Sunday 29 August 2010

An Appeal for Circumspection

As we are all only too well aware, the situation in the Birmingham Oratory is far from happy, and has given rise to a great deal of comment and speculation in the press.
It would be most unhelpful were any Brother of the Little Oratory in London to be seen to be making public or semi-public statements on this matter.
We must refrain from any comment when asked by outsiders, other than to say that it is an internal matter for the Birmingham House, and must be careful not to discuss this situation amongst ourselves where there is the possibility of our being overheard. We must also refrain from entering the fray of comments in the blogosphere.
We should be praying - not indulging in conjecture and gossip.

Serving Lists

Our Ceremoniere does his utmost to allot the serving duties evenly amongst the serving Brothers. It can, I know, sometimes seem to each of us as if a great deal is being demanded of us, but serving at the Altar is one of the duties of the Brothers, and is also a tremendous privilege.
If any Brother is unable to fulfil his obligation as published on the list, it falls to him, in the first instance, to arrange cover.
It is not acceptable simply to cross one's name out on the Sacristy list, with or without the legend 'Away' or something similar - replacements do not materialize on their own.
It is equally unacceptable to announce to the Ceremoniere of a particular function, on the day of that function, that one will not be available to fulfil one's obligation later in the day - he himself may well have no time to arrange for cover - without having first taken all reasonable steps to secure a replacement.