The following is the weekly schedule of Traditional Masses at Our Lady of Mount Carmel Shrine, 448 E. 116th Street, New York, NY.

Sundays: 9:30 AM to 12 Noon Confessions; 10:30 AM Missa Cantata; 12 Noon Coffee Hour, Parish Hall ; 4:30 PM Solemn Vespers, Rosary and Benediction

Weekdays: 7:00 AM Low Mass; 7:45 AM Low Mass; 9:30 to 12 Noon Adoration; 3:00 PM Holy Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet

Saturdays: 7:45 AM Low Mass; 9:00 AM Low Mass; 9:30 AM to 12 Noon Adoration and Confessions; 3:00 PM Holy Rosary and Divine Mercy Chaplet

First Thursday of the Month:
6:00 PM Confessions; 7:00 PM Missa Cantata
First Friday of the Month:
All Day Adoration from 10 AM to 5 PM
First Saturday of the Month:
9:00 AM Missa Cantata if a Cantor is available, otherwise Low Mass; 10 AM Meditation on the Rosary, Adoration, Confessions, Benediction
Third Friday of the Month:
All Day Adoration from 10 AM to 4 PM; Low Mass at 4:30 PM, Intentions of the Most Precious Blood Prayer Group
Wednesdays and Saturdays: Novena to Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Veneration of the Icon of Our Lady of Mount Carmel after the morning Masses

On January 18, Father Christopher Salvatori will celebrate a Solemn Traidtional Mass in thanksgiving for the 25th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood at Our Lady of Mount Carmel in Harlem, New York. A reception will follow in the parish hall (RSVP required: 646-415-8818)

Saturday, January 18, 2025
11:00 AM Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving, Silver Jubilee of Father Christopher Salvatori S.A.C.
12:30 PM Reception in the Parish Hall, RSVP required
Wednesday, January 22, 2025
6:00 PM Confessions7:00 PM Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving, Solemnity of Saint Vincent Pallotti and Silver Jubilee of Father Christopher Salvatori SAC

This coming Sunday, January 5, is the the Vigil of the Epiphany in the traditional calendar. It is the tradition for holy water to be blessed on this day, together with chalk.

The following churches have scheduled Epiphany blessings:

Sts. Cyril and Methodius Oratory, Bridgeport, CT, Epiphany Water blessing on Sunday Jan 5 after the 10:15 a.m. Solemn Mass {bring your empty container to fill.  Solemn Choral Vespers & Benediction at 6:00 p.m.

St. Patrick Oratory, Waterbury, CT, Epiphany Water Blessing will take place on January 5 following Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament at the conclusion of the 10:30am High Mass. Epiphany Water will be made available after this time along with blessed chalk.

Holy Innocents Church, Manhattan, Epiphany Water and chalk will be blessed in a ceremony lasting about 45 minutes following 2:30 p.m. Vespers on  January 5. Please bring the water you wish to be blessed and keep it with you in the pew. No water is to be left in the sacristy or unattended. At the appropriate time you will be invited to the Communion Rail for the celebrant to add the exorcised salt to your bottle of water. The blessed chalk will be available for you to take to your homes.

St. Margaret of Cortona, Riverdale, Bronx, Blessing of the Epiphany Water on Jan. 5. at 3:00 p.m. (Bring your own bottles of water; the chalk & directions on how to bless your home will be distributed)

St. Josaphat, Bayside, Queens, 11:30 am Solemn blessing of Epiphany Water

Annunciation Church, Crestwood, NY, The Epiphany Blessing will take place before holy Mass on Sunday Jan. 5 at 1pm.  Everyone will be invited to receive the their holy water and blessed chalk after Mass. Please note that we will have 2 very large vessels for the Epiphany Water. For this reason, please only bring empty bottles/vessels, which you will be able to fill from the larger vessels in the Sanctuary after Mass. Please do not bring containers that are already filled with water. 

Presentation Church, Port Ewen, NY, blessing of Epiphany water and chalk at 6:30 pm. Bring your bottles of water and chalk.

Our Lady of Fatima Chapel, Pequannock, NJ, Blessing of Epiphany Water and chalk on Jan. 5 after 1:30 pm Mass. 

