This letter abolishing the use of Traditional Mass among the Knights of Malta does raise some interesting questions regarding its timing. Just last evening, for example, I first heard rumors of potential restrictions from a gentleman with whom I was discussing at that very time the organization of a Traditional Mass in which a number of local knights would hopefully participate. And, as someone else has pointed out, this decree is issued on the same day as the publication of the doctrinal statement signed by Cardinal Burke, who is still (nominally at least) the Cardinal Patron of the Order.

On this Pentecost Monday the final joyous Mass of the Chartres pilgrimage has taken place. The weary pilgrims are resting. Depending on what convention you use, we now are at or nearing the end of Paschal tide. In our own New York area this holy season could be called, with some justification, a triumph of Catholic traditionalism. We counted 19 Traditional masses celebrated on the feast day of the Ascension alone; there were more for Holy Week. And the perfection and completeness of these ceremonies continues to increase. You may judge for yourselves by looking at our posts on the Holy Week services at St. Mary’s parish in Norwalk, CT. And this parish now just one of several just in the tri-state area which offer full Holy Week liturgies. More and more parishes and priests join the movement.

Examples abounded in these recent weeks of the spiritual treasures for which we Traditionalists have sacrificed so much over the years.  The Holy Week services at St Mary’s, Norwalk and their music and ceremony were indeed magnificent. But shortly thereafter, on the feast of St Hugh of Cluny (the patron of this society), I had the privilege of being part of a congregation of six at a Low Mass in a private oratory. Yet the aura of the sacred was in no way inferior to that created by St. Mary’s services of many hours. Similarly, the massive Russian Orthodox Easter Vigil services at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow were of the greatest splendor. My mind went back to the 1980’s, though; hadn’t the tiny Russian Catholic chapel of St Michael in New York, with a total of only 50-70 in attendance, achieved the same impression? For it is not the vestments, the church building, the music or the number of ministers and servers that are the essence of the Traditional Mass, but the form of the liturgy itself.

Yet, as we often remarked in recent years, there is bitterness amid the feelings of rejoicing. We are reminded again and again that Traditionalism remains very much under official suspicion – and is subject to the availability and good graces of individual priests. For example, in our region alone one long-term flourishing Traditionalist community, which had maintained a noteworthy musical program and had advertised actively for members, seems to have gotten into a dispute with its host parish on non-liturgical matters. The local ordinary got involved, and the Traditionist community was soon “banished” to an unused convent chapel, totally inadequate for their numbers. which could only be used on Sundays and which had to locked during the services. It was a return to the “catacombs” of the 1980’s! (There are indications recently that this community may be recovering from this low point).

On a more enigmatic note, a developing Traditionalist surge on Long island faced a crisis with the departure for other assignments of a couple of priests who celebrated these liturgies. The bishop of the diocese of Rockville center provided a rather un-Summorum Pontificum – like “parish solution” in which the faithful have to go to designated parishes for the Traditionalist liturgy, as opposed to priests being delegated to serve specific communities. But was this not the clearest official recognition yet of Traditionalism in this diocese? And didn’t Bishop Barres accompany his action with the most ringing public endorsement yet of Traditionalism by one of our local bishops?

“Bishop Barres wants all those who are devoted to the Tridentine Mass in our diocese to know that he is very grateful for the seriousness with which these families, often with young children, practice their Catholic Faith. He is also aware of how many young people from these families participate in events like Quo Vadis, vocation retreats, and other diocesan and parish events across Long Island. Bishop Barres is hopeful that these families can become evangelizers, promoting dramatic missionary growth for the Faith by their witness, and especially by helping to bring back to the fold those who have been separated from it. He also hopes for future vocations from them!”

Beyond the local scene, we have received word today from two sources that the members of the Order of Malta are now prohibited from using the Traditional mass in their functions – putting an end to what had been a nascent movement within the order.  Meanwhile, the disastrous trajectory of the Vatican and the hierarchy continues to unfold day by day. And Pope Francis has recently launched another of his inimitably coarse tirades against (obviously) Traditionalists.

So here we have it: the promise and the peril of 2019. But really hasn’t that always been the situation, to a greater or lesser extent, of Catholics devoted to Tradition since the 1960’s? Let’s “keep our eye on the ball” and always remember that by staying faithful to celebrating the liturgy we have come far in 30 years. In that spirit we surely will accomplish very much more whatever the future may bring!

