Adding Prayers to the EF Mass Against the Pandemic

Dom Alcuin Reid sent me this very useful note about the prayers which may be added to the Mass in the Extraordinary Form in time of disease, which I am very glad to share with our readers. I strongly second his suggestion that priests who regularly celebrate the EF should ask their local ordinaries to issue the relevant decree as indicated below.

“At this time of anxiety it seems necessary to recall that local Ordinaries (normally Diocesan Bishops) have the faculty to order extra prayers at Masses in the usus antiquior in times of public emergency and crisis. If we are to live the Sacred Liturgy and the liturgy is to be truly pastoral, the use of this capacity of the older rites to address such emergencies (without detracting from the privileged Lenten ferias) seems to be apposite. Amidst their Eminences’ and their Excellencies’ provisions published to date, this provision seems to be notable by its absence. It may be worth bringing this matter to the attention of local Ordinaries who might otherwise not know of its existence.

The accompanying pictures give the rules in force for these prayers (“orationes imperatae”) according to the liturgical books in use in 1962, as detailed by J.B. O’Connell, The Celebration of Mass, pp. 113-114. (1964) A local Ordinary could, for example, order the prayers from the votive Mass n. 23 ‘Tempore mortalitatis’ where danger is severe, or the prayers from the Orationes diverse n. 20 ‘In quaqumque necessitate’, n. 21 ‘In quaqumque tribulatione,’ or leave priests the choice of which prayers are appropriate.”

EF Mass for the First Sunday of Lent in Brooklyn

On Sunday, March 1st, the church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Brooklyn, New York, will have a solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the First Sunday of Lent, beginning at 5 pm. The church is located at 245 Prospect Park West, one block from the 15th St/Prospect Pk stop on the F Train, and ample parking is available.

Sung EF Masses on Mondays of Lent in Queens, New York

The church of St Helen in the Howard Beach area of Queens, New York, will have sung Masses on the Monday evenings of Lent, starting at 7:30 pm, with a solemn Mass on March 25th for the feast of the Annunciation. The church is located at 157-10 83rd Street.

The TLM Returns to a New York Parish

On Monday, February 11th, the feast of Our Lady of Lourdes, the parish of Notre Dame in New Hyde Park, New York, held its first Solemn High Mass since the Second Vatican Council. The church was filled for the celebration of its patronal feast day (on the property, there is a grotto to Our Lady of Lourdes dedicated by the then-Monsignor Fulton Sheen), which was also the 60th anniversary of its dedication. The new pastor, Fr Joseph Scolaro, ordained only five years, writes to say that he has found a very positive response to the reintroduction of many traditional practices of the faith. While there were some requests for the Mass on the part of parishioners, he thought exposure to the usus antiquior would be an opportunity for the entire parish to grow in a greater awareness of the rich tradition of the Church. Many attended for the first time and found it to be a beautiful experience. He was assisted at the Mass by the canons from a nearby parish. (Photos courtesy of Nick Castelli.)

Once again, we are also very much encouraged to see that it is predominantly the young who are taking responsibility for keeping this tradition alive, and sharing it with their fellow Catholics - feliciter!

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A New Regular TLM in the Diocese of Boise, Idaho

In response to a request from the Treasure Valley Latin Mass Society, St Joseph Chapter of Una Voce America, Bishop Peter Christensen of the Diocese of Boise has established a regular Traditional Latin Mass, to be offered on the 2nd Sunday of each month, starting March 10, at 2:30 pm, at St Paul Catholic Church, located at 510 W. Roosevelt in Nampa, Idaho. Nampa is about 22 miles west of Boise, which is one of the fastest growing urban areas in the United States, but has had no regular Traditional Latin Mass since 1996. Interested parties are invited to check the TVLMS web site at https://unavoceidaho.blogspot.com, or contact TVLSM at:
Thomas Lester, Chairman:  (208) 891-9980
Mrs. Pamela Gross O.P., Vice-Chairman:  (208) 761-1188
email: LatinMassIdaho@gmail.com

A Good Article on the TLM in Commonweal

The website of Commonweal published a very nice piece on the traditional Mass a few days ago; as a friend observed on Facebook, this may be a sign that “the end is near”, so go to Confession. (This is always good advice.) I don’t know if the author, Mr Michael Wright, chose the title “Silent Grace” himself, but it sums up his theme very well.

