At Ship of Fools you find a “review” of an experience of Holy Mass at a parish in England where the Extraordinary Form is celebrated. The parish was threatened with closure but it was turned over to the Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. St. Walburge’s is now open every day.
There are quite a few points made about the church, but what caught my special attention was this:
Which part of the service was like being in heaven?
During the distribution of the holy Sacrament, the choir sang two motets: Mozart’s Ave Verum Corpus and Saint-Saens’ Tollite Hostia. Oh, bliss and Joy! Because the distribution took about 20 minutes, they continued on with Ecce Panis Angelorum. That did it for me. I was crying in the aisles, remembering the last two motets from my convent school days, complete with white lace mantillas and Rosary beads looped over my hands. A lady behind me in the congregation was joining in with this singing; she had the voice of an angel. Quite a lot of people were crying, overcome with the emotion of the occasion.
It isn’t rocket science.
Reason #19857 for Summorum Pontificum.
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how beautiful!
on a sadder note I cry also at our NO masses but not for the same reasons as these people…some of the reasons: total lack of reverence for Jesus in the Tabernacle, almost 100% reception of communion expecially at Christmas time by people who attend mass once/twice a year and who have never heard from the pulpit that it is a mortal sin to miss Sunday mass, the constant use of the shortest Eucharistic prayer done in a hurried manner, the immediate brekdown of decorum and a proper atmosphere of worship as soon as the recessional hymn is over preventing one from properly concentrating on doing an act of thanksgiving..I could add more but I will stop
It isn’t rocket science, but one can’t see what one refuses to see. Especially true if it means one’s house of cards would fall down with the breath of the Holy Spirit.
143 reasons to go, Father! When you’ll have 20 000 reasons we can all celebrate and you could write a blog post in honour of them, if you like. Long live the Latin liturgy!
Often I find myself in tears at a Low Mass. Just so glad to be there.
I have the privilege of attending an FSSP parish. One time a visitor at high Mass cried through the whole 1.5 hours and another time a (different) visitor said upon leaving, “I feel as if I have been to church for the first time in 40 years!”
Interestingly, the previous bishop, refused to allow FSSP [I think] to take over the church, as it would have a detrimental effect upon adjacent parishes! Previously, the diocese had attempted to sell it to the local university. [a la, The Holy Name Manchester, UK] It is an iconic church and had become a financial embarrassment to the diocese – it will now be a liturgical embarrassment, if the venture is a success. Which I sincerely hope it will be.
Might I make a small correction to this good news story?
St Walburge’s parish – largely depopulated since the 70’s – was merged with my own, neighbouring, parish of The Sacred Heart a few years ago. St Walburge’s church was indeed under threat, but since September last year it has been entrusted to the Institute of Christ the King as a shrine devoted to Eucharistic adoration and, of course, to the traditional Roman rite. The shrine website is here: http://www.stwalburge.org
The correction is that the Institute is not, technically, responsible for a parish. Of course, it makes little day-to-day difference.
I thank God, Bishop Campbell and the Institute for the great blessings they have brought to Christ’s faithful in this part of England.
My wife and I just met with a realtor last night to make plans to sell out house. We just came back from a weekend visit to a parish four hours away that is full of life and reverence. So tired of the lack of reverence at our parish. We will most likely incur over $50K loss, but we feel its worth it. I was planning on retiring this July, but I will most likely have to work another five years to make up the loss. I don’t care, at Holy Mass at the parish we visited (NO, latin, ad orientem, 20 altar boys, latin choir) I could hardly keep back the tears all the way through. Please pray for us.
I am not a crier, I did however cry more at my first TLM in 2013, than I did at my own mothers funeral. I remember thinking “How can the Priest not cry to the point of not being able to continue? “.