The Pittsburgh Oratory

First Friday Vigil
September 3rd,  7:00 PM
Join us for the September 3rd First Friday Vigil at the Oratory. Confessions begin at 7:00 PM and the Vigil itself at 8:00pm. The Blessed Sacrament will be exposed for three hours, ending at 11 PM. You are free to come and go as you please, but use the front door (an attendant will be at the front desk). The theme for this month’s vigil is “Temple of God – Dwelling of the Holy Spirit”.
“I have come to set the world on fire and how I wish it were already blazing” (Luke 12:49). Our Lord desires to draw us close to His Sacred Heart and set us on fire for love of Him and the Kingdom. With Mary, whose Immaculate Heart loved our Lord so completely and tenderly, we seek to prepare a place for him within our hearts so that we might receive Him in purity and humility. Like St. Philip Neri, we pray that Our Lord will send his Holy Spirit upon us so that our hearts might burn for love of Him and those He has called us to serve.
The 8 PM hour is dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the 9 PM hour to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, and the 10 PM hour to St. Philip Neri, whose heart burned for love of God and neighbor. Each will feature a litany, a brief sermon, congregational and silent prayer, and Gregorian chants led by the Oratory Schola Cantorum.  We hope you can join us for at least part of the night and take refuge in the real presence of Christ.
“In a world where there is so much noise, so much bewilderment, there is a need for silent adoration of Jesus concealed in the Host. Be assiduous in the prayer of adoration and teach it to the faithful. It is a source of comfort and light, particularly to those who are suffering.”
–Pope Benedict XVI

The Secular Oratory:  (A community of Catholic young adults, inspired by the spirituality of St. Philip Neri) The Nature and Spirit of the Secular Oratory:

How did the Oratory begin? – - With laymen gathered for prayer and spiritual reading, for conversation and recreation, and for the care of those in need.  St. Philip was at the heart of the group, of course.  Yet how unobtrusive he was!  He desired to bring his friends to Christ, not to himself.  Christ was to be found in the sacraments, in Holy Scripture, in the lives of the saints and the history of the Church – and also in other people, especially the poor and the sick, to care for whom is to care for Christ.  The Oratory was not particularly dramatic or especially demanding.    All sorts belonged, drawn simply by their sense that here, from St. Philip, they could learn how to make progress in knowing and loving our Lord. Those who participate today in the Secular Oratory are among their successors.  Keeping Philip’s original way in mind, the Secular Oratory is not so much a formal confraternity or third order as it is an association of all those who wish to serve God under Philip’s gentle guidance.  No specific commitment is required, other than the desire to attend when one can and to grow in one’s faith.  It is also a special blessing for us to receive St. Philip’s spirit from the hands of the soon to be “Blessed” John Henry Newman.  Newman understood that spirit; he knew that in our relations with God and with each other, we must try to leave behind all that is wrong, false and pretentious, so that, in all simplicity, heart can speak to heart. ?This is what Saint Philip wants for those who take him as a special patron: simply and intimately, to know Christ.  It is the aim of the members of the Secular Oratory, each one as far as he or she can, to seek that knowledge in Saint Philip’s way and Newman’s: in prayer and devotion, through the bonds of Christian friendship and in works of practical charity. When:

Every other Saturday (2nd and 4th) 7:00pm, Newman Center Conference Room, beginning Saturday, September 11 at 7:00pm

Confessions and Eucharistic Adoration available prior to meeting (6:00-6:45pm) in Oratory Chapel

What:

The meetings consist of: The singing of a hymn A reading from scripture or other spiritual text period of silent meditation period of discussion praying of the Litany of St. Philip Neri Hymn to the Blessed Virgin Mary Social (about 8:00pm)

When the first members of what became the Secular Oratory met with Saint Philip in 16th-century Rome, he often asked them to give talks to one another on Scripture, Church history, the lives of the saints, and other aspects of Catholic life and culture.  We continue this tradition by inviting members of Secular Oratory to volunteer to make presentations at our meetings.

Additional Activities: Regular Retreats Pilgrimages Social Events Regular Outreach Opportunities

For more information, contact Fr. David at frdavid@pittsburghoratory.org

Love of the Beautiful: An Introduction to the Writings and Spirituality of the Philokalia The Philokalia (”love of the beautiful”, a love for everything of God, beauty’s source) is a collection of texts written between the fourth and fifteenth centuries by spiritual masters of the Eastern Christian contemplative, ascetic and hesychast tradition. They describe the conditions most effective for learning what their authors call the art of arts and the science of sciences, a learning which is not a matter of information or agility of mind but of a radical change of will and heart leading man towards the highest possibilities open to him, shaping and nourishing the unseen part of his being, and helping him to spiritual fulfillment and union with God. Every Thursday night at 7:30pm, beginning September 2nd, we will be considering the fundamental elements of this beautiful spiritual tradition by reading A Beginner’s Introduction to the Philokalia by Anthony Coniaris. This book focuses on twenty basic themes from the Philokalia, explaining them as simply as possible – such as watchfulness, thoughts, spiritual discipline, the heart, the intellect, inner stillness, the passions, deification, discernment, and of course, the Jesus Prayer. For more information, contact Fr. David at frdavid@pittsburghoratory.org Books are available.  All are welcome! Additional Reflections have added for all interested @ www.philokalia.co

Friday August 20, 1:00pm – 4:00pm UC Patio Sponsered by: Catholic Newman Center Contact Fr. Josh for more infomation frjoshua@pittsburghoratory.org

Sunday Aug 29, 6:00pm: Year-Opening Mass (Missa caputanni) St. Paul’s Cathedral.  Food, fellowship, skits, music and a refreshing talk to follow.  Come hear     the Bishop of Pittsburgh speak about Catholics in Action.  Free pizza and ice cream!

Monday Aug 30, 6:30pm:  Games Night (funnus maximus) At the Newman Center. No tokens needed. Pool, foosball, PS3, board games, etc.

Tuesday Aug 31,  6:30pm:  Kickball on the Lawn (kickus violentia) and Volleyball (spikus inflictus).  Cathedral of Learning Lawn at 5th & Bellefield Ave.  Bring your strategery and strike skills.

Wednesday Sept 1, 6:30pm: A Wing and a Prayer (e rosaribus wingus) Pray the rosary at the Newman Center chapel, followed by a chicken wing dinner and entertainment.

Thursday Sept 2, 6:30pm: Frisbee at Flagstaff (discus flotanda) By CMU, across from Phipps Conservatory.

Friday Sept 3, 6:00pm: Pirates Game (athletica observatus) Meet at the Newman Center after Mass to bus over.

Saturday Sept 4, 8:00pm: Retro Dance (motus corpus retro) Wm Pitt Union. Get in the swing of things and dance the night away.  No training needed!

Sunday Sept 5, 7:00pm: Catholic Action (agere Catholice) Join us following Mass in the downstairs of St. Paul’s Cathedral.  More food and     fellowship, and an inspiring and life changing talk by Fr. Larry Richards.

8/29/10 – 9/5/10

Sponsored by the Ryan Catholic Newman Center 4450 Bayard St. Pittsburgh, PA 15213; (412) 681-3181 www.pittsburghoratory.org/campusministry Facebook: Pittsburgh Newman Center