domingo, 1 de janeiro de 2012

DIFUSION OF THE GREGORIAN MASS IN THE CATHOLIC CHURCH

  Christmas in Hong Kong

Tomorrow is the Octave day of the Christmas octave, and so I wish to wrap up our series of Christmas Masses posts with this Christmas Mass from Hong Kong. We have been very blessed this year to have been able to share some photos from some parts of the world that we only too infrequently get to show. I would hope we might be able to see more from them in the future for other times of the liturgical year.




Christmas with the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem







Summorum Pontificum Conference in Rio de Janeiro

This past November 15-18th, the Second Summorum Pontificum Priestly Meeting (II Encontro Sacerdotal Summorum Pontificum) took place at the Centro de Estudos e Formação do Sumaré in Rio de Janeiro. The first such meeting took place on June 17-19th, 2010 in another part of Brazil.

At the meeting, there were various conferences including:

- "Theological Aspects of the Liturgy" by Bishop Fernando Rifan of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Marie Vianney

- "Summorum Pontificum and Universae Ecclesiae in the light of Ius Canonicus" by Fr. José Edilson of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Marie Vianney

- "Summorum Pontificum and the Pope's desired Reform of the Reform" by Bishop Fernando Guimarães, the bishop of Garanhuns and member of the Supreme Tribunal of the Apostolic Signatura

- "Mystagogy of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form" by Fr. Claudiomar Souza, Master of Ceremonies of the Apostolic Administration of St. John Marie Vianney

Liturgically, a Solemn Pontifical Mass was offered in the usus antiquior by Bishop Rifan. Here are a few photos.













And here is one extra from a private Mass offered sometime during the conference:


 

Usus Antiquior in Cobh Cathedral


The good folks in the South of Ireland sent me in the following report and photographs coming from a recent Mass held in the, by now, well known Cathedral of Cobh.

"The Mass was a great success. About 400 turned up filling the nave when joined by the tourists who stayed to hear the Mass. The mixed age range of the congregation was noticeable.

"Some sixteen enthusiastic altar servers and acolytes turned up to serve the Mass. They ranged in age from 15 to 30. Four young men from Cobh were among the 16. These had been diligently trained by their Latin teacher, Brother Athanasius.

"The Lassus scholars from Dublin sang the O quam gloriosum to great effect and concluded with a Te Deum by Lassus."










Feast of St. Lawrence in Melbourne's St. Patrick's Cathedral

One of our Australian readers who is part of the Catholic Community of Blessed John Henry Newman recently informed us that a regular, weekly Mass in the usus antiquior was being offered in the Sacred Heart Chapel of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Melbourne commencing on the Feast of St. Lawrence, August 10th. (For more details see the aforementioned website.)

We were pleased to be pointed to a full photo gallery of the first Mass, offered by Fr. Glen Tattersall.

Here are a selection of photos from that first Mass. (As an aside, as one who appreciates the particular beauty to be found in various periods and styles, I'd like to point out the splendid Borromean chasuble being used for this Mass which was designed and executed by St. Bede Studio. I'd also make note of the longer, medieval style of surplice. These show yet another delightful 'colour' in the tapestry of our tradition of liturgical and ecclesiastical art. Further to this, I think the splendid architecture and architectural elements sufficiently speak for themselves.)



Pontifical Mass of Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in Italy

The Italian blog, Messainlatino.it have some photos up of an event I heard about through some of our friends and colleagues a couple of days ago, a Solemn Pontifical Mass offered by Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos in an Italian town. (Our own Gregory DiPippo, who acted as the 2nd MC, can be seen here in some of the photos.)

Here are the photos they have provided.








Bishop of Lake Charles, Louisiana Celebrates Solemn Pontifical Mass

This comes by way of the website of the Diocese of Lake Charles in Louisiana -- and was brought to our attention by a reader -- Bishop Provost celebrates Pontifical Mass.

Bishop Glen John Provost, the Bishop of Lake Charles, was the celebrant of a Solemn Pontifical Mass in the usus antiquior, celebrated on Sunday, Dec. 26th in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.

