FIRST FRIDAY ALL-NIGHT VIGIL at Church of Holy Innocents in Manhattan: On Friday, December 4th, the All-Night Vigil will begin with the Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart at 6 PM and will conclude at 5:00 AM with the Votive Mass, Rorate Cœli.

On Saturday, December 5th, at 5:00 AM, Holy Innocents will have its first annual Rorate Coeli Mass on the first Saturday in December as part of the conclusion of the All Night Vigil.  The Mass will be celebrated before dawn and will be entirely in candlelight.

St Mary Church in Greenwich, Ct, will offer a votive Mass in Honor of Our Lady, a “Rorate Mass” according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman
Rite on Saturday, December 19th at 6:30 in the morning.

There are many different customs linked to the celebration of Advent. One of these is
the “Rorate Mass” a special Mass celebrated in honor of Our Lady on Saturdays in
Advent. The title comes from the Introit (Entrance) of the Mass which translated means,
” Drop down ye heavens from above” reminding us that the Lord came down from heaven
and was born of the Virgin. What makes this Mass so unusual is that it is celebrated in
the early morning by candlelight. The celebration should be timed so that the sun
begins to rise by the time of the consecration of the bread and wine to remind us of the
constant coming of Christ into this world each time Holy Mass is celebrated.

Image of Our Lady in the Church of Our Saviour, Manhattan

Saturday, November 21, 1:00 p.m. and 3:00 p.m., $40 at the Cloisters, New York
The Binchois Consort
Henry V and Lancaster
Celebrating the 600th anniversary of the Battle of Agincourt the UK-based Binchois Consort brings a program to The Cloisters that portrays Henry V as a formidable military and political figure, celebrated in the famous Agincourt carol, motets, and chants composed for Lancastrian coronations. Henry’s piety is in turn revealed in his own settings of the mass and the chants for John of Bridlington, a saint favored by the Lancastrians and the last Englishman to be canonized before the Reformation. The Binchois Consort’s CD of this program won a Critic’s Choice in Gramophone Magazine and a Choral Choice in the BBC Music Magazine.

Friday night, November 20th, there will be a Sung Requiem Mass at 7:00 pm, at Saint Stanislaus Church, State and Eld Streets New Haven.
Nicholas Renouf  will direct the Saint Gregory Schola in chant for a Requiem Mass found in the Graduale Romanum.
This Mass is sponsored by the Saint Gregory Purgatorial Society.

Last night the annual requiem mass sponsored by the Catholic Artists Society, the New York Purgatorial Society, the Society of St Hugh of Cluny and the Roman Forum was celebrated in the impressive surroundings of the Dominican Church of St Catherine of Siena. This year the solemn requiem mass was celebrated in the Dominican rite. Alas, St Catherine’s – architecturally one of the most extraordinary churches on the island of Manhattan – is from this year onward no longer an independent parish.

This Requiem mass, celebrated in the middle of November – a more sombre time of the year conducive to reflection and recollection – was an extraordinary spiritual and musical experience. The solemn ceremony perfectly expressed our awareness of our own mortality while interceding for the souls of those departed before us.

The Durufle requiem of 1947, performed so wonderfully last night, is one of the most marvelous settings of the requiem mass. Its character is uniquely elegiac, coming as it did just after the last World War and the “suicide of the West.” This mass is one last great summary of the entire history of Western music: based on chant but reflecting influences of Faure and Wagner. But, even in 1947, who could have imagined that within 25 years one of the greatest artifacts – viewed purely aesthetically – of that Western culture, this very requiem mass and its music, would be repudiated by the Church. Or so it seemed – but as the congregation was able to experience last night, in the wake of Summorum Pontificum, the Traditional Requiem is very much still with us.

It was heartening to see such a large congregation fill the vast space of this church.

The Dominican Rite: Procession with the chalice to the celebrant employing the humeral veil – before the Gospel.

(Above) Mr James Wetzel, Choirmaster

(Above) The Schola Dominicana of St. Catherine

(Above) Mr Michael Hey, organist.

The Very Reverend Walter C. Wagner, OP, Pastor of the Parish of St. Vincent Ferrer and St. Catherine of Siena
The Reverend Innocent Smith OP, Celebrant and Homilist
The Reverend Sean Connolly, Deacon
Mr. Steven Pack, Head of altar Servers
The Schola Dominicana of St. Catherine
Miss Elisa Sutherland and Mr. Dominic Inferrera, soloists
Mr. Michael Hey, Organist
Mr. James D. Wetzel, Choirmaster

Mr. Donald Cherry, Vestments and poster.

