Tridentine Community News, November 16, 2008

Relic Found at St. Josaphat

In preparation for using the side altars at St. Josaphat Church for the Masses of All Souls Day, a locksmith was called in to open the tabernacles. The keys had long since been lost, yet we needed to be able to use the tabernacles as temporary repositories for extra Hosts consecrated during the side altar Masses. It was no easy feat finding someone to make new keys for these historic locks.

It has likely been over 40 years since these tabernacles had last been opened. Little did we know that we should have called Geraldo Rivera to film the event. Upon opening the Blessed Mother’s Altar tabernacle, inside we discovered a beautiful oval relic frame. The actual relic itself is mounted upon a cross in the center of the frame. Might it be a relic of the True Cross? There is no written identification on the relic. We would appreciate hearing from anyone who may know the identity and history of this relic; please call the parish office or e-mail the address at the bottom of this page. The relic now sits above the St. Joseph Altar tabernacle.

There was nothing inside the St. Joseph Altar or “side” side altar tabernacles, only soot. We intend to clean out these tabernacles and install new fabric, so that they are ready to be used once again as dignified repositories for the Blessed Sacrament when needed.

Calendar Quirks at the End of the Church Year

Unless otherwise impeded by another feast, the final Sundays of the Tridentine Calendar Year, in October and November, follow a special format: The Antiphons (Introit, Offertory, Communion), Gradual, and Alleluia are repeats of those of the 23rd Sunday After Pentecost. The Orations (Collect, Secret, Postcommunion) and the Readings (Epistle, Gospel) come from the Sundays After Epiphany that are not actually celebrated after Epiphany in the current Church Year. Thus, the “25th Sunday After Pentecost”, for example, differs every year, depending on what Sunday After Epiphany has been relocated to that date.

De Profúndis

The Offertory Antiphon that is repeated on all of these concluding Sundays is the De Profúndis, taken from Psalm 129. This selection is associated with the penitential season of Lent as well as with the month of November, the month of prayer for the Souls in Purgatory. In fact, the Church has enriched the recitation of the De Profúndis with a Partial Indulgence when said as an Act of Contrition. Let us look at the text:

De profúndis clamávi ad te, Dómine:
Dómine, exáudi vocem meam.
Fiant aures tuæ intendéntes:
in vocem deprecatiónis meæ.
Si iniquitátes observavéris:
Dómine, qui sustinébit?
Quia apud te propitiátio est:
et propter legem tuam sustínuite, Dómine.
Sustínuit ánima mea in verbo ejus,
sperávit ánima mea in Dómino,
a custódia matutína usque ad noctem.
Speret Israël in Dómino.
Quia apud Dóminum misericórdia
et copiósa apud eum redémptio.
Et ipse rédimet Israël
ex ómnibus iniquitátibus ejus.
Glória Patri, et Fílio, et Spíritui Sancto.
Sicut erat in princípio, et nunc, et semper,
et in saécula sæculórum. Amen.

Out of the depths I have cried to thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
Let thy ears be attentive
to the voice of my supplication.
If thou, O Lord, wilt mark iniquities:
Lord, who shall stand it?
For with thee there is merciful forgiveness:
and by reason of thy law, I have waited for thee, O Lord.
My soul hath relied on his word:
my soul hath hoped in the Lord.
From the morning watch even until night,
let Israel hope in the Lord.
Because with the Lord there is mercy:
and with him plentiful redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost.
As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be. Amen.

One of the more memorable selections in our choir’s repertoire is Antonio Salieri’s setting of the De Profúndis. The piece begins softly, then gradually builds towards a crescendo in the concluding Glória Patri. This increasingly insistent tone, reminiscent of Ravel’s Bolero, compellingly conveys man’s utter dependency upon God’s Mercy. Salieri’s De Profúndis will be sung at both St. Josaphat and Assumption next week.

Reminder: Fr. Bisig Visits Next Sunday

Next Sunday, November 23 at 2:00 PM, Fr. Josef Bisig, FSSP, the co-founder of the Fraternity of St. Peter, will celebrate a Solemn High Mass at Assumption Church for the 17th Anniversary of the Tridentine Mass in Windsor. An orchestra will perform Schubert’s Mass in G, and a reception will follow in the Parish Hall. Assumption is located adjacent to the Ambassador Bridge

[Comments? Ideas for a future column? Please e-mail tridnews@stjosaphatchurch.org. Previous columns are available at www.stjosaphatchurch.org. This edition of Tridentine Community News is that of the bulletin insert for November 16, 2008. Hat tip to A.B.]