London's Brompton Oratory

Welcome to Brompton Oratory

Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.

Oratory Bookshop & Repository

We have some attractive crucifixes for sale in the Shop made from Ebony & Mutandi woods. They are hand-carved in Kenya by a Kamba tribesman. Buying a crucifix will help feed & educate a family of seven in this famine struck district of Africa. They come in two sizes: Large: £50. Small: £30.

We also have statues of St Philip Neri, made especially at the Oratory's request by Devotum from a design by David Cope. The statues are made of marble compound and jesmonite and are 21cm (approx. 8ins) in height. They are available either in the natural colour of creamy white or hand-painted by Patricia Story. Plain statues retail at £48 and individually hand-painted statues

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Our Mission

As a community of believers, we seek to introduce people to Jesus Christ and to nurture their faith through all ages and stages of life.

Members

Volunteers

Groups

Services

Ministries

Worship With Us

When

Sundays at 10am and 1pm
Wednesdays at 7pm

Where

2815 Russell Street
Cambridge, MA 02141

How

We gather to praise God, listen to him, and respond.

Get Connected

At the heart of who we are is a belief in belonging. God’s arms are wide enough and His love strong enough, no exceptions. So we join together and say, “Come home. You’re welcome here.”

Latest News

All That you have to Know about the Liturgical Calendar!

October 13, 2017

The Liturgical Calendar came into existence to help Christians follow the important dates and events that formed a part of the Christian faith. The calendar doesn’t restrict itself to the special events alone. Instead, it also stands as an everyday guide in helping people trace the biblical portions that they have read, respond and reflect each day. Almost all Catholics hold a liturgical calendar so that they will not miss out the special days that they have to honor. Here are some of the things that you have to know about the Liturgical Calendar.

The Liturgical Calendar: Significance and Variations:

It is a well-known fact that the faith of Christianity fell apart and divisions arose after the death of the Christ. However, it did not diminish the faith of Catholicism in the hearts of the people. Despite divisions, few things that still unite the brotherhood and they follow few things in common. One such thing is the liturgical calendar.
The whole bible is split into three large portions, and the cycle that the liturgical calendar follows is the three-year cycle, which means the Catholics read the whole Bible in a span of three years as per the norms of the Church. However, this doesn’t have anything to do with Bible reading that you practice at home. The Liturgical calendar just makes sure that it gives an opportunity to all the Catholics worldwide to reflect the whole Bible at least in a span of 3 years.
The next important thing is that certain events are annual in nature. Because we are celebrating the life of Christ in a year including the birth, his life, death and resurrection of Christ in a year. So the Bible readings may repeat in these days alone.
As stated earlier, the liturgical calendar also lists other events. Other events include the feasts days of saints and other days that should not be forgotten by the Christians who are spread across the globe.
As far as differences in the liturgical calendars are concerned, despite the differences, almost divisions of Christianity hold a liturgical calendar. So the major distinction in the calendar can happen between the Western Christianity and the Eastern Orthodox Christianity.
There is not much of a difference in the calendars followed by these two divisions except that the number of events, dates to be honored and the way in which the year is split are the factors that form the difference.

Finally, one act of ecumenism:

The period of reformation is an unforgettable mark in the history of Christianity. This is the period during which the major division in Christianity happened. The division led to the formation of two major groups the Catholicism and the Protestantism. The division did shake the roots of Christianity a bit, but it didn’t break the foundation. As a symbol of unity and brotherhood, the two divisions of Christianity follow the same liturgical calendar that is as prescribed by the Roman Catholic Rite. Since the Protestants differ in certain beliefs, if the find an event that doesn’t match their dictum, they simply skip it.

The Sacrament of Reconciliation: Things that you probably missed Out!

October 13, 2017October 13, 2017

The Catholic faith has made certain practices mandatory and among them are the seven sacraments that are a part of the doctrine. One of the seven sacraments is the Confession. Confession is also known by other names such as the act of penance, the act of contrition or the act of reconciliation. There a lot of views, ideas, beliefs and controversial claims in the administration of the sacrament. However, as long as they believe in the roots and the doctrines that form the base of Christianity and the teachings of Christ, they also believe in the act of reconciliation without any doubt.

A Quick History about the Sacrament:

It was the arrival of Christ that marked the beginning of the act of forgiving and penance. Jesus Christ insisted that any man has the right to live free of his sins. This act of penance keeps him connected with God, and the communication persists as long as he is free of his guilt.
Jesus administered the act of reconciliation wherever he went and helped people live a clean life. He also taught the same to his disciples. After the death of Christ since Christians faced a lot of persecution and the act of sacrament wasn’t carried out.
Later when the Church took proper form, they formulated a system as to how each sacrament has to be carried out. The practice of confession was widespread during the 11th century, and the practice is active since then.
Earlier it is believed that the Church had the practice of open confession, which stopped people from practicing it. Later it was made into a more personalized one by administering it in a booth which happens between the minister and the penitent alone.

Administration of Confession:

There are two people involved in confession, and they are the minister and the penitent. The minister of the sacrament is always the priest who has taken the holy orders, and the penitent is the person who confesses his sins.
The penitent is expected to question his conscience and prepare himself for the act of confession. He is expected to repent for his sins and carry out the penance as stated by the minister of the sacrament.
It is one of the intriguing facts of the Christianity that the minister and the penitent conduct the act of confession in utmost faith, so when then the penitent confides in the minister that is the priest, he is not allowed to spill it out. This goes to an extent where even if the penitent confesses a murder he has committed as per the rules and the doctrine of Christianity that priest cannot let it out.
Thereby the basic idea of confession is that a person every person who is a part of the Christian has the right to be forgiven and loved if he truly repents for the sins he had committed in the past, and solemn never to repeat the same. All of us have the right to live a guilt-free life. This is the simple aim of the act of confession.

Controversial Perspective:

Quite a significant amount of people, who are of course faithful Christians, still find this act of penance a subject of controversy. Right from the priest is the minister of the sacrament, and the blind faith that your sins are kept as a secret is always a matter of speculation.
Despite the controversy, even today almost all Catholics strictly stick to the principles of the faith and practice the act of confession in order to lubricate their relationship with God.

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