And now for something completely different….
Folks, I do not enjoy parsing and "fisking" those cold reactions to the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum. As a matter of fact, this WDTPRS thing isn’t primarily about the older form of Mass. However, the MP is so important for everything else in the life of the Church right now, despite the poohpoohing of those who say it is not such a big deal, that I am giving it my all. But, kindly know that I take no pleasure from examining the harsh reactions and it is not my intention to beat up on anyone.
Therefore, I take great pleasure in posting happy stories. They are happy to me, at least and this, after all, is my blog.
In The St. Louis Review, the weekly newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, where the estimable Most Reverend Raymond Burke has been edifying us for several years now, I find this story.
Enjoy!
My emphases.
August 17, 2007
Two rural parishes planning to begin weekly Latin Mass in fall
by Jean M. Schildz, Review Staff Writer
FR. DATTILO St. Joseph Parish in Apple Creek and sister parish St. Maurus in Biehle plan to celebrate a regular weekly Tridentine Latin Mass beginning this fall.
An 11:15 a.m. Sunday Latin Mass will be celebrated on a rotating basis alternating months at the two Perry County parishes. The first Latin Mass is set to take place Nov. 4 at St. Maurus.
Father Anthony A. Dattilo, pastor of both parishes, will celebrate the Mass. It is being added at the request of parishioners, he told the Review in an interview this week.
His decision to add the Mass has received "a very positive response," he said.
Father Dattilo noted there has been strong interest for some time at the two parishes to celebrate the Mass according to the 1962 Roman Missal. Some parishioners, he said, had asked that the Latin Mass be celebrated even before last month’s release of Pope Benedict XVI’s apostolic letter "Summorum Pontificum," which allows for greater use of the Tridentine Mass.
Priests who wish to say the Tridentine Mass no longer have to first receive permission from their bishop, according to the pope’s pronouncement.
Father Dattilo said he and his parishioners prayed for this. "I see it as important. It’s a liturgical tradition of the Church that’s beautiful and holy, and I think a lot of people prayed for it. It’s not something that just dropped out of the skies. I thought I’d be an old man before this would happen. People desired this."
The closest regular Latin Mass within the archdiocese for his parishioners has been at St. Francis de Sales Oratory in South St. Louis. A weekly Tridentine Mass has not been celebrated regularly in Perry County for years. Sts. Joseph and Maurus are part of the archdiocese’s Ste. Genevieve Deanery, which encompasses the southernmost point of the archdiocese.
The Latin Mass at the two churches will be offered in addition to the regular Sunday Masses. "The English Mass, or new order of the Mass, will stay the same. We’re adding a Mass, not deleting or changing one," Father Dattilo stressed.
The ordinary form of the Roman Rite will continue to be celebrated Sundays at 7:30 a.m. at Apple Creek and 9:30 a.m. at Biehle.
Father Dattilo said he loves the Mass in both its English and Latin rites. He sees the value of both. The two co-exist, he said. "People want both."
What draws him to the Latin rite is "the reverence in it. Everything is so directed toward God. It could be in any language as far as I’m concerned." He also appreciates the silence during the Mass, adding that "the mystery of faith comes across."
He loves the ordinary form of the Mass because of the singing, the congregation’s participation and its being said in English "for people who don’t understand Latin or don’t have an affinity for it."
A Traditional Mass Committee created by Father Dattilo will assist him in preparing for the Latin Mass. Members are Charlie Malawey of St. Maurus and Lloyd Connour of St. Joseph.
The 45-year-old priest admits he needs "to brush up on the Mass," as he wrote in a recent parish bulletin. Father Dattilo said he learned part of the rite a long time ago and now has to relearn it. Ordained in 1990, he first attended a Tridentine Mass at St. Agatha in South St. Louis when he was a seminarian. The Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Bernard E. Granich. "He was the first one that I ever saw celebrate the Tridentine Mass. It was very beautiful," he recalled.
Father Dattilo plans to get some personal training in the rite and also has found helpful resources on the Internet.
