Tuesday, December 24, 2019

A Christmas Reflection - 2019

It's time to reconsider the reason for the season and the challenges offered by the drive-by "experts" of the day who intend to cast the entire Biblical narrative concerning the Blessed Nativity into doubt. Consider again the Biblical narrative:

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God, and saying,
Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace, good will toward men.
And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said one to another,
Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pas, which the Lord hath made known unto us.
And they came with haste, and found Mary, and Joseph and the babe lying in a manger. And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which was told them concerning this child. And all they that heard it wondered at those things which were told them by the shepherds. But Mary kept all these things, and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, as it was told unto them. (The Gospel According to Luke, Chapter Two, Verses 13-20)

Here we are again, on the first day of the Christmas season. It has become something of a Christmas tradition for me to engage the following text by C.S. Lewis in connection with the above quoted Scriptures. The reason will be obvious.

Nearly every Christmas, it seems, NEWSWEEK or TIME or some television special will feature the "latest scholarship" questioning the "authenticity" of the Christmas story. I am not concerned with the question about whether the Nativity of our Lord occurred on December 25th. That's a matter of Church tradition and incidental to my concerns here. What concerns me is how the Biblical narrative itself is invariably called into question or even dismissed as mere "myth" -- the account of the shepherds, the Angelic host, the Christ Child in a manger, the Star and the Magi from the East, Herod's slaughter of the innocents, the flight of Mary and Joseph and the Christ Child into Egypt, etc.

The scholarly authorities typically interviewed, whether Catholic or Protestant, are consistently and incorrigibly one-sided, quite thoroughly corrupted by the Humean and Kantian philosophical presuppositions undergirding the historical-critical reading of the Biblical narrative. Typical is the About.com website, where Internet browsers frequent to learn "the facts" about this or that -- a site where one finds this sort of thinking gone to seed in an article by Austin Cline, "Nativity vs Gospels: Are the Gospels Reliable About Jesus' Birth?" (About.com), where the partisan skepticism of such historical critical assumptions is abundantly evident in his suggestions that all the key ingredients of the Nativity story in the Gospels were concocted fictions of various kinds.

The lack of critical circumspection, if not patent fantasy, in all of this would be amusing if it were not so destructive. The upshot is always the same: that the Gospel writers are unreliable and not to be trusted, and certainly not to be taken at face value. Just how ludicrous this all is, however, can be seen easily by anyone with a modicum of familiarity with literature, mythology, and history. One of the best examples of a powerful antedote to this kind of foolishness -- and one I keep using because it is simple -- is a little essay by C.S. Lewis entitled "Modern Theology and Biblical Criticism," which is available in a collection of essays by Lewis entitled Christian Reflections (1967; reprinted by Eerdmans, 1994). The following are some excerpts from Lewis' essay, which begins on p. 152 and contains four objections (or what he calls "bleats") about modern New Testament scholarship:
1. [If a scholar] tells me that something in a Gospel is legend or romance, I want to know how many legends and romances he has read, how well his palate is trained in detecting them by the flavour...

I have been reading poems, romances, vision-literature, legends, myths all my life. I know what they are like. I know that not one [of the stories in the Gospel of John, for example] is like this... Either this is reportage - though it may no doubt contain errors - pretty close up to the facts; nearly as close as Boswell. Or else, some unknown writer in the second century, without known predecessors or successors, suddenly anticipated the whole technique of modern, novelistic, realistic narrative...

2. All theology of the liberal type involves at some point - and often involves throughout - the claim that the real behaviour and purpose and teaching of Christ came very rapidly to be misunderstood and misrepresented by his followers, and has been recovered or exhumed only by modern scholars... The idea that any... writer should be opaque to those who lived in the same culture, spoke the same language, shared the same habitual imagery and unconscious assumptions, and yet be transparent to those who have none of these advantages, is in my opinion preposterous. There is an a priori improbability in it which almost no argument and no evidence could counterbalance.

3. Thirdly, I find in these theologians a constant use of the principle that the miraculous does not occur... This is a purely philosophical question. Scholars, as scholars, speak on it with no more authority than anyone else. The canon 'if miraculous, unhistorical' is one they bring to their study of the texts, not one they have learned from it. If one is speaking of authority, the united authority of all the Biblical critics in the world counts here for nothing.

4. My fourth bleat is my loudest and longest. Reviewers [of my own books, and of books by friends whose real history I knew] both friendly and hostile... will tell you what public events had directed the author's mind to this or that, what other authors influenced him, what his over-all intention was, what sort of audience he principally addressed, why - and when - he did everything... My impression is that in the whole of my experience not one of these guesses has on any one point been right; the method shows a record of 100 per cent failure.

The 'assured results of modern scholarship', as to the way in which an old book was written, are 'assured', we may conclude, only because those who knew the facts are dead and can't blow the gaff... The Biblical critics, whatever reconstructions they devise, can never be crudely proved wrong. St. Mark is dead. When they meet St. Peter there will be more pressing matters to discuss.

However... we are not fundamentalists... Of course we agree that passages almost verbally identical cannot be independent. It is as we glide away from this into reconstructions of a subtler and more ambitious kind that our faith in the method wavers... The sort of statement that arouses our deepest scepticism is the statement that something in a Gospel cannot be historical because it shows a theology or an ecclesiology too developed for so early a date...

Such are the reactions of one bleating layman... Once the layman was anxious to hide the fact that he believed so much less than the Vicar; he now tends to hide the fact that he believes so much more...
Lewis, of course, was hardly a naive ignoramus. He knew all the critical objections to Christianity because for the first part of his life he was himself a confirmed agnostic. He was anything but "soft-minded," to use the Jamesian idiom. He taught philosophy at Oxford briefly before going on to teach Medieval and Renaissance literature at Magdalen College, Oxford, and conclude his prolific academic career teaching at Cambridge. An account of his conversion can be found in his Surprised by Joy: The Shape of My Early Life,in which we find the following quotation:
You must picture me alone in that room in Magdalen, night after night, feeling, whenever my mind lifted even for a second from my work, the steady, unrelenting approach of Him whom I so earnestly desired not to meet. That which I greatly feared had at last come upon me. In the Trinity Term of 1929 I gave in, and admitted that God was God, and knelt and prayed: perhaps, that night, the most dejected and reluctant convert in all England. I did not then see what is now the most shining and obvious thing; the Divine humility which will accept a convert even on such terms. The Prodigal Son at least walked home on his own feet. But who can duly adore that Love which will open the high gates to a prodigal who is brought in kicking, struggling, resentful, and darting his eyes in every direction for a chance of escape? The words “compelle intrare,” compel them to come in, have been so abused be wicked men that we shudder at them; but, properly understood, they plumb the depth of the Divine mercy. The hardness of God is kinder than the softness of men, and His compulsion is our liberation. (emphasis added)
Lewis, an Anglican, was a man of deep Catholic habit of mind, probably because of his immersion in medieval literature; and many have wondered why he never himself crossed the Tiber. Walker Percy even compared him to Moses, who led many others to the Promised Land, though never himself crossing over. A number of books have been written about this, like Joseph Pearce's C.S. Lewis and the Catholic Church,and Christopher Derrick's C.S.Lewis and the Church of Rome.The most probable reason is cultural: his father was an Ulsterman. Whatever the reason, his common sense criticisms of those Biblical "experts" who attempt to dismantle the entire Biblical narrative under the influence of Enlightenment prejudices, can be accepted with gratitude.

For further reading: Merry Christmas everyone!

Tridentine Christmas Masses in metro Detroit


Tridentine Masses This Christmas Week

Wednesday Dec. 25


Sunday, December 08, 2019

Tridentine Community News - Extraordinary Form Confirmations in 2020; Our Lady of the Rosary to Host First Traditional Mass; Debut of Hani Sarweh’s Mass Setting; Side Altar Restoration at Our Lady of the Scapular;


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (November 17, 2019):
November 17, 2019 – Twenty-third Sunday After Pentecost

Extraordinary Form Confirmations in 2020

Once again this year, Detroit’s Old St. Mary’s Church, in cooperation with the Oakland County Latin Mass Association, is planning to hold Confirmations in the Extraordinary Form. The Sacrament of Confirmation is open to children as well as adults. Candidate adults and parents of candidate children are requested to register in one of two ways:

OCLMA members should speak with Msgr. Browne after Mass at the Academy of the Sacred Heart Chapel, as well as e-mail info@oclma.org with the names of the candidates.

Those who do not attend the OCLMA should call Randy Bowers at Old St. Mary’s to register at (313) 961-8711. The parish may request you to speak with their pastor, Fr. Epperley.

The date of the ceremony will be determined by the availability of Bishop Donald Hanchon and will be set once a list of candidates has been assembled.

It should be noted that the St. Benedict Tridentine Community will not be arranging Confirmations in Windsor this year, so this provides a nearby opportunity for St. Benedict members to receive the sacrament.

Our Lady of the Rosary to Host First Traditional Mass


On Saturday, December 7 at 7:00 PM, Our Lady of the Rosary Church on Woodward in Midtown Detroit will host its first Traditional Latin High Mass. Fr. Derik Peterman will be the celebrant, and a reception for young adults age 18-35 will follow, organized by Juventútem Michigan. As always, those of all ages are invited to the Mass, which because of its time will satisfy the Sunday obligation.

Our Lady of the Rosary was originally built as an Episcopal church. Many decades after the Catholics took it over, it became the home of Detroit’s Oratory of St. Philip Neri in formation. Sister oratories such as those in London, Oxford, and Birmingham, England, and Toronto, Canada, are famed for their devotion to the Traditional Mass, so it is only fitting that our local one join that august company.

Debut of Hani Sarweh’s Mass Setting



Shortly before he passed away, St. Benedict and OCLMA choir member Hani Sarweh composed a Mass of St. Michael the Archangel in E Minor. On Sunday, December 8 at the 2:00 PM High Mass at St. Alphonsus Church in Windsor, the St. Benedict Tridentine Community Choir will debut the piece. Hani’s brother Wassim will direct the choir, and his brother Basel will travel from Texas to sing.

