Starting September 5th, at St. Mary’s Church the daily morning Mass
will be a Traditional low Mass. The time will be changed to 7:30 am, Monday to Friday. Deo gratias! This is the kind of thing we need to see happening everywhere, so that authentic liturgical renewal may flourish (dare one say, irreversibly?)
Father Richard Cipolla announced the change today on the St. Mary’s
website:
The Traditional Roman Rite of the Mass lies at the very heart of Saint
Mary’s parish. Since Father Markey introduced it in the parish some seven years
ago, it has become integral to the very existence of this parish both in
spiritual ways and in eminently practical ways. The Solemn Mass on Sunday has
brought so many new people to the parish and continues to be a source of
inspiration and genuine prayerful worship to all who assist at the Mass. The
Traditional Mass, also known as the Extraordinary Form, is a gift from God via
Pope Benedict to St. Mary’s.
When God gives someone a gift He expects it to be used for His glory
and to be part of the missionary effort of the Church to bring the Good News of
Jesus Christ to the world. In our case, I have decided that this gift needs to
be used even more deeply in the parish than up to this point. After much
thought and prayer, I have decided that the daily morning Mass will be
celebrated in the Extraordinary Form. The time of the Mass will be moved to
7:30 a.m. to allow more people who go to work early to attend Mass. The
readings will be in English. The quiet simplicity of the Low Mass will enrich
us all. Cardinal Sarah’s book on Silence specifically mentions the silence of
the Canon in the Extraordinary Form as something very good for the worshipping
community. Most of our parishioners will notice little change, since we
celebrate the daily Novus Ordo Mass in continuity with the form of the
Traditional Mass. This change will also enable more of our parishioners to experience
the beauty of the Extraordinary Form and enrich their understanding of the
worship of the Church in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.
In no way should this change to the daily celebration of the
Extraordinary Form be interpreted as a “return to the past”. As Pope Benedict
said: “What was sacred then is sacred now.” We live in the now, not in the
past. And we look to the future with confidence that the presence of the
Extraordinary Form at St. Mary’s will be a force within the Church to worship
God in the Spirit, the God of Truth, Beauty and Goodness. The return to the
Tradition of the Church is absolutely necessary in an age of spiritual amnesia
within the Church that has sapped her strength to be who she is: the presence
of Jesus Christ in the world.
Your support, as always, is very important to me. Let us pray for each
other and our beloved parish church dedicated to Mary most Holy.
Father Richard Gennaro Cipolla
Pastor |
| St. Mary’s is truly one of the gems of the East Coast |