The Mass included the participation of various clergy of the diocese, as well as seminarians of the same.

The following photos of the Mass are courtesy of Mr. Frank Tartamella.









Christmas in Shanghai

Our first Christmas photos come from Shanghai, China. This particular Mass was celebrated according to the usus antiquior.


EF Confirmations in Boston with Cardinal O'Malley

On June 4, the Archbishop of Boston, Cardinal Seán O'Malley, conferred the sacrament of Holy Confirmation on about 20 faithful according to the usus antiquior in his cathedral church. Afterwards, he assisted at Mass and distributed Holy Communion. You can read about it on the Cardinal's blog (you have to scroll down a bit). A photo gallery is available on Flickr; here are some of these pictures:





Bishop of Copenhagen, Denmark, Celebrates Usus Antiquior


Last Sunday 2 August, H.E. Most Rev. Czeslaw Kozon, bishop of Copenhagen, Denmark, celebrated Mass according to the usus antiquior, in Copenhagen's church of the Sacred Heart. As the Sankt Karl Borromæus Gruppen, the lay group organising the celebration of Mass in the Extraordinary Form in Copenhagen, reports, when they had difficulties finding priests to celebrate the Mass during the summer time, bishop Kozon generously offered to celebrate the Mass himself this Sunday. At this time, it was not possible to gather the necessary ministers for a Pontifical Mass, hence the Mass was celebrated as a sung Mass; it is hoped that eventually a proper Pontifical Mass will be possible. Nevertheless, this was apparently the first public celebration of the Mass according to the usus antiquior by a bishop in the Nordic countries since the liturgical reforms. 

Usus Antiquior Now Regularly Offered at Holy Apostles Seminary

Many of our readers will be interested in this story offered to us by the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius.
With the help of the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius, Holy Apostles Seminary now offers the Extraordinary Form on a regular basis.

On October 2, 2010, the Feast of the Guardian Angels, a Missa Cantata was offered according to the 1962 Missale Romanum at the newly consecrated chapel of Holy Apostles Seminary, Cromwell, CT.

Fr. Dennis Kolinski, S.J.C., a priest of the Canons Regular, now is serving Holy Apostles by offering the Extraordinary Form Mass on campus three times weekly for the faculty and students.

Additionally, Fr. Kolinski is instructing the Deacons at Holy Apostles in the rubrics and ceremonies of celebrating the usus antiquior.

The seminarians of the Canons Regular also assist by serving these Masses, singing in the schola cantorum and by teaching other seminarians how to serve at the altar and sing the Gregorian chant.

In past years Holy Apostles Seminary was able to provide the Latin Mass (1962 Missal) with the help of priests such as Fr. John Mary Gilbert, I.S.J. and Fr. Gregoire Fluet, Ph.D., Vice-President on the Seminary’s Board of Directors.

Thanks to the generous support of Fr. Douglas Mosey, C.S.B., the Canons Regular of St. John Cantius are glad for this opportunity to help “restore the sacred” by helping seminarians learn and appreciate the classical Roman Rite, so that their future priesthood might enriched by this liturgy which is so rich with beauty and reverence.


Here are some photos:







Usus Antiquior at Kenrick-Glennon Seminary

While visiting Kenrick-Glennon Seminary in the Archdiocese of St. Louis to give a workshop, St. Bonventure and the Thought of Benedict XVI, Fr. Damian Peter Fehlner of the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate, and rector of the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, offered a Missa Cantata in the usus antiquior for the Kenrick seminarians in the School of Theology.

The schola was led by Fr. Samuel Weber, OSB, director of the Institute of Sacred Music, and the servers for the Mass were seminarians from Kenrick.

Kenrick Seminary offers Mass in the usus antiquior every other Friday, alternating with a Mass offered in Latin using the modern Roman liturgical books.

Some photos of this morning's Mass.