St. Anthony of Padua Oratory, West Orange, NJ, Blessing of Epiphany Water on Jan. 5 after 11 am Mass.

St. John Vianney Church, Colonna, NJ, 1:30 pm. Please bring your own bottles of water for blessing.

St. John the Baptist, Allentown, NJ, blessing of Epiphany water on Jan. 5 at 3 pm

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Here are some of the Traditional Masses available on December 9th, which has been designated a Holy Day of Obligation this year.

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, 8 am, 12:10 pm, 7 pm Solemn Mass

Corpus Christi Church, South River, NJ, Missa Cantata, 7 pm

Tuesday Nov. 5th: St. Mary of Mt. Virgin, New Brunswick, NJ, Sung Requiem Mass, 7 pm

Wednesday, Nov. 6th: St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, Solemn Requiem Mass 1:15 pm. Missa pro Defunctis by Claudio Casiolini.

Thursday, Nov. 7th, Carmelite Monastery, 189 Madison Ave. Morristown, NJ, 7 pm the Purgatorial Society of Andrew Avellino 4th Requiem Mass of the 2024 year

Thursday, November 7, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY,  
6:00 PM – Confessions; 7:00 PM, Requiem Mass, Missa Cantata
(A Missa Cantata is offered on the First Thursday of the Month with Confessions before Mass, the Sermon is preached in Polish and a Coffee Hour usually follows the Mass. All are welcome to this Mass organized by the Polish Apostolate. There is an accessible lift at the 115th Street entrance and parking is available on a first come, first serve basis at the 116th Street driveway.)

Friday, November 8, Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY,  6:00 P.M. Confessions; 7:00 P.M. Anniversary Requiem Mass, Missa Cantata for the deceased members of the Regina Coeli Council #423 of the Knights of Columbus, Sermon and Absolution at the Catafalque. 8:00 P.M. Talk with Father Fidelis Moscinski CFR in the Parish Hall.

Monday, Nov. 11, Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, 6 pm, Armistice Day Requiem. Requiem High Mass for all the War Dead, particularly those of our parish. Absolution at the catafalque after Mass, followed by the placing of a wreath on the war memorial.

Wednesday, Nov. 13: Annunciation Church, Crestwood, NY, Annual Requiem Mass for Deceased Priests and Religious of the Archdiocese, 7 pm Upper Church

Tuesday, Nov. 26: St. Ann Church, Hampton, NJ, 7 pm, Traditional Latin Vespers for the Dead. Enroll deceased at PurgatorialSociety.org

Catholic Church suspends operations at Connelly Theater in flap over controversial plays….

After the New York archdiocese prevented the production of “Becoming Eve” at the church-owned Connelly theater, the general manager resigned in prostest. The theater itself announced that it is ceasing operations with no sign when, or if, it will reopen.

This came after the archdiocese, which owns the Connelly Theater, prevented New York Theatre Workshop from putting on the play “Becoming Eve,” which tells the story of a transgender woman within the Ultra-Orthodox Jewish community. 1)

Well, since 1993 this building has housed the “Cornelia Connelly Center,” an initiative of the Sisters of the Holy Child aimed at “disadvantaged” girls. The name is that of the foundress of the Holy Child schools. The Catholic faith is still present on East 4th Street today, but cannot be said to feature prominently in the school’s publicity. And how long will the school remain here? From the strategic plan of the Cornelia Connelly Center:

 Continue to utilize and maintain the building at 220 East 4th Street.
 Explore options for alternate locations once our lease expires. 2)

The theater in the school building has been leased out for years to various off-broadway productions.

Now it is welcome news that the archdiocese is finally paying attention to what takes place on its properties. But is what was proposed to be shown at Connelly that different in spirit from a recent event at St. Patrick’s cathedral itself?3)

1. Blum, Gillian, “Catholic Church suspends operations at Connelly Theater in flap over controversial plays“ The Spirit (10/28/2024)
2. Cornelia Connelly Center, “Strategic Plan 2021-2026.” About the school see connellycenter.org
3. See “Rosary Rally Organized as Act of Reparation for Sacrilege at St. Patrick’s Cathedral,” The Society of St Hugh of Cluny (2/23/2024)

So, Kamala Harris has turned down an invitation to the Al Smith dinner of the New York Archdiocese. Now some have asked what Kamala Harris may have lost  – or gained –  by not attending this event. I believe she has lost nothing and has avoided some not insignificant political risks. 