This week San Francisco’s Benedict XVI Institute of Sacred Music got word of this event and publicized it on their Facebook page. They see it as part of a burst of newly composed Mass settings that have debuted across the globe in recent months.

Side Altar Restoration at Our Lady of the Scapular


Longtime readers of this column are quite familiar with the talents of local church restoration expert Fr. Mark Borkowski. Responsible for restoration work at Sweetest Heart of Mary, St. Josaphat, and St. Joseph Churches in Detroit, Fr. Mark began a gradual restoration of Wyandotte’s Our Lady of the Scapular six years ago. This month he completed restoration and gold leaf work on the church’s two Side Altars, which now glisten with beauty. Our Lady of the Scapular holds a Tridentine Mass approximately once per month on a major Feast Day.
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for November 17, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tridentine Community News - Liturgical North; New Communion Rail in Mississippi; Second of Two Detroit Episodes of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo; Hani Sarweh’s Mass Setting Also ... Sung at Old St. Mary’s; More Masses at St. Mary of Redford


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (December 1, 2019):
December 1, 2019 – First Sunday of Advent

Liturgical North

It is well-known that in the Traditional Mass, the priest is said to face “Liturgical East” when he faces the altar in the same direction as the people (hence the “oriéntem” in the term “ad oriéntem”). East represents the rising sun as well as the Son, in Whom we have our hope.


It follows that “Liturgical North” would be facing the 9:00 position, if the 12:00 position is East. Notice that when the altar missal is moved to the Gospel (left) side of the altar, it is angled to the left, versus when it is on the Epistle (right) side of the altar, the missal sits parallel to the front of the altar. Also notice that when the MC or Subdeacon holds the Last Gospel card for the priest, it is held angled to the left. Even more significantly, in a Solemn High Mass, the Deacon chants the Gospel while facing directly towards the 9:00 position.

All three of these rubrics serve the same purpose: They represent the historic need to preach the Gospel to the pagan North Countries of Europe. A gentle reminder from Holy Mother Church that the Gospel should be used to evangelize those not already practicing the True Faith.

New Communion Rail in Mississippi


It’s always good to see un-wreckovation taking place. This week historic Our Lady of the Gulf Church in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, site of October’s Extraordinary Form celebrant and choir training, (re)installed a Communion Rail to support their recent debut of weekly Tridentine Masses. [Photo above by Bill Cork]

Second of Two Detroit Episodes of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo


Episode 14 of Extraordinary Faith – Detroit Part 2 of 2 – is now available for viewing on the Extraordinary Faith channel on YouTube and Vimeo. We tour Old St. Mary’s Church, learn about the structure of the Traditional Mass from Fr. Lee Acervo and hear about vestments from Fr. Mark Borkowski at St. Florian Church, visit the ornate and domed St. Hyacinth Church [pictured], and meet the energetic volunteers who purchased and are restoring St. Albertus Church.

Hani Sarweh’s Mass Setting Also to Be Sung at Old St. Mary’s

In addition to its previously announced debut at the 2:00 PM Mass at St. Alphonsus Church in Windsor next Sunday, December 8, the late Hani Sarweh’s Mass of St. Michael the Archangel in E Minor will also be sung by the St. Benedict Tridentine Community Choir this Friday, December 6 at the 7:00 PM First Friday Mass at Old St. Mary’s Church in Detroit.

More Masses at St. Mary of Redford

Additional Tridentine Masses have been scheduled at St. Mary’s of Redford Church: Next Sunday, December 8, there will be a High Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception at 6:00 PM. On Saturday, December 14, the usual weekly 8:00 AM Low Mass will be replaced by a 7:00 AM Solemn High Roráte Mass. A Roráte Mass is a Votive Mass of Our Lady celebrated by candlelight before dawn during Advent.

[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for December 1, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tridentine Community News - The Advent Wreath; St. Benedict Tridentine Choir to Sing at Assumption Church Midnight Mass; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (December 8, 2019):
December 8, 2019 – Immaculate Conception

The Advent Wreath


Most Catholic churches nowadays place an Advent Wreath in their sanctuaries. This practice has been questioned by some Catholics. Some contend that this is a Protestant custom, not found in Catholic churches before Vatican II. Is this a matter warranting concern?

There are contrasting stories as to how the Advent Wreath came to be. Some maintain that it evolved from ancient Germanic and Scandinavian winter prayer wheels, which beseeched pagan gods for a return to days of longer light. Others claim that it had its origins in the Middle Ages, with modern forms of the wreath developing in the 17th century. Definitely Lutherans, and apparently some Catholics, began to employ it in that century. Still others believe that it began as a 19th century German custom with 23 candles representing all of the days in December before Christmas. Later it was abbreviated to only four candles, to represent each of the Sundays in Advent. Various documents indicate that Advent Wreaths began to attain popularity in Catholic churches and homes in the mid-20th century.

The current form is meant to help us anticipate the joy of Christmas to come. The use of evergreens symbolizes life through arid times. It is preferable not to include flowers, as they are prohibited on the altar during Advent except on Gaudéte Sunday; it would be premature to express the exuberance that flowers represent.

The anti-wreath position notes that the Prayer of Blessing of an Advent Wreath is not found in the Extraordinary Form Rituále Románum, the Church’s official book of prayers, blessings, and sacraments. Because the blessing is found in the Ordinary Form equivalent, the Book of Blessings, it is argued that the practice has only begun to be encouraged post-Vatican II.

Advent Wreath supporters point out that the very fact that the wreath is composed of three violet candles and one rose candle points to its Catholicity. These are, after all, the Catholic Church’s liturgical colors of Advent. Any Protestant denomination using an Advent Wreath with the same colors is merely adapting a practice originated by the Catholic Church. If a Protestant group modifies the wreath design, for example by changing the candle colors, then for purposes of this discussion, it is not comparable to the Catholic version of the Advent Wreath and should not be cited in comparison. Furthermore, the Extraordinary Form Rituále’s “Blessing of Any Object” prayer may be used to bless an Advent Wreath, just as it is often used to bless various religious objects which do not have their own particular blessing prayers. The Catholic Church supports, and in some cases embraces, sacramentals and practices consistent with the Faith. These evolve over time; for example, the Divine Mercy devotion has only been approved by the Church for approximately 30 years, yet it enjoys popularity among many of those who prefer the Extraordinary Form of Holy Mass. Some of the most popular English hymns employed at Extraordinary Form Masses have Protestant origins. Thus, just because something is new, or partially or wholly created by Protestants, does not mean that it is not compatible with the Catholic Faith as taught throughout the ages.

There is nothing inherently Protestant about the Advent Wreath. It is an optional, para-liturgical component of our churches. So are Christmas trees and a Nativity Set, yet those are also seen in virtually every Catholic Church. None of these objects suggests anything contrary to Catholic belief. While we should not clutter our sanctuaries with every imaginable item that might evoke some religious concept, there is nothing wrong with judicious use of popular customs compatible with our Holy Faith.

St. Benedict Tridentine Choir to Sing at Assumption Church Midnight Mass


For many years, Assumption Church in Windsor had an impressive choral program, singing the traditional Latin repertoire at their 11:00 AM Sunday Ordinary Form Mass and even producing the occasional recording. Several years ago, however, parish leadership disbanded this choir and terminated the employment of the organist/choir director. Assumption has since offered a contemporary repertoire without organ at all of their Masses. It was therefore encouraging to learn that the St. Benedict Tridentine Community Choir has been invited to provide the music for the Christmas Midnight Mass at Assumption Church this year. It is both an honor for the St. Benedict Choir, which until 2014 had been based at Assumption Church, and hopefully a recognition that some parishioners might appreciate more traditional music.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
  • Tue. 12/10 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Feria)
  • Sat. 12/14 7:00 AM: Solemn High Mass at St. Mary of Redford (Roráte Mass)
  • Sat. 12/14 7:30 AM: High Mass at St. Matthew, Flint (Roráte Mass)
  • Sat. 12/14 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Feria)
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for December 8, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

R. R. Reno, "Failed Leaders," First Things (December 2019):

Et Cum Spiritu Tuo

I don’t know more than a few Latin words and ­phrases. A former Episcopalian, I take for granted the liturgy in the vernacular. I’ve never been punctilious about ritual. I can’t tell you the difference between the “Introit” and the “Gradual.” The names for clerical regalia escape me. And there is little in my theological outlook that would attract me to the old form of the Mass, often called the “Tridentine rite” because it arose out of reforms mandated by the Council of Trent. I went to the Latin Mass two or three times in years past. I was disoriented and put off. In spite of all that, I’ve been attending a Latin Mass in Manhattan for more than a year.

My initial reasons for switching to the Tridentine rite had to do with the revelations about Theodore McCarrick in the summer of 2018. I was angry, exasperated by the feckless leadership of bishops and their tolerance of moral corruption in their own ranks. But anger, however righteous and fitting in the moment, can turn into bitterness, even despair, corroding faith and undermining the spiritual life. So I knew I had to find an affirmative way to express my disgust with the status quo in the Catholic Church.

Under these circumstances, I turned to the Latin Mass. In church parlance, it is called the Extraordinary Form, as opposed to the order of the Mass established after Vatican II by Paul VI, which is called the Ordinary Form. These terms are exactly right. The Ordinary Form is the almost universal mode of worship for American Catholics, while the Extraordinary Form marks the exception. Thus, my decision to make the Tridentine rite my regular Sunday Mass was a vote of no confidence in the status quo, but not one that pushed the Church away. Going to the Extraordinary Form was a way of drawing nearer, entering into the great storehouse of the Catholic tradition.

