also describe, a way of life.

Quite a few of the saints in this week's calendar are pretty well ignored today.  St Philip Benizi, the great Servite saint, St Zephyrinus, a martyred Pope, St Hermes and St Sabina, both Roman martyrs from the persecution of Hadrian, are no longer mentioned.  St Joseph Calasanz has been shifted up to share 25 August with St Louis, so the French King is unlikely to get much of a look in, in the UK at least. This move happened so that St Monica's feast could move from its traditional date in May to be next to that of her son Augustine. I'm sure that somebody will be able to explain to me why this isn't just a piece of treacly sentimentalism, but until then, that's what I'll believe.

St Mary's, Cadogan-terrace, Sloane-street, Chelsea, is under the care of the Missionary Rector, the Rev R G Macmullen; he is assisted by the Revs Charles Batt, and Thomas Alexander Browne.  Masses on Sundays and Holydays are at 7.30, 9.00 and 10.00, with High Mass at 11.00. Vespers and Benediction are at 3.00. On Sundays, Catechism is at 4.00 pm, and an evening Service at 7.oo. Weekday Masses are at 5.00, 8.00, 9.00 and 10.00, with an evening Service at 8.00.  Devotions, Benediction &c are every Wednesday and Thursday evening; during Advent and Lent a Sermon is added. Baptisms are on Sundays after Catechism, and every other day after the 10.00 Mass. Churchings are on Monday and Thursday at the same time. Confessions are every morning from 8.30 to 10.30; on Saturdays and the vigils of Feasts from 8.00 until 1.00; on Sunday mornings and Holydays from 7.00; on Wednesday, Friday, Saturday and vigil evenings from 6.30 pm. The feast of the Immaculate Conception is kept as a solemn Festival, on account of the Confraternity of the Holy and Immaculate Heart of Mary for the Conversion of Sinners, established in Chelsea on that day in 1844. There are also Confraternities of the Blessed Sacrament, and of Christian Doctrine.  The parish is responsible for St George's Hospital, Hyde-park-corner; the Royal Military Hospital; and the Duke of York's Asylum.

In 1910, the same number of priests managed even more Masses: on Sundays at 7, 8, 9, 10 and 11, and on weekdays at 7, 8 and 10. The rest of the parish schedule: Confessions, evening services and so on, was much the same, though as in most parishes in the UK, Vespers was no longer a feature of Sunday evenings.  

Today there is only one priest, but there is Mass every day, and four on Sunday (including the Vigil). One big difference is that there are just two slots for Confession: three quarters of an hour before the Saturday Vigil Mass, and half an hour before the Sunday evening Mass.  The other is that there is Exposition and Benediction on Wednesday mornings at 11.00, but no other scheduled non-liturgical services. 

This isn't a reflection on the Rector of the Parish, but on us, both for not demanding more opportunities for Confession or for other services, and for not providing more priests to carry them out.

On a more cheerful note: there is no reason for any 1863 parish not have a good choir with a large repertoire. (Click on the images to see more detail.)