St. Mary Church in Greenwich CT will offer a  Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form  on Wednesday, November 18th at 7:30 PM to celebrate the Dedication of the Basilicas of Saints Peter and Paul. A light reception will follow.

This window of Sts. Peter and Paul is in Blessed Sacrament Church in Manhattan.

by Father Richard Cipolla

When I recently read about Cardinal Sarah’s expressed hope that the Traditional Offertory Prayers would be included in the next edition of the Roman Missal, I was very happy, because this is exactly what is needed, if what Pope Benedict XVI asked for with respect to the two Forms of the Roman rite, namely that there would be a mutual enrichment of each Form, becomes something real. Because of the prejudicial opposition of the current liturgical establishment, this has not happened. They would argue that it is forbidden to mix rites. One cannot use prayers from the Melkite rite in the Roman rite. And they are correct. But there is nothing that says that one cannot use prayers from the Extraordinary Form in the Ordinary Form. There is no such prohibition to be found anywhere, because our situation is sui generis.

In this light, I am proposing a list of ways that the Ordinary Form of the Mass can be enriched by elements of the Extraordinary Form. While this is addressed mainly to the many young priests who are open to importance of the Extraordinary Form and want to learn it, these suggestions pertain to all priests who love the Mass and want to celebrate the Novus Ordo in continuity with what has come before. The basic premise underlying these suggestions is that what was sacred then is sacred now.

1. Say the vesting prayers before Mass. They are a wonderful way to remind the priest what he is about to do: to offer the re-presentation of the Sacrifice of Calvary and his own unworthiness to do so.

2. Always wear the amice. The amice is optional is the Novus Ordo but is required if whatever the priest is wearing at the neck is exposed. Of course, this is not enforced. The amice is the “helmet of salvation” and should always be worn at Mass.

3. Wear the maniple at every Mass. The maniple was never abolished as a vestment. It is just not mentioned. To wear this ancient vestment that is a symbol, among other things, of the servanthood of the priesthood is a wonderful reminder to both priests and laity of what the priesthood is all about.

4. If possible celebrate Mass oriented. This is the Traditional way to celebrate Mass. The people and priest face God TOGETHER in prayer. This is indeed difficult, given the current non-thinking acceptance of Mass celebrated versus populum. Read Father Uwe Lang’s definitive book     . There are severe obstacles to celebrating Mass with the traditional orientation, and in most circumstances it will be impossible due to the opposition (grounded in ignorance) of one’s superiors. If you are a pastor, before you make this move, you must educate your people in the historical and doctrinal issues that lie at the heart of celebrating Mass ad orientem.

From the bulletin of Our Saviour’s parish, New York

http://www.oursaviournyc.org/bulletins/20151108.pdf

CHAPEL TO BE PAINTED

In celebration of the centenary of the founding of the Parish of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, the chapel interiors will be given a fresh coat of paint. We rely on your cooperation during the process. Certain appointments on the walls will disappear for a time. At this point, the plan is that the Stations of the Cross will be replaced with the present Stations from Our Saviour, which are of a much better quality. The priceless Brumidi Stations from St. Stephen’s will be hung at Our Saviour. Please don’t jump to any conclusions during the process. This work is in accordance with the process outlined in the “Parish Transition Manual” for all newly merged parishes.

(The “priceless” Brumidi stations – when the whole painted interior and architecture of St. Stephens is in jeopardy.)

Also it seems that Our Saviour’s  needs some money for Fr. Robbins’ music program – funded by Kickstarter!:

CHOIR RECORDING

We are very excited about our choir’s forthcoming Advent and Christmas recording, Hark! A Thrilling Voice is Sounding. This past week, Paul Murray and our recording producers completed the editing process. This coming week, the CD will be replicated for publication. The CDs will be delivered to us during the week of Thanksgiving. We will let you know when it will be for sale both online and at the Parish Office. A project of this nature is an enormous undertaking. To help defray the financial expenses of this project, we have started a Kickstarter campaign. Parishioners and friends who would like to support this project may visit: <http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/582511642/advent-christmas-choral-music-recording>. You may also make a contribution by check to the Church of Our Saviour, earmarked “Choir Recording”.