"They don't build them like this anymore": Inspiring renovation to Traditonal Latin Mass Parish Church in Norwalk CT

 

Even when the Traditional Latin Mass was confined to the "crypt," hundreds of worshippers searching for its reverence and beauty overflowed the pews in St. Patrick Chapel in the basement of St. Mary Church. That was Advent of 2007, and the parish, under the pastorship of Fr. Greg Markey, has been evolving toward the perfect form of Catholic worship ever since. "Creating a beautiful home for our Lord gives glory to His greatness and helps form strong Catholics,' says Fr. Markey. A traditional Gothic architectural structure, St. Mary in Norwalk, is forming many strong Catholics through prayer, liturgy, sacred music, worship, art and architecture.



After that trial period in the basement of the church, then Bishop of the Diocese of Bridgeport, Rev. William Lori, allowed the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass to be moved upstairs to the church proper. Unfortunately, St. Mary was not immune from the disastrous effects of church whitewashing that occurred in the 60's and 70's. A beautiful testament to the glory of God at the turn of the 20th century, St. Mary's became a banal "worship space", devoid of the rich history of 2,000 years of Catholic worship.

St. Mary Church 1930

St. Mary Church 1989

Renovations began soon after bringing the Traditional Latin Mass upstairs, and will be culminating this Christmas season of 2013, when the commissioned painting of renowned neo-Classical artist Leonard Porter, The Assumption, will be installed in the central reredos, directly behind the high altar.

The video is a special report covered by Channel 12 News in Connecticut about the renovation at St. Mary.

If you are interested in supporting the renovation project at St. Mary, please visit this link. 
To donate by PayPal click this link.

Read article by Joseph McAleer, former Diocesan spokesperson at this link.

View more photos at this link.

Extraordinary Form will be offered at St. Joseph Church, Danbury, CT

Good news from St. Joseph Church bulletin: 

Dear parishioners and friends of St. Joseph Parish,

In Advent of 2012, we introduced the Third Edition of the Roman Missal at our Parish Masses. This new English translation, called the “Ordinary Form” of the Mass, was implemented smoothly after appropriate catechesis and with helpful worship aids.

Listening to parishioners over these first two years of my pastorate, I have frequently heard expressed the sincere request for the “Latin Mass.” These requests have come from young and old and include a stable number of the faithful.

The “Latin Mass,” called in the liturgical language of the Church the “Extraordinary Form,” uses the Ordo Missal published by Blessed Pope John XXIII in 1962 (now called the Missal of Blessed John XXIII.)

There are in essence then, two forms or editions or usages of the same Roman rite. It was Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI who granted the liturgical freedom to offer both forms of Mass in the Apostolic Letter called Summorum Pontificum (2007). In it he wrote, “In parishes where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their request to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962...” Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI explains, “What earlier generations held as sacred remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful.”

I shared and discussed the request for the Latin Mass with the Parish Council at our meetings last year. In order to be responsive and sensitive to this request for Mass in both the Extraordinary and Ordinary Forms, I have concluded that a weekly Sunday Mass in Latin will be offered starting later this year (the readings will be in English, using editions recognized by the Apostolic See). The Latin Mass, however, can only be offered after minor restoration of the sanctuary is completed.

You may have noticed that the old, red carpet in the sanctuary has been removed, revealing elegant marble steps leading to the high altar. Within the next few weeks, the sanctuary floor itself is going to be cleaned. The high altar will also be restored and cleaned in order to offer the Latin Mass, once again, at that altar.

Finally, we discovered the previously existing low altar had a major crack in its center. It has been removed and will be repaired and repurposed for our outdoor memorial gardens.

The smaller altar now in place is an architectural match to the main section of the high altar. It is made of wood, however, with a solid piece of natural stone, i.e., marble, which is large enough to hold the Sacred Host, Chalice, and ciboria used at Mass. The piece of marble was inserted into the wooden altar table. This stone is called the Altar Stone. In it is a First Class relic of St. Charles Borromeo. The Altar Stone denotes Christ, who is the Mystical Stone, or foundation of the Church.

This smaller altar of sacrifice is, as previously indicated, a wooden structure. Because it is of this lighter material, it can be moved out of the sanctuary when the Latin Mass is offered facing East.
Mass is central to our spiritual life in the Roman Catholic Church. Our sanctuary will soon be able to accommodate both forms of the Roman Rite so that the fullness of our Catholic heritage can be preserved and celebrated “all for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.”
Devotedly in Christ,
Reverend Samuel V. Scott 

Thank you Father Scott! 

