September 2007 Archives

Latin Mass Group of Vermont
(Roman Catholic Diocese of Burlington)

In all things we strive to glorify God, sanctify souls, and to serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in the next.

Some communicants travel from southern Vermont to Troy, New York, to assist at Mass at St. Peter’s. These parishioners are interested in learning of others in southwestern Vermont with a similar attachment to the Tridentine Rite.

Perhaps there are yet other residents of southern Vermont interested in learning more about the Tridentine Rite (the Traditional Latin Mass) but would prefer to do so in an informal setting. We are interested to know who you are.

An additional objective is to explore the formation of an association/apostolate. The ultimate goal of this association/apostolate would be to have the Mass of the Tridentine Rite (the extraordinary form) to be offered on a regular basis in a parish domiciled in southwestern Vermont.

Please contact:

latinswvt@yahoo.com

(from St Peters in Troy New York Latin Mass website)

PAWTUCKET - St. Leo the Great Church will be
going back in time. Using a 1962 pre-Vatican II
missal, the Rev. Kevin Fisette will celebrate
Sunday Mass in Latin on Oct. 21 at 5 p.m. The
pastor will be wearing traditional vestments and
during much of the Mass, will be standing with his
back to the congregation. Worshippers will have to
kneel to receive Holy Communion, and the host will
be placed on the tongue.

Traditionalists are known for many things. Hopefully they are known for their piety, their reverence, their commitment to the beautiful traditions of the Church and commitment to the prolife cause. But are they known for their charity? It is unfortunate that many who would be Traditionalists are put off by imperfections in the lives of Catholics who attend the Traditional Mass. Sometimes these criticisms are exaggerated and sometimes they are justified.

21-September-2007 -- ZENIT.org News Agency
Latin Mass Missal Sales Double

LONDON, SEPT. 20, 2007 (Zenit.org).- Since Benedict XVI's letter on the Latin Mass was released this summer, sales of the missal for the extraordinary rite have doubled, reported one publisher.
http://www.ebay.com

The Creed or Credo in the traditional Latin Mass is not very different from the one used in the vernacular. But those new to the Latin Mass may be surprised to find that 'Credo' means 'I believe' rather than 'We believe' as they are accustomed to hearing.

Love Thy Neighbor as Thy Self

"[The New Order of the Mass] represents, both as a whole and in its details, a striking departure from the Catholic theology of the Mass as it was formulated in Session 22 of the Council of Trent." With these words, two cardinals of the Church warned Pope Paul VI and the faithful of the dangers of the new Mass.

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Gregorian Chant is believed to have been developed during the Pontificate of Pope Gregory I (590 – 604 AD). It reached its final form in the Tenth and subsequent centuries. The style of the chant is melodic (as opposed to harmonic) and distinguished in rhythm by 6 modes. The Ordinary Chants of the Mass consist of the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus Dei and vary according to the Liturgical season or Feast Day. Daily calendar feasts are the Proper of the Mass. They comprise the Psalm verses of the Introit, Graduals, Alleluias, Tracts, Offertory and Communion prayers.

In the "Instruction on Sacred Music" given by Pope Pius X in 1903 we read that:

Sacred Music, being a complementary part of the solemn liturgy, participates in the general scope of the liturgy, which is the glory of God and the sanctification of the faithful. It contributes to the decorum and the splendor of the ecclesiastical ceremonies, and since its principal office is to clothe with suitable melody the liturgical text proposed for the understanding of the faithful, its proper aim is to add greater efficacy to the text, in order that through it the faithful may be more easily moved to devotion and better disposed for the reception of the fruits of grace belonging to the celebration of the most holy mysteries.

Sacred music should consequently possess, in the highest degree, the qualities proper to the liturgy, and in particular sanctity and goodness of form, which will spontaneously produce the final quality of universality.... It must be holy, and must, therefore, exclude all profanity not only in itself, but in the manner in which it is presented by those who execute it.

Indeed, we are doubly blessed to be able to give honor and glory to God with both prayer and music in the Latin Mass.

Lucille Flynn, Organist

How can we sufficently prepare ourselves for Mass? Sinful men are unworthy to be present. Recall in the Old Testament how only the high priest was allowed to enter the Holy of Holies, to offer blood sacrifice that could not remit sin. Today, we are all present when the High Priest, Christ Himself, offers the True Sacrifice that remits sin. How can this be?

In April of 2008, in what will be the Holy Father's first visit to the United States as Pope, an itinerary is being organized around an address to the United Nations in New York. Visits to other major Northeast cities are apparently under consideration and the possibilities include Baltimore, Boston, and Washington D.C. The Pope, it has been reported, is eager to see the campus of the Catholic University of America in Washington D.C.

The Brown Scapular when worn by devout Catholics embodies two promises:

1. Those who die clothed in the brown scapular shall be preserved from eternal fire.

2. The Sabbatine Privilege: those who die, upon the following Saturday will be brought from Purgatory to Heaven by Our Blessed Mother.

