Mass
Sunday 11.00 am Solemn Mass – a sung Mass (traditional language 1984 Church in Wales Prayer Book) with incense, choir, occasional sung propers, motets/anthems.
Wednesday 10.00 am Mass
Evensong
Evensong daily at 6.00 pm (said in chancel).
S. Mary’s stands firmly in the Catholic Tradition of the Anglican Church. Worship is central, and everyone is welcome to our services.
For the month’s services at S. Mary’s, and for those at S. Eigon’s, Llanigon; S. John’s Chapel, Hay; S. Michael and all Angels’, Clyro, ‘Little’ S. Mary’s, Capel-y-Ffin and Bettwys Chapel, please see the calendar below.
CALENDAR OF SERVICES FOR FEBRUARY 2025
SUNDAY 2nd FEBRUARY
Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple (Candlemas) & 4th week in Ordinary Time
On this most special feast we mark the presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, at which gifts were offered to give thanks for His birth. S. Simeon recites that song, said daily at Evensong and often at funerals, known as the Nunc Dimittis. ‘Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace…’
Take down those Christmas cards and decorations, and take home that candle blessed at Mass.
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
6.00 pm Parish Mass at Little S. Mary’s, Capel-y-Ffin
WEDNESDAY 5th FEBRUARY
S. Agatha – widely venerated as one of the early martyrs and widely mentioned, as she is one of the Saints listed in the Roman Canon, an ancient Eucharistic Prayer.
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
THURSDAY 6th FEBRUARY
S. Paul Miki & Companions – referred to as the Martyrs of Japan in some lectionaries. The first martyrs of the Far East to be canonised, they were crucified in 1597. Keeping such feasts reminds us that the Faith has long been present across the world.
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
8th February – S. Josephine Bakhita. Born in Darfur, Western Sudan, in 1869, she was seized by Arab slave traders as a young child, and treated appallingly. After being given refuge, she joined the Canossian Order and lived until her death, in 1947, at a convent in Northern Italy. Present day Church efforts to combat modern day slavery and care for the victims have been named after her. It is a cause of sadness that humankind has always treated some fellow men and women as inferior.
SUNDAY 9Tth FEBRUARY
4th Sunday before Lent/ 5th Sunday in Ordinary Time & 5th Week in Ordinary Time
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Morning Praise at S. Michael and All Angels, Clyro
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
10th February – S. Scholastica. The sister of S. Benedict, she founded a Convent near to his Monastery. They met once a year to discuss the spiritual life, so it is said. I hazard that some general chitchat will have been exchanged, since a life that cannot relate to the day-to-day is not wholly incarnate.
11th February – Our Lady of Lourdes. The feast marks the first of the eighteen apparitions of Our Lady that occurred in Lourdes. A very popular place for pilgrimage known for providing solace, hope, and some healing for the sick.
WEDNESDAY 12th FEBRUARY
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
THURSDAY 13th FEBRUARY
S. Ermengild – daughter of the King of Kent, she converted her husband King Wulfhere of Mercia to Christianity. The Faith spread widely during his reign. As a widow, she lived in a convent on the Isle of Sheppey.
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
14th February – Ss. Cyril & Methodius. Brothers who translated the Holy Scriptures & the Mass into the Slavonic tongue. These chaps, like S. Agatha, are listed in the Roman Canon.
SUNDAY 16th FEBRUARY
Septuagesima, otherwise known as the Third Sunday before Lent & 6th Week in Ordinary Time
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Eigon, Llanigon
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
6.00 pm Evensong at Little S. Mary’s, Capel-y-Ffin
WEDNESDAY 19th FEBRUARY
19th February – S. Conrad of Piacenza. A man of means who enjoyed life. The fire that he had started to flush out game on his land spread rapidly and caused much damage. An innocent man was arrested and sentenced. Filled with remorse, Conrad confessed publicly to his actions and spent his remaining years in prayer. It could be said that he is the Patron Saint of carelessness. One would hope and pray that we have the courage to confess to any such act before an innocent person be publicly condemned.
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
THURSDAY 20th FEBRUARY
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
21st February – S. Robert Southwell. Born in Horsham, he entered the Jesuits and was ordained in 1584. He was hung drawn and quartered in 1595 at Tyburn in London. He wrote much beautiful poetry such as this, from The Nativity of Christ:
Gift better than himself God doth not know;
Gift better than his God no man can see.
This gift doth here the giver given bestow;
Gift to this gift let each receiver be.
God is my gift, himself he freely gave me;
God’s gift am I, and none but God shall have me
SUNDAY 23rd FEBRUARY
Sexagesima, otherwise known as the Second Sunday before Lent & 7th Week in Ordinary Time
9.30 am Parish Mass at S. Michael and All Angels, Clyro
11.00 am Parish Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
6.00 pm Compline at the Chapel of the Holy Trinity, Bettwys
24th February – S. Ethelbert of Kent. King of Kent when S. Augustine of Canterbury arrived on our fair shores. He was Baptised on Whit Sunday 597 and thereafter assisted in the evangelisation of our nation. Among the abbeys, churches and cathedral he assisted in founding is S. Paul’s, London.
WEDNESDAY 26th FEBRUARY
S. Porphyry of Gaza. S. Porphyry spent five years as a hermit in the desert, and a further five years in a cave near the river Jordan before entering into Holy Orders in 393. He was later consecrated as Bishop of Gaza. Five hours in silence and solitude is hard, I have found, when on silent retreat in a ‘cell’, never mind five years. In praying for peace and reconciliation in the Holy Land, we include Gaza which has been a warzone for far too long.
10.00 am Mass at S. Mary’s, Hay
THURSDAY 27th FEBRUARY
Ss. Baldomerus & George Herbert – A locksmith in Lyon, S. Baldomerus lived a frugal and devout life. In time he felt God calling him to take up residence in the monastery in Saint-Justus. Locksmiths in our midst may regard him as their patron Saint. George Herbert went as a young man to study at Cambridge with the intention of entering the Priesthood. Life happened, as it were, and he entered Parliament. Aged 36 he took up Holy Orders and served a rural parish in Wiltshire. He died three years after Ordination. His writings survive as poetry, prose and in hymnody. Two very contrasting men.
10.00 am Mass at the Chapel of S. John, Lion Street
The Angelus bell rings out twice a day at St Mary’s, 12.00 noon and 6.00 pm before evening prayer. This devotion reminds people that they are being prayed for and blessed. The Angelus is a very ancient devotion – and I hope that when people hear the bell ringing (3×3, then 9) they will pause and join with the prayer being offered in the church as it rings. Fr. David
