"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (August 23, 2015):
New Location for Bishop Hanchon’s Mass: St. Augustine – St. Monica Church, Detroit
This Friday, August 28 at 7:00 PM, Detroit Auxiliary Bishop Donald Hanchon will celebrate a Pontifical Missa Cantata for the Feast of St. Augustine at Detroit’s St. Augustine – St. Monica Church, at 4151 Seminole St. This is a new location for the Mass; the previously advertised location, St. Paul on the Lake Church in Grosse Pointe Farms, had to close unexpectedly for ceiling repairs. This will be the first Tridentine Mass to be held at St. Augustine – St. Monica in 45 years. Juventútem Michigan will host a dinner for young adults following the Mass. [Photo by Mark Nemecek, Detroit Church Blog]
Book Review: A History of Holy Name of Mary Parish by Michael Power
First-time visitors to the St. Benedict Tridentine Community’s First Sunday and every-Tuesday site, Holy Name of Mary Church, may be somewhat perplexed upon entering the building. Clearly this English Gothic edifice was originally built for the Traditional Mass, but many of its historic architectural components have been removed. There’s a classic three-step platform for a High Altar, surmounted by a tester (a mini-baldacchino) but…no High Altar. There are niches for Side Altars…but only a statue of our Blessed Mother on the left, and the Tabernacle on a post on the right. The walls are painted stark white. How did it look originally?
The 1984 book, A History of Holy Name of Mary Parish by Michael Power provides the answers, with photos of the original sanctuary arrangement, adorned with beautiful sacred art. The book documents the founding of the parish, originally known as Our Lady of Prompt Succour. Largely a biography of Msgr. John Rooney, the founding pastor who led the parish for 51 years, 1917-1968, the book conveys the dedication this one priest had for the parish during its heyday. Our Lady of Prompt Succour changed its name to Holy Name of Mary in 1943 upon Msgr. Rooney’s recommendation, because the original name was determined to be confusing and unmemorable.
The reader gets the distinct impression that the parish was founded in a very different era. One of the highlights of the book is the address which then-reigning Diocese of London Bishop Michael Fallon delivered at the cornerstone laying ceremony for the “new” church in 1926:
“There is a society that attracts the attention of all mankind. It has members in every land, and numbers among its followers men and women of every known colour, race, and speech. These members are found in all continents; they have crossed the seven seas. This society is the most remarkable that the world has ever known or ever will know. It was founded by One Who died on the Cross at Calvary – a criminal in the eyes of His executioners.
Yet, the society He had founded did not end with His death. It was propagated by a little band of poor fishermen, and has spread all over the world, into all parts of the earth that are inhabited by man. This society is the Roman Catholic Church.
This society differs from all the other societies that have ever existed, or will ever exist, in the aims it has in view. Other societies have been organized for fraternal, political, and financial reasons, but there is only one that has a purely spiritual aim – the sanctification and salvation of the souls of mankind.
The one, single purpose of the Catholic Church is to save souls. It is true that there is no human interest that is foreign to the sympathy, support, and prayers of the Church. It is true that masters of art and of architecture, poets and leaders in national affairs have been her children, but the fact remains that all these things are of secondary importance to her. The Catholic Church thinks more of the soul of one little child than it does of all the material greatness of the earth. With her, material bulk is not the greatest factor – the salvation of souls is her one primary consideration.
The Catholic Church, therefore, is a centre for the salvation and sanctification of souls. It is the place where little children are baptized, and where they receive the teachings of Christianity. Again, it is a place where their lives are directed as they grow older; and when the shadows of life lengthen, it is the place where they are given solace.”
We can only admire the clarity with which His Excellency expressed the above thoughts. A History of Holy Name of Mary Parish is unfortunately out of print, however copies may be available for borrowing from longstanding parishioners or staff at Assumption Parish.
Tridentine Masses This Coming Week
- Mon. 08/24 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Bartholomew, Apostle)
- Tue. 08/25 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (St. Louis IX, King & Confessor)
- Fri. 08/28 7:00 PM: Pontifical Missa Cantata at St. Augustine – St. Monica, Detroit (St. Augustine, Bishop, Confessor, & Doctor) – Bishop Donald Hanchon, celebrant. Dinner for young adults age 18-35 follows Mass, organized by Juventútem Michigan
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