Personal Ordinariate of Our Lady of Walsingham
Darlington Mission
13 September 2026 – Fifteenth Sunday after Trinity
Mass today is offered for Charlie Camileri – R.I.P.
Group Pastor – Fr. Thomas Mason – thomas.mason@ordinariate.org.uk – 01833 631457 – 07876 308657
Assistant Priest – Fr. Ian Westby Deacon – the Rev’d Carl Watson
Web: https://www.ordinariate-darlington.co.uk
Facebook: https://tinyurl.com/OrdDarlFacebook
Twitter: https://twitter.com/OrdDarlington
Services this week:
Monday 14, 6.15pm, Barnard Castle (Latin) – Holy Cross
Tuesday 15, 10am, Gainford – Our Lady of Sorrows
Thursday 17, 9am, Barnard Castle – S. Hildegard of Bingen
Friday 18, 12noon, Barnard Castle (Ordinariate) – Ember Day (preceded by Sext at 11.45am)
Friday 18, 6-7pm, Barnard Castle – Holy Hour
Confessions (at Barnard Castle): Monday 5.30-6pm, Thursday 5.30-6pm, Saturday 10-11am
Prayer List
Of your charity please pray for all the sick, especially: Morag, Ethel, George Gwilliam, Andrew Gwilliam, Fay Jackson, Dennis Walburn, Elaine Robertson, Barbara Ugoletti, Andrea Matthews, Bridget Wright, Graham Pegley, Calvert Hardy, James Hardy, Keith McAllister, Elizabeth Rawling, Pauline McAllister, Paul Laughlin, Garth Redvers Harris, Geraldine Dobson, Pat MacGregor, Ann Griffiths, Ruth Park, Lily Berepiki.
As also for all the faithful departed, particularly the recently departed, including Harald V, Peter Hanks, and Charlie Camileri, as well as those whose years-mind falls at this time, including Patience Waddilove. Requiescant in pace.
Our Lady of Walsingham. Thursday 24 is the solemnity of our great patroness. There will be a sung Mass at 7pm, followed by food in the Garden Room. Lady of Walsingham be as thou hast been, England’s protectress, our mother and our queen.
Assisted Suicide. We give thanks to God for the defeat of the horrific assisted suicide bill. Of our local M.P.s, Dr. Sam Rushworth (Bishop Auckland, including Barnard Castle) and Lola McEvoy (Darlington) both voted against; Rishi Sunak (Richmond & Northallerton) did not vote, despite having voted in favour before.
Our Lady of Sorrows
This Tuesday we celebrate Our Lady of Sorrows, a celebration which has varied somewhat over the years, but also reaches right back to the very beginnings of Christianity (a mere 40 days after Our Lord’s birth). It is also a celebration with one of the richest sets of devotions attached to it, clearly something about it speaks very clearly to our hearts.
The origins of the devotion are scriptural, when Our Lord was presented in the Temple, as part of the rituals following his birth (which we celebrate at Candlemass in February) he was recognised as the Messiah by a devout man called Simeon. He not only noted Our Lord, but prophesied the sorrows which Our Lady would suffer. “Behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign that is opposed (and a sword will pierce through your own soul also), so that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed.” (Luke 2:34-35) This line gives rise to the many devotional images of Our Lady which show one or more swords piercing her heart.
As we might imagine, given the basis in Scripture, devotion to these metaphorical swords piercing Our Lady became widespread through the Church. Eastern Orthodoxy has a particular ikon known as ‘the Softening of Evil Hearts’ which depicts Our Lady with swords in her heart. The Ethiopian Orthodox Church has a famous dialogue which gives a dialogue between Christ and his mother, in which she speaks of the various sorrows which she experienced.
The Western (Catholic) tradition came to a semi-formal recognition of Seven Sorrows, which reflect various moments in Our Lord’s life which involved Our Lady, and her motherly sadness at seeing the pains of her Son. These are: the prophecy of Simeon (mentioned above); the flight into Egypt to avoid Herod’s massacre (Matthew 2); losing the child Jesus in the temple when he was 12 (Luke 2); meeting with Our Lord on his journey to Calvary (hinted at in Luke 23:27 and the fourth station of the cross); the Crucifixion (especially John 19:25-27); taking Our Lord’s body down from the Cross; the burial of Our Lord.
In each of these we see that Our Lady’s sorrows arise from her close relationship with Christ. As always with our devotion to Our Lady, she is pointing us closer to Christ; in particular as he suffers for us, she suffers with him. We also see her presence throughout Christ’s work on earth – obviously she is present at his birth, and the sorrows begin almost immediately; but she is also present at the end, standing at the foot of the Cross as he dies for the redemption of the world.
This is a very human devotion, and so can speak deeply to our heart. All of the mothers among you will know how much a child’s pain hurts you; and this is magnified with Our Lady. Unsurprisingly it has inspired much devotion in the life of the Church. There is a variant of the rosary, known as the Chaplet of the Seven Sorrows or the Servite Rosary (the Servite Order being particular devoted to the Sorrows) which meditates on these sorrows. There is also a well-known hymn which reflects on the sorrows – the Stabat Mater (At the Cross her Station Keeping) – often sung during the stations of the cross.
These devotions remind us of the presence of Our Lady throughout Christ’s ministry, they can also be a comfort in our own sorrows – just as Our Lady suffered, and then received the most powerful consolation in the Resurrection, so too, if we unite our sufferings to those of the Lord, then they can be used by God for our salvation and that of the whole world. – Fr. Thomas.
Safeguarding The Group operates in accordance with Statutory Safeguarding Guidance and Catholic Safeguarding Standards Agency (CSSA) and Diocese’s policies and procedures at all times. Our Group Safeguarding Representative is Jos Thompson or alternatively the Diocesan Safeguarding Team can be contacted on 0191 2433305 or at safeguarding@diocesehn.org.uk