Window in the Church of St. John Nepomucene, New York (proposed to be merged this year)

On Monday, February 2nd, 2015, the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary/Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple (Candlemas) is celebrated.

Sunday, February 1 (“External Observance”):

St Stanislaus, New Haven, Connecticut

High Mass, blessing of candles, at 2:00 PM

Monday, February 2:

Connecticut:

St. Mary’s, Norwalk

Solemn High Mass at 7:30 PM

New Jersey:

St. Anthony of Padua Church, Jersey City

5:30 p.m. Missa Cantata with blessing and distribution of candles and candlelight procession

New York:

Holy Innocents,128 West 37th Street, New York

Mass at 6:00 PM
(Accompanied by the Blessing and Distribution of Candles, as well as the indoor Procession before the start of the Mass. On this day, when the Holy Family went to the Temple, all are encouraged to attend Mass and take part in the beautiful ceremonies (and music) for Candlemas. Parishioners are also encouraged to bring their own (beeswax) candles to be blessed.)

Sunday, February 8th (“External Solemnity”):

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange, New Jersey

11:00 a.m. Missa Cantata with blessing of candles

Thursday, January 29th – Feast of St. Francis de Sales
St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange

St. Francis de Sales, a Doctor of the Church, is one of the patron saints of the Institute of Christ the King. By attending Mass on Thursday, January 29th, celebrated in one of the Institute’s apostolates, you can gain a plenary indulgence under the usual conditions.

At 7:00 p.m. there will be a Solemn High Mass with celebrant Rev. Cyprian LaPastina, pastor of St. Mary Church, Greenwich, CT. and guest homilist Rev. Frederick Miller. Father Miller is the spiritual director of the Seton Hall seminary and is known to EWTN audiences for his series on the spirituality of St. Francis de Sales and on the priesthood of Jesus Christ. His latest book, “The Grace of Ars”, is about St. Jean-Marie Vianney and is published by Ignatius Press.

Another small Manhattan church – well attended, financially self-sustaining and in an upscale area – nevertheless scheduled for closing. It’s “beautiful” too, and part of a historic district – but the following article from the New York Times makes clear that “aesthetics” counts for little in the present-day Roman Catholic Church.

“Mass Mob” Fills a Church with Hopes of Saving It

St. Fara of Cinisi, Sicily

One of the Venetian chandeliers.

On Our Lady of Peace: “God’s Ballroom”

Sunday, February 1st, at the 10:30AM traditional Mass, the Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan will be celebrating the 114th anniversary of its consecration.

Monday, February 2nd, Holy Innocents will have the (traditional) Mass for Candlemas at 6PM. The faithful are invited to bring their own candles (if they wish to do so) to be solemnly blessed during the ceremonies of the blessing of candles (they can be picked up at the end of the Mass).

On Tuesday, February 3rd, 2015, Holy Innocents will observe the traditional blessing of the throats after the 6PM (traditional) Mass for the Feast of St. Blaise.

Exploring Our Liturgical Heritage
Juventutem NYC Mass and Discussion
Saturday, January 31, 2015 Traditional Sung High Mass at 6 p.m. Reception and Discussion to Follow
The Church of the Holy Innocents
128 West 37th St (Btwn. Broadway and 7th), New York, NY
***
Fr. Leonard Villa, Administrator of the Church of the Holy Innocents and Chaplain of Juventutem NYC, will give his perspective on
“What cross-pollination between the Extraordinary Form and the Ordinary Form really means.”

Juventutem is an international group of Catholic young adults (18-35) who love and support the Traditional Mass
Visit Juventutem New York on Facebook for more information: https://www.facebook.com/events/632015973591500/

On Saturday, January 31st at 5:00 PM, a Missa Cantata will be offered in the Extraordinary Form for the feast of Saint John Bosco at the (new) chapel of Mary Help of Christians located in the lower level of Immaculate Conception Church, 414 E. 14th Street, Manhattan. It will be the first Traditional Mass in this parish in many years. The title of the chapel refers to the nearby, now-destroyed (Salesian) church of Mary Help of Christians. Its congregation joined Immaculate Conception parish.

(Above) Exclusive look at the new chapel- courtesy of Manuel Albino.

