Category: Updates from Brisbane Oratory in Formation

“Holy Cross, Lucy, Ashes, Day of the Annointed,are when the ember days are appointed.”

Four times a year, in the traditional calendar, we celebrate ember days which fall on Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday with the change of the seasons. These ancient days go back to at least the 5th century, and traditionally are days of penance, fast and partial abstainance from meat (meaning meat at the main meal only).

While the observation of these days are no longer mandatory, it is a good and pious thing to voluntarily observe them. The purpose of these “mini-lents” are to pray, fast, and thank God for the gifts He gives us through nature such food and shelter. This week we have the September Ember Days, falling after the Feast of the Holy Cross as the rhyme above reminds us.

Ember Wednesday September 2020
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The Catholic Enquiry Group is for non-Catholics who would like to know more about the Catholic faith and/or for those who would like to become Catholic. Catholics who wish to reconnect with their faith after some time away from the Church are also welcome.

We will explore the Catholic faith from four main areas:

1. The faith expressed in the Creed

The Creed is a statement of belief which has its origins in the apostles of Jesus and summarises the belief of Catholics such as who God is, who Jesus is, and what Jesus came to do for us and how.

2. The faith celebrated in the Liturgy and SacramentsThrough the Liturgy and Sacraments Jesus continues his work of salvation. For this reason we will look at how the faith is nourished through the sacraments and liturgy of the Church.

3. The faith lived in conformity to ChristThe faith transforms the way we live our live our

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A lot of unexpected things have happened since we sent out our last regular newsletter, and that’s putting it mildly!  Sending out a “normal” newsletter when it was due in April was the last thing on our minds, to be honest!  At that time we were still reeling, among other things, from the suspension of public Masses and one of the strangest Holy Week observances with our parishioners unable to attend.  We certainly hope we won’t go back to those circumstances, and we pray for those parts of our country and world that are still seriously affected by the pandemic.

Over the past weeks and now months, we’ve seen the gradual easing of restrictions here in Queensland.  It was a delight over recent Sundays to hear chatter outside the church after Mass.  There were actually enough people to have chatter!  It’s a long way from our bursting-at-the-seams High Mass with the long morning tea afterwards, but at

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“Our Lord hears our prayers anywhere, but He has revealed to His servants that those who visit Him in the Eucharist will obtain a more abundant measure of grace”  says St. Alphonsus Ligouri. Our world needs prayer, especially at this time. Now that restrictions are easing in terms of church access, and to encourage people to pray, the community of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation invite you to come and pray before Our Eucharistic Lord during the next twelve weeks when we will have continuous Exposition and Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, from the Vigil of Pentecost, Saturday 30 May, until the feast of Our Lady’s Assumption into heaven, Saturday 15 August, at Saint Elizabeth’s chapel, Effingham Street, Tarragindi. To register your interest in a weekly adoration hour/s, please email: adoration.brisbaneoratory@gmail.com, or phone/text: 0492 987 132. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament gives us

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With the easing of restrictions parishioners and friends of the Brisbane Oratory in Formation, now have the opportunity to begin attending Mass, attend set times in the church for Confession, make a visit to the Blessed Sacrament. There are some other ways to also participate online including Live Sunday Mass. In order to view how to participate please see our Restriction Updates Page. Visit this page to always see the latest updates:

Restriction Updates

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While lockdown measures are in place, we are live streaming from Mary Immaculate Church Annerley at the following times:Sunday:8:30am English Mass10:00am Sung Traditional Latin Mass.

The livestream is accessible via our Facebook page. You do not need to have a Facebook account to view the stream. You can access our stream at https://www.facebook.com/brisbaneoratory/live_videos/.

When we cannot attend Sunday Mass we must still keep the Lord’s Day Holy. Read our recent post about ways we can keep the Lord’s Day Holy when we cannot attend Mass.
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While we cannot be together in person, we are united in prayer and faith. Last week we shared with you some ways we can continue to sanctify the Lord’s Day while we cannot assist at Mass, you can read that article here. One thing we can also do is read through the Mass texts for the day. You can find here the extraordinary form propers and the ordinary form propers. The Fathers continue to offer daily Mass, and this Sunday Fr Armstrong will offer Mass for our parishioners at 9:00am, you may unite yourself in prayer with Mass. The fathers and brothers also chant Vespers together on Sunday evenings at 5:00pm, you can join with us from your homes in prayer by praying Vespers which can be found here.

We are also going to be bringing you a homily on Sunday’s and a brief sermon during the week, you can subscribe

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Dear friends,

A lot has changed since our last letter. Whilst there is still some freedom of movement, it is likely that we are heading towards a total lockdown as has been seen in other countries. I think we owe it to our families and friends and others we have contact with that we follow the guidelines that are given to us by civil and Church authorities. I’m sure all of us would want to prevent making another person sick, even unknowingly. It’s not bad that we’re being asked to make sacrifices during Lent, and I think many would agree that the sacrifices imposed on us are usually more meritorious than the sacrifices we choose for ourselves.

Please know that the Oratory community is united with all of you as we go through this present trial. And whilst we cannot gather in our usual ways, we are still doing many of our

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Dear friends,

On Monday morning 23 March there will be a 7:00am OF and 9:30am EF Mass with extra Prayers in Times of Epidemic and Plague from the Roman Ritual. This may be the last opportunity to assist at Mass for some time. We are awaiting further directions from the Archbishop following the Government announcement last night that places of worship must close from midday today. We will update you on the situation as soon as we can.

United in Prayer,

Fr Adrian Sharp
Moderator.
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While in the Archdiocese of Brisbane we have been dispensed from assisting at Mass on Sunday, we are still obligated to keep the Lord’s Day Holy, of which Mass is usually one component. We are reminded that on Sunday’s “If because of lack of a sacred minister or for other grave cause participation in the celebration of the Eucharist is impossible, it is specially recommended that the faithful… engage in prayer for an appropriate amount of time personally or in a family…” (CCC, 2183). Mass is greater than any private devotion, but while we cannot assist at Sunday Mass, we can still contribute to sanctifying the Lord’s day especially through prayer. Here are some suggestions:

Praying some hours from the Divine Office. The Divine Office is the official public worship of the Church and is intimately connected to the Mass. Unlike other private prayer, even said as a group, by praying

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