I thought you might want an update on St. Anne’s in Barrington, IL. I checked in on their stream for their main Sunday Mass. I didn’t last long. I did, however, see the priest celebrant (pastor) skip the Collect after penitential rite. There was no Gloria. He then invited children up to 4th grade to come around. Then he read a collect. It was not the Collect for Mass in the Novus Ordo. It was an alternative collect not approved for use. I found this version in use on the “presider’s page” of the heretical Ass. of Catholic Priests in Ireland where it is listed as the “Alternative Opening Prayer (from the 1998 ICEL?Missal):
God most high your ways are not our ways, for your kindness is lavished equally upon all. Teach us to welcome your mercy toward others even as we hope to receive mercy ourselves.
I found this prayer at Hope & Anchor Church from 2020.
Anyway, they are still doing whatever they want to in Chicago with no regard to the Novus in the book.
Meanwhile, a priest forwarded a video from a Fakebook page for Holy Cross in the Diocese of Rockville Centre, NY. HERE This is from 17 September. Go to about minute 36:30.
WARNING: The music is hideous and massively maxed volume, which distorts it. Turn your volume waaaay down before opening. WARNING: Corny barefoot middle-aged female liturgical dance at the offertory to put a cloth on the altar. Straight out of about 1975. Procession of dragooned children with gauzy streamer including a couple (hopefully embarrassed) boys with the gifts. They were shoved around by a bossy woman before being marched forward to their humiliation.
To the pastors credit there is Adoration at the parish every 1st Saturday. Confessions are scheduled for a whole 45 minutes on Saturday and on Wednesday after the 9:00 Mass, convenient for people who work.
And some ask why people who have been going to the TLM aren’t content with just going to the regular parish 5 minutes away.
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Our new bishop is from Rockvlille Centre. Now I’m very concerned I may have to find a new parish in the next 12 months.
Don’t judge all priests of a diocese from a few stranger ones. Give the new guy a chance to show his colors.
The Director of Liturgy at St. Anne’s is Rory Cooney. This explains much.
As I watch, I think the youngsters are yet too young to be embarrassed.
I don’t think they know what they’re doing, nor why. In accord with “noble simplicity”, they don’t need to know, they simply need to follow a teacher’s directions. I think that occurred here.
I suspect the boys will begin to object in a few years; they’ll probably hear the usual “boys and girls are equal” mantra. They may not refuse to participate further even then. Not yet.
Neither boys nor girls will likely object to Mass silliness until they encounter more solemn events like high-school graduations or Court of Honor in Boy Scouts or the like.
..Given how silly some of these have become, they may not object even then…..
Tragically, as they age and experience various events, many boys will likely begin to consider Mass “silly”, and cease attending. I think that occurred for my next younger brother. …Certainly neither he nor my youngest brother have been to Mass in some time….
I remember doing solos as a boy in a children’s choir. One was at Christmas, using each letter for a word; C for Christ child, H for herald angels, etc. Another was at Easter, so about signs of new life. I was never embarrassed by either; I didn’t mind the Christmas song, yet I didn’t like that at Easter. When my mother mentioned it some months ago, ..I had to tell her that boys don’t often go for singing about butterflies and Easter eggs. Why did I do it? I suppose I still liked music too much to refuse.
…Imagine my chagrin at age 21, learning that Chant existed….
…Imagine my further chagrin, failing to find anyone else who knew of Chant until about age 35. *shakes head*
Yep. A parish is 5 minutes from us – “charismatic” with a rock and roll band. Ugh. So we go to a more traditional Parish 20 minutes away. Confessions are three days a week and usually packed. The liturgy, overall, sticks to the script. Although sometimes in lieu of a homily we get the parish fundraiser of the day talk.
I know it is no longer Sunday, but I just came from a funeral Mass for a grandmother where the priest’s sermon was a life’s eulogy of a saint who was an angel on earth. During Holy Communion they played the record “My Special Angel” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BcfKlfqrBz4 Rose petals were dropped by children at the bringing up of the gifts. The recessional song with the casket was “If You’re Happy and You Know It” clap your hands …, and yes, they did. She was much loved by a strong family and many friends. The problem is that generations of Catholics have no idea that they are at Calvary when at the Mass, nor that we need to pray for the dead. Our Lady of Sorrows, pray for us.
