HOPE EVERYONE had a blessed All Saints Day and All Souls Day. I went on a little vacation with my friends last weekend and spent some time around the great lakes of Michigan. I spent my All Saints Day in Detroit and I went to a Missa Cantata at St. Josaphat Roman Catholic Church. On All Souls Day, I sang and served at multiple Masses, celebrated in both Forms. Surprisingly, all the celebrants including the bishop and the vicar general wore black vestments! Anyway, the highlight of the day was the Missa Cantata at Immaculate Conception Church in Dennison, Ohio. Fr. Ty Tomson celebrated the Requiem Mass with the catafalque.
According to my friend, the Tridentine Mass has been celebrated at St. Josaphat Roman Catholic Church, a historic church in downtown Detroit, since 2004. The Mass I went to was very simple but well-attended. I was amazed by the active participation of the parishioners, whether they are in the sanctuary, the pews or the choir loft. There were quite a few young men serving in the sanctuary. They served very well and the Liturgy went very smoothly. The organ music and the chants were just sublime! It seems like most people in the church have been going to the Latin Mass and knew it pretty well. Most of them can follow along with the St. Edmund Campion Missal & Hymnal. The parishioners were also able to participate externally by performing the different gestures (including the head bows during the Gloria, which was amazing!) and joining with the schola in singing the Ordinaries and the hymns. I think we can all learn from this wonderful parish. The Traditional Latin Mass really united these people from different ethnic groups together.
On All Souls Day, a Missa Cantata was offered at Immaculate Conception Church in Dennison, Ohio. The Extraordinary Form Mass was introduced to the church recently and parishioners are still adapting to it. I was invited to sing with the choir at this Mass and it was a big contrast compare to the Mass I attended on All Saints Day. The servers were still learning how to serve the Mass and they were doing their very best. The choir has been working hard on chanting. A lot of people are trying to follow along with the help of the handouts and they tried to follow the postures of the altar boys. Some people just simply sat there in deep prayer. They are still in the beginning stage in terms of the familiarity of the Traditional Mass. However, everyone was trying their best to pray and to participate, both internally and externally. Even though they are new to this Form of the Mass, there were still a lot of people sitting in the congregation. I was impressed by the way they prayed and the strong faith they have.
These two churches are very different. But they are both great examples of what Vatican II called for, that faithful are led to “full, conscious, and active participation in the liturgical celebration.” (SC 14)
AST WEEK, I wrote a post about the booklet, An American Requiem. I hope our reader found it useful. Bridget Scott and Fr. Charles Byrd informed me that they now have an updated version of the booklet. There are some errors in the previous edition and they have been corrected. It can be downloaded here:
