There will be a Solemn High Mass to celebrate the transferred feast of the Annunciation of Our Lady on Monday, April 8th at 7:30 PM

Following Mass there will be a procession to Our Lady’s altar and the Litany of the Blessed Virgin.

Church of Saint Gabriel
Newfield Avenue
Stamford, Connecticut

Refreshments to follow in the Parish Meeting Room

With the special intention of the papal election,  there will be a Solemn Mass pro Eligendo Summo Pontifice  at   St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, at 7 pm tonight.   The Schola Cantorum will perform Palestrina’s Missa Dum esset Summus Pontifex.

Some of us may remember the distant days of the 70’s when St. John’s University, Queens, was an alleged beacon of orthodoxy, what with its refusal to submit to government money, the Catholic academic establishment and its own faculty. And then there was Fr. John Hardon and the “Institute for Advanced Studies in Catholic Doctrine.”

Alas, all was not well even then. And the subsequent fall from grace has been precipitous. We can only encourage the solid professors and students – some known to us- who are maintaining Catholicism in what seems to be an increasingly indifferent – not to say challenging – environment.

Excellent article by John Lamont.

This Saturday, March 2 at 9 am,  Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Church, 448 E. 116th St., New York, NY will observe First Saturday devotions including the Traditional Mass.  Following Mass will be prayers for the canonization of Pierre Toussaint, Mt. Carmel devotions, and Benediction.

A belated notice if you have not already heard..

Marian Devotions for the Feast of Our Lady of Lourdes
at St. Gabriel Church in Stamford
Monday, Feb 11th at 7:30 PM

Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament with Rosary and Homily.  Followed by Eucharistic Procession to the new Altar of Our Lady during which the Litany of Loreto will be sung in Latin according the text of the Liber.  This will be following by Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament and the singing of the Ave Regina Caelorum.

All are welcome to join us as we honor Our Lady.

The Church of the Holy Innocents in Manhattan will celebrate the restoration of its monumental mural of the Crucifixion by Constantino Brumidi with the first traditional Forty Hours’ devotion in the Archdiocese of New York since the Second Vatican Council.

The Forty Hours devotion will take place over the first weekend of February and conclude with a Pontifical Mass at the Faldstool on Sunday, February 3rd at 10 a.m. coram sanctissimo (in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament). There will be sign-up sheets at the back of the Church of the Holy Innocents for those who would like to commit to adoring the Blessed Sacrament in the church during the periods of exposition. The main sign-up periods for adoration are from (1) 4:00 a.m. (Saturday) to 12:00 noon (Saturday) and (2) 6:00 p.m. (Saturday) to 10:00 a.m. (Sunday).

The Forty Hours devotion begins on First Friday, February 1st, at 6:00 p.m. with a Solemn Votive Mass of the Blessed Sacrament (in the extraordinary form ). This Mass concludes with the exposition and procession of the Blessed Sacrament. The First Friday all night vigil begins after this Mass and will continue until 4:00 a.m.

The Forty Hours continues on First Saturday, February 2nd, at 1:00 p.m. with a Solemn Mass for the Feast of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Candlemas (in the extraordinary form). This Mass will include the blessing of candles and procession.

The Forty Hours devotion concludes on Sunday, February 3rd, at 10:00 a.m. with a Solemn Pontifical Mass at the Faldstool coram sanctissimo for the Feast of the Dedication of the Church celebrated by His Excellency, James C. Timlin, Bishop Emeritus of Scranton. This Mass concludes with the procession of the Blessed Sacrament and reposition.

The neo-byzantine splendor of Holy Trinity Church on West 82nd Street was a most appropriate setting for Sergei Rachmaninoff’s Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (1910) on January 23rd. The Russian Chamber Chorus of New York under the direction of Nikolai Kachanov gave a magnificent performance of this major liturgical work of the composer.

It was a great grace and privilege to welcome Bishop Athanasius Schneider to the New York area for Epiphany weekend. For the bishop it was a challenging succession of splendid liturgies in Brooklyn, Norwalk, CT and New York; of presentations and meetings; of interviews with national and local Catholic media. But despite the press of “events” and the media that weekend, Bishop Schneider always found the time to meet and converse with the clergy and the ordinary faithful at St. James, St. Mary and Most Holy Redeemer. It was heartening to see this interaction and the warm response of the faithful. The presence of such a man of prayer in our midst left an impression on all of us who met him.

We would like to thank all the members the St. Hugh of Cluny Society who have contributed their time, work and money to make this weekend the great success it was. It would be difficult even to list all those who participated in the planning and implementation of the events this weekend. These liturgies required a formidable number of clergy and ministers; we thank them all – including our Society’s chaplain – for their immense efforts. Let me single out for special mention John Pia, the Master of Ceremonies for both Pontifical Masses and the creator of the full and erudite programs. Bill Riccio assisted as MC and minister at both these liturgies and was the Master of Ceremonies at the Vespers. It is largely due to the work of John and Bill that these services attained the perfection they achieved.

