Assumpta est Maria

On this feast of the Assumption of Our Lady we are reminded above all that God so loved the world that he found a way to become man so he could unite us to himself. He allowed Mary to be created in such as way that this could happen and her Assumption heralds the path now open to us all. The sign of her Assumption, the Assumption of the first fruit of God's harvest, indicates to us our own 'chosenness' and gives us therefore a reason to rejoice. Here is a rather lovely hymn for the Assumption for you to meditate on.

1. Sing, sing, ye angel bands,

   all beautiful and bright;
for higher still and higher,
   through fields of starry light,
Mary, our Queen, ascends,
   like the sweet moon at night.

2. Oh, happy angels! Look,

   how beautiful she is!
See! Jesus bears her up,
   her hand is locked in His;
Oh, who can tell the height,
   of that fair Mother’s bliss?

3. And shall I lose thee then,

   Lose my sweet right to thee?
Ah! no-the angels’ Queen
   man’s Mother still will be,
And thou, upon thy throne,
   wilt keep thy love for me.

4. Hark! Hark! through highest heaven

   what sounds of mystic mirth!
Mary by God proclaimed
   Queen of Immaculate Birth,
and diademed with stars,
   the lowliest of the earth.

5. See! see! the Eternal Hands

   put on her radiant crown,
and the sweet Majesty
   of mercy sitteth down,
for ever and for ever,
   on her predestined throne.

6. On, then, dear Pageant, on!

   Sweet music breathes around;
And love, like dew, distils
   on hearts in rapture bound;
The Queen of heaven goes up,
   to be proclaimed and crowned.

So that you can hear it in action here is a rendition performed by the group 'Seraphim'.



Baptism and Confirmation

Last week we were delighted to welcome into the Church Emily Prince through the sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation. Emily is pictured with Nigel and Sue Bradley who were her godparents and sponsors and therefore helped to sign her with the sign of the Cross, clothed her with her white garment, and presented her with the candle lit from the Paschal Candle. It was a delight to bring to the Season of the Year a little piece of Easter in these ceremonies and to be able to welcome to the Church a new member to fight the good fight.

Walsingham Pilgrimage

For many in our group Walsingham has been a place of pilgrimage for many years while for others this was their first time. This place which, before the reformation, was visited by every English king up to Henry VIII for over three hundred years holds a special place in the hearts of Catholics and indeed Anglicans and Orthodox as well. Modern devotion at this place was revived in the last few years of the nineteenth century when the Slipper Chapel was reopened after Leo XIII had stated that pilgrimage should begin there once more. During the course of the twentieth century Anglicans and Orthodox also established shrines. Benedict XVI established the Personal Ordinariate in these Islands making Our Lady of Walsingham our patron and fittingly so as Walsingham is an important place for bringing Anglicans and Catholics together. We also recall the ancient belief that England is Mary's dowry and the fast of Our Lady of Ransom occurs on the same day as the feast of OLW.


While we were at Walsingham we were able to join the Carmelites for their day pilgrimage celebrating the 500th anniversary of the birth of St Teresa of Avila, and it was good to see old friends at Walsingham as we recollected over the three days.

Welcome to the Reading Ordinariate Mission

This page is intended as an information page for members of the Reading Ordinariate Mission and their friends. Many, but not all, of our number are former Anglicans drawn from a number of churches in Reading and further afield. Our congregation draws people from as far as Basingstoke, Winchester, and Bournemouth. The Reading Ordinariate Mission was the first Ordinariate group to hold a weekly Sunday Mass - since 13th March 2011. Our group was initially served by Mgr Andrew Burnham and since June 2011 has been served by Fr David Elliott who is also Head of Theology at the Oratory School in Woodcote.


We are fortunate to have St James', Reading as our place of worship and are indebted to Fr John O'Shea and the people of St James' for their hospitality at this early Pugin Church. Our Sunday Mass is at 9.15am.