A Solemn High Mass will be celebrated at St. Theresa’s Church in Trumbull, CT on Sunday, June 29 at 2:30 pm. A reception will follow in the gym.  The Mass is being organized by the St. Theresa Young Adult Group.

THURSDAY, JUNE 19

St. Gabriel Church, Stamford CT, Solemn Mass, 7:30 pm. Outdoor Eucharistic Procession and Benediction after Mass.
Light refreshments to follow in Parish Meeting Room.

Holy Innocents Church, Manhattan,  Solemn Mass, 6 pm, followed by an outdoor procession.

SUNDAY, JUNE 22

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, Solemn Mass, 9:30 am.  Outdoor Eucharistic Procession around the neighborhood and Benediction follow the Mass.  Festive coffee hour follows in Msgr. Haius Hall.

St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven, CT, High Mass, 2 pm, followed by a Eucharistic procession in the church.

Immaculate Conception Church, Sleepy Hollow, NY, 3 pm, Missa Cantata with outdoor procession — celebrant will be Fr. Daniel D’Alliessi.

Our Lady of Peace Church in Brooklyn, 9:15 AM  with an outdoor procession

SOLEMN HIGH MASS
FOR THE FEAST OF CORPUS CHRISTI
Thursday June 19th at 7:30 in the evening

Celebrated in Latin according to the
Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

Outdoor Eucharistic Procession and Benediction after Mass.

Light refreshments to follow in
Parish Meeting Room

Church of Saint Gabriel
914 Newfield Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut

The Pentecost Sunday 3 pm Sung Mass at Immaculate Conception Church in Sleepy Hollow, NY will be followed a special convivium to honor the Sleepy Hollow Schola Cantorum.
Since 2004, Masses have been sung by a devoted group of all ages and from all corners of the tri-state area. Celebrate ten years of beautiful worship with Mass and conviviality!
Please invite your family and friends.

A Solemn High Mass in honor of the Queenship of Mary was celebrated yesterday as part of the events marking the completion of the restoration of this church. The weather was glorious. The neighborhood with its townhouses, many trees, and strolling families seems lively but peaceful, pleasant  and quaint – the epitome of old Brooklyn, “the borough of churches.” Especially if you choose to disregard the subway station right next to the old parochial school  or the horrendous traffic getting to and from this vicinity even on a Saturday!

Holy Name of Jesus is just a few short blocks from the chancery of the Brooklyn diocese. The red brick facade is austere and largely undecorated. The dimensions of the church are also modest. But the church building  doesn’t tell the parish’s whole story at all  – like many others of that era,  Holy Name of Jesus obviously invested its resources in its school.  A whole series of buildings occupies the block where Holy Name stands: a rectory, (former ) convent and finally an enormous parochial school. The latter today houses a private Catholic academy.

The Facade.

The former parochial school.

After the Council, the church of Holy Name of Jesus underwent one of the most destructive “updatings”  in New York.

(Above) The appearance of the church circa 1950. (Below) The appearance prior to the just completed restoration.

The current restoration  attempts to restore a truly Catholic “worship space.” For the renovation here – in contrast to, let us say, that of St. John’s in Stamford, CT – incorporates elements of the past in what remains a Novus Ordo setting (a least as the requirements of the Novus Ordo are commonly interpreted).  A communion rail is lacking, a fixed altar stands in front of the newly installed grand high altar,  a “baptismal pool”(?) sits on the floor in front of a side altar (whose tabernacle has been adapted as a receptacle for holy oils) and a “gathering space” doubles as a world class cry-room. The church is also “user-friendly”  regarding wheelchair access and restrooms. And all is brilliantly finished and in perfect condition!

This church is truly up to date – he’s already there!

A view from the cry-room.

Take a guess as to whose coat of arms this is.

In addition to a large collection of images of the saints, there is this “Virgin’s corner” in the rear.

This parish was able to sponsor a Solemn Requiem Mass conducted with a perfection of ceremony and music encountered almost nowhere – including the immediate “pre-conciliar” time – prior to Summorum Pontificum. The celebrant was Fr. Brandon O’Brien. The deacon, Fr. Joseph Zwosta; the subdecaon, Fr. Stephen Saffron. The master of ceremonies was Eddy Toribio ( you have encountered him many times on the photographs found on  this blog).  The music includesd the Missa de Beata a 5 by Victoria, motets by Palestrina and by the music director of the mass himself: director of music and organist was Mr. David Adam Smith.

Uniquely garbed ushering staff at Holy Name of Jesus.

