Canon Wiener has ordered copies of Msgr. Rudolf Michael Schmitz’ “Elements of a Catholic Reform Based on Truth.” Monsignor talked in 2018 at the ‘Catholic Voice’ conference in Limerick and gave in this fascinating presentation a comprehensive description of the most important areas in the Church’s life. His Eminence, Raymond Leo Cardinal Burke wrote the foreword. – These booklets will be available for purchase after Mass on Sunday 20th June (£3.00).
Scaffolding Works at Shrewsbury Cathedral
During the week of Monday, June 14th to Friday, June 18th scaffolding will be erected in the Cathedral. Masses in the Extraordinary Form (Adoration/Benediction included) will be transferred to St. Winefride’s church according to the usual schedule:
Monday: 10:00am Holy Mass
Tuesday: 6:30pm Holy Mass; (5:30-6:15p Adoration/Benediction)
Wednesday: 10:00am Holy Mass
Thursday: 6:30pm Holy Mass; (5:30-6:15pm Adoration/Benediction)
Friday: 10:00am Holy Mass
Pastoral Letter: Rebuilding on the Foundation of the Eucharist , First Sunday of Lent, 21st February 2021
My dear brothers and sisters,
On this First Sunday of Lent, the story resonates for us, of a family enduring a great trial that engulfed the world they had known. The Book of Genesis recounts how Noah and his family emerged from ‘a state of lockdown’ with renewed hope in God’s saving purpose. The rainbow set against the clouds became a sign of hope for them, as it has become a sign of hope in this health crisis, whether painted by children, posted in windows or projected on public buildings. The rainbow has happily recovered its original meaning as a sign of the promise of the Lord: “When … the bow appears in the clouds, I will recall the Covenant between myself and you and every living creature”.[i] Despite all human sinfulness, and the disasters resulting from sin, God’s purpose is always to save and bring us to new life. This is our personal experience every time we make a sincere confession and know the grace of the Holy Spirit sent for the forgiveness of sins.[ii]
Almost twelve months have passed since I wrote at the start of a pandemic that has impacted every one of our lives. As this Lent begins, we remember in prayer all who have died, and more than a hundred thousand families who today mourn the loss of loved ones. We can draw lasting lessons from the suffering of this time and its quiet heroism. Many of these lessons echo the call of Lent to greater prayer, self-denial and generosity. Today, I wish to highlight lessons learnt from the way our parishes rose to challenges, reminiscent of the brave beginnings of this Shrewsbury Diocese. As in those pioneering days, the continued celebration of the Mass – the priority of the Eucharist – has become the focus of so many strenuous and unprecedented efforts. It has also been the aspiration of many who have remained prayerfully at home, often using the internet to stay connected, while anticipating the day of the great return to Holy Mass.
As we face the challenges of emerging from the devastation of a pandemic, let us be ready to re-build the life of the Church on this same foundation of the Eucharist. The Book of Genesis tells how the priority for Noah’s family, having barely set foot on dry ground, was to build an altar for the Lord.[iii] In the same way, our union with Christ in the Mass, in the Sacraments and in daily prayer, must be our own enduring priority. At the Cathedral, the works to renew the Altar have coincided with this time and will stand as a memorial to these days of renewed Eucharistic faith and love. The very restrictions imposed by the pandemic have helped us treasure our churches as places of prayer, silence and personal encounter with Christ. In so many ways we have been led to recognise anew, as the Catechism reminds us that “In his Eucharistic presence He remains mysteriously in our midst as the One who loved us and gave Himself for us”.[iv] It is Jesus Himself who awaits us in the Sacrament of His love.[v]
I hope we will continue to make generous efforts in 2021, to keep church doors open wherever this is possible; and ensuring we give of our best in everything connected with the Mass and the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament at the heart of every one our communities. If Eucharistic love pervades our parishes, then we can be sure nothing will be lacking in our sense of mission.
At the start of my letter, I said we are setting out to re-build on the foundation of the Eucharist. Saint John Paul II put this simply when he said, the Eucharist builds the Church.[vi] He recalled the teaching the Second Vatican Council which declared, “As often as the Sacrifice of the Cross … is celebrated on the altar, the work of redemption is carried out … and at the same time … the unity of the faithful, who form one body in Christ, is expressed and brought about”.[vii] May this be so for us in 2021, as we gather in ever growing numbers to fulfil Christ’s command “Do this in memory of me”.[viii]
May Saint Joseph, to whom we have entrusted this year of recovery, pray for us and accompany us as we grow in Eucharistic love,
+ Mark
Bishop of Shrewsbury
[ii] Cf. Rite of Penance
[iii] Cf. Gen. 8: 20
[iv] Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 1380
[v] Cf. Dominicae Cenae n.3
[vi] Cf. Ecclesia De Eucharistia Chapter 2
A Pastoral Letter on Public Worship and Public Responsibility
My dear brothers and sisters,
As I write, a third National Lockdown has begun with many restrictions reducing our daily lives to “essentials.” The Government now recognises public worship as one of those essentials. Not a few may ask why churches remain open when other activities are prohibited; and some will question why worship remains the only legally permitted public gathering. Yet, we know that worship is not only a fundamental freedom: it is our primary human vocation. In short, worship is what we were made for! [1] The Catholic faith teaches that this worship is supremely offered in the Sacrifice of the Mass in which God is glorified and humanity sanctified.[2]
It is your witness to this truth, which I have no doubt, has enabled public worship to be recognised as essential to society during this renewed lockdown. It is almost certainly the care with which all safety measures have been implemented in parishes which has now allowed the celebration of Mass and the Sacraments to continue. I wish, once again, to record my thanks to the clergy, the teams of parish volunteers and every member of the faithful who have together implemented and followed these safety requirements.