The Al Smith dinner, which saw the light of day in 1946,  is a classic relic of the “Age of Spellman.” The Catholic Church after World War II sought to demonstrate its alignment with – and acceptance by –  the governing powers of the United States. Catholics have arrived and are now respected by all  – that was the message. And that alleged newly won Catholic influence was firmly under the direction  of the hierarchy. The dinner took on additional significance when, starting in1960, it became customary in an election year for the two presidential candidates to jointly appear. (There have been several instances since 1960 when they did not.) 

But even in 1946, apparently overlooked by the leadership of the Catholic Church,  the total secularization of the United States government and society was well underway. (e.g., Everson v. Board of Education (1947) and its “wall of separation between church and state”). As the years passed, Cardinal Spellman himself was forced into conflicts with the rising secularist tide. He even lived long enough to see himself demonized as a reactionary by the media. By 2024, what with the “devout” Catholic President Joe Biden fighting for abortion (amid the subdued voices of the American Catholic hierarchy), the notion of any specifically Catholic political influence had become a sick joke.  

Clearly,  Kamala Harris’s presence at an event like the Al Smith dinner, although it may be important to the prestige of the Archbishop of New York,  will have no effect on the actual voting by Catholics. We read that the views of Catholics today on issues traditionally seen as “Catholic” – abortion, “LGBT,” contraception, etc. – track those of the general population.  This moral indifferentism is also implicit in the format of the Al Smith dinner, which attempts to simulate an aura of good feeling, of equivalence between the candidates of the two parties. The message is that their differences may be, after all, not that great. Indeed, did not Pope Francis just recently declare the same thing himself (Catholics should vote for “the lesser of two evils”)? 1) The “seamless garment” has become the de facto ideology of the Catholic Church. 

If Kamala Harris gains nothing by attending the dinner, what risks does she avoid by skipping it? Various commentators have focused on the danger of an unscripted exchange with Trump that could prove damaging to her. For the key to her campaign strategy  is maintaining a totally controlled outward appearance. This point has obviously been raised by the Trump camp. But progressive Catholic commentators devoted to Kamala Harris say essentially the same thing. They assert that Trump would violate the rules of the game of the Al Smith dinner (as he allegedly did in 2016),  go on the attack,  and put her on the spot.1)

Reading carefully this progressive Catholic commentary, however,  I sense there’s a more profound reason why Kamala Harris might have been well advised to avoid this event. The entire focus of this year’s campaign of the Democratic party – and of the American establishment  –  is to depict Trump as an untouchable, a demonic figure, an enemy of democracy. One does not engage in friendly banter with such an adversary! Thus, this strategy directly contradicts the image that the Al Smith dinner seeks to project: that, at some level, there exists an underlying unity between the two candidates and between them and the Roman Catholic Church. Indeed, regarding the last point,  Harris might be reluctant to participate in an event with this Church that could raise doubts among her supporters regarding her militancy in favor of abortion.

Is it not a strange outcome? The party of unrestricted abortion is making the (unexpressed) case that, contrary to what the hierarchy of the Catholic Church is explicitly or implicitly teaching,  there is a profound and unbridgeable gap between the two candidates. This remains so even after the recent waffling of Trump and Vance on abortion. For it is one thing to be lukewarm on this issue, it is another to be a fanatic advocate of unrestricted abortion. Kamala Harris is thereby unwittingly but helpfully pointing out the underlying fallacy of the Al Smith dinner itself.

1. Of course, it is ironic that Pope Francis’s recent statement on the American election, along with his repeated gestures in favor of Joe Biden, raise exactly the issue of papal interference in American politics that the opponents of Al Smith alleged in 1928!
2. Winters, Michael Sean, “Why it is smart for Kamala Harris to skip the Al Smith dinner,” National Catholic Reporter (9/24/2024); Spang, Thomas, “Harris meidet Kirchen-Dinner: Verpasste Chance oder kluger Schachzug?” katholisch.de ( (9/27/2024) (From Germany (!) but quoting a professor from Fordham) (Both accessed 9/29/2024)