I had a note from a fellow in Mississippi which contained bad news and a plea which I must pass along (edited):
Father, I am a member of Una Voce Mississippi. We are in a very large diocese with very few Catholics and Mississippi is the only state without a TLM. [Horribile lectu!] We are a small group, but I know there are other Catholics in MS who want a TLM, but who we have trouble reaching due to the physical distance that our diocese spans. So, we are having difficulty getting the unified “stable group” to request the TLM, which our diocesan hierarchy vehemently opposes. [A “stable group” does not have to be large. The people do not have to be geographically close to a parish or each other.] […] We need a large group to make a bold statement. I was wondering if you could make a post asking all interested Catholics in Mississippi, USA to contact Una Voce Mississippi via our website http://www.unavocemississippi.org/ or our Facebook group “Una Voce Mississippi”. It would be greatly beneficial to our organization and the establishment of a permanent TLM in our state.
For those not in MS, we ask for lots of prayers! God bless!
I hope you get a good response.
Some friendly advice.
First, as you get a number of people together, be willing to do all the work and pay all the expenses. You have to be up front about these important points. Make sure that everyone in the inner ring of organizers is on board and committed to these.
Also, if you get a TLM established at a parish, then promote participation in other activities of the parish as well. Don’t just show up for Masses, drop $5 in the basket, and hit the trail until next Sunday.
In the same vein, your TLM group should be the first people to volunteer to get involved with parish activities which involve spiritual and corporal works of mercy. Excel and give an example that cannot be ignored.
Above all, in all your dealings with priests, be diplomatic and cordial. And I refer you back to my first point.
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Not related to the post. Someone emailed me the new encyclical, that will be published tomorrow (I have the latin and the spanish version). If someone can not wait until tomorrow just ask for it.
We do not have a TLM in the Diocese of Worcester in Massachusetts…. except for that is one parish 75-miles away. There are none in the city itself even though there is a parish just about every 300′. This is afterall home to the diocese of (straight from the pulpit!) ‘ In the last election by voting for our president we have lovingly sacrificed our First Amendment Rights to (get this!) feed the poor. We must now sacrifice our Second Amendment rights and (as sure as night follows day!) get rid of all guns so that God will take all violence from society.”
One gets the impression that with all the vocal support and active denunciation for those who stray from the party-line for ‘gay marriage’ by local clergy and catholic colleges such as Assumption, Holy Cross, and Ana Maria that we will not see another one any time soon from the other 100 or so parishes.
Will add Mississippi’s TLM intention to my prayers.
It will be interesting to see if the Holy See backs the request, as it did under the previous pontiff.
Honestly, why be Catholic at ALL in Mississippi if you’re not going to be traditional Catholic!?
“Honestly, why be Catholic at ALL in Mississippi if you’re not going to be traditional Catholic!?”
I’m confused. Is one more Catholic than the other? I can’t seem to find a distinction in my Catechism of the Catholic Church.
As Bea said–I will add Mississippi’s TLM intentions to my prayer list.
I don’t believe there are any regularly scheduled TLMs in the state of Alaska. We have a regularly scheduled Friday low mass and a Sunday Dominican Latin Mass, but, as far as I know, there are no priests being trained to say the Latin Mass.
Mississippi is 340 miles long and 170 miles wide. Have a TLM in Jackson which is kind of in the middle. That way everyone can get to Mass in about 4 hours or less. (One way).
James Joseph,
Yes, there are two TLM’s in the Diocese of Worcester that I am aware of. You mentioned that one of them is 75 miles away and perhaps one of the two I know of is one that you are also referring to.
There’s a TLM in Still River:
http://www.saintbenedict.com/
The second is in Warren. I don’t have a link for the parish website in Warren, but it is listed on another website (for all of the TLM’s in Massachusetts, not just D. of Worcester, as of 2012) that I can link you to:
http://www.latinmassschedule.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=22:massachusetts&catid=54:tridentine-mass-schedule-by-state&Itemid=2
I’m in the Diocese of Norwich. We’re the smallest Diocese in the U.S. There used to be 1 TLM but it’s in a town at the other end of the Diocese from me and is a good 1 hour drive. The priest who used to celebrate that TLM a few years ago isn’t there anymore and I don’t even know if they’ve found another priest to take over for him or not. My Diocese has to be one of the worst from a Latin Mass standpoint. It is definitely dry out here unless you’re a charismatic or N.O. catholic. Plenty of “He is alive” charismatic prayer groups and social justice ministries. At least this Diocese is very good about pro-life though. Other than pro-life, try the D. of Worcester and the D. of Providence instead.