In all of this, we recognise the seriousness of our responsibility to help ensure the continuance of public worship and the safety of all. I ask you at the beginning of this New Year and a renewed state of lockdown, not to assume we have yet returned to “normal life” in our parishes; nor to give way to any sense of complacency, especially whilst a new variant of the virus is spreading rapidly. The continuance of public worship into Lent and Easter will, in large measure, depend on our vigilance and all our efforts to follow the measures which have already made our churches among the safest places in society.
In my letter to you in March of last year, I wrote of how these safety requirements can be lived in a spirit of charity. We continue to see how these demands call us to a refinement of charity. Requirements as strange – yet now so familiar – as social distancing, hand sanitising in church and wearing face coverings can serve as expressions of our love for our Lord and our love for the Mass, which continues to be publicly celebrated because of the careful fulfilment of such duties. If we ever feel fatigued in carrying out these requirements, let us renew them with love. At the end of the Christmas celebration, let us also do so with our gaze fixed on the Holy Eucharist, where the same Lord Jesus is now truly present whom wise men once fell down and worshipped; and whom Saint John the Baptist declared himself to be unfit even to kneel at His feet [3].
As I picture you gathered in all the churches of the Diocese, may Saint Joseph – the man who goes unnoticed, a support and guide in time of trouble [4]. – accompany us through these troubled times in fulfilling the greatness of our call to worship and our responsibility both to each other and to the whole of society.
Entrusting each of you to Saint Joseph’s prayers,
+ Mark, Bishop of Shrewsbury
- Cf. Catechism of the Catholic Church n. 2096
- Second Vatican Council Sacrosanctum Concilium n. 7
- Cf. Mt. 2: 11, Mk. 1: 8 & Decree on the Most Holy Eucharist, Council of Trent Session 13 4 Cf. Patris Corde 8th December 2020
Christmas can never be cancelled even in the most unfavourable of conditions: Bishop Davies
Christmas can never be cancelled even in the most unfavourable of conditions, the Bishop of Shrewsbury said in his Christmas homily.
During midnight Mass at Shrewsbury Cathedral, the Rt Rev. Mark Davies acknowledged that it is “easy to focus on the dark shadows” of 2020.
But he reminded the congregation that Christmas leads the faithful back to the “point of light” that shines in all our darkness, the child born for us all.
“Christmas can never be cancelled,” Bishop Davies said, “for its light is not dependent on favourable conditions for even the darkness makes its light shine the more brightly”.
Besides the coronavirus pandemic, the Bishop also lamented attempts over the passing year to extend abortion and the renewed efforts to legalise assisted suicide as assaults upon the sanctity of human life.
He reminded the faithful that the modern nursing and medical profession was inspired by Christian belief in the value and inviolability of innocent human life and for the care of the weakest and most vulnerable in society.
The dedicated service and self-sacrifice shown by medical professionals in helping the victims of Covid-19 stood in a stark contrast to the “culture of death and despair,” the Bishop said.
He encouraged people either attending the Christmas Mass in person or viewing by live-stream to heed the words of Pope Francis in his Apostolic Letter, Patris Corde, of December 8, and to share with St Joseph the responsibility for “every poor, needy, suffering or dying person, every stranger, every prisoner, every infirm person” in whom the Child Jesus can be recognised.
Also echoing the hopes of Pope Francis, the Bishop said that “a new vision of fraternity and social friendship” which recognises how all the lives of all people are bound together is the antidote to “present-day attempts to eliminate or ignore others”.
“This is surely a happy lesson to be drawn from the trauma of the past year,” the Bishop said.
Bishop Davies said: “At the cradle of Bethlehem, we have learnt to value the life and dignity of every human being, especially the weakest and most vulnerable. The recognition of the sanctity of human life and the cherishing of the frailest – both notions utterly unthinkable to the ancient mind – would become the light which forged our civilisation; the vision, which first inspired our medical and nursing professions and has guided our best efforts in response to the recent pandemic.
“For we heard the voice of the same Child of Bethlehem say, ‘Whatever you do to the least of my brothers and sisters you do to me’. And we now see the stark contrast between a culture of death and despair, which readily discards human life, and that spirit of charity and self-giving service Christ’s coming inspired: a contrast between darkness and light.”
