From a reader:
Perhaps you know already, but here are excerpts from my pastor, Fr. Bryan J.B. Pedersen, writing in today’s bulletin from Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Robbinsdale, MN (http://sacredheartrobbinsdale.org/):
"Over the last few months I have been praying a great deal about pastoral generosity. This is so because I have been receiving requests in written form and also verbally from some parishioners, and other Catholics who live in the western suburbs of Minneapolis, for me to celebrate a weekly Sunday Mass in Latin. …
"Because of the requests made by our Holy Father to be generous to those who desire the older form of the Mass, and because I am one of the few priests in the Archdiocese capable of responding to such requests. Therefore for these reasons and in a spirit of generosity I have decided on an experimental basis to add a third Mass to our Sunday Schedule in the extraordinary form of the Mass. … The additional Mass on Sunday will begin on March 1st, which is the first Sunday of Lent, and will ordinarily start at 11:30 am. The additional Mass will be in the extraordinary form using the Roman Missal in use in 1962 per the instruction of our Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI. One of the reasons the additional mass will be on an experimental basis is due to the fact that I must determine if the requests I have been receiving do in fact constitute a stable group who will respond with generosity to our parish. The additional Sunday Mass will initially be celebrated at the Side Altar of St. Mary in the transept. If the number of people attending the older form of the Latin Mass is greater than initially expected then I will shift to using the main altar in the sanctuary. For the time being the Mass will be a low Mass, which means that it will be without music."
Loading ...
This seems like a fair and reasonable response–if only more pastors responded (or felt free to respond) with such charity. It is now up to the local laity to fill the pews.
If the people of that parish who requested it are smart, they will continually show up, support the Parish, create a real community, and thank the Priest and copy the Bishop. [Remember #4 of the Rules of Engagement?]
Do I think this is satisfactory? No. I honestly think one should be allowed to have it on at least a weekly basis.
But, it sure as hell is politically smart to be supportive. One never knows. He could be looking for an excuse to cancel it.
Flood him with love, and get your friends to it.
Papabile; my reading is that it will be on a weekly basis, meaning every Sunday. Am I misreading it? or do you mean it should be during the week as well?
Palpabile: “He could be looking for an excuse to cancel it.”
Do you always have such a positive outlook?
If you read what he wrote, it IS on a weekly basis. I think this is especially wonderful because he is responding, not from a personal desire of his own, but because of the pastoral needs of his people. God bless him.
Arrgh! I misread it. I thought it was once a month on the third Sunday. Sorry about that. I was actually trying to suggest that people act optimitically if that were the case.
I think it is wonderful too.
Arrgh! I misread it. I thought it was once a month on the third Sunday. Sorry about that. I was actually trying to suggest that people act optimistically if that were the case.
I think it is wonderful too.
Especially encouraging is the fact that the pastor chose an optimal late Sunday morning slot for the weekly TLM.
It is now time for all those who love the old liturgy to show up en masse at this new Mass being said by the bishop – all those who can should attend and make it clear that this is indeed not only a “stable group” but one who supports a bishop trying to do the right thing. Maybe it will go from a side altar to the main altar in no short order. In any case thanks to the bishop are in order.
I think the side altar to mary makes it wonderful. Who better to cradle us at mass than our Spiritual Mother?
Yes the later time is wonderful. Out of habit alot of people go to the later mass, this will encourage them to go, even if they have very little understanding of the old form of mass (they will learn)
Kudos to this Priest, I’ll say a prayer for him
People should be quite encouraged by this. Fr. Pedersen’s home parish is the famed St. Agnes in St. Paul (where his father is one of the deacons), and his most recent assignment prior to becoming pastor at Sacred Heart was as Parochial Vicar at St. Augustine in South St. Paul (which for many years prior to Summorum Pontificum was the indult parish for the EF). He has had a great deal of experience with both the EF and the OF in Latin, and is a very sound, very orthodox, and very good young priest; I am not at all surprised that he is introducing this to his new parish.
Paul, this Mass is not being said by the Bishop but by Fr. Bryan Pederson who used to be the Associate at the TLM at St. Augustine’s. And yes hopefully people will show up now that this Mass is at a normal hour and every week. One of the main problems we had with a previous attempt at St. Walburga’s was that it was only once a month and in the afternoon.
Cavaliere,
My apologies are in order. I thought the bishop was to be the celebrant. In any case it appears he is the prime mover behind it, along with many of the faithful who have requested it. Thanks for pointing this out to me.
LOL! Gotta love it! Two things that jumped out at me:
1) “…I must determine if the requests I have been receiving do in fact constitute a stable group who will respond with generosity to our parish.” Yes, PECUNIA DICIT!! I have said this for YEARS. When Traditional Catholics start speaking to their bishops through their wallets, THEN we will get more Tridentine masses. So, next time you get the plate handed to you, put in an “IOU” saying “Good for “x” amount of dollars on the return of the TLM to my parish”.
