Tridentine Community News - Indulgenced Prayer for Thanksgiving; Is It Time to Move On from Vatican II?; What are the Laity to Do?; Savannah, Georgia, Latin Mass Community; Local TLM schedule

"I will go in unto the Altar of God
To God, Who giveth joy to my youth"
Tridentine Community News by Alex Begin (November 26, 2017):

November 26, 2017 – Last Sunday After Pentecost

Indulgenced Prayer of Thanksgiving

At this time of year when both Canadians and Americans celebrate their respective secular Thanksgiving holidays, it is good to remember that Holy Mother Church provides us with a short official Prayer of Thanksgiving, the praying of which is enriched with a Partial Indulgence:

Ágimus tibi grátias, omnípotens Deus, pro univérsis benefíciis tuis: Qui vivis et regnas in saécula sæculórum. Amen.

We give You thanks, Almighty God, for all Your blessings: Who live and reign for ever and ever. Amen.

Is It Time to Move On from Vatican II?

So much justification for departures from orthodox Catholic teaching has been proffered in the name of Vatican II over the past 50 years, that one can become numb. In recent years questions have started to arise as to how long Vatican II can serve as a motivating force. The circumstances that brought about the convocation of the Second Vatican Council are no longer the driving factors in contemporary Catholic life. Nowadays we are facing new challenges: Dramatically falling Mass attendance, an aging Catholic populace without adequate replacement from the young, a lack of priestly and religious vocations, declining standards for liturgy and sacred music, and so forth. Ecumenism and relations with our Protestant brethren must no longer be primary concerns when Catholics themselves do not sufficiently understand their own faith. The old justifications have become tired, while the growth of traditional liturgy, the devotional life, Latin Mass communities, and the authentic fellowship found therein have become concrete examples of how Catholicism can flourish when it is presented and lived in all its fullness. These notions have been articulated thoroughly and thoughtfully by Fr. Hugh Somerville-Knapman, OSB, a Benedictine monk and priest in England, in a blog post, Vale Vatican II. One excerpt:

“It happened over half a century ago, was conditioned by and directed to the world of the 1960s, a world that has changed beyond recognition as of 2017. It described itself as a pastoral council, and it sought to repackage the teaching, life and worship of the Church to suit a world in flux. For this very reason the Council was necessarily going to have a best-before date. That date has been passed. The sad thing is that its milk turned sour very soon after packaging.”

The full post is here: https://hughosb.com/2017/09/25/vale-vatican-ii-moving-on/

What Are the Laity to Do?

In a similar vein, convert and blogger Fr. Dwight Longenecker wrote an observation about the evolution of two disparate stems in the Catholic Church, one liberal and one traditional. A question raised in his post is, what are laity to do, in the light of so much onslaught be secular society and liberal and heretical forces in the Church? Fr. Longenecker correctly counsels the faithful to keep their heads down, learn the Faith better, and work to develop initiatives at the parish level. Certainly our experience in Windsor and metro Detroit has been that growth in the traditional Catholic sphere comes from clergy and laity working together at the grass roots level. We cannot expect the hierarchy to do our work for us. The entire post is here: https://dwightlongenecker.com/americas-two-catholic-churches/

Savannah, Georgia Latin Mass Community

Gets Front Page Coverage in Secular Newspaper The Savannah, Georgia Morning News gave prominent front page space to a well-written story about the Latin Mass Community of St. John the Baptist Cathedral and the appeal of the Traditional Mass. Sentiments expressed therein could be heard from almost any Tridentine community: http://savannahnow.com/news/2017-09-24/mass-mystery-has-been-around-10-years-cathedral-use-latin-was-reapproved


The article contains a link to a video of a Communion Motet being sung by the Latin Mass choir: https://www.facebook.com/SavannahLatinMassCommunity/videos/vb.1514066975480911/1995261054028165/

Tridentine Masses This Coming Week

Mon. 11/27 7:00 PM: Low Mass at St. Josaphat (Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal)

Tue. 11/28 7:00 PM: Low Mass at Holy Name of Mary, Windsor (Votive Mass for Peace)

Fri. 12/01 7:00 PM: High Mass at Old St. Mary’s (Votive Mass of the Angels) – Celebrant: Fr. Joe Tuskiewicz; Devotions to the Sacred Heart before Mass; Choir will sing Missa Brevis by Palestrina; Reception after Mass.

Sat. 12/02 8:30 AM: Low Mass at Miles Christi (St. Vivian, Virgin & Martyr)

Sun. 12/03 1:30 PM: High Mass at St. Hyacinth, Detroit (First Sunday of Advent) – Celebrant: Fr. Stephen Wolfe, SJ; Rosary at 1:10 PM; Brunch with St. Nicholas from 10:00 AM – 1:00 PM.

[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 26, 2017. Hat tip to Alex Begin, author of the column.]