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.]