The Reverend Samuel V. Scott was appointed the pastor of St. Joseph Parish in June, 2011. Most recently, Father Scott served as the rector of St. John Fisher Seminary, Stamford, the college seminary of the Diocese of Bridgeport. He previously served at parishes in Westport and Brookfield, and is thrilled to return to parish ministry at St. Joseph Parish, which he describes as a "vibrant Catholic parish blessed with a thriving diocesan school." 

A native of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania, Father Scott is a graduate of St. Joseph Academy, McSherrystown, a school administered by the Sisters of St. Joseph, Chestnut Hill. He attended Delone Catholic High Schoolwhere a religion course made a life-changing impact and led to his vocation to the priesthood. Father Scott took his undergraduate degree from Vassar College where he studied philosophy and theology. Upon graduation, he received a fellowship to study at Union Theological Seminary, New York, where he received the Master of Divinity degree in Church History.

Father Scott entered the formation program of the Diocese of Bridgeport in 1990 and completed his theological studies at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, Overbook, in 1995 where he received the M.A. in Sacred Scripture. Father Scott was ordained to the priesthood by Bishop Edward M. Egan, in 1995, at St. Augustine Cathedral, Bridgeport. His ongoing formation included attendance at Institute for Priestly Formation of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. There he received certification for completion of a course and practicum on the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite according to the Missal of Blessed John XXIII.  

St. John Marie Vianney, pray for us! Pray for our priests!

August 8 is the traditional feast day of St. John Vianney, patron saint of all priests. John Vianney's body remains incorrupt, entombed in Ars, where he served faithfully. In this time when the Traditional Latin Mass might lose some footing, we pray for John Vianney's intercession, especially for priests who are resistant to bringing the Traditional Latin Mass to the faithful. May John Vianney's intercession ignite new fervor in the Traditional Latin Mass.

John Mary Vianney was born in the Village of Dardilly in the diocese of Lyons, and gave many indications of his future sanctity.

As an eight year old boy, keeping sheep, he would lead the other children to kneel before the image of the Mother of God, teaching them the rosary by word and example: and he loved the work in the fields and meditate on divine things. He was a great lover of the poor and took delight in helping them in every way. He was slow to learn, but after imploring God's help, and working hard to complete his course in theology, he was judged fit to be ordained.

Receiving an appointment as pastor he made spiritual flowers bloom again in a parish that had been nothing but a dried up wasteland. Busy every day hearing confessions and giving spiritual counsel, he bore patiently the most horrible attacks of Satan. He established a practice of making missions in more than hundred parishes.

The faithful came flocking to his parish, even from distant places in a holy desire to see him; but he did not share their high opinion of him, and more than once he tried to slip away. Worn out by his labors rather than his old age, he rested in the Lord at the age of seventy-three, on the day he had foretold, August 4, 1859. Famous for many miracles, he was enrolled among the Blessed by Pius X, and among the Saints by Pius XI, who on the fiftieth anniversary of his own priesthood, appointed him the heavenly patron of parish priests, and all priests.

COLLECT

Prayer {from the Proper of Saints}
V. O Lord, hear my prayer.
R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Let us pray
Almighty and merciful God, who didst make St. John Mary to be wonderful in pastoral zeal and unchanging love for prayer and penance, grant we beseech thee, that by his example and intercession we may be able to gain the souls of our brethren in Christ, and with them to arrive at the glory of eternity.
Through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, Our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end.
R. Amen.

From Divinumofficium.com 

Prayer for the Priest

O Mary, Mother of the High Priest, 

You love your priestly Son with the love of your maternal heart.

Hear my heartfelt prayer today for all priests.

I pray 

For faithful and fervent priests,

For unfaithful and tepid priests,

For priests who minister at home,

For priests in the missions,

For young and old priests,

For the sick and dying priests,

For the souls of forgotten priests,

For priests who have touched my life,

Especially for Fathers______________.

Maternal heart of Mary,

Remind us that your priestly sons

Are weak and frail human beings.

Give them a deep faith, a firm hope,

And a burning love, to faithfully live

And preach the Gospel.