DEO Gratias ! DEO Gratias ! DEO Gratias !
Been traveling into Memphis for the TLM for three years or so. Not complaining mind you. Grateful and beyond grateful that there is one even that close. Just joined UnaVoce. The join page wasn’t showing the submit button on my phone so I sent them am email. If any of y’all are reading this I placed all my contact info in the email. PLEASE feel free to call, txt, email, shoot send me smoke signals! Give me my marching orders, tell me where to send the money!
Gloria in Excelsis DEO!!!
For those who have the luxury of being able to drive four hours one way to attend a Traditional Latin mass, please spare a thought for those who cannot drive due to ill health, disability or age related frailty for whom such a trip is impossible. Also, please spare a thought for those who cannot withstand long hours of travel due to these self same conditions, and those who do not have anybody to drive them. Additionally, if one thinks it acceptable to go to mass with an eight hour round trip travel-time, one might question how one will be able to contribute actively to said wider parish with your time as well as finances e.g. corporal works of mercy in the wider community, participation and once known in the parish, leadership in church programmes etc. Then there’s the question of how many parishes that are dying on the vine are being passed (wherein silent sufferers from the abovementioned categories are caused to worship and adore Christ Jesus without the luxury of finding a TLM hours away or even an hour away for whom your presence might just be the blessing they are crying out to God for) to attend a TLM??? would they not benefit from long-term participation in parish life by those whose faith and practice is orthodox, so the parish priest and congregants who ‘do not know better’, may be quietly influenced from the inside??? the old ‘bloom where you are planted’ adage.
I think of my own situation wherein to be closer to my brother, SIL, nieces and some of my husband’s family, we will be moving two and a half hours south of Sydney later this year; no TLM, worse still, no Maronite Mass that is under two hours drive, so I’ve simply got to be the Catholic Christian God wants me to be in your bog-standard regional NSW NO parish that’s a bit topsey turvey but with new young priest recently ordained this past eighteen months.
I pray for Mississippi in the US, but pray even more for those in situations like my own that, even if there is a TLM established, because of circumstances beyond their control, cannot participate even if they would wish to. For those that can drive the hours, swap your car for a Tarago and extend another corporal work of mercy along the way; pick up those en route who cannot get there themselves. How much sweeter will the TLM experience be? How much more will you be doing our Lord’s work in bolstering the faith experience of those whom you are helping, and re things like fuel costs, added time, offer these up as a penance to our Lord and Lady. Traditional Catholics should be streets ahead of everyone else in this respect. It is not ‘welfare state socialism’ nor an affront to individualism, but what Christ requires. I myself would adore to be a daily communicant, but simply cannot be due to my circumstances. For those of you who are, NEVER take this for granted, NEVER!! and spare a prayer for those of us that in this present season of our lives, are hindered by disability, illness or age from being as active as the standard-bearers here enjoy being.
I am upset there are not traditional organisations in the Catholic world that do work like that of
http://www.torchtrust.org
or
http://www.xaviersocietyfortheblind.org
Give thanks every single day of your lives!!
Love and blessings,
Aussie Maronite.
St. Rafka (Rafqa), pray for us,
St. Elizabeth Anne Seaton, pray for Missassippi and for the rest of those in the US,
St. Lucy, pray for us,
Bl. Margaret of Castello, pray for us.
For those who have the luxury of being able to drive four hours one way to attend a Traditional Latin mass, please spare a thought for those who cannot drive due to ill health, disability or age related frailty for whom such a trip is impossible. Also, please spare a thought for those who cannot withstand long hours of travel due to these self same conditions, and those who do not have anybody to drive them. Additionally, if one thinks it acceptable to go to mass with an eight hour round trip travel-time, one might question how one will be able to contribute actively to said wider parish with your time as well as finances e.g. corporal works of mercy in the wider community, participation and once known in the parish, leadership in church programmes etc. Then there’s the question of how many parishes that are dying on the vine are being passed (wherein silent sufferers from the abovementioned categories are caused to worship and adore Christ Jesus without the luxury of finding a TLM hours away or even an hour away for whom your presence might just be the blessing they are crying out to God for) to attend a TLM??? would they not benefit from long-term participation in parish life by those whose faith and practice is orthodox, so the parish priest and congregants who ‘do not know better’, may be quietly influenced from the inside??? the old ‘bloom where you are planted’ adage.