There are Mass booklets for the Extraordinary Form that allow you to follow along with a facing-page translation. Even with this aid, it takes time to get oriented. It is not easy to know where you are in the Mass amid the cascading Latin, long silences, and sudden shifts from kneeling to standing. It took me a couple of months before I was comfortable enough to begin to appreciate what the Latin Mass has to offer.

From the outset I was romanced by the long silences. The Tridentine rite emphasizes the priest as mediator. He faces the altar, not the congregation, and he speaks many parts of the Mass in a whisper. His words are directed, on our behalf, toward God, not toward us. This dynamic of prayer—a dialogue between priest-as-representative and God—affects the worshiper in subtle ways. It encourages each individual member of the congregation to enter into his own silent conversation with the divine. This is especially true during the consecration of the elements.

The Extraordinary Form uses the old lectionary, which means that the Sunday readings differ from what the rest of the Church hears when worshiping in the Ordinary Form. The old rite also has two readings rather than three, one from the Epistles and the other from the Gospels. The Old Testament is present only in brief verses, usually from the Psalms, chanted at various points in the liturgy. The reform of the liturgy after Vatican II restored the Old Testament to its place in the Liturgy of the Word—an important and salutary change. Nevertheless, I’ve been enriched by the pairings of Scripture in the old lectionary, which tend toward resonances that are more mystical and evoke the Church Militant more often than does the new lectionary.

For example, during Lent last spring, one of the Gospel readings was Luke 11:21–22: “When a strong man, fully armed, guards his own palace, his goods are in peace, but when one stronger than he assails him and overcomes him, he takes away his armor in which he trusted and divides his spoils.” The reading sharpened the focus of my Lenten preparations for the triumph of Christ over sin and death. Jesus is that stronger man. He is a triumphant warrior, defeating the fell powers that would hold us in thrall.

Many priests are suspicious of the Latin Mass. Some are hostile. These responses are understandable. Going to the Latin Mass requires me to decide against attending the Ordinary Form, which is of course widely available throughout New York. And because the priestly vocation comes into its most intense focus in the sacrifice of the Mass, this decision can easily be seen casting doubt on the education and formation of priests over the last fifty years.

But my experiences with the Extraordinary Form have been otherwise. The more familiar I have become with the old rite, the more I see and feel the profound continuities with the new one. The elements of the Mass are the same in both. Furthermore, my experience with the Tridentine Mass allows me to appreciate the intentions of the liturgical reformers of the twentieth century. The old rite is colder and less immediately communal. It ­presumes a well-catechized congregation. By contrast, the use of the vernacular, the more fulsome lectionary, and the clear articulation by the priest of all the elements of the liturgy make the Ordinary Form more effective as a means for inculcating into the faithful the basic teachings of the Church about the nature of God and the role of Christ as the sacrament of our salvation. And not just the faithful. The Extraordinary Form has an other-worldly allure that might attract unbelievers, but both the Latin language and the ritual remoteness of the rite make it difficult to hear the gospel message. By contrast, the Ordinary Form makes the gospel audible.

At the same time, by attending the Extraordinary Form on a regular basis I have learned more about what has been lost. In the Latin Mass, the priest risks tending toward the caricature of remote hierophant engaged in mysterious rites at a distant altar. In the Ordinary Form, he risks tending toward the caricature of mediocre TV host chatting with his daytime audience of distracted housewives. If forced to choose between the two perversions, I vastly prefer the former.

The Extraordinary Form may lack Old Testament readings, but it is closer to Old Testament realities than the Ordinary Form, at least as it is currently celebrated. Aside from Yom Kippur, synagogue services retain few echoes of the temple sacrifices in Jerusalem. By contrast, a priest celebrating the Tridentine Mass operates according to ritual patterns that reach back to the Old Testament priesthood. The altar, however close to the congregation in physical terms, is spiritually remote. The priest engages in careful, precise ritual preparation before entering the Holy of Holies to offer the sacrifice of the Mass. All of this is present in the new Mass but attenuated by the imperative of congregational engagement.

In simple terms, the Extraordinary Form invites a more transcendent orientation in worship. There is something about the liturgy in Latin that discourages the use of childish Andrew-Lloyd-Weber-goes-to-church melodies, bad folk-inspired praise songs, and felt banners. In the Tridentine rite, the priest faces God, not the congregation, and this lends itself to an unturned countenance—not just his, but that of all engaged in worship. The solemnities of silent prayer invite contemplation. The faint whispering of the priest reminds us of the mysterious, intimate commerce between God and man made possible in Christ Jesus, a commerce into which we, too, can enter in our own stumbling, barely audible words.

Benedict XVI observed that the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms are two usages of the ­self-same Roman rite. This does not mean that they do not have distinct charisms, as it were. The Ordinary Form is well suited for evangelization and catechism. My own entry into the Catholic Church was greatly eased by the accessibility of the Mass in the vernacular. Its more horizontal orientation encourages a sense of Christian community, as the liturgical reformers intended. The reduced emphasis on ritual precision shifts attention to the central gospel truths announced in the readings and reiterated in a liturgy readily heard in the language of the people. All these elements enrich the ­Catholic Church.