(For photos of Holy Week see St Mary’s, Holy Week – 2019)

St. Mary’s Church, Greenwich, Ct, will offer a traditional Mass on June 28 at 7:30 pm in honor of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.

Fr. Rutler’s parish….

(courtesy of Paul Camerata)

Just a few more days to catch the great Giovanni Battista Moroni exhibition at the Frick Gallery…

We hear sometimes of the “Catholic cultures” of the past – indeed, some fancy recreating one. But what exactly is such a culture? Is it not an all-embracing sensibility or “atmosphere” – present everywhere, yet not visible anywhere (as someone said of the hand of a great artist in his works)?  Moroni is a case in point. His main achievements are secular portraits – his religious works, still found mainly in the churches where he painted them, are said to be less successful. Further, Moroni’s world is restricted to Bergamo and its surroundings. Bergamo was one of the smaller – but not insignificant – Italian cities of that era (the middle of the 16th century)  Moroni’s world was that of the Council of Trent and the Battle of Lepanto, of Charles V and Philip II, of the last years of Michelangelo and Titian, of St Francis Xavier and St. Ignatius Loyola, of Tasso and Palestrina.

Moroni portrayed aristocrats, artisans (famously, a tailor), scholars and clergy. There are both beautiful, gorgeously attired women – who happened to be eminent poets in several languages – and an old widow, the patroness of a convent. About these people are the attributes of their status: the armor and swords of the soldier, the books of the scholar, the shears of the tailor, the dazzling garments of the aristocratic women. At times the references are mysterious: broken walls and statuary allude to some unknown event in the life of one sitter. Yet these images are all of real individuals who play a variety of specific public roles in their society. Need I say that men and women are clearly differentiated? All in complete contrast to the “gender-bending” images the media constantly thrust upon us. Indeed, recently we see in our local press women imitating men who have imitated women.….

It seems that in his day and later critical opinion looked down on Moroni as too “documentarian” or merely realistic. After all, wasn’t he competing with the painterly style of Titian and the deliberately artificial and expressive images of the Mannerists? Perhaps his art was the equivalent in painting of the realistic novel, only 250-300 years too early. But in truth, Moroni was in no way a mere photographic copyist of external reality.  For one thing, his paintings so often display a fine insight into the sitter’s character. Do we not detect a hint of a sneer on the face of one elegantly clad young lady (above)? And is there not great spiritual tranquility and religious faith depicted on the features of an aged widow? Indeed, is not the painting of such a face – not superficially beautiful at all – a subject highly original in female portraiture? 

Furthermore, in one important respect Moroni does venture into the explicitly religious. We are familiar with the depictions of donors in late medieval and renaissance painting – often shown in miniature compared to the major sacred actors. Moroni, however, is said to have created a new type of image, wherein full-sized images of the donors pray before or gaze upon a smaller scale devotional scene in the background. The curators of the exhibition trace this new style of representing the donors and their faith to the influence of the Spiritual Exercises of St. Ignatius Loyola – just then gaining prominence in the Catholic world.  For St Ignatius also emphasized forming an interior image of a sacred subject as an aid to meditation and prayer.

Working within the confines of the portrait, does not Moroni display a Christian culture as fully developed as that of the masters of the explicitly religious art of his time? Does he not show us – of course without any notion of propagandizing or arguing – what one such Christian culture could be like? And is not such a faithful recorder of his time perhaps a more accessible guide for us than those contemporaries of Moroni who left us grand and ecstatic religious images?

For more details see HERE. The exhibition closes June 2.

We have word about the following upcoming Traditional Masses and liturgies at the Cathedral Parish in Bridgeport, CT:

Tuesday, May 28 at 7 pm, St. Augustine Cathedral will have a procession and Solemn Rogation Mass for Tuesdays before Ascension.