He said: “How precarious Christian civilisation can appear in the face of an ever-growing assault upon the value of human life whether in the extension of the legalised killing of the unborn; or in the increasing threat to the elderly and vulnerable by euthanasia under the guise of ‘assisted suicide’.”
The bishop added: “Amid every lengthening shadow, may we never lose the light of the Child who was born for us, who allows us to glimpse who we really are and discover our deepest identity as children of God. At this Christmas of 2020 and in the face of the challenges of a New Year to come, may we return to the light which first dawned in Bethlehem, the same light which shines for us at every ‘Christ’s Mass’.”
A message from Father Edmund and Canon Wiener
Since 2018 the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest had been invited by His Lordship, Bishop Davies, to participate in the ministry at the Cathedral of Shrewsbury. In autumn of this year 2020, the Institute has been welcomed to celebrate Holy Mass at the Cathedral also on Sundays at 9:30 am, in addition to weekday Masses.
The Institute’s clergy and many faithful from near and far felt very honoured and are most grateful for this generous invitation by Bishop Davies who, by including the Sunday into the liturgical schedule for the Extraordinary Form Masses, had the spiritual welfare and health of all the faithful in Shrewsbury at his heart.
Unfortunately, the celebrations of Masses in the Extraordinary Form on Sundays are not easily possible without disrupting the very active community life at the Cathedral parish and causing organisational difficulties for all faithful. Upon request of the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest, His Lordship graciously decided therefore to change the location of the Masses on Sundays: Starting on Sunday, January 3rd, 2021, Masses in the Extraordinary Form will be celebrated (again) at 12:30 pm at St. Winefrides Church, Crowmere Road, Monkmoor, Shrewsbury, SY2 5RA.
The liturgical schedule on weekdays remains unchanged and as announced on December 13th. We are certain that this change will be very beneficial for the entire community of faithful in the entire diocese of Shrewsbury.
Father Edmund Montgomery and Canon Michael Wiener
New Mass schedule – starting 3rd January 2021:
Sunday
12.30pm at St. Winefride’s
Monday
10.00am at Shrewsbury Cathedral
Tuesday
6.30pm (with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction and Confessions beforehand at 5.30-6.20pm) at Shrewsbury Cathedral
Wednesday
10.00am at Shrewsbury Cathedral
Thursday
6.30pm (with Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, Benediction and Confessions beforehand at 5.30-6.20pm) at Shrewsbury Cathedral
Friday
10.00am at Shrewsbury Cathedral
Saturday
10.00am at Shrewsbury Cathedral
Advent Pastoral Message of the Rt. Rev. Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury
His Lordship, the Bishop of Shrewsbury released a pastoral letter in video format to coincide with Gaudéte Sunday, 13th December 2020.
Christmas Masses
There will be two Christmas Masses celebrated by the Shrewsbury Apostolate.
Sung Midnight Mass at St Winefride’s, Crowmere Road. Monkmoor. Shrewsbury. SY2 5RA at Midnight
Sung Mass of the Day at Shrewsbury Cathedral, Belmont, Shrewsbury SY1 1TE at 9.30am
In order to meet the requirements around social distancing but at the same time provide sufficient capacity, it will be necessary to reserve seats for each Mass.
For this, we are utilising a ticketed system via online booking portal TicketTailor. This can be done via the appropriate links below (you will be taken to the TicketTailor website – all bookings are without charge). Please book as soon as possible to avoid disappointment.
Second lockdown: A statement from the Rt Rev. Mark Davies, the Bishop of Shrewsbury
“We appreciate the difficult choices faced at this time by government and parliament in responding to the public health crisis conscious of the hardships which even necessary measures bring for society and especially the most vulnerable.
“The Prime Minister mentioned in his statement that he judged it necessary to close much that is judged by the Government as being non-essential in society. We need to be sure that such judgments are based upon clear evidence that, for example, schools, universities and the football premier league will continue as essential elements of our society’s life.
“The Prime Minister made no reference in his statement to public worship so we were astonished to find in national guidance that the Government was seeking the authority of parliament to close all places of worship.
“It is a momentous act for any political authority to seek to ban public worship across a nation.
“No evidence has been offered to justify why the Government seeks to ban public worship that invariably takes place amid some of the most stringent Covid safety measures in the whole of society.
“The vital role which public worship has for the well-being of hundreds of thousands of people in this Shrewsbury Diocese together with faith communities across the nation can never allow public worship to be dismissed as something non-essential.
“Neither can we lightly overlook how from public worship flows support for the most vulnerable and countless charitable activities in the service of the common good.
“We are asking our Government and political representatives to provide the evidence on which they seeking to impose a ban on all public worship in England. We believe that public worship is not part of the problem we face rather it is part of the solution to this deeply human crisis.”
+ Mark, Bishop of Shrewsbury, 1st November 2020
Weekly Newsletter
We have now combined the Institute Shrewsbury apostolate newsletter with that of the Cathedral. This has many advantages! Each week we will endeavour to upload the two pages pertaining to the ICKSP which includes the liturgical schedule to this website.
All newsletters can be found under the News and Events/Weekly Newsletter tab.