Sunday

9.00am (1st Sunday of the month at Mundon Victory Hall): Service of the Word

10.00am: Sung Mass

6.00pm: Evensong (Choral on the first Sunday of the month from February 2009)

Tuesday

9.30am: Mass

Weekday Offices (Monday to Thursday)

8.30am: Meditation and Morning Prayer

5.00pm: Meditation and Evening Prayer

Alterations and additions to the above services are contained in the weekly bulletin.

Meditation Group

The Meditation Group meets every Tuesday lunchtime from 12.30 to 1.30pm in the Octagon. If you have not experienced Christian meditation, please do join us for an hour’s respite from the hurly burly of daily life.

Confession

Please speak to Fr Louis if you would like to arrange to receive the sacrament of reconciliation (also known as confession). Fr Louis is also happy to hold informal conversations with anyone who would like to know more about this sacrament and who would maybe like to explore it as part of their spiritual journey.

Emmaus Mass

A Mass with a difference. We take as our guide the story of the Emmaus Road in the Gospel of Luke. All of us, whether we are seasoned travellers or beginners on the spiritual way, are on a journey. The Emmaus Eucharist provides a space for all to deepen their faith and get to know others on that same journey. The Gathering and Liturgy of the Word takes place in the Octagon as we share a meal and together explore how the Mass shapes our daily living. We then move into the sanctuary and gather around the altar-table as we celebrate the Liturgy of the Sacrament. Please check the weekly bulletin and forthcoming services webpage for future dates or call Fr Louis on 857191.

The Rood

Visitors to St Mary’s will notice an ancient stairway in the north east corner of the nave. It appears to lead no-where. What was its purpose? In the middle ages, this stairway would have led to a rood loft which ran across the chancel arch. On this loft, monks would have watched the sanctuary, keeping it safe throughout the night and offering prayers as they did so. The name “rood loft” however, comes from the figures which would have sat on the loft, looking west down the nave. These consisted of Christ on the cross, the cross usually being flanked by St Mary and St John; His mother and the “beloved disciple”. The word “rood” itself is the Anglo-Saxon word for cross.

St Mary’s rood loft was, along with most others in England, destroyed at the reformation. Rood figures, however, were re-instated on the wall over the chancel arch in the late twentieth century. These fine figures came from the church of St Andrew, Plaistow in the London Borough of Newham. They were made by James Brooks between 1867 and 1870 and coloured by Randal Wells in the 1930s. When St Andrew’s was declared redundant in 1977, the figures were brought to St Mary’s. Placed high on the simple walls of St Mary’s, they are a powerful reminder of Christ’s love for us. As he uttered his last words, he thought not of his own sufferings but of those whom he loved. “Woman behold thy Son. Behold thy mother.” (John 19, 26-27)

The Dream of the Rood

The Dream of the Rood is one of the oldest Anglo-Saxon poems, found in the tenth century Vercelli Book, although it is probably much earlier and possibly the oldest English poem known. It is the story of someone dreaming that he has a conversation with the wood (the rood) which became Christ’s Cross. Perhaps you will recall these words as you look at our beautiful figures.

Rood was I reared. I lifted a mighty King,
Lord of the heavens, dared not to bend.
With dark nails they drove me through:
on me those sores are seen,
open malice-wounds.
I dared not scathe anyone.
They mocked us both, we two together.
 All wet with blood I was,
poured out from that Man's side, after ghost he gave up.