Brick By Brick in Michigan

From a reader comes this for your Brick By Brick file.

I have some news for your brick by brick file. I am happy to report that this morning, August 9th, Fr. Tom Wasilewski, Diocese of Lansing Ordinand, 2010, celebrated his first ever Extraordinary Form Mass at the historic St. Joseph Shrine in Brooklyn, Michigan. This was also the area’s first public Traditional Latin Mass since the 1960s. Despite this fact, or perhaps because of it, the tiny church was packed for the occasion, with an estimated 100 souls in attendance.
Offering his first of hopefully many EF Masses, Fr. Wasilewski demonstrated impressive mastery of the Latin and competency in the rubrics. He delivered an inspiring sermon, relating how time put into studying the older form opens the gateway to experiencing its richness. In the future, Father hopes to incorporate the TLM into the regular Mass schedule of the Shrine.
One year ago, the Diocese of Lansing had only two Extraordinary Form Mass sites. The recent debuts of the TLM at St. Mary Cathedral Crypt in Lansing, Old St. Patrick in Ann Arbor, and now St. Joseph Shrine in Brooklyn have, by the grace of God and support of His Excellency Most Rev. Earl Boyea, increased this number to five!
WDTPRS kudos to Fr. Wasilewski and Bp. Boyea.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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9 Comments

  1. Hooray! Three cheers and all that!

    Not to steal Michigan’s fire, but here in Springfield, Illinois, we’re having a Solemn High Mass at 6 p.m. next Monday, August 15, at St. Aloysius Church, for the Feast of the Assumption. This will be this city’s third Solemn High Mass since regular EF Masses began at Springfield’s Blessed Sacrament Parish in January, 2009. (We’ve had many Missa Cantatas, however.)

    Brick by brick!

  2. Liz says:

    Things like that are so encouraging to hear!

    This might be for the tile by tile file, but yesterday at OF mass I noticed that both diocesan seminarians, assigned to the parish for the summer, knelt at Holy Communion. This is a change from the beginning of the summer when they did not. Woohoo! I love stuff like this.

  3. tealady24 says:

    Hurray! Our mass has many empty corners, yet occasionly we see new faces. I just wish EVERY church was mandated to offer one Latin mass per weekend. I think the church would be transformed!

  4. flyfree432 says:

    This is the diocese where I serve as a DRE and CYM. This is truly great news and such support is to be expected from Bishop Boyea. He has fully supported the renovations we have been making to our interior (https://wdtprs.com/2010/12/brick-by-brick-in-williamston-mi/). The only down side is that I had to hear of the news from Father Z instead of any of my traditional minded friends here in the diocese. I will have to have a word with them as I would have gladly been in attendance.

    This totally made my day.

  5. @flyfree432

    Due to the Mass being so early and on a weekday, we didn’t think to publicize it as far as Williamston. Glad to hear you would have made the trip, though. God bless you for your dedication.

    We were actually predicting a very modest turnout, as Fr. Wasilewski had learned the TLM at the initiative of a single family. It was great to be so dead wrong!

  6. Paul says:

    I live not even 15 minutes away, and it was so painful that I could not attend (no car!). I have been to a few of Fr Wasilewski’s Masses: very inspiring! Excellent confessor!

    What @EtVerbumCaroFactumEst’s amazing pics don’t show really well is the plexiglass table in front of the High Altar. Hideous! Not only does it leave only a few feet of space between the table and the High Altar, but is so out of place.

    Some additional background from the area. My home parish (technically, though I avoid it like the plague) is 10 minutes away from St Joseph’s Shrine, and the priest there is getting up there in age, and his order cannot supply a successor. The Bishop made the decision that Fr Wasilewski will take care of not only St Joseph’s Shrine but also this other parish, when his pastor and this other priest both retire. I’m not entirely sure if this other parish will like the way Fr W does things, but tough. Let’s just say that this other parish has gotten used to less-than mediocrity (in their priest, in the Mass, etc). Please keep him in your daily prayers in particular for physical strength and stamina in the coming years.

    Michigan International Speedway is less than 5 minutes drive away, which makes Brooklyn, MI the third largest city (population) in the state of MI on race weekends. So many souls! I think you can say without exaggeration the number of souls in his parish (the rest of the year) is similar to that of Ars before St Jean-Marie Vianney.

  7. Peter from Jersey says:

    Father
    Brick by brick. We had our first EF Mass here in Jersey. It was well attended.
    It may be worth saying that, as an island 40 miles from France and 120 miles from the UK, there is no going to the next parish.
    Incidentally the EF Mass in the Upper Basilica in Lourdes at 9 am on a Sunday also seems to draw a fair number. Unlike the International Mass in the underground basilica it does not take all morning and you can sit down.

  8. Ruth says:

    One of my students from the seminary and one I wasn’t even sure wanted to say this Mass! I am so glad to hear it, this made my day too.

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