The charism of the Extraordinary Form is needed as well. At a time when all the institutions of the West, ­including the Church, are wobbling, the antiquity of the Tridentine Mass anchors corporate worship deep in the Church’s past. The remoteness of Latin, a “dead” language, builds a spiritual wall around the Church that helps protect her from capture by the whims and fashions of the contemporary world. The vestments, incense, and ritual create another world, in which it becomes easy to see oneself entering into the precincts of the divine, a prospect at once daunting and joyful. Centuries of use have tuned the Latin Mass to a near perfect pitch. In its more elaborate forms, the orchestrated layers of music, movement, and prayer interweave into a liturgical ­Gesamtkunstwerk, which is why, although the Mass I now attend is thirty minutes longer than the Ordinary Form liturgy, it seems shorter.

I have not become an ardent proponent of the Extraordinary Form. It has limitations, which is why it was reformed in the last century. But I have come to think the Latin Mass can make a contribution to the Church’s renewal. In the twentieth century, influential theologians called for ressourcement, a return to the sources of our Christian faith. We need always to soak ourselves in the living water of the tradition. The Tridentine rite offers an opportunity for ressourcement. This is not an opportunity to be shunned, because Ordinary Form, too, has it limitations, as most of us know only too well. Those limitations are to be expected. We are only at the first stage of what will be an ongoing refinement and perfection of the Mass in the vernacular. And this process, so needed in order to realize the full promise of what was begun at Vatican II, can be enhanced by the example and inspiration of the Extraordinary Form.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Tridentine Community News - Dr. Victor Salas Talk at OCLMA; St. Benedict Tridentine Choir to Perform at St. Vincent de Paul Choir Concert; The Monastère Saint-Benoît; First of Two Detroit Episodes of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (November 10, 2019):
November 10, 2019 – Twenty-second Sunday After Pentecost

Dr. Victor Salas Talk at OCLMA

On Sunday, November 24 at a reception following the 9:45 AM High Mass of the Oakland County Latin Mass Association at the Academy of the Sacred Heart Chapel, OCLMA member and Sacred Heart Major Seminary Associate Professor of Philosophy Dr. Victor Salas will give a presentation on Thomas Aquinas: A Model of the Theologian in Turbulent Times.

St. Benedict Tridentine Choir to Perform at St. Vincent de Paul Choir Concert


For the second year in a row, the St. Benedict Tridentine Community Choir has been invited to participate in a concert of local Catholic choirs being held at Windsor’s St. Alphonsus Church this Friday, November 15 at 7:00 PM. The event benefits the local chapter of St. Vincent de Paul, which operates a well-utilized food pantry for the poor at St. Alphonsus Church. These sorts of events help expose elements of the Traditional Mass to a wider audience who might not otherwise experience our liturgies.

The Monastère Saint-Benoît

The Monastère Saint-Benoît (in English: St. Benedict Monastery) in the Diocese of Fréjus-Toulon, France has attained quite a reputation in the few years of its existence. An English-speaking institution devoted to the Traditional Liturgy, the monastery was co-founded by liturgical scholar Dom Alcuin Reid, who serves as its Prior, and Bishop Dominique Rey. It has attracted vocations, served as the base of operations for the Sacra Liturgía conferences, hosted the Sacra Liturgía Summer School, and in the process, outgrown its original shared quarters. It is yet another example of how religious communities devoted to the Tridentine Mass flourish.

The monastery has been given the opportunity to purchase a former Commandery of the Knights Templar, the 11th century Chapel of Saint-Christophe [pictured], located in its current diocese, as its new home. While spacious and well-suited to both the religious and hospitality needs of the monks, the property has been in private hands since the French Revolution and is in need of extensive restoration and renovation. The cost to purchase the property is €855,000, and initial renovations are expected to cost €400,000. A U.S. foundation has been set up to accept tax-deductible donations towards this acquisition, which may be made through the monastery’s Facebook page and PayPal account.


For further information on this history, activities, and growth of the monastery, or to sign up for their newsletter, visit: www.msb-lgf.org

First of Two Detroit Episodes of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo


Episode 13 of Extraordinary Faith – Detroit Part 1 of 2 – is now available for viewing on-line. Along with the Windsor episode, this is the second of three episodes filmed in metro Detroit and thus features many familiar faces. Diocese of Lansing, Michigan Bishop Earl Boyea talks about the role of the Extraordinary Form in his diocese. We visit the Academy of the Sacred Heart Chapel in Bloomfield Hills and learn about the Oakland County Latin Mass Association, which holds weekly Sunday Masses there. Fr. David Bechill explains what first-timers can expect to see at a Tridentine Mass. We tour Detroit’s Roman basilica-like Holy Redeemer Church, pictured above, which hosts periodic Latin Masses, and we meet the author of sheet music that helps priests chant the Traditional Mass. You can find Episode 13 on the Extraordinary Faith channel on both YouTube and Vimeo.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
  • Tue. 11/12 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. Martin I, Pope & Martyr)
  • Sat. 11/16 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Gertrude the Great, Virgin)
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for November 10, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Sunday, November 03, 2019

Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and east Michigan


Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Sunday


Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday


Sunday


* NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins," and subsequently extended this privilege beyond the Year of Mercy. These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites.

