St Thomas Aquinas House: A traditional Catholic religious community of men in the Archd. of Detroit

From a priest friend who passed this along to me:

Would you please ask Fr. Z if he might be willing to feature our new experimental, extraordinary form community on his web blog?  We have Archbishop Vigneron’s endorsement for now, but need to grow.  I think something like this happening in Detroit will be big news for a lot of people.

Our website is as follows:

www.traditionalcanons.org

Brick by brick, friends.

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
This entry was posted in Brick by Brick, Priests and Priesthood, Seminarians and Seminaries, The Campus Telephone Pole and tagged . Bookmark the permalink.

19 Comments

  1. mtpensaventus says:

    I know Br. Michael. We need more Traditional Masses in Michigan. Prayers

  2. Gregorius says:

    Huh. Another society of traditional canons according to the rule of St. Augustine? Nobody tell the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem….

  3. Scott Woltze says:

    A tremendous idea. St. Josaphat’s and Sweetest Heart of Mary are amazing, and so many serious Catholics around the D. Wish the canons were there back in 2007 when I came back to the Church through the St. Josaphat’s TLM community. My prayers.

  4. Agapitus says:

    As a layman from the AoD I can testify that this a great group of men. They have a real love and commitment to the fullness of the expression of the Traditional forms of the Faith – Mass and Office. The men here are very solid and serious about the pursuit of holiness. The mere fact that they exist in the AoD seems a bit miraculous. We need to pray for this group and others like it and where we can, direct young men to check them out.

  5. Matt R says:

    I wish them success, but unless they use the old Holy Week and the pre-Pius XII Mass and desire to use the 1910 psalter, some of their descriptions of their liturgical life are misleading. Knowing the parishes in question and the trends of the monastic establishments and canons regular, it is pretty 1962 there. For what it is worth (increasingly worth a lot more…)

  6. kekeak2008 says:

    Great news; Deo gratias!

  7. paterpetri says:

    I used to sing with Brother Michael in the schola at St. Josaphat and St. Joseph. He taught one of my four sons catechism and has been over to our home for dinner. I know him to be a kind, devout, and respectable man, and count him as a friend. We need more men like him and Brother Stephen. The harvest indeed is great, but the labourers are few. We shall pray therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he send labourers into his harvest!

  8. Fr. Timothy Ferguson says:

    This is a great initiative, and some real solid holiness taking root in the Detroit area. I’ve been to their house (and assisted whilst a deacon at the Holy Mass there) and known them for a number of years. They are off to an auspicious beginning, and God-willing, are on their way to a good future.

  9. frjim4321 says:

    I think if this can be lived authentically it could be a good thing. I wish them the best. It seems way too retro for my taste, but what the heck, if it’s of the Spirit it will persevere.

  10. Kerry says:

    Detroit’s desert Fathers.

  11. abc55 says:

    The Brothers are a blessing to our parish and community. We really enjoy their company. Br. Michael has generously given his time and effort to catechize all 5 of our children. Their presence at Mother of Divine Mercy Parish makes that community healthier and holier. Please support these men any way you can. We need more orders like this.

  12. TomG says:

    I’m happy for the Detroit area and others around the country who are blessed with these communities. However, for us in the Baltimore and Washington archdioceses, we can only dream of having something like the canons regular, the FSSP or (God forbid) the SSPX. And the indult masses in the area are simply not real communities; they’re largely geriatric (and I’m almost 70), chronologically and, frankly, temperamentally. Anyone in ADB or ADW have any thoughts?

  13. j.foley says:

    Our family has had the great privilege of knowing Br. Michael for many years. He trained our boys as altar servers and taught them chant in a Schola. My heart is often moved to tears of gratitude for the positive influence he has had on the faith development of all six of my sons. We have come to know Br. Joseph and he has also taught us a great deal about the meaning of the Mass and how to pray better. My prayer is that from the seed of their willingness to trod this most difficult road ( that is required to begin a new order) a great tree will sprout, bearing fruit for many generations. Deo gratias.

  14. Gregorius says:

    TomG,
    1. The closest full-trad community to you is most likely the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem, in Charles Town, WV, about an 1 1/2-2 hr from ADB or ADW. Despite their currently few numbers they have connected to the local community in many, many ways. Their main website is down, but you can find them either on Facebook or look up ‘studio Adeodatus’.
    2. While church-hopping is unavoidable in that area, I have found that everyone ‘hops together’, so you can see the same faces at different events.
    3. If you live closer to the ADW, there are some places in the city that have (licit) traditional daily Mass, if you know where to look. The ecclesial climate apparently requires them to be quiet about it I guess?
    4. The traditional young people are at the Oratory-in-formation, and at ‘Juventutem DC’s church’.

  15. TomG says:

    Thanks, Gregorius. That’s a good start.

  16. bombermac says:

    TomG,
    As an occasional visitor to the area (family in Maryland and Northern VA), I recommend St. Francis de Sales in Benedict, MD. The pastor is a wonderful, dedicated priest who I believe offers the TLM as the principal Mass on Sundays, on First Fridays and other special days, and also on Saturday mornings. My wife and I were honored to be enrolled in the Confraternity of the Brown Scapular by said priest, and he also gave our eldest daughter her First Communion at a TLM.

    BTW, the FSSP does an annual pilgrimage/march to DC. This year’s pilgrimage will be from 2-4 June, with TLM at the National Basilica on the 4th (see FSSPDCPilgrimage.com).

  17. RobertAllen says:

    Brick by brick, indeed. And in the brick that is the Archdiocese of Detroit, the seminarians at STAH provide hope for a return to full pews of the faithful worshiping in Spirit and Truth. As j. foley noted, if you are looking for solid instruction in the Faith for your children, they are also the go-to catechists in this area. (Brother Michael is doing a fantastic job a preparing our daughter for Confirmation and I can’t thank him enough for the care he took readying our beloved future son-in-law for his reception into the Church on Holy Saturday.) . Learned and articulate, I pity the modernist who challenges their understanding of the Magesterium. Now if only I could persuade them to read a little more St. Anselm, we’d be all set. RFGA, Ph.D.

  18. zach714 says:

    What an absolute blessing this order is to the Archdiocese. I have had the privilege to be able to meet and get to know the Brothers, and I thank God for such a wonderful community of men, and I pray for their continued growth and development. They have influenced me in my vocation and I have learned much from them. They are a fantastic example of holiness to have in the Archdiocese, and I hope to join them one day as a Brother, and eventually as a priest.

  19. ubicaritas3 says:

    The Brothers are a huge blessing to Mother of Divine Mercy Parish (St Josaphat, St Joseph and Sweetest Heart Mary Churches). They’ve done a wonderful job of preparing children (including those who normally attend the EF and the OF Masses at the parish) for the sacraments and have enriched the spiritual atmosphere.

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