“I watched these strange ways of doing familiar things. The priest faced away from us. We knelt to take communion on the tongue. All the altar servers were male. I bowed at the priest during the recessional, incense still in my nostrils. Then I did something I’d never done after Mass. I sat in a pew, and I felt it: peace. Since then, much in my life has tried to upset this peace. ... But when I go to Mass at St Mary’s (the cathedral of Austin, Texas) with my daughter, I leave with a sense of peace. ”

I know that this fits well with the experience of many people who, like the author, did not grow up with the TLM, myself included. If I had to identify a theme that sums up what younger people say to me about the Latin Mass, it would be precisely this, that it is peaceful, and instills peace within them. The quiet and regularity of the traditional rite, the fruit of centuries of pastoral experience, gives us all necessary room to pray the Mass peacefully, and live our life of faith peacefully.

Likewise, he makes a good observation that “(t)he English Mass is too easy; the unfamiliarity of the Latin Mass requires me to quiet my mind, to focus, to attend to my faith in a way that Mass in English does not.” Twenty-five years ago, when the one Latin Novus Ordo in my hometown was switched over to the traditional rite, a much larger portion of the congregation remembered the old Mass from their youth than is now the case. I was present for the very first such Mass, and remember two ladies talking about it afterwards, with one saying to the other, “But the young people don’t understand it!”; I remember thinking, “That is precisely why we will like it and keep coming back.” The Hebrew word for “holy” (qadosh) is derived from a verbal root that means “to separate, set apart”; that which is set apart from ordinary life captures and holds our interest, that which no different from ordinary life is easily ignored. This is why the default position of all religions is to worship God in a manner that is separate from ordinary life, in ritual, language and music.

Mr Wright briefly quotes a piece published on the same site back in February, one much more in keeping with the usual tenor of Commonweal, called “Extraordinary Divisions”, by Prof. Massimo Faggioli of Villanova University, to the effect that “disputes (over liturgy) have wounded the sense of communion between Catholics”, and then says “He may have a point.” I make bold to assure and reassure Mr Wright that he does not.

In the cited article, Prof. Faggioli refers several times to the “bi-ritualism” which he says is now a “fait accompli” in the Roman Rite, and which, he worries, fragments the Church and leads to further polarization among the different groups within it. “There can be no reconciliation between Catholics that does not involve some kind of liturgical reconciliation, given the liturgy’s primary position in the life of the (C)hurch.” By all means. However, no such reconciliation can possibly take place if we cannot even admit to ourselves that the liturgical reform went far beyond both the letter and spirit of what Vatican II asked for, something which its own creators admitted repeatedly and unapologetically. No such reconciliation can take place if we cannot admit to ourselves that, granting for the sake of argument that all the changes were made for the better, they have nevertheless failed catastrophically to evangelize the modern world for whose benefit they were made.

The Roman Rite was not made “biritual” by Summorum Pontificum; it was made kilo-ritual by Missale Romanum, the Apostolic Constitution which promulgated the Novus Ordo Missae. It was the post-Conciliar liturgical reform, and not the old rite, that gave the celebrant of each individual Mass (and his chosen collaborators) a broader degree of liberty than had ever previously existed to decide what shall be said or sung, how it shall be said or sung, whether it shall be said or sung, with what rituals accompanying, and in which language. The people who created the liturgical reform were convinced that this liberty (which extends to the whole of it, not just the Mass) was a feature, not a bug. If Summorum Pontificum were to be withdrawn tomorrow, there would still be within the Roman Rite a vast number of licit liturgical options, from which countless fractures would continue to arise from one parish to the next, and even from one Mass to the next within the same parish.