I ask that

In their loneliness, you strengthen them;

In their sorrow, you comfort them;

In their frustration, you support them.

Mary, keep them close to your Son, the Priest.

Bless them abundantly

Now and in eternity. Amen.

This is a nice short prayer to say for priests. Thursday is the day that we traditionally remember priests, just as Friday we commemorate the Lord's Passion, and Saturday is dedicated to The Blessed Virgin Mary. Remember the priests every Thursday, and offer your Holy Communion for them.

sthughofcluny.org

On Holy Thursday 2013, Fr. Richard Cipolla of St. Mary Church in Norwalk Connecticut, gave a stirring homily on the priesthood through the ages, and the challenges of the priesthood today. Father Cipolla says that the true priest is a hero for his people, one who stands before God on our behalf, and who stands before the forces of evil as protector of his people. Even the most lukewarm priest in the world still received Holy Orders for this holy purpose.

"But when a priest dares to take on something so counter-cultural, so in your face damning the culture, as celibacy and does it in freedom, not because this is part of the package, but because this is in imitation of his Lord and Savior, and in so doing, turns his back on the false and hideous understanding of freedom that the world preaches and lives by: then the priest incurs the hatred of the world, and, if the truth be told, the annoyance of many of his own flock. When the priest accepts his personal suffering as a genuine and necessary part of his life as a priest as a joining of his suffering to the suffering of his flock all grounded in the suffering of Christ on the Cross, when he accepts that as priest he will always have in his heart la tristezza così perenne, that sadness that is always there, and when he stands at the altar and loses himself and allows the reality of his suffering and the suffering of his people to be offered up by his hands and to be placed in the crucible of the fiery love of God and there to be transformed by that love that is present at that moment in our time and space, that love whose locus is the Cross, that love that cannot be contained by time and space and yet is contained in that bread and in that wine, that love that makes itself completely disponibile, to be touched, lifted up, adored, and ultimately eaten and drunk. How can the priest’s heart not break with love and therefore with joy at the celebration of every Mass, knowing who he is and what he is doing?"

Please pray for our priests! St. John Vianney, patron of priests, pray for us!

Is this your typical Catholic Parish?

By Michael Voris

What is the Church of Nice? It is a worship community that sort of looks Catholic and OFFICIALLY  is Catholic – but at the end of the day, authentic Catholicism has been sucked out of it in almost every possible way.
There are all kinds of signs you can look for to determine if your parish is a Church of Nice.
The priest will never preach on anything controversial related to your eternal life, like homosexuality, abortion, reception of Holy Communion as a divorced and remarried parishioner.
He will never utter a word about the immortal danger your soul is in if you are co-habiting and or having sex outside of marriage or using contraception INSIDE marriage.
Times for Confession will be sparse and practically none of the parishioners ever go –including you.
If you have been going to your Church of Nice parish for some years, you will occasionally have the thought come to your mind that it seems like less and less people attend.
You will also notice that there are nowhere near as many young adults or families as you remember from years ago. But the music director will bust out in a loud song rich with lyrics about the community, instead of God, and you will forget your thoughts about less people in the pews.
You will also hear a strange thing from time to time about something the RCIA instructor or Religious Ed director said in class and you will think to yourself for a moment – “hmmm .. that’s odd”, but then you will go on with your business and forget about it.
Then the occasional discussion will come up with friends and family who are former Catholics who bad mouth this or that about the Church – and while you might feel quietly uncomfortable about their outbursts, you won’t say anything because, frankly, you don’t have the knowledge to respond to them because it was never told to you.
And eventually, you will allow yourself to be lulled into a false set of comfort regarding their eternal lives by buying into the ridiculous diabolical canard that – it’s not REALLY important if they are Catholic or not – after all, they’re basically good people and God understands and we are all going to Heaven anyway so not that big a deal.

If you go to a parish replete with altar girls, protestant hymns, an army of so-called “Eucharistic ministers” (which they are NOT by the way), a joke-cracking priest, a con- gregation receiving Holy Communion in their hands, warped catechesis coming from the adult and/or kids religious ed department, no substantive preaching, a congregation with more older people than younger families and no one really in between, where people around you, including you dress in clothes more suited for going to the movies than wor- shipping God, if almost the entire congregation goes to Holy Communion, and a good number of them never return to their seats afterwards, if it is customary to applaud the band or singers – then you can be pretty certain, your parish is a Church of Nice.

