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21 Feb

2021

Traditionalism in Brooklyn and Queens

Posted by Stuart Chessman 
(Above) Traditional Mass locations in the Brooklyn Diocese. Map courtesy of The Tablet.

The (Brooklyn) Tablet recently carried an informative article by Joaquin Badajoz on the devlopment of Traditionalism in the Brooklyn Diocese:

Latin in Mainstream TV Series and the Newly Thriving Mass of the Ages (The Tablet p.29, 1/30/2021)

Despite the title, the article deals almost exclusively with the blossoming of the Traditional Catholic liturgy. As Archbishop Alexander Sample of Portland, Oregon (“known for its massive Latin Masses” ) says to the interviewer:

“There is a definite increase in the youth interest in the Extraordinary Form Mass…. One thing anyone who attends or celebrates the Extraordinary Form Mass notices is the high percentage of young people and young families that are present.”

Archbishop Sample believes young people are looking for a more supernatural experience.

“The beauty of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass offers them a transcendent experience which touches hearts and minds,” Archbishop Sample said. “The reverence, the ceremony, and the sacredness, all contribute to this.”

And Vincent Bongiorni, 28, who has been serving at the altar for ten years and helped organize a Latin Mass at St. Finbar’s parish, witnesses:

“My generation is growing up in such a chaotic time where the oneness of God is more evident in the traditional form to us. This Mass connects us to thousands of years of Catholic worship. It’s like coming home to a family that’s awaiting us. Our chaotic culture doesn’t exist in that Mass. The culture of our work, our social life, our entertainment. This Mass supersedes that. You feel that sense of completion that makes our minds focus on God. And it’s almost like therapy in a sense.”

I am grateful to Joaquin Badajoz and The Tablet for this most favorable report – but not everything is perfect. Badajoz focuses on interest in the Latin language as the main motivating factor in the revival of the Traditional Mass – it is much, much more than that (as the people he interviewed make very clear)! Our author seems to think that the 1984 “special indult” Quattor Abhinc Annos is the governing decree authorizing the Traditional Liturgy – he mentions Ecclesia Dei only in passing and Summorum Pontificum not at all. Indeed, the procedures of the Brooklyn diocese as set forth in this article seem to be very much an indult-style regime.

But please read the article! And below, from The Tablet, is a schedule of the Latin Masses in Brooklyn and Queens.

TRADITIONAL MASSES IN THE BROOKLYN DIOCESE:

  • Our Lady of Peace Church
    522 Carroll St., Brooklyn
    Every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (Low Mass. Sung Mass on Certain Solemnities)
  • St. Josaphat Church
    34-32 210th Street, Bayside
    Every Sunday at 9:30 a.m. (Sung Mass)
  • Divine Mercy Parish, St. Cecilia Church
    84 Herbert St., Brooklyn
    Every Sunday at 7:00 p.m. (Low Mass. Sung Mass on 1st Sundays)
  • Transfiguration-St. Stanislaus Kostka Parish, Transfiguration Church
    64-25 Perry Ave., Maspeth
    Every Sunday at 12:30 p.m. (Low Mass)
  • St. Finbar Church
    138 Bay 20th St., Brooklyn
    First Sundays at 3:00 p.m. (Sung Mass)
  • St. Fidelis Church
    123-06 14th Ave., College Point
    First and Third Fridays at 7:15 p.m. (Low Mass)

Thanks for the tip to Prof. Walter Petrovitz.

Published in Essays, Masses

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