Last Wednesday St Mary’s Norwalk saw a truly memorable celebration of the feast of Candlemas or of the Purification. It was a truly “spectacular” conclusion to a day of dramatic developments on the weather front: snow, sleet, ice, rain and finally fog. Since the preceding evening it had been a open question whether the mass and Martin Mosebach’s talk would have to be cancelled. In the end the decision was taken to proceed and a window of opportunity amidst the a conditions did indeed open up that evening. The impressive congregation which braved the weather to attend the mass and lecture was not disappointed. The Candlemas service including the blessing of candles procession and solemn Mass, was one of the most perfect liturgical experiences we have witnessed. The adverse conditions- the real effort many needed just to get to this mass – seemed to give a new intensity to the worship. The music was, as always, magnificent featuring the premiere of a mass by the choirmaster David Hughes.
(Please click on an image to get an enlarged view.)
The blessing of the candles.
The blessing of the candles.
The distribution of the candles.
The distribution of the candles.
The procession.
The procession of the faithful proceeds around the side aisles, vestibule and before the sanctuary of the darkened church.
The procession.
The Mass.
Martin Mosebach gave his usual dramatic reading – this time a chapter from the “Heresy of Formlessness.” After having experienced the liturgy of this day, he confessed it may have been the most impressive February 2 of his life. And all this musical and liturgical perfection has come into existence from scratch after the effective date of Summorum Pontificum – at the time of Mr. Mosebach’s last visit to the US just three years ago!
Related Articles
No user responded in this post