A large congregation  of all ages, nationalities  and races filled the church. Old-timers of the parish spoke of their joy in seeing the resurrection of  the church.  Truly the restored interior is magnificent sight  – testifying to the sacrifices and commitment of the parishioners of Holy Name of Jesus. Yet the experience of ceremony in a such a splendid setting leaves the visitor pensive. A beautiful church has been recreated – yet across the East River many  intact churches with even more magnificent interiors  face the wrecking ball. Indeed, the new high altar of the church came from a razed church in Williamsburg:

“The centerpiece of the renovations is the 19th-century altar by renown architect James Renwick Jr., who coincidently is buried only a stone’s throw away in Green-Wood Cemetery. Originally designed as a side altar for St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, the piece proved to be too big and was relocated to St. Vincent de Paul Church in Williamsburg in 1881. It remained there for more than 100 years until the church was sold about five years ago.” 1)

So here in this corner in Brooklyn, a church was built starting in 1878. It was decorated and furnished over the years as well  as available financial resources and other parish commitments permitted.  After serving for generations, this same church was then repudiated as retrograde and its interior gutted. Now,  at least the broad elements of  that prior church have been splendidly recreated. Yet what do these these radical reversals of direction tell us about an institution – the universal Church, the diocese, even the very parish – which after all remained, at least as an external organization,  the same throughout all this entire time?  There is much to reflect on here  – in the meantime let us congratulate Holy Name of Jesus parish on its  accomplishment.

1) http://thetablet.org/parishioners-are-proud-of-new-holy-name/

(Below) One of the two side altars (also from St. Vincent de Paul in Williamsburg?)

From the Church of the Ascension, West 107th Street,New York

The following churches will offer the Traditional Mass on the Feast of the Ascension of Our Lord into Heaven, Thursday, May 29, a holy day of obligation. If you know of a church in the area that we have not included, please share the information with us.

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT

Wed. May 28, Vigil of the Ascension, 7 pm, Missa Cantata

Thurs, May 29, Solemn Mass, 5:30 pm

St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven, CT, Low Mass, 5:30 pm

Church of the Holy Innocents, Manhattan, 8 am, 6 pm

Church of St. Cecilia, 84 Herbert St., Brooklyn, NY, Missa Canata, 7 pm, Rev. Raymond Flores, Celebrant.

Immaculate Conception Church, Sleepy Hollow, NY, Low Mass, 5 pm

St. Anthony of Padua Church, Jersey City, NJ, Missa Cantata, 6pm

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Pequannock, NJ, 7 am, 8 am, 12 noon, 7 pm

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange, NJ, 9 am, 7 pm

Raymond Cardinal Burke, Prefect of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura at the Vatican, will be coming to St. Mary Church to offer the monthly pro-life extraordinary FormMass on Saturday May 10 at 9:00 am.  Cardinal Burke helped St. Mary Church in its fundraising efforts last year for the renovation of the church.  He will be coming to see the newly renovated church, to offer the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and to greet the people.  A reception will be held in Hajus Hall immediately after the Mass.

This Note comes from John Henry Crosby, founder and director of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project (http://hildebrandlegacy.org):

“I write on behalf of Alice “Lily” von Hildebrand to invite you to a special Requiem mass in honor of her husband, Dietrich von Hildebrand.

The Tridentine (or extraordinary) mass, complete with Gregorian chant, will be said on Saturday, April 26^th, at 2:30pm, at Holy Family parish in New Rochelle, New York.

Follow this link for the address and contact information for Holy Family Parish.

All are welcome, and it would mean a great deal to Lily to see many friends and supporters of her husband in attendance.”

The Catholic Artists Society is pleased to invite you to its annual Mass for Artists, Sunday May 4th at 3pm at the Basilica of St. Patrick’s Old Cathedral, Manhattan. Members, patrons and friends of the society are invited to attend with their families.

This year’s Mass will mark the 15th anniversary of Bl. John Paul II’s Letter to Artists, published on April 4, 1999. The Mass setting was composed during JPII’s lifetime, the Berliner Messe by the Estonian composer, Arvo Part. Organist Jared Lamenzo will lead a professional choir in this contemplative setting of the Mass.

Mass will be offered according to the Missal of Bl. Pope John XXIII, who will be canonized with Pope JPII the previous Sunday. The celebrant will be Father Brian Taylor of the Church of St. Benedict in the Bronx. He will be assisted by Father Jean Paul Soler, pastor of the Church of St. Denis in Yonkers, NY, and Father Matthew Newcombe, chaplain at Kennedy Catholic High School in Somers, NY. Monsignor Donald Sakano, pastor of the basilica of St. Patrick, will offer the homily.

A reception will follow in the Basilica courtyard, weather permitting.

Please RSVP for the reception by May 1st: catholicartistssociety@gmail.com

This Note comes from John Henry Crosby, founder and director of the Dietrich von Hildebrand Legacy Project (http://hildebrandlegacy.org):

“I write on behalf of Alice “Lily” von Hildebrand to invite you to a special Requiem mass in honor of her husband, Dietrich von Hildebrand.

The Tridentine (or extraordinary) mass, complete with Gregorian chant, will be said on Saturday, April 26^th, at 2:30pm, at Holy Family parish in New Rochelle, New York.

Follow this link for the address and contact information for Holy Family Parish.

All are welcome, and it would mean a great deal to Lily to see many friends and supporters of her husband in attendance.”