I think of my own situation wherein to be closer to my brother, SIL, nieces and some of my husband’s family, we will be moving two and a half hours south of Sydney later this year; no TLM, worse still, no Maronite Mass that is under two hours drive, so I’ve simply got to be the Catholic Christian God wants me to be in your bog-standard regional NSW NO parish that’s a bit topsey turvey but with new young priest recently ordained this past eighteen months.
I pray for Mississippi in the US, but pray even more for those in situations like my own that, even if there is a TLM established, because of circumstances beyond their control, cannot participate even if they would wish to. For those that can drive the hours, swap your car for a Tarago and extend another corporal work of mercy along the way; pick up those en route who cannot get there themselves. How much sweeter will the TLM experience be? How much more will you be doing our Lord’s work in bolstering the faith experience of those whom you are helping, and re things like fuel costs, added time, offer these up as a penance to our Lord and Lady. Traditional Catholics should be streets ahead of everyone else in this respect. It is not ‘welfare state socialism’ nor an affront to individualism, but what Christ requires. I myself would adore to be a daily communicant, but simply cannot be due to my circumstances. For those of you who are, NEVER take this for granted, NEVER!! and spare a prayer for those of us that in this present season of our lives, are hindered by disability, illness or age from being as active as the standard-bearers here enjoy being.
I am upset there are not traditional organisations in the Catholic world that do work like that of
http://www.torchtrust.org
or
http://www.xaviersocietyfortheblind.org
Give thanks every single day of your lives!!
Love and blessings,
Aussie Maronite.
St. Rafka (Rafqa), pray for us,
St. Elizabeth Anne Seaton, pray for Missassippi and for the rest of those in the US,
St. Lucy, pray for us,
Bl. Margaret of Castello, pray for us.
I think if Fr. Z conducted a new poll, we would see how few people actually have a TLM available, not to mention within a reasonable (1 hr) driving distance, in their diocese. While I am eternally grateful to Pope Benedict for the Motu Proprio, sadly the reality is until we see new bishops and real changes in the seminaries, the TLM will continue to be suppressed, priests will continue to be punished for expressing their desire to celebrate it, and the people begging for it will continue to be ignored. Perhaps our grandchildren will see the fruits of the seeds planted by this generation. I am blessed that my married children have access to the TLM for their families. What a difference it has made! Sorry to sound so discouraging, but I have come to only rely on prayer and fasting to sustain my faith, as human efforts to renew this “church” appear fruitless.
I sympathize with Mississippi. In our diocese there is no REAL TLM. There is one celebrated 6 Hours from the major population center once a month in a small rural parish but not one that anyone could realistically travel to. A few priests have wanted to celebrate it at other venues but they have been told that it disrupts and divides parishes. He wishes a uniform Mass all across the board. folk music, life teen, basque, polish, spanish, etc all in the ordinary Form. I can’t think of anything more divisive that that!
@Indulgentiam, Where did you send an email to, and have you received a reply? If you are on Facebook, please visit the Una Voce Mississippi Facebook page and “like” it. You can also shoot me an email at willbryant44@gmail.com and I will forward your desire to join UV MS to our Board of Directors and will also be happy to answer any questions, concerns, etc. that you have concerning UV MS. Thanks, and God bless!
This is the email address provided on the website.
unavocems@gmail.com.
@ WBryant- I just emailed you all of my contact info. I will be at First Friday Mass from 12p till about 1p. As my phone stays in the car you will not get an answer then. Please feel free to call or email, txt anytime. My first email went to–unavocems@gmail.com
Thank you
AND how perfectly rude of me not to thank you Fr. Z for posting this. I am sorry. And Thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The Lord bless you and keep you,..
Our Lady guard you and guide you.
I think we will be allowed to have TLM when we have a new Bishop. The younger priests are not as hostile to the idea as some of the older ones are and seem genuinely open. I am glad they have a group formed and will check it out!