From a reader:
Father:
Here are pictures from the Solemn High Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, in Denver Colorado. 630 people was the unofficial count of attendees.
I will put more up on our website on Monday as well. This was the first Traditional Latin Mass at the Cathedral in 40 years. The next Mass at the Cathedral will on November 9th with our Auxiliary Bishop of Denver, Rev. James Conley. I am parishioner of Our Lady of Mt. Carmel Chapel in Littleton, Colorado. I am also the webmaster of the church website: www.olmcfssp.org
We have posted the pictures to our church photo gallery:
Thanks, Greg Truta
Information about this Mass below:
Solemn High Mass
Feast of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross
Sunday, September 14, 2008 at 3:00 p.m.
Mass of Thanksgiving on the Anniversary of the implementation of the Motu Proprio — Summorum Pontificum – and – The Twentieth Anniversary of the founding of the
Priestly Fraternity of St. PeterFather James W. Jackson, FSSP – Celebrant – Chaplain Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Rev. Joseph Hearty, FSSP – Deacon – Assistant Chaplain Our Lady of Mt. Carmel
Mr. Rhone Lillard – Subdeacon – Seminarian – Our Lady of Guadalupe SeminaryNext Mass is:
Solemn High Pontifical Mass
Feast of the Dedication of the Archbasilica of Our Holy Savior
(The Lateran Basilica)
Sunday, November 9, 2008 at 2:15 p.m.
Celebrant: Most Rev. James Conley, Auxiliary Bishop of Denver
I was there. It was so beautiful! There were a number of families and although there were some babies crying, as always, the children were both well dressed and well behaved. It is the girls and young women and young moms who seem to prefer the head covering the most. There were no jeans or shorts but people disposed to attend the Holy Sacrifice and dressed accordingly. It left me with a deep peace in my heart and a great silence in my soul. THIS was the Mass the saints knew! My patron offered this form of the Mass! St. Francis and St. Therese and the others that I love, assisted at this form of the Mass. I felt a deep sense on continuity there. It was my first solemn high Mass and my experience with the extraordinary form does not yet number double digits but if I had a choice, I would attend this form every Sunday.
This was in great contrast to the college campus Mass I attended the day before with bread “that looks like bread”. I did not go to holy communion because I do not know if it was valid matter. Some say it is ‘only illicit’. IF it was the body of Christ, there would be crumbs all over–all over hands and clothes and the floor and so on. A great profanation–IF it was indeed valid matter and that I will have to look into.
So I attended two forms of the Mass that in many ways could not have been more different. From words of pop music Mass songs on the overhead screen to chant from a choir to the reverence surrounding the Body of Christ to the casual munching on some sort of pita bread.
Which is more conducive to the faith, I ask you.
One of the priests near the altar looks like Fr. Gary Selin. Look for many good things from him in the future. He is a very devout priest.
I was there. The cathedral was more full than for a regularly scheduled Sunday mass.
It was so beautiful I cried. To see the high altar in use, and not merely as a decoration exceeded my expectations. I have been to many many masses in our cathedral. But this was the first time I have ever been to mass anywhere where it felt as if the building itself was participating in the liturgy. It was as if the stones themselves and the glass and the mortar and the bricks were joining in the sacrifice.
My wife said that she could sense the joy of the saints of the relics in the altar, and I don’t doubt that.
Something wonderful of enduring significance happened in Denver yesterday, we are not the same city this morning.
I’m pretty sure that was Fr. Selin- I went to Seminary with him, he is a good and holy priest. The deacon dressed in choir- in the gallery photos- is a seminarian from my diocese and a good young man. Also there were many seminarians from the Archdiocese of Denver’s St. John Vianney Seminary amongst the servers.
