NLM Guest Piece by Fr. Richard G. Cipolla
As we approach the new situation of the post-Motu Proprio Catholic world, I would like to share a recent event in which I participated that will perhaps be a paradigm for what needs to be done in the future by those of us who are convinced that the Traditional Roman rite of 1962 must gain its proper place in the liturgical life of the Church for the good of the Church.
I was contacted by Dean Applegate, the choirmaster at the Dominican parish of Holy Rosary in Portland, Oregon. He told me that Bishop Steiner, the auxiliary bishop of Portland, had agreed to celebrate a Pontifical High Mass in the 1962 rite on the feast of SS. Peter and Paul. This was a gracious act on the part of the bishop, who is not known as a traditionalist, to support the fine liturgical tradition of this parish that is an oasis for so many Catholics seeking beauty and truth within the celebration of Holy Mass. They did not have anyone who would be able to co-ordinate the Mass and help the bishop with his own role as celebrant. Bill Riccio from the St Gregory Society in New Haven, MC extraordinaire, and I accepted this invitiation and flew out to Portland. We had three lengthy rehearsals including one with the bishop alone to "re-teach" him the 62 rite. The altar servers, all young men, were beautifully trained and were enthusiastic. The Dominicans were gracious and went out of their way to help us in any way they could.
The Mass went beautifully, given that this was the first time this Mass was celebrated there. The Propers were sung to a setting by William Byrd. The Ordinary was Mass IX. The church was filled, and the congregation sang the Ordinary with force and heart. This was a truly spiritual event for all who participated. The bishop, a humble and charming man, told me that he was so very pleased to have done this and was certainly open to doing it again.
Perhaps this is what the future will look like after the Motu Proprio is published. Those of us who know and love the Traditional Mass must become like missionaries to those who are open to learning this Mass. We cannot take the attitude: "We have what we want now, so there is nothing else to be done." The Pope has given us freedom. May we use that freedom fruitfully and wisely.
Friday, July 06, 2007
Fr. Cipolla on the MP and a Recent Pontifical Mass
Shawn TribeMore recent articles:
Pope Leo XIVGregory DiPippo
Today, the Sacred College of Cardinals elected His Eminence Robert Cardinal Prevost, hitherto Prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops, as the 267th Pope and bishop of Rome; His Holiness has taken the name Leo XIV. He is the first American Pope, a native of Chicago, Illinois; he became a member of the Order of St Augustine in 1977, and served as the su...
The Basilica of St Victor in MilanGregory DiPippo
The church of Milan today celebrates the feast of the martyr St Victor, a Christian soldier from the Roman province of Africa, who was killed in the first year of the persecution of Diocletian, 303 AD, while serving at Milan under the Emperor Maximian. He is usually called “Maurus - the Moor” to distinguish him from the innumerable other Saints ca...
The Solemnity of St Joseph, Patron of the Universal Church 2025Gregory DiPippo
From the Encyclical Quamquam pluries of Pope Leo XIII on St Joseph, issued on the feast of the Assumption in 1889. It is providential that the conclave to elect a new pope should begin on this important solemnity; let us remember to count Joseph especially among the Saints to whom we address our prayers for a good outcome of this election. The spe...
Why the Traditional Mass Should Remain In LatinPeter Kwasniewski
In spite of attempts to suppress it, the traditional Latin Mass is here to stay. It may not be as widespread as it was in the halcyon days of Summorum Pontificum, but neither is it exactly hidden under a bushel, as the early Christians were during the Roman persecutions. In many cites, gigantic parishes run by former Ecclesia Dei institutes are pac...
An Illuminated Manuscript of St John’s ApocalypseGregory DiPippo
In honor of the feast of St John at the Latin Gate, here is a very beautiful illuminated manuscript which I stumbled across on the website of the Bibliothèque national de France (Département des Manuscrits, Néerlandais 3), made 1400. It contains the book of the Apocalypse in a Flemish translation, with an elaborately decorated page before each chap...
Gregorian Chant Courses This Summer at Clear Creek Abbey Gregory DiPippo
Clear Creek Abbey in northwest Oklahoma (diocese of Tulsa: located at 5804 W Monastery Road in Hulbert) will once again be hosting a week-long instruction in Gregorian chant, based on the course called Laus in Ecclesia, from Monday, July 14, to Friday, July 18. The course will be offered at three different levels of instruction:1) Gregorian initiat...
The Feast of St Vincent FerrerGregory DiPippo
The feast of St Vincent Ferrer was traditionally assigned to the day of his death, April 5th, but I say “assigned to” instead of “kept on” advisedly; that date falls within either Holy Week or Easter week so often that its was either translated or omitted more than it was celebrated on its proper day. [1] For this reason, in 2001 the Dominicans mov...
Good Shepherd Sunday 2025Gregory DiPippo
Dearest brethren, Christ suffered for us, leaving you an example that you should follow His steps; Who did no sin, neither was guile found in His mouth; Who, when He was reviled, did not revile. When He suffered, he threatened not, but delivered Himself to him that judged Him unjustly; Who His own self bore our sins in His body upon the tree: that...
The Gospel of Nicodemus in the Liturgy of EastertideGregory DiPippo
By “the Gospel of Nicodemus”, I mean not the apocryphal gospel of that title, but the passage of St John’s Gospel in which Christ speaks to Nicodemus, chapter 3, verses 1-21. This passage has an interesting and complex history among the readings of the Easter season. For liturgical use, the Roman Rite divides it into two parts, the second of which...
“The Angel Cried Out” - The Byzantine Easter Hymn to the Virgin MaryGregory DiPippo
In the Byzantine Divine Liturgy, there are several places where the priest sings a part of the anaphora out loud, and the choir makes a response, while he continues the anaphora silently. In the liturgy of St John Chrysostom, which is by far the more commonly used of the two anaphoras, the priest commemorates the Saints after the consecration and ...
