Letter from the District Superior
This page carries just the editorial from the District Superior's bi-monthly newsletter. To read the entire newsletter in .pdf format, please click here and select the archive version you want to see. The hardcopy newsletter's full contents are as listed below.
SEPTEMBER - OCTOBER 2015
Dear Friends and Benefactors,
It was with an unrestrainable smile that Fr. Paul Morgan handed over the keys to St. George’s House on the first day in my new post. For twelve years he has been at the helm of the district, casting his net for souls in all weathers. He will have both a heavenly and earthly reward. As he gazes out over the snow-capped mountains from the Priory of Our Lady in Montgardin up in the French Alps, I am sure he will offer a prayer of thanksgiving for the help he received over the years and one of supplication for his successor.
May he be blessed not only with the peaceful surroundings of Montgardin, but more so with the inner peace and grace that comes with the contemplation of divine realities.
Where are we going?
Being made a superior is like being made the captain of a ship with a responsibility for bringing the ship, her crew, and her passengers safely to their destination. Before a journey can begin, however, the first consideration has to be the end. What is the final end of our district, what is the final end of the Society of St. Pius X? Fortunately, our founder, Archbishop Lefebvre, made this very clear by giving us our constitutions (we call them The Statutes) which describe the essence of our Society and its end:
The Society of St Pius the X is a priestly society of common life without vows. The Society’s purpose is the priesthood and all that pertains to it and nothing but what concerns it.
The constitutions were approved by Bishop Charrière of Fribourg in 1970 and received an official letter of praise from Cardinal Wright who was the Prefect of the Sacred Congregation for the Clergy in 1971. Archbishop Lefebvre was always keen to point out that they were written in the spirit of the Church and with the approbation of the Church.
Forty five years later, the essence and purpose of the Society, remains unchanged. Our priestly society is devoted to the perfection and extension of the Catholic priesthood. More concretely, it is a society of priests, religious brothers, oblate sisters and third-order members devoted to the formation of holy priests.
This then is the destination, the finality, the end of the District of Great Britain and Scandinavia. All our efforts should have this end in view; every decision we make should be measured by this end.
How do we get there?
The destination being clear, how do we get there? Fortunately, the route is also clearly described in our constitutions under the title, The Society’s Activities. In summary these are:
(i) To form holy priests in our own seminaries.
(ii) To help priests (whether members or not) sanctify themselves by retreats, recollections, priestly associations, third-orders and publications.
(iii) To encourage and develop auxiliaries in the service of the altar and other aspects of the priestly ministry (servers, sacristans, chorists, catechists, florists, church cleaners, tradesmen, professionals etc).
(iv) To assist or to run schools for the purpose of giving a thoroughly Christian education for vocations and for truly Catholic families.
(v) To run parishes and preach parish missions.
(vi) To assist aged and infirm priests.
We have no seminary in the district, but there is no shortage of work to do to raise up vocations for the six international seminaries in the Society or for the many traditional Catholic communities around the world.
Who will help?
Over the next few months I will try to discover the treasures and the challenges of the district and shall pray and reflect at length upon how best to navigate the passage set out in The Statutes to reach our destination.
One thing is already clear: the best strategy in the world is worth nothing unless it is rooted in the Divine Will. If we would only become true apostles of Jesus and Mary — making them the centre of our lives — we should have all the help we need. An apostle of Jesus and Mary is one who resides in Their united hearts, desiring only what They desire, anchored like the ship between the two pillars in the dream of St. John Bosco. Mary will be our lighthouse, she will send us a heavenward breeze and she will be our pilot; she will keep us safe from the storm that buffets Holy Mother the Church and she will bring this ship, its crew and her passengers to their journey's end.
May God bless you all on the Feast of the Immaculate Heart of Mary.
In Jesu et Maria,
Rev. Robert Brucciani
Superior
ANNOUNCEMENTS
New Mass Schedule
Following the recent departure of two priests from the district, the regular Mass schedule has been changed. Regrettably there will be no more Masses in Middlesbrough and Tunstall for the foreseeable future and . May this sad loss, be the occasion of more fervent prayers and deeds to help our priests and to encourage new vocations.
St Michaels School Exam Results — Summer 2015
Father Summers sends us this encouraging news:
A-Level Results:
36.8% grade A*or A (compared with a national figure of 25.9%)
94.7% grade A*- C (compared with a national figure of 77.3%)
GCSE Results:
90.9% grades A*-C (compared to the national figure of 69.0%)
47.0% grades A*or A (compared to the national figure of 21.2%)
24.2% grade A* (compared to the national percentage of 6.6%)
Well done to the pupils and to their teachers!
More encouraging than any exam results, however is the fact that one of the graduating boys will enter the Holy Family Seminary at Zaitskofen, Germany. This is the third year in a row that a pupil on leaving the school has entered a seminary. Deo gratias.
Orphan Dress
Having left behind almost 50 orphans in India who need to be clothed fed and educated, I encourage you to participate in this little scheme: if you pay £20, a dress (or shirt and trousers) will be made for one of our orphans (chosen by the Mother Superior, Sr. Maria Immaculata).
Not only will this make sure that the children have something beautiful and fitting to wear for Sunday Mass, it will also support Mr. Nirmalraj, our faithful tailor and florist.
Make cheques payable to: Society of St Pius X ...and send them to me:
Fr. Robert Brucciani
St. George’s House
125 Arthur Road
Wimbledon
SW19 7DR
with a note mentioning “Orphan Dress”.
Alternatively, you may request bank details from:
district.uk @ fsspx.email