From Fr. John Perricone:

Beginning next Sunday, January 17^th, our Traditional Mass will be offered at St. Joseph’s Church in Jersey City, located at Pavonia and Baldwin Avenue.  Some of you may recall that we have celebrated several Masses there for different feasts.  St. Joseph’s seems to afford better opportunities for us to carry out the various liturgical feasts to which we have become accustomed. 

We would like to thank Fr. Thomas, pastor of St. Paul’s, and his ever helpful curate, Fr. Joseph, for all their gracious indulgences over these past several months.

The Mass at St. Joseph’s will be celebrated at the same time as this one – 2:00 PM.

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St. Joseph Roman Catholic Church

511 Pavonia Avenue

Jersey City, NJ 07306

(201) 653-0392

There is parking at the south end of the church. 

It was with joy that we attended a Solemn Mass at St. Josaphat Church in Bayside, Queens, at which Joseph Falciano, FSSP, served at the subdeacon. Mr. Falciano, second-year seminarian at the Our Lady of Guadalupe Seminary in Nebraska, recently received First Clerical Tonsure. His brother, John, a first-year seminarian at the same seminary, served as master of ceremony. Fr. Stephen Saffron was celebrant. Bro. Frantisek of the Franciscan Friars of the Renewal served as deacon.

This was the first Sunday solemn Mass to be celebrated at this church since Vatican II. St. Josephat’s now has on its schedule a 7 am daily traditional Mass, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday (except First Fridays, when the traditional Mass is at 7:30 pm).

In Bayside, Queens, NY, in honor of Our Lady of Prompt Succor. We have previously described this devotion, which is popular in Louisiana.

A call to artists – for new art at St. Francis Xavier parish (Jesuit) in New York. Whether, however, the potential commissions will have anything to do with Christianity is another question entirely. You see the problem is that in the present church the images are overwhelmingly those of white men (as perhaps befits a church founded by the Jesuit order – at least as it understood itself previous to the Vatican Council). The exceptions (the Virgin Mary, Saint Catherine of Siena) are also white. And the whole church had been restored at great expense in the not-too-distant past. But, as the project’s “Statement of Purpose” explains:

The Church of St. Francis Xavier is committed to pursuing racial and social justice in our community. Among many other initiatives, we would like to commission new art work for the church that more reflects the diversity of our community and the values we profess.

Our ideas for the project include and are not limited to:

• Art that depicts Jesus as a Black, Indigenous, Person of Color, so as to represent groups historically excluded, marginalized or exploited in the United States including but not limited to African Americans, Native Americans and migrants from Latin America.
• Art that features individual saints of various races/culture/nationalities. For example, and not limited to: Josephine Bakhita, Charles Lwanga, Oscar Romero, Kateri Tekakwitha, Andrew Kim Taegon, Lorenzo Ruiz, and The Martyr Saints of China. Also, Blesseds Augustus Tolton, Pierre Toussaint, Sr. Thea Bowman and Julia Greeley.
• Art that depicts and honors heroes in the arena of racial and social injustice. For example, and not limited to: Martin Luther King, Jr., Harriet Tubman, John Lewis, Julia Greeley, Bayard Rustin and Fannie Lou Hamer. This could also include some local heroes who volunteer at the Xavier Mission Welcome Table, Shelter, etc.
• Possible themes depicting social/racial justice might be the parallel of Jesus on the cross with lynched African Americans hung from a tree or images of African American mothers grieving their children near the Pieta statue.

In other words, the proposed new art is political, not religious. Or put another way, the content is entirely political but may employ religious forms. As the parish’s instructions for interested artists explicitly state:

PLEASE SPECIFY HOW THIS PROJECT ADDRESSES OUR MISSION OF SOCIAL JUSTICE AND REPRESENTATION OF PEOPLE OF COLOR IN THE ICONOGRAPHY WITHIN ST. FRANCIS XAVIER

There follow, however, contradictory suggestions regarding “figurative art”:

The current artwork in the Church is almost exclusively figurative. It is important that the artist applicants consider whether additional figurative artwork best accomplishes the stated goals of this commission, or whether a non-figurative approach would better reflect our goals in a powerful and impactful way. Said another way, the presentation of historically accurate representations and abstract, non-objective, and conceptual artwork are encouraged.

