Tridentine Community News - The Seven Sorrows Devotion, All-Male Altar Server Programs Attract More Volunteers, Ordination of Deacon John Tonkin on October 17, Tridentine Mass schedule

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (October 4, 2015):

October 4, 2015 - External Solemnity of Our Lady of the Rosary

The Seven Sorrows Devotion

Popularized by the Servite order since the 17th century, and indeed continuing to this day at the Servites’ Our Lady of Sorrows Basilica in Chicago, the devotion to the Seven Sorrows of the Blessed Virgin Mary unites us with the sufferings of our Blessed Mother. Various lengthy novenas exist, but the simplest, most basic form of the devotion is provided below.

The Blessed Virgin Mary grants seven graces to the souls who honor her daily by saying seven Hail Marys and meditating on her tears and dolors (sorrows). The devotion was passed on by St. Bridget.

THE SEVEN GRACES

1. I will grant peace to their families.
2. They will be enlightened about the divine mysteries.
3. I will console them in their pains, and I will accompany them in their work.
4. I will give them as much as they ask for as long as it does not oppose the adorable will of my divine Son or the sanctification of their souls.
5. I will defend them in their spiritual battles with the infernal enemy, and I will protect them at every instant of their lives.
6. I will visibly help them at the moment of their death; they will see the face of their Mother.
7. I have obtained from my divine Son, that those who propagate this devotion to my tears and dolors will be taken directly from this earthly life to eternal happiness since all their sins will be forgiven, and my Son and I will be their eternal consolation and joy.

THE SEVEN SORROWS

1. The prophecy of Simeon (St. Luke 2: 34, 35)
2. The flight into Egypt (St. Matthew 2: 13, 14)
3. The loss of the Child Jesus in the temple (St. Luke 2: 43-45)
4. The meeting of Jesus and Mary on the Way of the Cross
5. The Crucifixion and Death of Jesus
6. The taking down of the Body of Jesus from the Cross
7. The burial of Jesus

(Say one Hail Mary while meditating on each Sorrow.)

[Above content taken from the Seven Sorrows Devotion prayer card issued by Our Lady of the Rosary Library (www.olrl.org).]

All-Male Altar Server Programs Attract More Volunteers

Fr. John Hollowell, pastor of Annunciation and St. Paul’s Churches in Brazil, Indiana, published an informal study of the effect of switching to all-male altar server programs in Ordinary Form parishes. While the sample size is admittedly small, it confirms what Extraordinary Form communities have long experienced: a challenging, all-male altar server program has no trouble attracting volunteers. His conclusion: “The average parish surveyed, when switching from co-ed servers to male-only saw their server numbers grow 450%.”


Ordination of Deacon John Tonkin on October 17

Another local vocation to the priesthood reaches its culmination on Saturday, October 17: Deacon John Tonkin, a native of Windsor, will be ordained to the sacred priesthood for the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem at 10:00 AM at St. James the Greater Church in Charles Town, West Virginia. The ordaining prelate will be Bishop Athanasius Schneider. Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth, a liturgical expert and co-founder of the Oratory of St. Philip Neri in formation in Washington, DC will be the ceremonial coordinator. Wassim Sarweh will be a member of the choir.

A small group from metro Detroit and Windsor will be attending. Please e-mail the address at the bottom of the page if you would like to share a rental car from Washington Dulles Airport on Friday afternoon, October 16, and returning Saturday afternoon, October 17.

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

• Mon. 10/05 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (St. Placid & Companions, Martyrs)
• Tue. 10/06 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary (St. Bruno, Confessor)
• Sat. 10/10 10:00 AM: High Mass at Felician Sisters’ Convent Chapel, Livonia, MI (St. Francis Borgia, Confessor) – Celebrant: Canon Ed Gardner, ICRSP
• Sun. 10/11: No Mass at OCLMA/Academy of the Sacred Heart

[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 4, 2015. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]