 

Cologne Liturgical Conference

As mentioned, the 14th Cologne Liturgical Conference took place from 24 to 27 August. Here is a report sent in to the NLM:

By Christoph Hahn

The Cologne Liturgical Conference is not quite what it seems - because it does not take place (anymore) in Cologne, but - after Bad Münstereifel and other places - in Herzogenrath [near Aachen, Germany]. And the joint event of Una Voce Germany, the initiative groups of Catholic laity and priests in the dioceses of Hamburg, Cologne and Aachen as well as the network of Catholic priests is not just a convention either: not only does it bring the participants up to date in the debate(s) in the traditional camp of the Catholic Church - it also creates a space for encounters between people, priests as well as laity, who often fight on isolated stations for the concerns of Tradition. What unites and sustains them is expressed by the theme of the meeting: "True – real – essential: The presence of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament and the need for an adequate liturgical form".

Organizer Egmont Schulze Pellengahr, a science journalist from Tremsbüttel near Hamburg, was pleased in any case together with the local parish priest, Rev. Dr. Guido Rodheudt, by the participation of around 100 persons mainly from Germany, but also from the Netherlands. The programme of the meeting in Herzogenrath's Nell-Breuning-Haus did not disappoint the audience, who for the most part is enganged in parish pastoral care, in any way. Internationally renowned speakers contributed to the high level, like Rev. Dr. Alcuin Reid, who explained to his audience the way - that was the title of his lecture - "from rubrics to ars celebrandi", and Martin Reinecke, a student of Klaus Gamber, who in his lecture "Did Jesus create a rite? From the Last Supper to the Missa Romensis" formally described the time the Passion and the first early missals, but nevertheless actually surveyed the wide space between antiquity and modern times. At the beginning of the whole meeting, however, was the conveniat for the priests. Its heart: the recollectio of the Munich pastoral theologian Rev. Professor Dr. Andreas Wollbold on "Priestly life from the liturgy".

But it was not just the scientific highlights which adorned the conference. There also was time and space for the art of words, literature. Matthias Matussek, cultural editor of Der Spiegel, who presented his latest book "The Catholic Adventure" turned out to be a veritable magnet for the public and caused an influx of external interested parties, whose numbers eceeded by far the meeting room. Subtle, sophisticated accents were provided for by the matinee "The Cathedral in a nutshell - the Missal of Trent" by and with the writer Martin Mosebach. There was certainly no lack of literary wit at this convention. But its real strength is manifested in the spiritual depth of the presentations and those who gave them.

Among the most striking impressions of the participants were therefore the lectures of the two university theologians among the speakers: Rev. Professor Dr. Peter Hofmann (University of Augsburg) talked about the "Liturgical gesture – Its demands on theology and celebration" and thus, like the parish priest Rev. Dr. Rodheudt with his catechetical talk, turned to practical implementation. Hofmann's colleague, Rev. Professor Dr. Helmut Hoping, a Permanent Deacon, presented the Eucharist as "The gift of the Holy Presence". Father Bernward Deneke, vice rector of the Wigratzbad Seminary of the Fraternity of St. Peter, also stayed close to the reality of the church in his treatment of "liturgical witnesses to the Real Presence".

One of the great highlights of the conference was finally the almost private visit late in the evening to Aachen Cathedral - a spiritual pleasure with performances of the Schola Carolina, led by Dr. Michael Tunger, who had previously introduced the participants to the proprium. Cordiality in dealing with each other also contributed to the fact that many have already firmly marked down the next, the 15th Cologne Liturgical Conference from 16 to 19 August 2012 (www.liturgische-tagung.org), in their calendars.

Some impressions. Pontifical Mass of H.E. Czeslaw Kozon, Bishop of Copenhagen/Denmark:



Pontifical Mass of Dom Josef Vollberg OCSO, Abbot of the Trappist Monastery of Mariawald:




Dom Josef at the conference with writer Martin Mosebach:


 

Tremendous News: German Trappists Return to Usus Antiquior [update]

From the website of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei comes a very important announcement (NLM translation):
The Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei has, on November 21st, 2008, communicated to the Most Reverend Abbot Fr Josef Vollberg O.C.S.O. of the Abbey of Mariawald in Germany (diocese of Aachen) the privilege conceded by the Holy Father of a complete return to the Liturgy and the Observance in use in the Order of Cistercians of the Strict Observance (Trappists) until 1963/64.