Tridentine Community News - Short Indulgenced Prayers; Windsor Episode of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (November 3, 2019):
November 3, 2019 – Twenty-first Sunday After Pentecost

Short Indulgenced Prayers

“A partial indulgence is granted to the Christian faithful who, while carrying out their duties and enduring the hardships of life, raise their minds in humble trust to God and make, at least mentally, some pious invocation.” So says the 2006 edition of the Manual of Indulgences, which goes on to provide examples of such Pious Invocations, listed below. The book stresses that these short prayers, which are also known as Aspirations and which may be spontaneously worded, are only indulgenced when they are prayed in conjunction with the performance of some work or the experience of some difficulty. Simply praying such invocations on their own, while obviously not without merit, does not gain the indulgence. The Church thus encourages us to form the habit of consecrating our daily obligations and crosses to God.
My God!
Father!
Jesus!
Praised be Jesus Christ!
I believe in You, O Lord!
I adore You!
I hope in You!
I love You!
All for You!
Thanks be to God!
Blessed be God!
Your kingdom come!
Your will be done!
As the Lord wills!
Help me, O God!
Comfort me!
Hear my prayer!
Save me!
Have mercy on me!
Spare me, O Lord!
Do not allow me to be separated from You!
Do not forsake me!
Hail, Mary!
Glory to God in the highest!
You are great, O Lord!
I am totally Yours!
Allow me to praise you, Virgin most holy; give me strength against your enemies.
All holy men and women of God, pray for us.
Blessed be the Holy Trinity!
Christ conquers! Christ reigns! Christ rules!
Father, into Your hands I commend my spirit.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit.
Hail, O Cross, our only hope.
Heart of Jesus, all for You.
Heart of Jesus, burning with love for us, inflame our hearts with love for You.
Heart of Jesus, in You I trust.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for me.
Holy Mother of God, ever Virgin Mary, intercede for us.
Jesus, gentle and humble of heart, make my heart like unto Yours.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, I give you my heart and my soul. Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, assist me in my last agony.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, may I breathe forth my soul in peace with you.
Lord, increase our faith.
Lord, let our minds be united in truth, and our hearts in love.
Lord, save us, we are perishing.
Lord, send laborers into Your harvest.
May the Virgin Mary bless us with her holy Child.
May the most Blessed Sacrament be praised now and forevermore.
Merciful Lord Jesus, grant them rest.
Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us.
Mother of Sorrows, pray for us.
My God and my all.
My Lord and my God!
My Mother, my trust.
O God, be merciful to me a sinner.
O Queen conceived without original sin, pray for us.
Pray for us, O holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ.
Remain with us, O Lord.
Teach me to do Your will, for You are my God.
Tender heart of Mary, be my safety!
You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.
We adore You, O Christ, and we bless You, because by Your holy Cross you have redeemed the world.
Windsor Episode of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo


Episode 12 of Extraordinary Faith – Windsor – is now available for viewing on-line. This is the first of three episodes that were filmed in the Detroit area. Featuring Assumption and St. Alphonsus Churches, Fr. Peter Hrytsyk, Fr. Joe Tuskiewicz, Wassim Sarweh, and Charlotte & Ron Parent, there are many familiar sights and personages in this episode, which you can find on the Extraordinary Faith channel on both YouTube and Vimeo.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
  • Tue. 11/05 7:00 PM: High Requiem Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Daily Mass for the Dead)
  • Sat. 11/09 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Dedication of the Archbasilica of Our Savior)
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for November 3, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Tridentine Community News - London Oratory Schola Sings for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI; Rubrics Books for the Ordinary Form; Fort Hood Episode of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (October 20, 2019):
October 20, 2019 – Nineteenth Sunday After Pentecost

London Oratory Schola Sings for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI

There’s the A-List, and then there’s the A-List. Readers of this column have heard about the amazing music program on offer at the London Oratory in England. One of the several choirs which sings there is the London Oratory Schola, a boys’ choir from the affiliated London Oratory School. They rehearse every day, sing for many Masses at the church, tour the world every year, and sing for film scores, most notably the Harry Potter films.

Last Sunday, October 13, they were invited to sing at the Vatican for the Canonization Mass for St. John Henry Newman. That’s impressive enough, but the young choristers had a surprise in store: They were also invited to sing for Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI. In the photo below, taken after the private concert (a video is available on the schola’s Facebook page), choir director Charles Cole is seated on Pope Benedict’s left. What a joy to see one of our most renowned Latin repertoire choirs being given such a significant honor.


Rubrics Books for the Ordinary Form



Many readers of this column are aware that there exist books which are considered the standard references for the rubrics of the Traditional Latin Mass: The primary, and periodically updated, reference is the 2009 edition of Ceremonies of the Roman Rite Described, by Fortescue, O’Connell, and Reid; and the secondary reference, particularly for calendar issues, is the 1964 edition of O’Connell’s The Celebration of Mass.