The Conciliar/Jesuit goal of aligning with the 20th Century reign of the abstract, non-objective, and conceptual obviously clashes with the political objectives previously outlined. A perennial problem for the left that the political art of the Soviet Union and the world communist movement had to deal with as early as the 1920’s.

Submissions are due by March 1. All the details can be found on the St. Francis Xavier parish website:

SOLICITATION OF INTEREST IN
THE INSTALLATION OF NEW ART IN OUR CHURCH

Spring Semester Gregorian Chant Classes for Children begin Tuesday, Jan. 26th

All children ages 5 to 15 are invited to participate. Full-time (on-line and in-person) and Part-time (on-line only) enrollment is available. Classes meet on Tuesdays, alternating weekly between on-line instruction via Zoom and in-person classes at Immaculate Conception Church in Sleepy Hollow, NY (199 N. Broadway). Full-time students will sing for two Masses at Immaculate Conception this semester. Classes are taught by Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka, Charlie Weaver, and Elizabeth Weaver. Registration deadline: Jan. 26th. To register or for more information, please contact Dr. Jennifer Donelson-Nowicka at info@jenniferdonelson.com. The registration form is available at: https://forms.gle/oj2h6pWRCcGtnTvw5.

Starting this week, St. Josaphat Church in Bayside, Queens will have daily Latin Masses at 7am (except Thursdays).

From a nearly incomprehensible interview with Dermot Farrell, the archbishop-elect of Dublin, Ireland. The interview was conducted by the Irish Times and provided by the Catholic News Agency.

Hard-line traditionalists

“They’re hostile towards anyone that doesn’t agree with them, they’re almost close to being intolerant. They’re everywhere. I’d be respectful of them, they have a view and probably want to impose that view on everyone. That’s disrespectful. They have to respect the views of other people in the Catholic faith who for various reasons may not have the same commitment they have. That doesn’t mean they’re any less sincere. Why should that (irregular) person be ostracized? It may come to the stage.” 

“Things may be objectively wrong but you must take the subjective into account when you’re dealing with people that Catholic faith has always had the two sides to it, the objective teaching and how that applies subjectively.”

Read the whole thing – he’s a true Francis man.

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/archdiocese-of-dublin-may-need-major-organizational-changes-says-archbishop-elect-in-confusing-irish-times-interview-41059

This Wednesday, January 6th is Feast of the Epiphany (on the traditional calendar). The following church will offer traditional Masses.

St. Mary Church, Norwalk, CT, 8 am low Mass, 7 pm Solemn Mass

St. Pius X, Fairfield, CT, Missa Cantata, 7 pm

Sts. Cyril and Methodius, Bridgeport, CT, 7:45 am Low Mass, 6 pm Missa Cantata.

St. Patrick Church, Bridgeport, CT, 7 am low Mass, 7 pm high Mass.

St. Patrick Oratory, Waterbury, CT, 8 am low Mass, 6 pm high Mass

January 5: Bring your containers of water, salt, frankincense, myrrh, gold, and chalk to be blessed and exorcized during the solemn blessing service at 5 pm.

St. Joseph Church, Danbury, CT, 6 pm Solemn Mass. Celebrant: newly ordained Fr. Brendan Blawie (his first Solemn Mass). Blessing of the chalk. Fr. Blawie will offer his first blessing after Mass.

St. Martha Parish, Enfield, CT, 7 pm

Holy Innocents Church, New York, NY, 6 pm

Our Lady of Mount Carmel, New York, NY, 7:45 am, low Mass, 7 pm Solemn Mass, procession with the Christ child, blessing and distribution of chalk

St Josaphat, Bayside (Queens), NY, 7:30 pm

St. Paul the Apostle Church, Yonkers, NY, 12 noon.

Immaculate Conception Church, Sleepy Hollow, NY 7 pm, low Mass. Blessed Epiphany water will be available. If you wish to take some with you, please bring a small bottle as supply will be limited. And if you have chalk, bring it with you for a blessing after Mass.

St. Paul the Apostle, Jersey City, 7 pm: CANCELLED