From a reader:
I saw the piece on the Dio. of Alt-J and TLM on your blog and it had me wondering if folks knew that in the Diocese of Metuchen, NJ we have a shrine chapel where TLM has gone from once a month to every day! The former St. Bernard parish church in Raritan, NJ was no longer used because the parish moved to a bigger piece of property and a larger church. The diocese turned the church into the Shrine Chapel of the Most Blessed Sacrament for daily all-day adoration and Confessions. It has served in the capacity for over a decade now.
Every day mass is celebrated in the morning in the Novus Ordo (in English and Latin ad orientem) and then the Blessed Sacrament is exposed. There are Confessions heard every day. Each evening there is Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at 6:45, pm followed by TLM at 7:00, pm. On Sundays TLM is celebrated at 11:00, am and there is Benediction in the afternoon. The bishop has also given his permission for those who request it to have other Sacraments (like Baptism) celebrated at the Shrine in the extraordinary form and to have funerals there if they desire to have a funeral in the extraordinary form. It is not a parish church but it is a sort of "quasi-parish".
Brick by brick!
Loading ...
That sounds positively divine. We have an FSSP parish in the archdiocese, but even they don’t have daily Adoration and Benediction.
I hear Mass at this church regularly. Not only do we have daily Mass in the traditional rite, but we are blessed with an extremely holy priest who is a wonderful confessor and preacher. The church building has undergone some very positive renovations recently as well.
As someone who belongs to the Diocese of Metuchen, I had no idea.
Actually, the Extraordinary Form started to be celebrated there under the old ED indult back in 1989 under Bishop Hughes (I served as an acolyte at the first Mass). Used to be every Sunday, then once a month as the numbers attending dropped off. I’m happy to see it’s back to every Sunday, and from the looks of things, even more often (as in every day!). From what I remember, it’s in the center of downtown and parking is a bit problematic, but you go where you have to.
While Metuchen has never been a hotbed of traditionalism, it’s good to see that Bp. Bootkowski is making at least some effort to accommodate the legitimate aspirations of his flock.
I have been going the Shrine for many years. It is one of the few places in western Jersey where confession is available during the week. Also there is adoration for most of the day, every day. It is true that the TLM is celebrated their everyday. The priests are from Spain and do a very good job. Certainly the shrine is a must visit for anyone who lives in central and western NJ and is one of few places in that area where traditional Catholcism has been expressed on a consistent basis.
The Shrine is run by the Society of Jesus Christ the Priest (with priests also in Murcia, Spain, Ecuador and Chile).
Shrine’s website: http://shrine.cnjnet.com/
(including audios of Father Lope’s homilies)
The same priests run Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church, New Brunswick, New Jersey, and celebrate N.O. Spanish Masses there very reverently. (More info: http://www.olmtcarmelonline.com/english.html)
[Confession schedule there (heard in Spanish and English): Mon.-Fri.: Half-hour before Mass / Sat.: 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. / Sun.: Half-hour before and during all Masses.]
Great news. New Jersey seems to have clusters, which I hope can be expanded soon. If one lives in the northeast or southwest part of the state, there are many options. But the northwest (conservative, protestant) and southeast (shore) regions still need some traditional Latin Mass representation.
If anyone knows of any activity in those areas, I’d love to hear about it.
Ken, I found a couple of references for the northern end of the shore (and a little bit inland), which appear to be current.
Our Lady of Mercy, Englishtown – 1st Sundays, 9:30
Holy Cross, Rumson – Sundays, 7 pm; Wednesdays @ noon
http://www.holycrossrumson.org
St. Catherine, Middletown – Sundays, 9 am
http://stcathek.org/
First, as a member of the Diocese of Metuchen, I also had no idea. And I just heard word that the current Bishop is encouraging the Diocesan Master of Ceremonies (who also, by the way, is the Chairperson of the Liturgy and Divine Worship Comittee) to DIScourage the use of EF Masses in Parishes throughout the diocese. Above and beyond this, the Diocese is also contemplating the setting of a number to define the “stable group” required in each Parish for the use of an EF Mass. In a diocese with such a large range of parish size, it is impossible to do this! Bishop Bootkoski must learn to remove his personal liturgical likings from Diocesan policy.