Mass for Holy Cross

I just wanted to share with you some images of this evening’s mass at Our Saviour on Park Avenue. It was a memorable evening thanks to the pastor, Fr. George Rutler, the other clergy( Father Richard Cipolla and Deacon Stephan Genovese), the servers (from New York and CT) the masters of ceremony and the musicians(David Hughes, director). Plus seven seminarians from Dunwoodie came to help out!

What is astonishing is the change in the status of the traditional liturgy in the year since the effective date of Summorum Pontificum – at least in the immediate New York City area. Just one year ago a solemn high mass was a rare and astonishing event. Today, on the feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, there were three solemn high masses in Manhattan, one in Bayonne and one in Norwalk (and these just the ones I am aware of). And yet the congregation at Our Saviour’s was nearly as large as that of our first solemn high mass just over a year ago!

We should rejoice at these developments, but let us not fool ourselves. It will take years – generations, even – to rebuild the temple of the Western liturgy. Pope Benedict’s recent interview on Summorum Pontificum illustrates all too clearly the magnitude of the problems and perils before us. Yet we can say that something new has taken life that with further prayer, work and sacrifice will yield abundant fruit. For that the Church owes thanks to Pope Benedict and his courageous initiative of Summorum Pontificum.

It takes a fair amount of preparation – the team here is getting organized.

The kiss of peace.

Preparation for revering the relic of the True Cross.