Mr. David Hughes directed the magnificent music at all three services – for three different groups of performers! It included the premiere of one of his own compositions. For the information of those who were not present here is the music program of that weekend:

Music for Pontifical Vespers: The Feast of the Epiphany, Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, New York, 6 January 2013
Sunday, 6 January 2013, 5:00 p.m.
Church of the Most Holy Redeemer, New York
Music for Second Vespers of the Epiphany
celebrated by His Excellency Athanasius Schneider
Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan
At the procession: Videntes stellam Magi (plainsong, mode iv, in organum)
Ante luciferum genitus & Psalm 109 (mode ii)
Venit lumen tuum & Psalm 110 (mode i)
Apertis thesauris suis & Psalm 111 (mode i)
Maria et flumina & Psalm 112 (mode iv)
Stella ista & Psalm 113 (mode vii)
Hymn: Crudelis Herodes (plainsong, mode iii, in organum)
Magnificat antiphon: Tribus miraculis (mode i)
Magnificat primi toni (impares) (Francisco Guerrero, 1528-1599)
Marian antiphon: Alma Redemptoris

Music for Pontifical Mass: The Feast of the Epiphany, 6 January 2013
Sunday, 6 January 2013, 9:30 a.m.
St. Mary’s, Norwalk
Music for the Feast of the Epiphany
Pontifical Mass at the Throne
celebrated by His Excellency Athanasius Schneider
Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan
Prelude: Christum wir sollen loben schon (BWV 611) (Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750)
At the procession: Ecce sacerdos magnus (David J. Hughes, b.1980)
The Office of Terce
Gregorian Mass of the Epiphany: Ecce advenit
Mass for Five Voices (William Byrd, 1540-1623)
Motet at the Offertory: Videntes stellam (Orlando di Lasso, c.1532-1594)
Motet at the Communion: Magi veniunt (Jacobus Clemens non Papa, c.1510-1556)
Motet at the Communion: Tribus miraculis (Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, c.1525-1594)
Postlude: Pièce d’Orgue (Fantasy in G Major) (BWV 572) (Bach)

The St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum

Music for Pontifical Mass: Saturday of Our Lady in Christmastide, St. James Cathedral, Brooklyn, 5 January 2013
Saturday, 5 January 2013, 2:00 p.m.
The Cathedral Basilica of St. James, Brooklyn
Music for a Saturday of Our Lady in Christmastide
Pontifical Mass at the Throne
celebrated by His Excellency Bishop Athanasius Schneider
Auxiliary Bishop of Astana, Kazakhstan
Prelude: Wie schön leuchtet der Morgenstern (BuxWV 223) (Dietrich Buxtehude, c.1637-1707)
At the procession: Ecce sacerdos magnus (David J. Hughes, b.1980) [première]
At the vesting: A solis ortus cardine (plainsong, in alternation with versets of Nicolas de Grigny, 1672-1703) [Student Schola]
Introit: Vultum tuum (plainsong, mode ii) [Student Schola]
Kyrie & Sanctus: Missa Octavi toni (Orlando di Lasso, c.1532-1594) [Student Schola]
Gloria & Agnus Dei: Missa de Beata Virgine (Gregor Aichinger, c.1565-1628)
Gradual: Speciosus formam (plainsong, mode iii)
Alleluia: Post partum (plainsong, mode iv) [Student Schola]
Offertory: Felix namque es (plainsong, mode i) [Student Schola]
Motet at the Offertory: Ave Maria (Peter Philips, 1561-1628) [Student Schola]
Communion: Beata viscera (plainsong, mode i) [Student Schola]
Motet at the Communion: O gloriosa Dei Genitrix (Francisco Guerrero, 1528-1599 )
Motet at the Communion: Alma Redemptoris Mater (Johannes Ockeghem, c.1410-1497)
Postlude: Fantasy in G minor (BWV 542) (Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750)

The St. Mary’s Schola Cantorum
The St. Mary’s Student Schola: Schola S. Caeciliae

We would also like to thank Msgr. John Strynkowski, rector of the Cathedral Basilica of St. James, Brooklyn; Fr. Greg Markey, pastor of St. Mary’s parish, Norwalk, CT and Fr. Sean McGillicuddy, CSsR, pastor of the church of the Most Holy Redeemer, New York. They spent great effort and expense in helping to make the liturgies possible at their churches and in organizing the participation of the media. Fr. Markey was also a gracious host to Bishop Schneider at the rectory of St. Mary’s for the entire visit to this region. I hope you have been following these interviews of Robert Duncan for the Catholic News Service; they are based on interviews with Bishop Schneider in New York:

RELIGIOUS LIBERTY

WESTERN ERRORS