Brick by Brick: Another parish implements Summorum Pontificum. Wherein Fr. Z rants.
For your Brick by Brick file.
A reader sent me a link to a story in the St. Louis Review (a publication of the Archdiocese of St. Louis) about a parish which as started up a Traditional Latin Mass.
‘Mysterium tremendum’ | St. Barnabas begins offering the Traditional Latin Mass
With a single intoning of the bell, Mass had begun at St. Barnabas.
But this was no Ordinary Form of the Mass.
“In Nomine Patris, et Filii et Spiritus Sancti …”
For the first time in nearly 50 years, the Extraordinary Form of the Mass — better known as the Traditional or Tridentine Latin Mass — is being celebrated at the northern O’Fallon parish. In January, Father Raymond Hager began offering the Mass at 10 a.m. on Sundays, after a group of parishioners wrote a letter last January requesting it. [See what happens when you ask?]
[…]
“At the first Mass, people had tears in their eyes,” said Father Hager. He said that all of this is “directed toward God and what’s called the ‘mysterium tremendum,’ or the tremendous mystery. [the sort of “tremendum” which makes one shudder with awe…] The sense of the sacred, and the mystery of God becoming present in His most sacred Body and Blood is proclaimed profoundly in and through the Extraordinary Form of the Mass.
[This part might sound familiar to longtime readers here…] “In the Eastern Churches they have the iconostasis … where you can’t see everything that’s going on, because what is happening is so holy it should be veiled. When the elements of the bread and wine become Our Lord’s Body and Blood, you’re not seeing that at that moment, but you do see Our Lord and God at the elevation of the consecration in the Extraordinary Form of the Mass. It really speaks to that sense of mystery.”
[…]
Ordained in 1997, Father Hager taught himself how to celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 Missal. Born in 1960, he has no memories of going to the Traditional Latin Mass as a child. As a seminarian, he would occasionally visit St. Agatha, where the Latin Mass was offered in St. Louis at the time. “I was blown away by the beauty and sacredness of the liturgy,” he said.
The process of learning the language and rubrics took several months. Father Hager approached Archbishop Robert J. Carlson, who connected him with Canon Michael Wiener, rector of St. Francis de Sales Oratory, one of two churches designated specifically for the Latin Mass in St. Louis. Canon Wiener, the episcopal delegate for the implementation of the Traditional Latin Mass in the archdiocese, offered his guidance.
Father Hager also watched videos, read books and sought help from several others, including Sister Michaleen Vomund, CPPS, PSR director at St. Barnabas, and Bill Guelker of the Latin Liturgy Association, a local organization that promotes the use of ecclesiastical Latin in the liturgy. Several changes had to be made in the sanctuary, including moving the nearly 1,500-pound altar back four feet and adding a communion rail. [Well done! And it was worth all the effort.]
[…]
Read the rest there.
We need as many celebrations of the older form of the Roman Rite as possible in as many places as possible as soon as possible.
These are trying times, and there is a lot of confusion right now. Some people are showing signs of defeatism.
NO!
This is precisely the time to get to work. Let’s keep our eyes focused on what is really going to make a difference. I think that is located in exactly the vision that Pope Benedict XVI offered us.
So, I will repeat what I have been saying for some time now.
Make things happen. Work with sweat and money to make them happen. If you thought you worked hard before, forget it. Work harder. Pope Francis wants some “lío”? We’ve got some “lío” right here. ¡Hagan lío!
Get involved with all the works of charity that your parishes or groups sponsor. If Pope Francis wants a Church “for the poor”, then we will respond, “OORAH!!” The “traditionalist” will be second-to-none in getting involved. “Dear Father… you can count on the ‘Stable Group of TLM Petitioners-For-By-Now-Several-Months” to help with the collection of clothing for the poor! Tell us what you need!”
Pray and fast and give alms. Have you been doing that? Do more.
Form up and get organized. Find like-minded people. Put in your request for the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. Raise the money to help buy the stuff the parish will need. Make a plan. Find people. Execute!
Get your ego and your own little personal interpretations and preferences out of the way. It is team-work time. If we don’t sacrifice individually, we will stay divided and we won’t achieve our objectives.
The legislation is in place. Young priests and seminarians are eager to get into this.
Give them something to do.
As I have written before, Pope Benedict gave us, boys and girls, a beautiful new bicycle! He gave us a direction, encouragement, and a running push. Now, take off the damn wheels and RIDE THE DAMN BIKE!
Meanwhile, Fr. Z kudos to Fr. Raymond Hager and St. Barnbas parish!