The “upper church” at Immaculate Conception parish.

Chant Workshop for Parish Musicians
February 7th, 9am-2pm
St. Joseph’s Seminary, Yonkers
On February 7, from 9am-2pm, St. Joseph’s Seminary will be hosting a workshop entitled, “Introduction to Gregorian Chant: Spirituality, History, and the Basics of Reading.”
The workshop is sponsored by the Office of Liturgy and St. Joseph’s Seminary and will be led by Dr. Jennifer Donelson, D.M.A. Dr. Donelson is a nationally-recognized expert in sacred music and the new Director and Associate Professor of Sacred Music at St. Joseph’s Seminary.
The cost of the workshop is $30 and includes lunch and a copy of Reflections on the Spirituality of Gregorian Chant by Dom Jacques Hourlier.

To register, go to the Office of Liturgy Website

On February 3rd, the Princeton University Chapel will have a Missa Cantata in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite at 9 p.m., sponsored by the Aquinas Institute. The Mass will celebrated by Fr. Carlos Hamel of the Fraternity of Saint Joseph the Guardian, assisted by Princeton alumnus Brother Gerhard. A reception will follow after Mass; Latin-English worship aids will be available. More information is available on the event’s facebook page.

To the late Brent Bozell and Triumph magazine from neoconservatism, which movement seems to be groping towards the same conclusions on America reached by Bozell and Triumph  – only some 45 years later:

“The End of American Civic Christianity” by Rod Dreher (see also the First Things discussion to which it refers)

There is much that is sensible written in these essays. However, the conclusion of George Weigel’s contribution  – which returns to the same First Things cliches – demonstrates that the neoconservative movement still has to pass through a long process of understanding:

“The answer in America is to revitalize a civil society rooted in the moral truths embodied in human nature. Only a civil society so rooted is capable of sustaining pluralist democracy without imploding into chaos or sinking into the dictatorship of relativism. And it is likely that only the Church, among American civil-society institutions, can lead in that long process of national civic renewal.”

Today, of course, Catholic neoconservatism must face not only complete rejection by American Civil Society but also specific repudiation of all its main points by the Bishop of Rome. Here too an apology is due. In this case the mea culpa should be directed to the many traditionalists, true conservatives  and “palaeocons” of the post-Triumph decades who were the target of neoconservative abuse on ecclesiastical and liturgical issues. But, as recent exchanges reveal, not everyone at First Things has come as far in his understanding of Francis as have the participants in the above exchanges in their assessment of American civil society.

(St Anthony Abbot from the Isenheim Altar of Matthias Grünewald)

Named after a colonial companion of Ponce de Leon and one of the original settlers of that territory, Añasco is a municipality of Puerto Rico located on the west coast of the island bordering the Mona Passage, with Mayagüez to the north, Rincón, Aguada, and Moca to the south and west of San Sebastián. The parish church is named in honor of, and therefore the town is under the celestial patronage of, the patriarch of monasticism Saint Anthony the Abbot.
Deep in the thick hilly jungle of that selfsame municipality lived a certain man christened in honor of the holy patron saint. Many would be loath to traverse the verdantly overgrown paths that led to his ancient abode because of the dastardly and dangerous terrain. But there was another reason. There were strange stories told in hushed whispers. The denizen of the hilltop was not only an elderly eccentric (and that would be putting it mildly, said a teasing tongue) but perhaps even deliriously disturbed. He lived all alone allowing absolutely no modern conveniences whatsoever. One day though, now many years in the past, a cute little altar boy and his uncle defiantly made the perilous trek in that tropical menagerie with the goal of actually seeing the flesh and blood behind the local legend. The intrepid duo arrived at the little ramshackle hut which seemed better placed in the tremendous triptych of Hieronymus Bosch. Hearing the rustling of the branches and the agitation of the animals, a man with skin like tanned leather and large penetrating eyes carefully came out of his humble habitation and warily approached the boldly encroaching pair. Then little boy’s eyes opened round. His mouth gaped wide. The little boy began to run. The little boy ran to the old man and yelled out “Gran’pa!”

Mr. Screwtape

(The Temptation of St. Anthony by Hieronymus Bosch)