If you have no idea why this list of issues are problematic, then you are almost guaran- teed to belong to the Church of Nice.
If you don’t know the answers to the following basic questions, you should be concerned: What are is meant by the Four Last Things and what are they?
What is wrong about using the term Eucharistic Ministers?
What is an indulgence and why is it important to know?
Can you explain why Protestantism is a heresy? (Did you even know it IS a heresy?) What are the various mysteries of the Holy Rosary?
What does the Church mean by the term “The Real Presence”?
What is the Mass?
Can you be a “good” Catholic and still disagree with the Magisterium? Do you even know what the word Magisterium means?
Is it EVER possible to refuse to believe an infallible teaching AND still be a good Catholic?
If you can’t answer ALL of these questions – at least on some fundamental level – then you need to be very concerned about your faith life. And this is just a beginning list – it could easily have hundreds of questions on it.
What the Church of Nice gang has been so fantastic at over the past 40 or 50 years .. and this means bishops and priests .. is substituting knowledge with feelings.
In this manner , they have introduced into the faith a humanist dimension that has no place in the Church.
The same madness that goes on in the culture about not being judgmental and always making sure no one is offended has become paramount in the Church as well, thanks to the Church of Nice crowd – hence the name, Church of NICE, where everyone is always  Nice.

If you attend a parish that subscribes to the Church of Nice agenda – watch out. Your soul is in jeopardy, serious jeopardy.
It is very likely that your religious instruction is deficient, you haven’t been to confession in God knows how long, and if you have children – they are bored out of their minds and more than likely will stop attending Mass after they leave home.
These are all symptoms of a dying faith – and it can all be placed at the doorstep of the Church of Nice.
The Church of Nice is failing in spectacular fashion! It’s beginning to resemble the Rus- sian Front from the German’s perspective in World War II. It won’t be much longer be- fore the whole edifice is flat our overrun.
As the Russian forces – the Red Army – was overrunning town after town and province after province – reclaiming all that had been taken by the Nazis in the previous two years, many of the German High Command and the civilian population back in Berlin carried on as though the eastern front was a sad fact, but not one they REALLY had to worry about.
In April 1945, the first Russian tanks crashed into the heart of Berlin. It took a while, but when it happened, it was decisive and final.
This is what is happening in the Church today – the portion of the Church, which is the majority part of it, that worships at the Altar of Nice. It is being overrun and the defeat is monumental.
2000 US parishes closed in the last 20 years, 1300 of them in the past 10 years and no end of closings in sight. And why has the Church of Nice risen to such heights of power and control.
Because fallen human nature is weak. Because most people don’t like confrontation and will only occasionally do the right thing and challenge evil and wrong. Because being vi- gilant – always vigilant - exacts a cost. And because sin is attractive. And because we are lazy and slothful.
If it were not for the Catholic Church, the whole world would end up in Hell because the Catholic Church is necessary for salvation. This is its charter – to be the instrument of salvation – not merely a sign of salvation, but the actual instrument through which God works His salvific action.
When much of that Church casts aside that charter and adopts an inauthentic attitude of being the Church of Nice, then the world will go out of balance – as it has – and the eternal lives of those Church of Nice members hangs in the balance.
If you attend a Church of Nice parish – get out of it and get to a parish where you will get AUTHENTIC Catholicism – the real McCoy. If you have friends or family who need to hear this, pass it along.

The Last Vespers we pray for Pope Benedict XVI ( Preces Feriales )

Preces Feriales {habentur} Kyrie, eléison. Christe, eléison. Kyrie, eléison. Pater noster, qui es in cælis, sanctificétur nomen tuum: advéniat regnum tuum: fiat volúntas tua, sicut in cælo et in terra. Panem nostrum quotidiánum da nobis hódie: et dimítte nobis débita nostra, sicut et nos dimíttimus debitóribus nostris: V. Et ne nos indúcas in tentatiónem: R. Sed líbera nos a malo. V. Ego dixi: Dómine, miserére mei. R. Sana ánimam meam quia peccávi tibi. V. Convértere, Dómine, úsquequo? R. Et deprecábilis esto super servos tuos. V. Fiat misericórdia tua, Dómine, super nos. R. Quemádmodum sperávimus in te. V. Sacerdótes tui induántur iustítiam. R. Et sancti tui exsúltent. V. Orémus pro beatíssimo Papa nostro N. R. Dóminus consérvet eum, et vivíficet eum, et beátum fáciat eum in terra, et non tradat eum in ánimam inimicórum eius. V. Orémus et pro Antístite nostro N. R. Stet et pascat in fortitúdine tua, Dómine, in sublimitáte nóminis tui. Romæ præcedens Versus cum suo Responsorio omittitur; alibi vero ad litteram N. ab omnibus nomen diœcesani Episcopi exprimatur, Vacante Apostolica vel Episcopali Sede, alteruter vel uterque respectivus Versus cum suo Responsorio præteritur.	Weekday intercessions {included} Lord, have mercy upon us. Christ, have mercy upon us. Lord, have mercy upon us. Our Father, who art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. V. And lead us not into temptation: R. But deliver us from evil. V. I said: Lord, be merciful unto me: R. Heal my soul, for I have sinned against thee. V. Turn thee again, O Lord; how long will it be? R. And be gracious unto thy servants. V. Let thy mercy, O Lord, be upon us. R. As we have hoped in thee. V. Let thy priests be clothed with justice: R. And may thy saints rejoice. V. Let us pray for our most blessed Pope N. R. The Lord preserve him and give him life, and make him blessed upon the earth: and deliver him not up to the will of his enemies. V. Let us pray for our bishop N. R. May he stand firm and care for us in the strength of the Lord, in the might of thy name. In Rome, the preceding Versicle and its Response are omitted. Elsewhere, the name of the local Ordinary is inserted at the letter N. If the Holy See or the See of the local Bishop is vacant, the appropriate V. and R., either or both as the case may be, is omitted.
V. Dómine, salvum fac regem. R. Et exáudi nos in die, qua invocavérimus te. V. Salvum fac pópulum tuum, Dómine, et bénedic hereditáti tuæ. R. Et rege eos, et extólle illos usque in ætérnum. V. Meménto Congregatiónis tuæ. R. Quam possedísti ab inítio. V. Fiat pax in virtúte tua. R. Et abundántia in túrribus tuis. V. Orémus pro benefactóribus nostris. R. Retribúere dignáre, Dómine, ómnibus, nobis bona faciéntibus propter nomen tuum, vitam æternam. Amen. V. Orémus pro fidélibus defúnctis. R. Réquiem ætérnam dona eis, Dómine, et lux perpétua lúceat eis. V. Requiéscant in pace. R. Amen. V. Pro frátribus nostris abséntibus. R. Salvos fac servos tuos, Deus meus, sperántes in te. V. Pro afflíctis et captívis. R. Líbera eos, Deus Israël, ex ómnibus tribulatiónibus suis. V. Mitte eis, Dómine, auxílium de sancto. R. Et de Sion tuére eos. V. Dómine, Deus virtútum, convérte nos. R. Et osténde fáciem tuam, et salvi érimus. V. Exsúrge, Christe, ádiuva nos. R. Et líbera nos propter nomen tuum. V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat.	V. O Lord, save our leaders. R. And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee. V. O Lord, save thy people, and bless thine inheritance: R. Govern them and lift them up for ever. V. Remember thy congregation, R. Which thou hast possessed from the beginning. V. Let peace be in thy strength. R. And abundance in thy towers. V. Let us pray for our benefactors. R. O Lord, for thy name's sake, deign to reward with eternal life all who do us good. Amen. V. Let us pray for the faithful departed. R. Eternal rest grant unto them, O Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them. V. May they rest in peace. R. Amen. V. Let us pray for our absent brothers. R. Save thy servants, O God, who put their trust in thee. V. Let us pray for the afflicted and imprisoned. R. Deliver them, God of Israel, from all their tribulations. V. O Lord, send them help from thy sanctuary. R. And defend them out of Sion. V. Turn us again, O Lord, God of Hosts. R. Show us thy face, and we shall be whole. V. Arise, O Christ, and help us. R. And redeem us for thy name's sake. V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto thee.
Oratio {ex Proprio de Tempore} secunda 'Domine, exaudi' omittitur Orémus Deus, innocentiae restitutor et amator, dirige ad te tuorum corda servorum: ut spiritus tui fervore concepto, et in fide inveniantur stabiles, et in opere efficaces. Per Dóminum nostrum Iesum Christum, Filium tuum: qui tecum vivit et regnat in unitáte Spíritus Sancti Deus, per ómnia sǽcula sæculórum. R. Amen.	Prayer {from the Proper of the season} skip second 'O Lord, hear my prayer' Let us pray God, the Renewer and Lover of innocency, turn the hearts of all thy servants to thyself, that so they, being enkindled with the fire of thy Spirit, may be found ever rooted in faith, and fruitful in works. Through Jesus Christ, thy Son our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, ever one God, world without end. R. Amen.
Conclusio V. Dómine, exáudi oratiónem meam. R. Et clamor meus ad te véniat. V. Benedicámus Dómino. R. Deo grátias. V. Fidélium ánimæ per misericórdiam Dei requiéscant in pace. R. Amen.	Finish V. O Lord, hear my prayer. R. And let my cry come unto thee. V. Let us bless the Lord. R. Thanks be to God. V. May the souls of the faithful, through the mercy of God, rest in peace. R. Amen.

A traditional type of Eucharistic flash mob

Fr. Greg Markey carries monstrance during procession

Corpus Christi at St. Mary's in Norwalk, CT

In the times after Christ's Ascension, when Christians were being openly persecuted, even killed, priests and holy messengers carried the Sacred Body of Christ, the Eucharist, to prisoners, and others who had no way to receive Holy Communion. The devotion and fervor for Jesus in the Eucharist was so strong, that early Christians were prepared to die to protect the Body of Christ, rather than see It desecrated. The Eucharistic, or Corpus Christi Procession, grew from this first practice of carrying the Eucharistic Lord from place to place. Now, out of hiding, Catholic Churches celebrate the feast day devoted to the Body of Jesus, Corpus Christi, the first Thursday (or Sunday) after Trinity Sunday.


Read about, see, and hear a traditional Corpus Christi procession, with all its splendor, that took place at St. Mary Church in Norwalk, CT, with the incredible choirs and scholas. Follow the link to examiner.com. If you've read this blog before, you know that music like this can be heard every week at St. Mary's, and the traditions that belong to our Holy Mother Church are preserved as timeless in St. Mary's daily and weekly Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The Church is alive and well.

How ordinary....yawn...

Blessed Trinity Sunday, Dominica Sanctissimae Trinitatis! A feast day (solemnity) that is shared between the Novus Ordo and the Extraordinary Form, so if you attended the Novus Ordo today (like my family did), you didn't miss anything.

We didn't see green vestments today, but they will be coming! What's wrong with green? Well, nothing, really. They symbolize a time for new growth in the Ordinary Time. That's nice.

Maybe green itself isn't what's uninspiring. Although Pope Paul VI wasn't too crazy about it. From Fr. Z:

The Novus Ordo – with so many changes to the liturgical calendar – went into effect with Advent in 1969. When Pentecost of 1970 rolled around, Paul VI was surprised to find greenvestments laid out for his morning Mass instead of the traditional red for the Octave of Pentecost. When he asked about the unthinkable green vestments, he was told that it was now Ordinary Time. The Pope responded “This is the Octave of Pentecost.” The reply came back that the Octave of Pentecost was abolished in the new calendar. “Who did that?”, asked the Pope. “You did, Your Holiness. And Paul VI wept.

A lot of us grew up with this "ordinary" time, so we don't bat an eyelash. As young whippersnapper I know said, the Church isn't like football, they don't have off-seasons! Then why does it feel like it?

What was old is new again

From chants, prayers, and its accompanying silence, the "dead language" of Latin reverberated in the newly renovated sanctuary of St. Mary's Church in Norwalk, CT. What else reverberated? The sound of children. And not just because it was Palm Sunday. Because St. Mary's Parish, with its weekly Traditional Latin Mass, is packed with burgeoning families. Our family of five is miniscule in comparison, and in the minority.

Here the symbolism and tradition of the Extraordinary Form, the rituals of Palm Sunday, with its three-fold liturgy was celebrated with all its flourish, reverence and sonority.

Visit the link to read more, and watch the video to get a taste.

If you're in the area- join the parish community for Tenebrae on Wednesday evening at 7-10 p.m., and the rest of the traditional Holy Week services. You will not be disappointed.