Missals and servers’ books from Ecclesia Dei of Chicago have been purchased to train servers and others. Instruction on how to say the Latin prayers, for example, is given phonetically in the materials. A St. Maurus parishioner who served at Latin Mass as a youngster will assist in the training. Another St. Maurus parishioner has volunteered to be a cantor. Father Dattilo is hoping others join her from both parishes to form a choir.
Both parish churches, he added, are suited for a Latin Mass "because they’re old-fashioned churches." Very minimal changes were needed, he said.
Somethings to note.
- There is no mention of the Archbishop. The pastor did this. That is what Summorum Pontificum says.
- This is not an "either…or" choice, "older or newer". It is "both…and".
- There is going to be involvement of lay people to help organize things.
- The tone of the whole thing is postive positive positive.
Why can’t more places just relax and enjoy the fruits of the provisions without getting all worked up about who’s in charge or who is being excluded?
This relieved some of the distaste of the morning’s work.
Thanks St. Louis!
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Father,
Thank you very much for this information.
Could you please e-mail it to every bishop especially the ones who are giving the motu proprio their private judgement treatment.
This would benefit and save many souls.
May St. Hyacinth pray for you.
Thanks, Fr. Z!
May God bless Fr. Dattilo and Abp. Burke!
-J.
And best of all, Father Dattilo is only 45!
“He loves the ordinary form…and its being said in English ‘for people who don’t understand Latin or don’t have an affinity for it.’ ”
Exactly. This is anecdotal, but I’d say 85% of the objection I’m hearing to the MP is Latinphobic.
Give permission for the Extraordinary Use to be said in hieratic vernacular, and IMO, after less than a decade, the Novus Ordo will be an asterisk in a history book.
Belloc,
The Novus Ordo will, within a decade be an asterisk if the Extraordinary Rite, in its 1962 form, is given its due place by priests per His Holiness decree.
God bless you
Archbishop Burke has been a full-on supporter of the Extraordinary form: last March 7 — the feast of St. thomas Aquinas on the old calendar — he was the main celebrant of a Mass according to the 1962 missal in the Cathedral-Basilica of St. Louis, the first traditional Mass in that church since the NO was promulgated, I think. And in June in the cathedral basilica, he himself ordained new priests for the Institute of Christ the King, which staffs St. Francis de Sales.
Sean. Archbishop Burke was not the main celebrant on March 7. In fact, in the Missal of 1962 there is no such thing as a main celebrant s there is no such thing as Con-celebration. What took place that day was a Solemn High Mass celebrated by a priest rather than a Pontifical Mass.
That said, I share your evident regard for Archbishop Burke and I would love to see him made Cardianl in the next batch although the limit of 120 Cardinal electors could mitigate against St. Louis which is a relatively small archdiocese (Note: Paris was kept waiting last time around and, I believe, Dublin as well, presumably because in both cases the archbishops emeriti were still alive and under 80).
There is an undercurrent there, regarding the bishop’s reaction. If the people were interested for some time, and requested even to celebrate according to the older form already, why were they not granted an indult before this? Maybe they were intimidated by the publicized responses to such requests by other bishops? That’s kind of odd.
Aside from that, though, it appears to be a textbook implementation of Summorum Pontificum: at the initiation of the pastor, who is not rushing ahead impetuously, but respectfully seeking training (even with the input of parishioners!), and scheduling the extraordinary form at a good place and time(not, say, the cemetery chapel on rural Route 984 at 4:30 AM on the third Sunday after a blue moon only in leap years). The down to earth approach shown here by Fr Dattilo, a humble pastor doing his job in caring for his beloved flock in Missouri, is in sharp contrast to that of the cold, if somewhat erudite, Abp Whatshisname of Seattle, with his huggily named conference.
I have seen very little negative reaction here in St. Louis to the Summorum Pontificum. I really have never seen any reason someone could be against the ability for a pastor, when he has a request for it, to provide for a Latin Mass, either in the Novus Ordo form (which is most certainly allowed, and has been all along…) or in the 1962 form.
I personally hope to learn the 1962 form during my formation at the Seminary, and it seems that I will be given the opportunity.