The Scapular was given to us in 1251 when Our Lady appeared to St. Simon Stock and said:

Beginning Saturday, October 6, 2007, Fr. Philip LaMothe will say the Traditional Mass at
Our Lady of Perpetual Help at 4:00 PM in Bradford, Vermont. The Traditional Mass will also be said on October 13, 20, and 27th.

The address for the parish is 113 Upper Plain, Bradford, VT 05033 and you can reach the parish rectory at 802-222-5268.

Today Father Martin Kelly celebrated the traditional Latin
Mass at St. Patrick's Church in Nashua, NH. I arrived
twenty minutes early and the parking lot was already
as full as if for a Sunday Mass. By the time the bells
rang for the beginning of the Mass the church was filled.
had never seen it that full before. Quite a few women
wore veils or hats and a similar proportion of the men
were well dressed.

photograph by Dave Jolivet
davejolivet@anchornews.org

The Anchor : The Diocese of Fall River's Weekly Newspaper

NEW BEDFORD The 147 angels in St. Anthony's Church
seemed to be smiling today. That's how Arthur Motta, 50,
of New Bedford, described the experience of the traditional
Latin Mass celebrated at St. Anthony of Padua Church
on the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross, September 14.

Rome, Sep. 14, 2007 (CWNews.com) - With the formal implementation of Summorum Pontificum, the Pope's motu proprio providing wider access to the 1962 Roman Missal, diocesan priests do not need permission to celebrate the Latin Mass, a top Vatican official has stated.

The staff of Latin Mass Network has decided to open up the discussion to opposing views with the hope that a charitable exchange will prove both interesting and instructive. We begin with a comment received awhile ago from a reader calling himself, "Saint Stephen." It will be obvious why we were reluctant to post this:

The commenter wrote:

In the vernacular and in the Latin Mass immediately following the Introit we pray the Kyrie. However the words of the Kyrie are Greek, not Latin.
Kyrie eleison. "Lord, have mercy"

"How splendid the cross of Christ! It brings life, not death; light, not darkness; Paradise, not its loss. It is the wood on which the Lord, like a great warrior, was wounded in hands and feet and side, but healed thereby our wounds. A tree has destroyed us, a tree now brought us life" Theodore of Studios.

Today on this, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross the Summorum Pontificum declared by the Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI goes into effect. This historic document, echoing Pro Qrimum, grants the freedom for the Traditional Latin Mass to be said by any priest, anywhere, that the Faithful request the Mass.

Wikipedia has a fairly comprehensive entry on the document here.

Visit the library to read the document.

“And therefore the name thereof was called Babel, because there the language of the whole earth was confounded;” Genesis 11:9

The meaning of Babel is confusion. A strategy which has been known to cripple a nation is to break down its language. Without meaningful communication, there is no conveyance or understanding of a message of any sort. The lack of meaningful language causes confusion. Language is powerful; much more so for a universal language. Observe what is happening in our own nation. The English language is degraded to the point where once offensive words have become commonplace. Slang terms take on opposite connotations. Spelling is horrendous. Language skills are suffering. The written word is powerful, but its power is subject to comprehension.

What is is about the Latin Mass that makes it described as especially reverent? I’ve thought about this and believe it comes down to three things- none of them very popular in today’s world. They are silence, orthodoxy and hierarchy.

You've heard it at the grocery store. "Why, yes," you answer. "Eight children?" "Ten, actually. Two are with my mom." The pause is precious. "They're my carbon offsets. In person-miles-per-gallon, my Suburban whups your Prius."

click to enlarge
Pontifical Mass and Te Deum
in occasion of the entrance into force of the
Motu Proprio Apostolic Letter
SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM
of His Holiness Benedict XVI

Pontifical Basilica of the Holy House of Loreto
Friday September 14, 2007, 6 PM

Una Voce Italia, in conjunction with the Institute of Christ the King, High Priest, has wished to give thanks to God on the day of the Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, September 14, 2007, on which the Motu Proprio Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum will enter into force.

I have heard the complaint that the Latin Mass is too rigid. My immediate reaction to this statement is, “Too rigid for what?” I don’t know the answer to this question but I can’t imagine that anything that is designed to carry us safely to our Heavenly destination could be too rigid.

Rev. Anthony Manuppella

In the diocese of Camden, New Jersey, the pastor and parishioners of St. Peter Roman Catholic Church, located in the town of Merchantville, are preparing for the introduction of the Traditional Latin Mass.

When rumors that the Holy Father would soon release his Motu Proprio, which granted greater freedom to priests and laypeople who wish to say or attend Mass in the Traditional Latin Form, a group of St. Peter’s parishioners approached their pastor Rev. Anthony Manuppella, asking that he introduce the Mass into their weekly parish schedule.