2) Only in Minnesota could you possibly have a Fr Pedersen. Gotta lov’em.
Publius – a low mass is a low mass. Music is nice, but not necessary. A “high mass” would also “confirm all the negative characitures (sp) of the rite by the Left”, in that people will find fault with whatever they see if their mind is made up to do so from the begining. So, don’t worry about what “the Left” thinks. Be happy for the parishoners of MSP. If THEY want the high mass, then it sounds like they will get it.
I am a member of this parish and plan to attend the TLM whenever able.
RE: this being a low mass. I believe this is not a permanent decision, but due to the lack of any trained schola present. I have offered to help build one, but it will be an ongoing process over the next months and year.
All you fortunate parishoners, I’m jealous as heck. I live in the dead center of Illinois (Decatur)and currently drive to Cahokia, Il just across the river from St. Louis,MO. to attend LM at Holy Family Parish. It’s at least a 2 hour drive in any direction to find one. I fear we’ll never experience this in the Springfield diocese. But if you ever find yourself in the St. Louis area on a Sunday morning you’ll have to visit the oldest continually operating Catholic parish in the US. It’s actually a log cabin church & historic site built by the French explorers & Jesuits of the 17th century. They have been offering the LM for the last 12 years. John M
I would guess that the part about responding generously to the parish is not primarily about money. In order to add the EF to a parish, priests need committed attendees. It requires energy and resources. It is likely to stir some controversy. The priest cannot have a group of people demand the Mass and then not show up. Additionally, the group should engage in the life of the parish. If the priest is being pressured not to do this, it would likely be on the grounds that it is divisive and a lot of work for only a few people. Therefore, it is necessary that generosity is shown in a stable committment to attend that Mass even when it is inconvenient. Generosity must also be shown in a committment to be a part of the parish, a community that is complimentary and supportive of the life of the parish as it is currently, and not simply there to get their TLM and get out. Of course, financial support is a good way to fulfill a precept of the Church and exercise generosity as well.
In this day and age, priests cannot simply muscle changes in a parish. Care must be taken to do all things as peacefully as possible. If people do not see that the priest is serving their best interests and cares about them, they can rebel. This will then undermine the priest’s authority and make it difficult to get anything done. Thus, the priest is doing what he can, but the faithful have their part to do as well.
I am grateful for this wonderful young priest to be in Robbinsdale, MN. I have been a parishoner at St. Agnes for the last few years, but it is a jaunt to really get involved, other than attending Mass. I will definitely attend the 11:30 Mass beginning March 1. I live about ten minutes away from Sacred Heart Catholic Church, and it is miraculous, that’s the only description that comes to mind.
Father Pederson and his father, who is a deacon at St. Agnes, concelebrated Mass one Sat., and Deacon Ramsey from Sacred Heart and Deacon Pederson concelebrated with Father Pederson on another occasion. It is heartwarming.
More accurately, they deaconed. Only priests concelebrate.
Hey! Dan you are a God send to this “most beautiful thing this side of heaven”, I would attend low-Mass everyday if I only could, actually I did at one time,in the 50’s and early 60’s. If anyone is near Little Falls on a sunday and goes 10 miles west,to Flensburg, Mn Mass is at 10;00 and the choir is so angelic,one must hear to believe that this little parish, Sacred Heart, prays and sings the most beautiful (Gregorian Rite) T.L.M. Come see and hear.
I am from St Augustine in South St Paul, MN. This is the parish that has had the Tridentine Mass for many years. Fr Pederson was Asst. at St Augustine and said the Trad Mass there. He is a liturgist par excellance. He is a strong supporter of the Tridentine Mass. We had the best Triduum last year because of him and his dad who is a deacon.
This Mass has been fully expected for some time. We loved Fr Pederson. He said the rest of the Baptism ceremony for our children so that they had the full Traditional Sacrament. He also said the Prayers for Mothers for any woman that had a baby. This is an excellent priest. I am sure he is NOT looking for a reason to cancel this Mass.
He also brought the Sacraments to me in the hospital… in Latin. It was wonderful.
I applaud the pastor for his efforts. He makes the point that he is one of the few priest in the Archdiocese to be able to fulfill this request. As a current Archdiocesan seminarian I am not sure when that will get better. Although we receive excellent formation and academics, our preparation in Latin consists of a once a month Latin Novus Ordo. I wonder when the seminary will recognize the need to prepare future priests better in Latin and the TLM?
Fr. Pederson is a very fine young priest, and I’m very happy to live close enough to his parish to be a regular visitor there. Fathers magnanimous contributions to his parishioners is no surprise to those who know him at all. While he may well be one of the few in his diocese who can say the extraordinary form of the Mass, lets not forget that he is a product of that very fine diocese. I too, applaud the multifarious talents of this very fine priest.