Sunday, March 15, 2009

Special Upcoming Tridentine Masses

This coming week demonstrates the surging level of activity in Traditional Catholic Liturgy in our area. Here is a list of planned upcoming events:

This Wednesday, March 18: Shrine of the Little Flower

This Wednesday at 7:00 PM, a special Solemn High Tridentine Mass for the anticipated Feast of St. Joseph will be held at the National Shrine of the Little Flower Church in Royal Oak. St. Josaphat and Assumption-Windsor’s Tridentine Communities are assisting Shrine with the celebration of this Mass. Shrine has been publicizing this Mass as part of their Lenten Wednesday Masses being offered in other rites of the Church (see www.shrinechurch.com for the write-up). It promises to be one of the best-attended Tridentine Mass events of 2009.


Photo by Cris Rea

Shrine is historically significant, and one of the, if not the, largest parish in the Archdiocese of Detroit. As an architectural cross between Detroit’s Fisher Building, a traditional Catholic Church, and a theatre-in-the-round, Shrine is a visual experience. We hope you can attend this special Mass and show your support to the people of Shrine who have put this event together.

This Thursday, March 19: St. Joseph Church

As part of a full day of events related to the Feast of St. Joseph, St. Josaphat’s cluster partner St. Joseph Church will hold a special sung Mass in the Extraordinary Form this Thursday at 7:00 PM.

This Saturday, March 21: Sweetest Heart of Mary Church

This Saturday at 4:00 PM, Sweetest Heart of Mary Church will hold Vespers and Benediction according to the Tridentine Form, as part of their annual Forty Hours Devotion. To our knowledge, this will be the first time that Tridentine Vespers will have been publicly celebrated in metropolitan Detroit in over 40 years.

Next Wednesday, March 25: St. Josaphat Church

One week from this Wednesday at 7:00 PM, St. Josaphat Church will hold a special Missa Cantata for the Feast of the Annunciation.

Holy Week at St. Josaphat and Assumption-Windsor

The prayers and requests of many have been answered: For the first time since the liturgical reforms of Vatican II, St. Josaphat Church will hold Masses on April 9, Holy Thursday, at 7:00 PM; and on April 11, Holy Saturday, at 8:00 PM. Good Friday Services will be offered at St. Josaphat at 1:30 PM, and at Assumption-Windsor at 5:30 PM.

Divine Mercy Sunday at St. Joseph Church

On April 19 at 3:15 PM, a Tridentine Mass with orchestral accompaniment will be celebrated by Fr. Lee Acervo at St. Joseph Church for Low Sunday, also known as Divine Mercy Sunday.

Additional Special Masses Planned for St. Josaphat

Fr. Borkowski has initiated a new plan to hold sung Tridentine Masses at St. Josaphat for First Class Feasts that occur on weekdays. These Masses will be held at 7:00 PM if they fall on a Monday through Friday, and at 9:30 AM if they fall on a Saturday. Plans will be confirmed as the dates approach.

Sunday, June 7: St. Albertus Church

Historic St. Albertus Church will offer their next Tridentine Mass on Sunday, June 7 (Trinity Sunday) at noon. This Mass will also mark the completion of the second phase of their organ restoration project.

LLA Convention Clarification

The Latin Liturgy Association has sent out a newsletter announcing the 2010 Convention in Detroit. In it, they state that the convention will be based at St. Joseph Church. This is not quite accurate: The talks will all be held in St. Joseph’s Parish Hall, as it has the largest single room in the cluster, but the liturgical events will be spread across all of the host churches, one event per church. St. Josaphat, Assumption-Windsor, Sweetest Heart of Mary, and St. Albertus will all host liturgies.

Stay Tuned for More

Plans for yet more special Masses, at existing and at new sites, are underway. You’ll read about them here once they become concrete.

Already one of North America’s Top 5 regions for scheduled Tridentine Masses, we believe metro Detroit is #1 for Special Event Masses. Thanks to everyone who is playing direct and indirect roles in organizing all of these liturgies.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Josaphat bulletin insert for March 15, 2009. Hat tip to A.B.]

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