Not very long before the TLM which I mentioned above was instituted, a young cleric on pastoral assignment in my other church went up to the pulpit before Mass on the first Sunday of Advent, to explain to the congregation that we were going to be doing something new for Advent that year. Before he could say a word of what it was, the elderly woman in the pew behind me said, with evident disgust, “Oh, not another g****mn new thing!” (The result of this particular innovation was, by the way, actually quite nice, but something which I have never seen or heard of since.) It was not Pope Benedict’s action in the liturgical field that wounded that woman’s communion with the earnest young cleric and her fellow-parishioners, but that of Pope Paul VI.

EF Mass for the Birth of John the Baptist in the Bronx

The church of the Holy Rosary in the Bronx, New York, will have an EF Mass on Sunday, June 24th, the feast of the Nativity of St John the Baptist, with music by Gounod and Victoria; the celebrant will be His Excellency James Massa, Auxiliary Bishop of Brooklyn. The Mass will begin at 1 pm; the church is located 1510 Adee Avenue. See https://holyrosarybronx.org/ for more information.

Solemn Mass for St Monica This Friday in Brooklyn

This Friday, May 4th, a Solemn High Mass for the feast of St Monica will be celebrated at Holy Name, in Brooklyn, New York, starting at 7pm. The church is located at 245 Prospect Park West. St Monica, 322-87, is the patron Saint of difficult marriages, victims of unfaithfulness or of verbal abuse, conversions, and is especially invoked for the sake of those who have lapsed from the Faith, like her son, St Augustine; his famous autobiographical work, the Confessions is a still widely read telling of his conversion from a sinful life.

EF Missa Cantata for St Joseph in Newark, New Jersey

There will be a Traditional Latin High Mass sung for the Feast of St. Joseph, on Monday, March 19th at 7:00 p.m, at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Newark, New Jersey. Following the Mass, there will be light Italian refreshments including zeppole and sfinge to celebrate thename day of pastor, Msgr. Joseph Ambrosio. The church is located at 259 Oliver Street.

TLM for Lent on the Jersey Shore

The Traditional Latin Mass is returning this Lent to Holy Innocents Church in Neptune, New Jersey, after its enthusiastic reception at the parish this past Advent. The Masses will be celebrated on three Fridays in a row, March 2, 9, and 16, starting at 5pm; the church is located at 3455 West Bangs Avenue.

EF Solemn Mass for the Second Sunday of Lent in Santa Rosa, California

Our friend Fr Jeffrey Keyes has written in to let us know about the following. “I have been at the Cathedral of St Eugene for two years. In that time, I have celebrated an EF Missa Cantata each Sunday. With encouragement, affirmation, invitation, training and practice, we have taken men accustomed to the Ordinary Form, installed acolytes and permanent deacons, and readied them for the celebration of a Solemn High Mass. Since just before Christmas, we have done this about seven times; we hope soon to be able to do this every Sunday. It is my hope that many in Northern California may come to appreciate the beauty and sacredness of this wonderful Liturgy.”

The cathedral is located at 2323 Montgomery Drive in Santa Rosa.

EF Missa Cantata for 2nd Lent in the Bronx

The church of the Holy Rosary in the Bronx, New York, will have an EF Missa Cantata on February 25th for the Second Sunday of Lent, beginning at 1pm. The church is located 1510 Adee Avenue; see https://holyrosarybronx.org/ for more information.

EF Candlemas in Brooklyn

The church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Brooklyn, New York, will have a solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the feast of Candlemas, featuring Tomás Luís de Victoria’s Mass O quam gloriosum. The Mass will begin at 7 pm; the church is located at 245 Prospect Park West. People are welcome to bring their own candles to be blessed.

A New Regular EF Mass in the Bronx

We are happy to share with our readers news that the church of the Holy Rosary in the Bronx, New York, is adding a monthly Mass in Extraordinary Form to its Sunday schedule, beginning this month. The first one will take place on Septuagesima Sunday, January 28, at 1 pm, with music by Hans Leo Hassler and Cristóbal de Morales. The church is located at 1510 Adee Avenue, and accessible by public transportation; parking is also available.