(Yes, it was Fr. Gary Selin.) In preparing for this Liturgy I was reminded of Chapter 8 of the Book of Nehemiah (Esdras), concerning the discovery and re-promulgation of the law and renewed celebration of the Feast of Tabernacles. Many of the implements had been stored in cupboards in the basement, or in closets, or had been put to other uses not concordant with their original purpose. Some of the things, though, were in regular use, or at least somewhat regular use, like the chalice of our first bishop, + Jospeh Machebeuf. (So we quite literally brought from our store-house both the new and the old!) It was a joy to assist in lovingly preparing the high altar after so many years. To place the relics amongst the candlesticks as the “great cloud of witnesses” assembled was a deeply felt honor for those who assisted in the preparation. To see all of it actually being used in the Sacrifice, and being used today, not as some sort of historical re-enactment, nor as a curiosity, was very moving. It was something I know many of us had prayed for for a long time. Even more moving, though, were the rites themselves, which had not been celebrated here in 40 years. It was joyfully jarring to feel the subjective orientation of the Cathedral itself change as we were all engaged in this prayer. There was concord of heart and mind directed at the Eternal Father, that He accept the sacrifice of His Son made on our behalf.
I want to offer my gratitude, once more, to His Excellency, Archbishop Chaput, for his generousity in permitting us to use the Cathedral Basilica for the celebration of our Mass of Thanksgiving. Many of the faithful participated in the spiritual bouquet which we will send to His Excellency. I do hope that anyone who attended the Mass yesterday will offer a kind and brief thank you to Archbishop Chaput & Msgr. Fryar. We also offer our gratitude to Msgr. Fryar, Rector of the Cathedral, John Brooks, Sacristan and Liturgist for the Cathedral, et al. We had an estimated count of 646 faithful in attendance for the Mass. The seating capacity of the Cathedral is 800. Fr. Gary Selin was indeed in attendance and requested to sit “in choir” for the Mass. He was a great help for the distribution of Holy Communion. Two of our own young parishoners, Daniel Doughtery & Nathan Finkin were MC and Thurifer. The seminarians of St. John Vianney Seminary also served the Mass. They all did very well and were much enthused. They will be serving the Pontifical Mass in November, too. We are also scheduling to instruct them in the rubrics to serve a Low Mass & High Mass. At their own behest they asked to learn how to serve & offer the EF.
I thank God for all His blessings to us and also to St. Jude, to whom I invoked his intercession for all of this. So, from my own experience, I do hope to renew a devotion in the hearts of the faithful to St. Jude again. Many thanks to all! Oremus pro invicem!
It was wonderful to attend this Mass! And the choir sang so beautifully!
God bless Bishop Conley.
I felt blessed to be able to sing in the choir for the solemn high Mass in the cathedral. The whole setting was like heaven on earth. To see the gothic high altar in all its splendor and the lovely spectacle of all the vested clergy and servers kneeling in Christ’s Presence sent me back to the time I converted in 1963.I am so glad to now experience that time. I have never seen the cathedral more beatiful, and I have been in there many times. I am so happy that we were able to be there and have the lovely extraordinary form.
Martha Dancy
I felt I was a part of history in participating in the first Tridentine liturgy said in the Cathedral in 40 years. I felt the joy that many others write about above. The Cathedral is one of the most beautiful Churches in the Denver Arch-diocese; the accustics made the liturgical music (polyphony?) sound mystical, like something off a Gregorian chant CD.
I think it’s also done at some other N.O. liturgies, but the bells of the Cathedral (real bells! not electronically-generated) were rung during the procession & at the consecration. In at least that sense, the building _was_ participating in the liturgy.
I was also very glad to see the high alter used for this liturgy. It’s fitting that it should be; that’s what it was created for, and this liturgy has used such alters for the past millinium or more.
What a wonderful Indian Summer Sunday! We are so blessed to have such great men as those who assisted Father Jackson at the Mass. God Bless each of you.
The OLMC Choir were spectacular in the presentation of music. I would have thought there were a hundred members in the choir loft! Very nicely done.
Congratulations to all who made this celebration of the Great Mystery of Faith possible. There are good scribes who can bring forth the treasures old and new. That is as it should be because as our Holy Father has tried so hard to point out the Liturgy is alive and what came before our time is still valid just as what we contribute, if we are faithful, is valid. Father Jackson’s homily was wonderful and I hope that everyone who was there takes it to heart.
Let us hope that this will be the first of many of these beautiful celebrations in this Cathedral.
Thanks to Archbishop Charles and Msgr. Fryar for their permission to celebrate this Mass in the Cathedral.