Less well-known are the comparable books for the Ordinary Form of Mass: Auxiliary Bishop Peter Elliott of Melbourne, Australia, wrote Ceremonies of the Modern Roman Rite [now in its second edition], Ceremonies of the Liturgical Year, and Ministry at the Altar, the definitive books concerning celebration of and serving the Novus Ordo. No one else has undertaken this sort of effort.

A common theme in these books is that His Excellency recommends that we look to the Traditional Mass rubrics for guidance when the norms for the new liturgy are unclear or ambiguous. Continuity does make sense.

Bishop Elliott has toured the world lecturing on proper celebration of the Holy Mass and even concelebrated a Latin Novus Ordo Mass ad oriéntem at St. Josaphat Church in Detroit in 2005. More recently he has offered the Extraordinary Form at various prominent churches and conferences around the globe.

Fort Hood Episode of Extraordinary Faith Now Viewable on YouTube and Vimeo


Episode 23 of Extraordinary Faith – Fort Hood – is now available for viewing on-line. This episode covered the remarkable establishment of a Latin Mass community at one of the U.S.’s largest army posts. You can find the episode on the Extraordinary Faith channel on both YouTube and Vimeo. This episode was posted on-line prior to some earlier episodes due to popular demand; additional episodes will be posted in upcoming weeks.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
  • Tue. 10/22 7:00 PM: High Requiem Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Daily Mass for the Dead)
  • Sat. 10/26 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Saturday of Our Lady)
  • Sun. 10/27 11:00 AM: Pontifical Solemn Mass at Assumption Grotto (Christ the King) – Celebrant: Raymond Cardinal Burke
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for October 20, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Tridentine Masses coming this week to metro Detroit and eastern Michigan


Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Sunday


Monday


Tuesday


Wednesday


Thursday


Friday


Saturday


Sunday


* NB: The SSPX chapels among those Mass sites listed above are posted here because the Holy Father has announced that "those who during the Holy Year of Mercy approach these priests of the Fraternity of St Pius X to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation shall validly and licitly receive the absolution of their sins," and subsequently extended this privilege beyond the Year of Mercy. These chapels are not listed among the approved parishes and worship sites on archdiocesan websites.

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Tridentine Community News - The Mystical Body of Christ; Archbishop Cordileone to Celebrate Traditional Mass at DC’s National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception; Visiting the “Scavi” at the Vatican; St. Mary, Williamston Debuts Monthly Traditional Mass; Tridentine Masses This Coming Week


"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"

Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (October 6, 2019):
October 6, 2019 – External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary

The Mystical Body of Christ


Via Juventútem London comes the above diagram of the Mystical Body of Christ, depicting the relationship between the Church Militant on Earth, the Church Suffering in Purgatory, and the Church Triumphant in Heaven. We must never forget the assistance that the branches are able to provide one another, in particular the obligation we have to assist the Suffering Souls in Purgatory.

Archbishop Cordileone to Celebrate Traditional Mass at DC’s National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception


On Saturday, November 16 at 10:00 AM, San Francisco Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone will celebrate a Pontifical Solemn Mass in the Extraordinary Form at Washington, DC’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. This will only be the third or possibly fourth time that the Traditional Mass will have been celebrated in the main upper church of the National Shrine over the past 50 years. The Mass will be broadcast live on EWTN. The occasion is the debut of composer Frank La Rocca’s Mass of the Americas. First performed for the Ordinary Form in 2018, La Rocca specifically adapted this Mass setting for the Extraordinary Form, and colleagues from San Francisco’s Benedict XVI Institute for Sacred Music and Divine Worship will comprise the choir at the Basilica. Visiting the “Scavi” at the Vatican


The “Scavi” are the excavations of the necropolis beneath St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. St. Peter’s tomb is located there. It is not well-known that tours of the Scavi are available. The U.S. Embassy to the Holy See has published a web page explaining how to arrange such a visit. For details, see: https://va.usembassy.gov/embassy/vatican-visit/the-scavi/

St. Mary, Williamston Debuts Monthly Traditional Mass

Via Juventútem Michigan comes word that St. Mary Church in Williamston, Michigan is introducing monthly Tridentine Masses on Sundays at 5:00 PM. The celebrant will be pastor Fr. Mark Rutherford. Consult the parish’s Facebook page for the specific dates on which Masses will be held.

Williamston is located southeast of Lansing, Michigan.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
  • Tue. 10/08 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (St. Bridget of Sweden, Widow)
  • Sat. 10/12 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (Saturday of Our Lady)
[Comments? Please e-mail tridnews@detroitlatinmass.org. Previous columns are available at http://www.detroitlatinmass.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News, with minor editions, is from the St. Albertus (Detroit), Academy of the Sacred Heart (Bloomfield Hills), and St. Alphonsus and Holy Name of Mary Churches (Windsor) bulletin inserts for October 6, 2019. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]