EF Mass in Ste Genevieve to Commemorate the Diocese’s 200th Anniversary

We received the following from Fr Edward Nemeth of St Genevieve Catholic Church in Sainte Genevieve, Missouri. This parish was founded in 1759 in the oldest settlement in the state of Missouri, also named Ste. Genevieve. The town was founded by the French, but welcomed a large number of German Catholic immigrants in the mid 1800’s. The current church was built in 1860, the fourth in the parish’s history, and has been spared any modern renovations.

On January 1, 1818, Bishop William DuBourg, on his way to take possession of the soon-to-be formed Diocese of St Louis, arrived in Ste. Genevieve, where he celebrated a Pontifical High Mass before heading north to his episcopal see. In order to commemorate the second centenary of this milestone, the parish organized and hosted a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form, with music provided by the local Juventutem St Louis group. Over 600 people attended the Mass, some traveling from as far north as St Louis and as far south as Cape Girardeau. About half of the participants were parishioners, many of whom have never attended the usus antiquior. The Veni Creator Spiritus was sung at the end of the Mass to invoke the Holy Spirit’s grace upon the new year. Below we give the sermon preached for the occasion by Mons. Michael Witt.

Our thanks to Fr Nemeth for sharing this with us, and for taking the initiative to commemorate this anniversary with the same Mass that Bishop DuBourg would have known 200 years ago!

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Mass for the Holy Innocents in San Angelo, Texas

The Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in San Angelo, Texas, will have a Missa Cantata in the Extraordinary Form for the feast of the Holy Innocents on Thursday, December 28, with Palestrina’s Mass Aeterna Christi Munera; His Excellency Michael Sis, the bishop of San Angelo, will be in attendance and preach. The Mass begins at 6 pm; the cathedral is located at 19 South Oakes Street.

EF Missa Cantata for First Advent in Detroit

St Hyacinth Parish in Detroit will have an EF Missa cantata for the first Sunday of Advent, celebrated by a newly ordained Jesuit priest, Fr Stephen Wolfe. The Mass will start at 1:30 pm; the church is located at 3151 Farnsworth St.

EF Solemn Mass for the First Sunday of Advent in Brooklyn

The church of the Holy Name of Jesus in Brooklyn, New York, located at 245 Prospect Park West, will have a Solemn Mass in EF starting at 5:00. There will also be confessions heard from 4:15 until the start of Mass. Readers may remember Holy Name as the subject of a beautifully done de-wreckovation almost four years ago.

EF Solemn Mass to be Offered at National Catholic Youth Conference on Friday

Every two years, over 25,000 young people attend the National Catholic Youth Conference (NCYC), which for the past three years has been held in Indianapolis at Lucas Oil Stadium and the Convention Center. This year there will be a Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form offered at NCYC. Two years ago, a Missa Cantata was celebrated at the conference, and it drew such a large crowd that there were more people overflowing outside of the small chapel than inside the chapel itself.

The Mass has been moved to a larger room this year, and a portable reredos and communion rail are being built for the chapel. Please spread the word to those you know who might be attending NCYC; this will be a great opportunity for young people to experience the Traditional Rite of the Mass at such a large gathering. The Mass will be held in the NCYC Adoration Chapel in the Indianapolis Convention Center on Friday, November 17th at 11:30am.

Missa cantata at the previous NCYC; photo by Sean Gallagher

EF Solemn Mass of the Presentation in New York City

On Tuesday, November 21st at 7:30 p.m., there will be sung a Solemn Traditional Latin Mass for the feast of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary at the Pontifical Sanctuary of Our Lady of Mount Carmel in East Harlem, New York. The sermon and readings from the pulpit will be in Spanish. After Mass there will be devotions to Our Lady of Divine Providence, Patroness of Puerto Rico, whose feast falls on November 19th. The Puerto Rican community has a long and deep history in East Harlem, and is of course praying especially for the island in the wake of the terrible damage from hurricane Maria last month. The shrine is located at 448 East 116th Street.