Fr Abbot Josef Vollberg himself had in fact presented to the Holy Father a plea to be allowed to return to the Liturgy and the Observance according to the "usus" of Monte Cistello (Rome 1964), approved by the Holy See.

This is quite momentous. As far as I am aware, this is the first such instance of a monastic community returning wholesale to the usus antiquior. Not only is this significant in and of itself - after all, they have 14 monks, almost as many as, for instance, the Sons of the Most Holy Redeemer (the former Transalpine Redemptorists) - , but also in terms of a possible
inspiration for other monastic communities/orders to take this step, which is,
it bears reminding, expressly foreseen in the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum (Art. 3). Lastly, it is excellent that they revive their own rite, which is, if I'm not mistaken, essentially the Cistercian Rite.

To the left you can see the abbey church of Mariawald, to the right Abbot Vollberg with the Holy Father in June this year. The Abbey of Mariawald is the only Trappist monastery in Germany.

Solemn Mass Offered by Jesuits at Fordham University

We recently showed to you some of the liturgical developments taking place at Seton Hall University, and now the NLM is very pleased to present some news from a recent solemn Mass (usus antiquior) offered at Fordham University -- where the usus antiquior is offered weekly, Mondays at 9:15pm.

The NLM is told the sacred ministers and the servers were almost all members of the Society of Jesus, and a good turnout was had, being a mixture of Fordham University students and alumni, while notably also including seminarians from both the Archdiocese of New York and the Diocese of Brooklyn.






For more pictures, see here.

Nuptial High Mass in Oxford

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It's not often that one has the chance to attend a Nuptial Mass in the Extraordinary Form, and still more beautiful and (so I'm told) more rare is the Nuptial High Mass. I was delighted to be asked by Fr John Saward, who is priest-in-charge of the lovely Arts and Crafts church of Saints Gregory and Augustine in Oxford, to serve as deacon at a Nuptial High Mass for Emily Shaw and Owen Curry. As it was my first time ministering as a deacon at a High Mass in the usus antiquior, I found the experience to be very moving, and the nuptial rites to be theologically rich.

The wedding took place on Saturday 26 February, with Ole Martin Stamnestrø, a seminarian from Oslo as sub-deacon, and Fr Jerome Bertram of the Oxford Oratory preached an excellent sermon on the sacramentum of marriage in which the husband is called, by the grace of God, to image Christ Crucified in his love for his wife, and she to honour and revere him with the love of the Church for Christ.

Unlike a Nuptial Mass in the Ordinary Form, the couple are married before Mass begins. So, they exchange vows and the rings before Mass begins. As husband and wife, then, they are given a prominent place in the Mass which unfolds like any other High Mass, except at two points. After the Pater noster, and after the Dismissal the priest turns and imparts a blessing to the bride and groom. In the first place he blesses the bridegroom and the bride, calling to mind the holy women of the Bible, that she be "dear to her husband like Rachel, wise like Rebecca, long-lived and faithful like Sarah", and asking God to endow her with every virtue for her state in life. At the second instance, he prays that God "may fulfill his blessing in you: that you may see your children's children even to the third and fourth generation, and afterwards possess life everlasting..."

Below are more photos from James Bradley's Flickr set.

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Of your charity, please pray for Mr. and Mrs. Owen Curry.

Fota IV Liturgical Conference: Pontifical Vespers and Pontifical Mass

We were sent further photos from the Fota Liturgical Conference which took place in Ireland a few days back, this time showing Pontifical Vespers celebrated on July 9th, and the Pontifical Mass celebrated on July 10th -- both celebrated by Raymond Cardinal Burke at SS. Peter & Paul's Church, Cork.

The music was provided by the Lassus Scholars from Dublin under the direction of Ite O'Donvan. The NLM is also told that there was a large congregation including representatives from state organizations and various local dignitaries.

It is my hope that we will also be able to provide some information about the papers delivered at the conference.

Pontifical Vespers



Pontifical Mass










Photo credits: William A. Thomas of Catholic Voice Newspapers

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Here are two additional photos which were sent in from another photographer.