Feast of St Tarcisius, 15th August

15th August is the Feast of St Tarcisius.

Members of the Sodality are encouraged to commemorate him in their prayers at Holy Mass, in the Office, or in private devotions.

It is also a good time for members to renew their annual commitment, using the Sodality prayer.

St Tarcisius is commemorated in the Roman Martyrology on this day, although of course the Feast that is universally celebrated is that of the Assumption of Our Blessed Lady.

Those who say the Divine Office privately can add a commemoration at Vespers and Lauds. This consists of an Antiphon, versicle and response, and collect; and comes after the collect for the day and before the conclusion. Those who say the Little Office of Our Lady would add the commemoration after the main collect, and before the commemoration of All Saints.


1st Vespers.

Antiphon: Iste Sanctus pro lege Dei sui certavit usque ad mortem, et a verbis impiorium non timuit; fundatus enim erat supra firmam petram.


V. Gloria et honore coronasti eum, Domine.
R. Et constituist eum super opera mannum tuarum.


Oremus.
Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut, intercedente beato Tarcisio Martyre tuo, et a cunctis liberemur in corpore, et a pravis cogitationibus mundemur in mente. Per Dominum etc.


Antiphon: This is a Saint who strove for the truth, even unto death, and feared not the words of sinful men, forasmuch as he was founded upon a sure foundation.


V.  Thou hast crowned him with glory and worship, O Lord.
R.  And hast made him to have dominion of the works of thy hands.


Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that by the intercession of blessed Tarcisius, Thy martyr, we may both be delivered from all adversities in body, and be purified from all evil thoughts in mind. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.


Lauds.


Antiphon: Qui odit animam suam in hoc mundo, in vitam aeternam custodit eam.

V. Justus ut palma florebit.

R. Sicut cedrus Libani multiplicabitur.

Oremus.
Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut, intercedente beato Tarcisio Martyre tuo, et a cunctis liberemur in corpore, et a pravis cogitationibus mundemur in mente. Per Dominum etc.

Antiphon: He that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.


V.  The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree.
R.  And shall spread abroad like a cedar in Libanus.


Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that by the intercession of blessed Tarcisius, Thy martyr, we may both be delivered from all adversities in body, and be purified from all evil thoughts in mind. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

2nd Vespers.

Antiphon: Qui vult venire post me, abneget semetipsum, et tollat crucem suam, et sequatur me.

V. Justus ut palma florebit.

R. Sicut cedrus Libani multiplicabitur.

Oremus.
Praesta, quaesumus, omnipotens Deus: ut, intercedente beato Tarcisio Martyre tuo, et a cunctis liberemur in corpore, et a pravis cogitationibus mundemur in mente. Per Dominum etc.

Antiphon: If any man shall come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.


V.  The righteous shall flourish like a palm-tree.
R.  And shall spread abroad like a cedar in Libanus.


Let us pray.
Grant, we beseech Thee, O almighty God, that by the intercession of blessed Tarcisius, Thy martyr, we may both be delivered from all adversities in body, and be purified from all evil thoughts in mind. Through our Lord Jesus Christ Thy Son, who liveth and reigneth with Thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, one God, world without end. Amen.

Server Training Afternoon at in Brighton on 8th March 2014

Some server training has been arranged to take place at St Mary Magdalen, Brighton, on Saturday 8th March. It will start at 2pm and finish at 4pm.

This training will focus on the ceremonies for Low Mass.

Anyone interested in attending should email James Melody: jamesmelody at gmail.com

Ash Wednesday Serving Notes from Romanitas

Romanitas Press has put on its website some very useful serving notes for Ash Wednesday for Low Mass, High Mass, and Missa Cantata. These join other notes which are being added to this excellent site:

http://www.romanitaspress.com/

Prayer of the Society of St Tarcisius

Prayer of the Society of St Tarcisius (for private use)

Lord Jesus, I profoundly adore Thee, really present in the Most Holy Sacrament of the altar. I love Thee, and desire to love and serve Thee more perfectly. I do reparation to Thy Sacred Heart, for the negligence and indifference which is often shown to Thy true Body and Blood.

