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EF Mass. Beautiful vestments, music (the organ was played) Really, just liturgically and spiritually enriching.
Father stressed, “enjoy today, Laetare Jerusalem. We glimpse the joy and salvation of Easter. Prepare for spiritual battle as we head into Passion Sunday.”
Really a wonderful Mass. It I was also the most crowded I have seen the Sunday EF Mass. 200+ people.
It was the feast day of our parish’s patron saint. Fr Francis gave us the history of our saint and parish. I had read most of the information but it was beautiful to hear father tell it. He also added a first hand account about the man who built our parish as a chapel for his vineyard workers. As father stated, our parish is the gem of our diocese.
Ordinary Form – and *very* ordinary – but lovingly celebrated.
5 minutes before Mass, the power failed. They had to bring out many large candles. Power was out for the whole Mass, so the readings were incredibly apt.
The priest used this opportunity to viscerally expound on the spiritual dark-light duality of this week’s Gospel. We are all born blind: in sin, darkness, corruption, and subject to vanity – but Christ eternally shines, and shines through us via love and the Sacraments. When we are anointed with what seems to be spittle and dirt (to our natural eyes) and are sent to Siloam, however, the World rejects the love we have found. When they say “Who is this new man? Is he the same one who begged at the Temple?” we simply reply “I am he” – i.e. we become partakers of the divine nature (I AM) by faith and baptism, regardless of what this darkened world thinks or says. We fall down before Christ, and the lights come on inside us to shine for the world.
The Holy Spirit put His seal of approval on this homily, in my opinion: The power was restored just after the priest received holy communion and the people were about to receive.
NO: How do I respond to God, knowing that He sees not as man sees?
This is one miracle Jesus performs without being asked. We are like the man at the pool, in that our Original Sin leaves us “blind” and we need His help whether we think we do or not.
Ordinary Form. Father was vested in rose. He had a wonderful homily on how Jesus shows us who he really is through the story of blind man. He mentioned how we , in our own blindness, came into more understanding of the truth, we began to ask, “who is he that I may believe in him”. It was very uplifting, and the parallels with today’s world are unmistakable.
Our new pastor (relatively young at around 45 yo…a John Paul II generation priest for sure) commented on the readings and lovingly, but forcefully and passionately, encouraged everyone to go to Confession. He also reminded everyone that all the popes went to confession on a regular basis asked all in attendance to go online (or if they are older – ask their children or grandchildren) and view the video of Pope Francis going to confess his own sins.
I’m 37 years old, and until the past 4-5 years, I never in my life heard a priest talk about the importance of going to confession during a homily. It’s happened at least a dozen times in the past few years (the JPII, Benedict XVI, and Francis triumvirate is having an effect). Alot more mention of sin too in the homily. It’s great to see and hear! The happy-clappy stuff of the 70’s and 80’s is rarely seen…at least in my NO parish.
VARoman–were you, perchance, at St. John’s? I was there w. three of my kids. A wonderful parish, with a magnificent liturgy and excellent priests!!
I attended the Novus Ordo in English at my local Philadelphia Parish. I have been usually attending TLM there but this week attended the 4pm Saturday mass. The priest wore gorgeous rose vestements (and a biretta) and the mass was very reverent. I was incredibly excited to find the church had recently begun to use English chant antiphons (which were also in the mass supplements). The mass felt very reverent and coherent; the antiphons tied it together throughout, from the entrance to the communion antiphon. They began thier use at the beginning of Lent and are considering retaining them throughout Easter and Ordinary Time.
EF – 1. Offer what little you have to God, He wants to use it for His will.
2. The people wanted to make Jesus an earthly king. They misunderstood Him, and we must be careful not to misunderstand the mission of the Church (the body of Christ) today.
Love my parish, love my priest!
New parish. Ordinary form. We sang Amazing Grace and the service was very, very good. Extremely pleased with my new parish home after moving.
I attend the EF in Kalamazoo. Beautiful Mass as usual; a little more organ than we’ve been having in Lent in honor of Laetare Sunday; Father wore an elegant rose & gold chasuble, pointed out that the stational church was Holy Cross in Jerusalem, & exhorted us to choose the transcendent joy of the heavenly city over the temporal happiness of earth.
The easiest way to summarize Father’s homily would be: GO TO CONFESSION!!! ;)
He spoke about various experiences of Padre Pio, and especially emphasized the importance of taking this sacrament (and all sacraments) more seriously.
NO: Father wore rose colored vestments.
This was such an excellent homily it too hard to find just one good point.
He first related a news story from the BBC about a young woman who just had a special ear implant and started hearing for the first time. The nurse was speaking and her mom was recording the first words she ever heard. The tears and emotion were overwhelming. We can read the miracle stories and forget the full impact of what just happened on the people who were there.
In addition to the physical healing he also healed the man’s soul. When first asked who healed him the beggar said a man, then he said a prophet and then he said the Lord and worshiped him. The physical healing was less emotional and had less of an impact then the spiritual. He ask us to contemplate where we are on our own journey of faith. The truth is: JESUS IS LORD! His forceful proclamation was impact-full.
He then went on to explain how the physical steps Jesus did to heal this man were not necessary. He listed other healing that were done with only spiritual means. He related this to the seven sacraments and after listing them (in case anyone forgot) he listed the physical and spiritual elements of each.
Both the 1st reading with the anointing of David and the Gospel, with our Lord’s rubbing spittle/ mud in the blind man’s eyes and sending him to wash in the pool demonstrate the importance of ritual and ceremony. God created us with five senses. Christ used the senses in His institution of the Sacraments, the Church uses them in Her Sacraments. The whole of Catholic worship is incarnational. Through ritual and ceremony, we are led to an intimate communion with the living God.
My sons are learning the TLM as alter servers so the family went to Sunday noon at St. Peter’s in Merchantville, NJ. Father Phan celebrated with 13 alter boys.
Had a parish mission this week with Fr. Ben Cameron of the Fathers of Mercy. The Cardinal Sins and Virtues still resonate from his passionate sermons that the whole congregation is still recovering from a week of confessions, sermons and benedictions each of the 4 nights.
OF in La Puente, Father’s sermon focused on self honesty, he touched upon the hot button issues, abortion, same sex marriage, and the HHS mandate, Father was extremely passionate, in one of those you had to be there moments, I’m thankful there are still faithful parishes in the LA Archdiocese.
The Gospel in the EF was the feeding of the 5000. The people are focused on their needs – to be fed and to have an earthly King. Jesus wants us to love him for who He is not for what He can do for us.