“Ordained in 1990, he first attended a Tridentine Mass at St. Agatha in South St. Louis when he was a seminarian. The Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Bernard E. Granich. ‘He was the first one that I ever saw celebrate the Tridentine Mass. It was very beautiful,’ he recalled.”
Thank you Msgr. Granich. You were pastor at my parent’s parish Annunciation before moving to St. Agatha and establishing the Tridentine Mass. Thank you Fr. James Rodis for everything you did for the parish of St. Agatha, but mostly for keeping the tradition of the Tridentine Mass alive in St. Louis.
“Ordained in 1990, he first attended a Tridentine Mass at St. Agatha in South St. Louis when he was a seminarian. The Mass was celebrated by Msgr. Bernard E. Granich. ‘He was the first one that I ever saw celebrate the Tridentine Mass. It was very beautiful,’ he recalled.”
Thank you Msgr. Granich. You were pastor at my parent’s parish Annunciation before moving to St. Agatha and establishing the Tridentine Mass. Thank you Fr. James Rodis for everything you did for the parish of St. Agatha, but mostly for keeping the tradition of the Tridentine Mass alive in St. Louis.
FYI–The March 7 Solemn High Mass at the Cathedral Basilica was celebrated by the priests of the Institute of Christ the King. I don’t think the Archbishop was in attendance. Archbishop Burke did celebrate a Solemn High Mass at St. Francis de Sales, the Institute’s St Louis Oratory, earlier in the year. And of course, he ordained the Institute’s American priests at the Cathedral in June.
Also–why do people consider St. Louis a small diocese? It was known as the most Catholic city in the country, and traditionally have always had Cardinals presiding.
And when I say Cardinals, I’m not talking baseball.
Other great things being done by Archbishop Burke include his current strong backing of a main request of the Blessed Virgin in her apparitions as “Our Lady of America”. This is just now gaining momentum for the goal of placing this official image in the National Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Washington – to gain many graces for America in this most urgent time.
And in the Old Cathedral of St. Louis through August:
The new official image of Our Lady of America which Archbishop Raymond L. Burke blessed last November at the United States Bishops meeting in Baltimore can now be seen in downtown Saint Louis, Missouri in the historic Basilica of St. Louis, King, on the Mississippi Riverfront adjoining the National Park Service Jefferson National Expansion Memorial. Her statue will be there throughout this August (2007). This beautiful and historic Basilica of Saint Louis was the Proto-Cathedral of the Catholic Church in the United States West of the Mississippi River. It is indeed fitting and proper for the statue of Our Lady of America to be displayed in this former Cathedral of the Archdiocese of Saint Louis, so convenient to pilgrims and travelers. The Basilica has free parking for visitors to the Church.
We expect this statue to visit a West Coast location and several other locations throughout the rest of this year.
Archbishop Burke’s statement re: canonical approval and necessity for movement by bishops:
http://www.ourladyofamerica.com/Approval.php
http://www.ourladyofamerica.com/USCCB_11_13_06.php
Good history in Fr. Fox’s Fatima magazine, “Immaculate Heart Messenger”:
http://www.ourladyofamerica.com/pdf/May2007Article.pdf
AND … MOTHER AMGELIC’S INVOLVEMENT IN THIS MOVEMENT AS WELL – actually ENTHONING THE IMAGE after procession in her Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament:
http://www.ourladyofamerica.com/OLAM.php
ALSO at the annual March for Life:
http://www.ourladyofamerica.com/newsview.php?newsid=26
Father Dattilo says that he likes the newer form of mass because of the singing. This comment is part of a pattern that I’ve seen that many, when they think of the older mass, only focus on the low mass. Of course, the older form has singing as well.
But, the story is very encouraging!
Now, in my mind, Father Dattilo, is the essence of a truly liberal priest (in the best sense of the word): generous, open to the aspirations of others, and magnanimous. In contrast, think of priests who view themselves as “liberal” like Father Mike of the Gaylord Diocese who has said “no” to the Extraordinary Rite. Adjectives which come to mind: stingy, unconcerned about the needs of others, and a mind closed like a steel trap. The contrasts could not be greater. Tom
This is a very happy story