Sunday, June 9 – Choral Solemn Vespers for Pentecost at St. Augustine Cathedral, 4:30pm

Wednesday, June 12 – Solemn High Mass at St. Patrick for Ember Wednesday of Pentecost, 7pm

Monday, June 24 – Solemn High Mass at St. Augustine Cathedral for Nativity of John the Baptist, 7pm

The Diocese of Rockville Center has published a notice outline changes to all of the Traidional Masses on Long Island. We reproduce the document:

PULPIT ANNOUNCEMENT FOR THE DIOCESE OF ROCKVILLE CENTRE’S 2019 TRIDENTINE MASS PLAN

With the upcoming departure of Fr. Walter Kedjierski for Washington, D.C., the recent death of Msgr. James McDonald, and the transfer of Fr. Jeff Yildirmaz, we must address the coverage of Tridentine Masses in the Diocese. As you may be aware, this year in particular, the diocese is now experiencing a critical shortage in priest personnel; a shortage that will only continue and worsen in the years to come.
However, Bishop Barres is pleased to announce that we have developed a plan to serve the needs of the Tridentine community and to reduce the burden on priests, while maintaining the same number of Masses in each Vicariate as before. The new schedule of Masses will be:
Western Vicariate Sunday Mass: 11:30 am Sundays at St. Rocco’s in Glen Cove (Parish Mass)
~The weekly 9:00 am Sunday Diocesan Mass at St. Ladislaus in Hempstead will end on Sunday, August 25, 2019. It will be replaced by a weekly 11:30 am Sunday parish Mass at St. Rocco’s in Glen Cove beginning on Sunday, September 1, 2019.
Central Vicariate Sunday Mass: 12:30 pm Sundays at St. Matthew’s, Dix Hills (Parish Mass)
~This Mass will continue unchanged.
Eastern Vicariate Sunday Mass: Sunday Mass to Alternate Locations (Parish Masses)
~The weekly 3:30 pm Sunday Diocesan Mass at St. Isidore’s in Riverhead will end on Sunday, May 26, 2019. The following two Masses together will replace the Riverhead Mass:
12:45 pm Sundays at Church of St. Rosalie, East Quogue; 1st , 3rd & 4th Sundays (Parish Mass)
1:30 pm Sundays at St. Peter’s Church, Amagansett; 2nd & 5th Sundays (Parish Mass)

~From Sunday, June 2, 2019, until the end of the summer, the former Riverhead Mass will be celebrated every week at St. Rosalie’s in East Quogue. Beginning in September, the Masses will alternate. The first Mass in Amagansett will be on Sunday, September 8, 2019.
Under this new plan, there are no longer any Diocesan Tridentine Masses; instead,all are parish-based Masses. This means that we will ask the faithful to travel to a location convenient to the priest, rather than having the priest, on a Sunday, leave his parish to travel to another location to celebrate the Mass. I have asked Fr. John McCartney to assume the role of Diocesan Coordinator of the Tridentine Mass, to replace Fr. Walter. We will also add a page to the Diocesan website to assist the faithful in finding dates, times and locations for all regularly celebrated Tridentine Masses, as well as those celebrated occasionally or on special feasts.
Bishop Barres wants all those who are devoted to the Tridentine Mass in our diocese to know that he is very grateful for the seriousness with which these families, often with young children, practice their Catholic Faith. He is also aware of how many young people from these families participate in events like Quo Vadis, vocation retreats, and other diocesan and parish events across Long Island. Bishop Barres is hopeful that these families can become evangelizers, promoting dramatic missionary growth for the Faith
by their witness, and especially by helping to bring back to the fold those who have been separated from it. He also hopes for future vocations from them!
Bishop Barres wants to express his gratitude to the pastors who have generously agreed to make these Masses part of their weekly parish schedule: Dom Daniel Nash, Can. Reg.; Fr. Bob Hewes; Fr. Steve Maddaloni; and Fr. Ryan Creamer. He is also grateful to the priests who will assist them in offering these Masses: Dom Elias Carr, Can. Reg.; Dom Gabriel Rach, Can. Reg.; Fr. John Wachowicz; and Fr. Michael Bissex.
Additionally, Bishop Barres has written a letter to all the priests of the diocese, encouraging any priest who would like to assist by occasionally celebrating these Masses to contact the pastor of the parish where they are being held to offer his services.
Bishop Barres believes that this model of parish-based Masses offers the best plan to keep the same number of Tridentine Masses in all three regions of the diocese, to minister to the faithful who are devoted to and who desire to hear Mass in the Extraordinary Form, while at the same time being attentive to the increasing demands placed on fewer and fewer priests.