I thank Thee for the great privilege of serving Thee on the Sanctuary, and resolve for the future to serve Thee with greater fervour, devotion, attention, and exactness. O Lord, let my example when on the Sanctuary never be an occasion for scandal to my neighbour, but rather encourage others to greater reverence. May I always act as I believe, and show by my example my belief in the great truths of our Faith.

Most Blessed Mary, Mother of our Lord, obtain for me by thy prayers the grace to serve thy Son with reverence and devotion.

Saint Tarcisius, pray for me, that I may follow thy example by defending the honour of the Blessed Sacrament all the days of my life and even unto death. Amen.

Ten New Members

A hearty welcome to ten new members who were enrolled on Friday 7th June, the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

New members will be receiving their membership cards and membership information shortly.

These members enrolled after a very successful training session which was held two weeks ago at St James' Spanish Place in London.

May the Hearts of Jesus and Mary strengthen and protect all altar servers, and all our members old and new.

LMS 9th Training Conference for Priests and Servers a Great Success

Students ‘blown away’ by spirituality and symbolism of Traditional Latin Mass as Bishop opens Latin Mass Society’s latest training conference


Students attending the Latin Mass Society’s ninth training conference in the Extraordinary Form, for priests and servers, have said they were ‘blown away’ by the depth and richness of the Traditional Latin Mass. About 60 people attended for all or part of the week-long course, which took place at Ratcliffe College in Leicestershire during Low Week.

Rt Rev Malcolm McMahon, Bishop of Nottingham, opened the conference with a Pontifical Mass of the Annunciation. Afterwards, Bishop McMahon addressed all the participants, putting forward some suggestions of ways to heal the rift that exists between enthusiasts for the older form of the Mass and some of those who oppose its widespread use. This led to a lively discussion.
As in recent LMS conferences, tuition was given to both priests and servers in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. There were also optional Latin classes.
There was a Sung Mass (either chant or polyphonic) each day, as well as Lauds, Vespers, Benediction and Compline. Together with private Masses, these services gave ample opportunity for participants to put into practice much of what they had learned. The musical settings were provided by the Rudgate Singers, with Christian Spence as organist.
LMS Chairman, Dr Joseph Shaw, said: 'The LMS training conferences continue to show their value in giving priests and servers hands-on experience and expert tuition, including the more complex liturgical roles; this year's conference attracted priests from Scotland, Poland, and South Africa, from the Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham. We also welcomed two seminarians: a Dominican, and a transitory Deacon studying at Oscott for the Diocese of East Anglia. The Leicester conference was also a very convivial occasion and a rare opportunity for like-minded priests, servers, and singers to spend time together.'
One of the tutors teaching servers said: ‘Two of the young married men who were in my group and hailed from Glasgow confessed to being "blown away" by the content of some of my talks on the spirituality and symbolism of the simple Low Mass. The eldest participant was similarly impressed with reading The Mass in Slow Motion by Mgr Knox at his own pace to place the Mass back in context for him.
‘I am unused to suddenly having my photograph taken whilst standing in front of some of my Power Point projections as I work, but this week has been something else. Another young man who had only ever encountered the old Mass once whilst on holiday last summer with his family was similarly moved by his experience of seeing the Mass close up. I was extremely privileged this morning to attend a "private" Mass served near perfectly by this lad.’

Holy Week Serving Notes

It is now possible to download serving notes for Holy Week, according to the 1962 usage, from the fine website of Romanitas Press: http://romanitaspress.com/index.htm. The form there is adapted for use at ceremonies without a deacon or subdeacon.

"These FREE notes include detailed instructions for the servers (and celebrant), diagrams, footnotes and many tips and explanations concerning preparations and the execution of the ceremonies not found in other manuals."

[It may be noted that there is a slightly different version of the same notes available, with adaptations as practised by the SSPX, on http://acss.sspxusa.org/rubrics.aspx For those who didn't know, the SSPX commonly uses the 1962 usage, but with a few pre-1955 customs, as practised at the seminary of Econe.]

There is also, on the same website, a new chapter of "Peregrinus Gasolinus: Wandering notes on the Liturgy", which is both amusing and informative.

PUSCO'S

(Chapter 36) 

We have finally arrived at Pusco's Church Goods - and what an adventure is in store: from forbidden altar boys' cinctures, capes and zuchettos, to incorrectly-made albs... causing the Liturgiologist to explode in righteous rubrical indignation. .... Read more.