"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News (December 2, 2012):
The Catholic Sanctuaries Photo Collection
Another impressive set of photographs has come to our attention: The “Catholic Sanctuaries” collection on Flickr. The work of an anonymous seminarian, this collection is indexed multiple ways: by church name; by church type (e.g.: Basilicas, Cathedrals, Eastern Churches); by geographic location (e.g.: Michigan, subset Detroit); and by architectural feature (e.g. “Naves”, “Organs”, and “Side Altars”).
Detroit’s St. Josaphat is one of countless churches that have been documented. The author has made a special effort to seek out striking architecture; the photo below of the Basilica of St. Mary in Minneapolis, Minnesota is an example.
We highly recommend that you take a few minutes and peruse the “Sample Pictures” and “Naves” sets found here: http://www.flickriver.com/photos/catholicsanctuaries/sets/
Beauty and Truth“Beauty is truth, truth beauty,” – that is all ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. – from Ode on a Grecian Urn by John KeatsThese words from a famous poem are words to live by in our Catholic faith. There is much talk nowadays about the need to evangelize the unchurched and the underchurched, non-Catholics as well as those Catholics lacking a thorough understanding of our Holy Faith. What better way to do that than using the diverse arsenal of beauty surrounding the Extraordinary Form of Mass? Humans are sensory beings, and what may be challenging to explain via words may be much easier to convey via imagery.
Within a Catholic context, beauty leads one to truth. The visual and auditory beauty of Catholic art, architecture, and sacred music can move one to learn more about the truths of our religion.
The Extraordinary Form of Holy Mass makes use of all of this artistic beauty. Indeed, it has inspired enduring forms of sacred art and music that characterize the classic designs we see in so many of our historic churches. The imagery and architectural features are all intended to move us to prayer and contemplation.
Keats’ words thus have a special resonance to those of us who have discovered the Tridentine Mass. We can use Beauty to bring people to appreciate the Truth. And well we should.
Yet something has been missing in this Beauty-Truth link. Something long overdue in this modern day and age. The wait is about to be over, however, and the Tridentine Community at Assumption Church will have a key role. Come to the reception in the Social Hall underneath Rosary Chapel after the 2:00 PM Mass at Assumption Church next Sunday, December 9, to find out what we’re talking about.
Masses at Ss. Peter & Paul (west side)
Two special Tridentine High Masses have been scheduled at Ss. Peter & Paul (west side): This coming Saturday, December 8 at 11:00 AM, there will be a High Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation in the U.S. On Sunday, December 16 at 12:15 PM, there will be a High Mass for the Third Sunday of Advent. Ss. Peter & Paul is located at 7685 Grandville, north of Warren Ave., one half mile west of the Southfield Freeway.
Rules on Requiem Masses
A reader asked for clarification on the regulations for when Requiem Masses are permitted during the week. With a few exceptions that are too obscure for discussion here, the Daily Mass for the Dead is permitted on any Fourth Class Feria or Fourth Class Feast Day outside of Advent, Christmastide, or Lent. With regards to Assumption Church, there are seven such Tuesdays in 2013. There is a strong demand for Mass Intentions for Requiem Masses, so if you wish to have one said for your intentions, kindly submit a Mass Intention Request Form, available at the entrance to the church, as soon as possible.
As it happens, some of these days fall on consecutive weeks, which results in the occasional situation where we may have Requiem Masses on two successive Tuesdays. Let us recall that Requiem Masses offer a particular opportunity to pray for all of the faithful departed, not just the person(s) for whom the Mass is being offered.
Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
- Mon. 12/03 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Francis Xavier, Confessor)
- Tue. 12/04 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Assumption-Windsor (St. Peter Chrysologus, Bishop, Confessor, & Doctor)
- Sat. 12/08 11:00 AM: High Mass at Ss. Peter & Paul (west side), Detroit (Immaculate Conception)
Those photos record a sad beauty - crummy tables stuck in the Sanctuaries before gorgeous high altars.
ReplyDeleteLiberalism leads to spiritual blindness. The men who took the decisions resulting in those tables are completely blind to beauty and truth and goodness.
But, remember, it is all about the hermeneutic of continuity...Nothing has changed and those crummy tables and the Lil' Licit Liturgy are proof that nothing has changed.
I became so ANGRY visiting Churches in Rome and seeing crummy tables crammed in before consecrated High Altars that I frequently audibly grumbled in disgust - and The Bride had to shush me...
I agree entirely, I.A.N.S. The appearance is jarring, like a pedestrian picnic table set up in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, or a hot dog stand standing in front of the stage of the Vienna opera house.
ReplyDeleteFree standing tables for "altars" is mandated in which Vatican II documents? Absolutely. Nowhere. An innovation by disbelieving seditionists bent on destroying the church.
ReplyDeleteSmall wonder they're so damnably ugly.