Father Jonathan Robinson of the Toronto Oratory will surely be no stranger to most of our readership. Aside from his other accomplishments (which are many) he is perhaps best known to our readers as the author of a unique and important liturgical study, The Mass and Modernity, published by Ignatius Press.
On May 13th Father Robinson marked an important milestone: the 50th anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. The centerpiece of the celebrations was a Solemn Mass offered at St. Vincent de Paul church in Toronto, Canada according to the usus antiquior.
Suffice it to say, as you've come to expect from the London, Birmingham or Oxford Oratories, likewise from the Toronto Oratory: excellence, beauty, reverence and substance.
While I was sadly unable to attend this grand occasion in person, we can all be thankful that a full audio recording has been made of the Mass, augmented by a number of photographs from the Mass. The setting for the Mass was Mozart's Missa Brevis in D K.194
Here is a sample. The music is from the Gloria, the photos pick up from the rite of Asperges.
Here too are the other parts. Listening in for the music alone will be worth your while, but the photos are glorious as well:
Part I: Introit
Part II: Kyrie
Part IV: Credo
Part V: Sanctus
Part VI: Agnus Dei
Incidentally, lest anyone think the music quality heard within these videos is indicative of them surely being studio/CD recordings, do take note that one will hear the sounds of a young toddler in some of the videos, and thus delightful evidence of the fact that what you are hearing is a recording from the Mass itself -- and thereby, also a testimony to the liturgical excellence that was seen (and heard) on this grand occasion.
Heartfelt NLM congratulations to Fr. Robinson and the Toronto Oratory.
As a final bit of information around this occasion, the parishioners of the Toronto Oratory's other parish church, Holy Family, commissioned the following work from Canadian artist Cyril Leeper as a gift for Fr. Robinson's 50th anniversary. It shows St Philip in Ecstasy spied upon by, in this instance, none other than Fr. Robinson himself.
