Our New Zealand Wilderness

The official or canonical houses of the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer should be located away from cities in deserted places.  With this in mind, Bishop Barry Jones RIP, as Bishop of Christchurch, invited us to establish a canonical house in his diocese according to the requirements of our Constitutions.
On Holy Thursday, 13 April 2017 we took possession of our New Zealand Wilderness.
The property is called Mount Saint Joseph's Kakahu.

Procession to take possession

of the Wilderness of Mt St Joseph's Kakahu 

 The altar being prepared in the wilderness.

On the feast of St Joseph, May 1st 2017 the 300 acre property was first blessed and Holy Mass was celebrated at the foot of the wilderness hills which rise another 1300 feet from here to the summit.

 Views from the summit of Mt St Joseph's Kakahu

looking across the Four Peaks Range

and looking to the cities on the plain.

 - 29 September -

Michaelmas 2017

 Holy Mass was offered in the open for the faithful

who came to Mt St Joseph's Kakahu

for the first Wild Sheep Muster. 

 In this place... 

 The altar was in the open

the Faithful gathered to assist from

beneath the verandah.

Now in this place let us make a beginning.

November 2017

Laying the logs.

 The logs for the Wilderness Oratory 

were all taken from the neighbouring forest.

The Wilderness Oratory of St Joseph looking down the verandah.

 The Wilderness Oratory takes shape

view from the West

 View from the South

 The roof.

The stained glass window

-the gift of Mr and Mrs J N Richards - 

which is greatly appreciated.

Making the altar rails

The altar, gradines and throne.

 The temporary altar and footpace

 The gradines are solid Douglas Fir from the neighbouring forest,

 so too, is the throne.

Blessing of the 

Wilderness Oratory of St Joseph

Last Sunday of the Year

26 November, 2017.

 The Wilderness Oratory of St Joseph

was officially blessed by

Rt. Reverend Dom Hugh Gilbert, O.S.B.

Bishop of Aberdeen, Scotland

 DOMINE DEUS, qui licet...  O LORD GOD, Whom the heavens and earth cannot contain, but Who dost condescend to have a dwelling on earth where thy name can be continually invoked, we beseech thee, through the merits and intercession of Blessed Mary ever Virgin, of Blessed Joseph and of all the saints, visit this edifice with thy kindly countenance, and purge it of all evil by the infusion of thy grace. And as thou didst cause the vow of thy beloved David to be fulfilled in the work of Solomon, his son, grant us in this work the realisation of our desires, and banish hence all wicked spirits. Through our Lord.

 Ut hanc ecclesiam, et altare hoc, ad honorem tuum, 

et nomen Sancti tui Josephi, purgare, et bene+dicere digneris.

Te rogamus audi nos.

That Thou wouldst purify and bless + this church and this altar 

to thy honour and the name of Saint Joseph.

We beseech thee, hear us.

 Psalmus 120

LEVAVI oculos meos in montes ... 

I lift up mine eyes to the mountains; 

whence shall help come to me? 

My help is from the Lord who made heaven and earth ... 

 Psalmus 121

LAETATUS sum in his, quae dicta sunt mihi: In domum Domini ibimus...

I rejoiced when it was said to me: 'Let us go to the house of the Lord...'

 First Mass in the Wilderness Oratory

offered by Father Anthony Mary

served by Brother Paul Mary

...in montem sanctum tuum et in tabernacula tua...

unto thy holy hill, and into thy tabernacles...

DEUS, qui loca nomini tuo dicanda sanctificas...

GOD, Who dost sanctify the places dedicated to thy name, pour forth thy grace upon this house of prayer, so tht all who here invoke thee, may experience thy assistance. Amen.

Papa Stronsay Calendar 2018!

The Papa Stronsay wall calendar for 2018 is finally here, and can be purchased below!

For those of you who may not have had the pleasure of owning a Papa Stronsay calendar in the past, it is probably the best Extraordinary Form liturgical wall-calendar available, giving you not only the day's liturgical feast and commemorations, but also the liturgical colour of the day, public holidays for five countries, astronomical information, many other liturgical events and historical information not included in the general calendar of the Church, and so much more.

 The Calendar contains images of our life throughout the year.

Each month is packed full of liturgical and devotional information.

This video from 2016 gives a good idea of the kind of thing you can expect from your 2018 Papa Stronsay Calendar!



Make sure you don't miss out on future Papa Stronsay Calendars by subscribing to the Calendar mailing list below:

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The Calendar is with the printer now, and should be ready to ship within the next two weeks.  We will have them to you as soon as possible.

Due to unfortunate circumstances, we have been obliged to increase the cost of the Papa Stronsay Calendar this year, but hope to get it back down again next year. Even with this increase, we have not covered the cost of printing. If you are able, please consider making a donation to help with these substantial costs. Thank you!

The Rosary of Balloons

On Sunday 15 October,

the third day of the celebrations

in honour of the 100th anniversary of the apparition of Our Lady at Fatima,

a Rosary made of balloons was launched in a park near the Oratory in Christchurch. 

The beautiful photos that follow were kindly taken by Mr. Daniel Lim.  

This devotional celebration had been well prepared. 

 If we said our prayers and prayed our Rosaries

with faith the size of these blue balloons

the world would be a different place!

 The Rosary Procession was over

its Litanies had been sung

the Holy Mass had been chanted

the day was sunny 

and the celebration was blessed with joy.

Moment of wonder.

Before the Rosary of balloons could be launched

it was necessary to obtain permission from the

Christchurch International Airport Control Tower:
"Go ahead Rosary Balloons!"

 It slowly lifted off.

Polyphonic hymns accompanied it.

 What a sight!

The crucifix gleamed in the sunlight.

The air was still.

We watched what we had launched. 

And indeed it was a beautiful sight

thanks to the care and precision with which it was organised.

For each balloon could lift only 1 gram of weight

and the balloons together had to lift the Rosary's 

golden Crucifix and Miraculous Medal.

Well done! 

Up and up it went until it was out of sight.

May our humble prayers pierce the clouds

and not depart until the Most High hears them

through the intercession of Holy Mary.