On this Pentecost Monday the final joyous Mass of the Chartres pilgrimage has taken place. The weary pilgrims are resting. Depending on what convention you use, we now are at or nearing the end of Paschal tide. In our own New York area this holy season could be called, with some justification, a triumph of Catholic traditionalism. We counted 19 Traditional masses celebrated on the feast day of the Ascension alone; there were more for Holy Week. And the perfection and completeness of these ceremonies continues to increase. You may judge for yourselves by looking at our posts on the Holy Week services at St. Mary’s parish in Norwalk, CT. And this parish now just one of several just in the tri-state area which offer full Holy Week liturgies. More and more parishes and priests join the movement.

Examples abounded in these recent weeks of the spiritual treasures for which we Traditionalists have sacrificed so much over the years.  The Holy Week services at St Mary’s, Norwalk and their music and ceremony were indeed magnificent. But shortly thereafter, on the feast of St Hugh of Cluny (the patron of this society), I had the privilege of being part of a congregation of six at a Low Mass in a private oratory. Yet the aura of the sacred was in no way inferior to that created by St. Mary’s services of many hours. Similarly, the massive Russian Orthodox Easter Vigil services at the Cathedral of Christ the Savior in Moscow were of the greatest splendor. My mind went back to the 1980’s, though; hadn’t the tiny Russian Catholic chapel of St Michael in New York, with a total of only 50-70 in attendance, achieved the same impression? For it is not the vestments, the church building, the music or the number of ministers and servers that are the essence of the Traditional Mass, but the form of the liturgy itself.

Yet, as we often remarked in recent years, there is bitterness amid the feelings of rejoicing. We are reminded again and again that Traditionalism remains very much under official suspicion – and is subject to the availability and good graces of individual priests. For example, in our region alone one long-term flourishing Traditionalist community, which had maintained a noteworthy musical program and had advertised actively for members, seems to have gotten into a dispute with its host parish on non-liturgical matters. The local ordinary got involved, and the Traditionist community was soon “banished” to an unused convent chapel, totally inadequate for their numbers. which could only be used on Sundays and which had to locked during the services. It was a return to the “catacombs” of the 1980’s! (There are indications recently that this community may be recovering from this low point).

On a more enigmatic note, a developing Traditionalist surge on Long island faced a crisis with the departure for other assignments of a couple of priests who celebrated these liturgies. The bishop of the diocese of Rockville center provided a rather un-Summorum Pontificum – like “parish solution” in which the faithful have to go to designated parishes for the Traditionalist liturgy, as opposed to priests being delegated to serve specific communities. But was this not the clearest official recognition yet of Traditionalism in this diocese? And didn’t Bishop Barres accompany his action with the most ringing public endorsement yet of Traditionalism by one of our local bishops?

“Bishop Barres wants all those who are devoted to the Tridentine Mass in our diocese to know that he is very grateful for the seriousness with which these families, often with young children, practice their Catholic Faith. He is also aware of how many young people from these families participate in events like Quo Vadis, vocation retreats, and other diocesan and parish events across Long Island. Bishop Barres is hopeful that these families can become evangelizers, promoting dramatic missionary growth for the Faith by their witness, and especially by helping to bring back to the fold those who have been separated from it. He also hopes for future vocations from them!”

Beyond the local scene, we have received word today from two sources that the members of the Order of Malta are now prohibited from using the Traditional mass in their functions – putting an end to what had been a nascent movement within the order.  Meanwhile, the disastrous trajectory of the Vatican and the hierarchy continues to unfold day by day. And Pope Francis has recently launched another of his inimitably coarse tirades against (obviously) Traditionalists.

So here we have it: the promise and the peril of 2019. But really hasn’t that always been the situation, to a greater or lesser extent, of Catholics devoted to Tradition since the 1960’s? Let’s “keep our eye on the ball” and always remember that by staying faithful to celebrating the liturgy we have come far in 30 years. In that spirit we surely will accomplish very much more whatever the future may bring!

(For photos of Holy Week see St Mary’s, Holy Week – 2019)

Continued from Part I

The Easter Vigil at St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, CT, Part I. (Descriptions courtesy of John Pia)

The procession of Cristo Muerte and Our Lady of Sorrows though the streets of Norwalk, Connecticut on Good Friday evening. This year, the procession was sponsored by the Norwalk parishes of St. Mary and St. Joseph.

Why is the Sacred Host brought into the church in this solemn procession on this Good Friday?   In order for the priest, on the one day that the Sacrifice of the Mass is not celebrated, to hold the Host on high for all to see on this day, to behold the Sacrament of the One who exploded the black hole of sin and death, the God who loved us so much that he gave his only begotten Son to die for us, and it is the priest, the one who offers sacrifice, who then consumes the Sacred Host not to offer the Sacrifice as he usually does at the Mass, but to show us what the absence of the Sacramental presence of Christ would mean, the void without hope.  And with this gesture the priest shows us what this is all about, the will of God to become flesh and die a real death for you and me. He died a real human death, yes, without sin, but real, a death died not in some sort of smug way knowing the outcome, smug because of his Godhead, but rather like you and me, he died in faith that his Father would allow him to smash the terrible power of death and bring him once again to his bosom. He died really for you and me so that the reality of what he died for, the forgiveness of our sins, may become a reality in our space and time, for you and for me. 

Yesterday evening, the Office of Tenebrae for Maundy Thursday was chanted at St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, CT. The Viri Galilaei, augemented by many priests and seminarians, chanted in choir, while the St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum sang polyphonic settings in the choir loft.

Coverage of Palm Sunday at St. Mary’s Norwalk continued from Part I

Mass of the Palms and the Procession

The full rite for the blessing of palms takes the form of a “Missa Sicca” (dry Mass) and follows the schema of the Mass, save that the blessing of palms replaces the consecration fo the Eucharist.

Continue to Part II