To add to what Father said: As some of you may know, I reside in the diocese of Rockville Centre. For many years I attended Mass all over the place, and I am familiar with a good number of the priests here. They run the gamut. Overall, I’ve always considered this a middle-of-the-road diocese. It has its share of wackiness, to be sure, but it was never completely off the wall. And right now, we have about a dozen priests who can offer the TLM– at least those I know about. Who knows how many more are doing it in secret? The pastor of Holy Cross is one of the older crowd these days. The seminarians and newly ordained are much more conservative and orthodox. Granted, they are less likely to be promoted these days, but their day will come. My own pastor has almost literally been pushing people to the altar rail to kneel and receive Holy Communion– and I suspect that he’s not alone. And one never knows what a pastor inherited when he got assigned to a parish. I’d probably be annoyed to say the least if I had to go to a Mass like the one described, but that’s one reason I drifted into the TLM. Almost no unpleasant surprises await me there.
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Is it just me, or after watching these wackadoodle churches, does anybody else get the distinct odor of hellfire and brimstone?
The altar cloth contained the names of loved ones and prayer petitions.
I directed a parish choir for 25 years starting when I was 22. I literally knew nothing about proper liturgy when I started, and basically only got curious about the rules when things got more and more bananas because of a progressive pastor and an out of control Liturgy “Director.”
We never had liturgical dancers, but yes – there were some frustrated modern dance majors, who, decades out of college, would have loved to have a showcase for their little used and under-appreciated talent. “I just want to give my gift” is only a few degrees away from “full and active participation.” Add that to the idea that “All Are Welcome” and they will pretend you are putting their salvation at risk if you don’t let them make their contribution.
I think one big issue to consider is that the more we disengage from progressive parishes, the more we give them free rein to do their whack-a-doo madness. Prayerfully, judiciously, and calmly we should be pointing out to pastors, priests, staff, and volunteers things that are abuses. It’s a matter of justice and Church law (Canon 214)
This is the major problem with parishes run by diocesan clergy. When a new pastor arrives, everything can change–for better or for worse. My TLM-only, ICKSP parish in Waterbury Connecticut (St. Patrick) just got a new pastor unexpectedly less than 2 weeks ago. The outgoing pastor and the USA Provincial Superior both assured us that nothing would change. They all receive the same formation, and the order has a charism to which they all adhere. So far, the preaching style is different, and they have different haircuts. That’s about it. And it’s the reason I NEVER will go back to a parish run by diocesan clergy.
johntenor,
I well understand your thought. Certainly I would have agreed some 25 or 30 years past. Regrettably, I can no longer concur. Simply put, if I marry and raise a family, the parish I seek will be a significant influence in the values my kids adopt. If I try to “heal” a progressive parish for the sake of…getting along…those will be the values my kids will see most.
Then too, raising kids with serious Catholic values will require marrying a woman who embraces such values. If a woman considers girl servers a need and thinks Rosaries silly…these will have obvious consequences for family life.
I don’t have 25 years to spare for the Church to get its act together.
I don’t have the money–or time–to support two parishes either.
I have seen too little effort by the average diocesan parish to teach or preach, never mind live, serious Catholic faith in daily life. I have little choice then outside seeking a traditional Mass parish–still in communion with the local bishop–by which I might seek a virtuous and sacramental life.
jflare – of course not everyone can stick around a whackadoo parish to try to get changes made. In fact, we left the parish when it basically shut for months longer than the diocesan covid rules required. They did communion services in the parking lot until November of that year. Even the Easter Vigil in 2021 was behind locked doors. It was truly crazy.
My point is that some people should fight the fight as they can and in the way our Good Lord directs them.
Sometimes criticism and conflict are what’s needed so that the banana pants people at least don’t get to enjoy their liturgical destruction as much as they think they are deserve to.
I wonder if the custodian of tradition and the unique form of the Roman Rite in Chicago knows of the abuses occurring at St. Annes.
I wonder how long after learning of the abuses he will stop the abuses. After all the Holy Father said in the letter accompanying Traditionis Custodes, “I ask you to be vigilant in ensuring that every liturgy be celebrated with decorum and fidelity to the liturgical books promulgated after Vatican Council II, without the eccentricities that can easily degenerate into abuses.” This seems like a clear directive that Mass be carried out only in according to the latest addition of the Roman Missal.
I fear that I know the answers to my own musings.
After watching the Mass video, I was genuinely moved with compassion. The people in the pews look anything but engaged.
They look forlorn. The blank, emotionless expressions are a natural response to liturgical kitscsh.
I have friends and family members who have sung in church choirs for years. While there is a saying that music is twice praying, there are members of some church choirs who bounce around churches because “oh I didn’t get enough solos” or “the director wouldn’t let me play xyz instrument”, etc. I like to sing (and I do sing softly in church) but singing isn’t one of my gifts.
In my younger days I remember some choirs would encourage and demonstrate hand motions with songs. I liked it back then but as I learned more about reverence as part of my reversion story I don’t like the “let’s try to be cool” mentality.