25 Jan

2015

Mass at Immaculate Conception Church, New York.

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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.

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The “upper church” at Immaculate Conception parish.

24 Jan

2015

Chant Workshop at St. Joseph’s Seminary

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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

22 Jan

2015

Masses for Candlemas

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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.

 

Connecticut:

St. Mary’s, Norwalk

Solemn High Mass at 7:30 PM

 

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.)

22 Jan

2015

Missa Cantata at Princeton University Chapel

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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.

13 Jan

2015

Just One Day left to See It!

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 Frate Francesco: Friar Francis: Traces, Words, Images

You only have tomorrow (January 14) left to catch the exhibit of manuscripts relating to St Francis on display at Borough Hall in Brooklyn, New York. The exhibit had been originally on display at the UN for just November 17-28 last year(but not open to the public?). It had opened there with great fanfare, the addresses by secular and religious figures and the accompanying media reports celebrated Francis as a man of peace, a friend of the poor, a lover of animals etc. – just not as a Christian saint. Several speakers saw the current Francis in Rome as his legitimate successor; indeed, the exhibit seemed at times to be laying the foundation for a visit by the bishop of Rome to the UN or the City. A self-congratulatory plaque lists dozens of patrons, advisors and consultants. It was a typical Vatican publicity stunt: a lot of talk about the poor and the environment surrounding a private celebration among secular and ecclesiastical bureaucrats with the news media as the hoped-for audience.

 

Things then took a somewhat bizarre turn. For, almost as a kind of afterthought, a public exhibit of the same manuscripts was arranged at the last minute in the rather out-of-the way venue of Borough Hall, Brooklyn. The facilitator is a Brooklyn restaurant owner with strong political connections with the borough leadership as well as good contacts in Italy. Indeed, it is reported that he had been convicted of money laundering in 2008. 1) Nevertheless, he succeeded in bringing this exhibit to Brooklyn and to the public. Two brothers running a local shop that builds furniture out of discarded lumber were able, working right up to the opening day of the exhibit, to craft the necessary cases and display boards. And so the show did open in the grandiose, gilt courtroom of Borough Hall, surrounded by the portraits of the mayors of the former city of Brooklyn.2)

 

It’s an adventure finding the way to the exhibit (it’s not the usual entrance to Borough Hall on Joralemon Street but at the top of the grandiose stairs of the front façade) and then getting past the guards (who keep repeating “no photography!”). Yet, certainly for the connoisseur of the life of St. Francis, this well-displayed exhibition is worth the effort. For here are historic, extraordinary, original documents relating to Francis. There is a papal decree of 1220 addressed directly to Francis (during his lifetime) and his first followers. Several different early biographies of Francis are displayed. We encounter the earliest manuscripts (I think) of the Canticle of the Sun and of the Fioretti. An illuminated manuscript of the bible from the first half of the 13th century contains one of the first depictions of St. Francis. And then we have a copy of the Arbor Vitae, a later work developing the social and eschatological aspects of the Franciscan Movement; it is mentioned in the Name of the Rose.

 

These works – mostly without illustrations, in often faded ink – are not at all “relics” – but they take us so close to Francis himself. The real Francis, that is, not the nebulous “friend of all mankind” of the UN but one who rejected the World in the most radical way, chose to imitate Christ as directly as possible and, as a literal sign of this, received the stigmata. And it was only through this uncompromising asceticism and commitment to the life of the poor and to Christ that Francis was able to gain that new experience of nature that was to inspire so much subsequent art and devotion. For those who have not seen this exhibit but have the time tomorrow, try to get there. The exhibit is free; the 4 and 5 subway lines stop directly at Borough Hall.

 

See HERE for more information.

 

  • Murphy, Doyle, ”Tainted Restaurateur helps bring Historic Catholic Texts to Brooklyn,” New York Daily News (12/12/2014)
  • Dwyer, Jim, “St. Francis’ Papers, in Brooklyn, a Borough He’d Appreciate,” The New york Times (11/11/2014)

9 Jan

2015

The Art of the Beautiful Lecture Series

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The Art of the Beautiful series continues on Saturday, January 17th with Yale University’s Julia Yost. Ms. Yost, a frequent contributor to First Things, will speak on Anglo Catholic Modernism: Writing Religious Beauty in the Modern Era.

Details: 7.30pm
The Catholic Center at NYU
238 Thompson Street, NY, NY 10012

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7 Jan

2015

Epiphany at St. Mary’s Church, Greenwich, Connecticut

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Solemn High Mass celebrated by Fr. Cyprian La Pastina, the pastor of St. Mary’s. The music included a mass setting by Michael Haydn.

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5 Jan

2015

Solemn High Mass for the Patronal Feast of Holy Name of Jesus Church, Brooklyn

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Yesterday was celebrated the Patronal Feast of Most Holy Name of Jesus parish, Brooklyn – a Solemn High Mass in their newly renovated church. Some more great photos courtesy of Arrys Ortanez:

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4 Jan

2015

Masses for the Feast of the Epiphany

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“Three miracles Glorify this day…”
(Window from the Cathedral of St. James, Brooklyn – on the table is a fruit from the New World)

January 6, 2015 Epiphany

Saint Mary Church, 178 Greenwich Ave, Greenwich, Connecticut
7:30 PM Solemn High Mass. The Mass setting will be Missa Sancti Gabrielis by J. Michael Haydn with Gregorian Propers.

St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, Connecticut
7:00 PM Solemn High Mass

St. Anthony’s Church, 457 Monmouth St., Jersey City,
Missa Cantata, 7 pm. The Three Magi will be stopping by to greet visitors and give candy to the children of the parish at 6:45pm before Mass.

St. Catherine Laboure, Middletown, New Jersey
9:00 AM

Oratory of St. Anthony of Padua, 1360 Pleasant Valley Way, West Orange, New Jersey
9:00 AM; 7:00 PM

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, New York
6:00 PM High Mass, includes blessing and distribution of the chalk.

3 Jan

2015

January 1 at St. Agnes, New York

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High Mass at St. Agnes church for the feasts of Mary, Mother of God, Circumcision and the Octave day of Christmas. Fr. Michael Barone was the celebrant and the Veni Creator Spritus was sung to gain the plenary indulgence granted on that day.

(Courtesy of Arrys Ortanez)

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