The number of attendees of the TLM in Boston is small but its members tend to know and cherish their faith deeply. Alot of the parishioners at Mary Immaculate (formerly Most Holy Trinity) attending the latin mass are entire families incuding numerous young children, who will tend to be well versed in their knowedge of catholic belief. Of course a typical cross-section of Boston catholics will not similarly exhibit much knowledge of their faith. It seems to me that such knowledge will become increasingly significant as secularism continues to encroach upon the rights of the catholic church. and christians in general. Unless equipped to fight against the onslaughts of the enemy our young people will lose the most precious gift imaginable; their faith. The latin mass community though numerically small is large in potential, growing by leaps and bounds, most importantly it will not crumble when the going gets tough.

God Bless

Carl

Fr. Roberto Mena, S.T.

http://www.parishworld.net

Your Eminence,

I’d like to comment on the attendence levels of TLM in the Boston archdiocese. I live in MetroWest and have a difficult time making a regular trip to Newton and/or Boston. Please do not take my lack of attendence as a sign that I’m not interested in attending TLM or a Latin NO Mass.

How do we, who cannot attend the one TLM in Boston regularly, express our interest in attending a Latin Mass in our own area?

Thanks!

The MP has been announced, the TLM has been freed and now the real work must begin.

Thank you, your Eminence for posting on this important document.

Sancta Maria, Mater Dei, ora pro nobis

Thank you so much for your blog. When I visit it, I am brought back to the wonderful few months I spent at St. Fidelis in the fall of 1960 (I was a minim when you were a junior). I left before 2nd semester, so I’m sure glad one of us made it!

During my pre-seminary retreat, I remember how I excited I was when talking to dear old Ft. Bede that one day we’d experience the Mass in English (he wasn’t sure we ever would). Later, I followed the Council with great anticipation, and have thanked the Holy Spirit for His guidance ever since in bringing us Sacrosanctum Concilium.

I am currently reading both Archbishop Bugnini’s book on the reform of the liturgy as well as the Holy Father’s new book, “Jesus of Nazareth,” in an attempt to engage in a spiritual and intellectual way the tension that separates the progressive and traditional elements of the flock. I am praying that the motu proprio of this deeply spiritual vicar of Christ will help heal this tension and bring us closer together.

I am also heartened that the Church has among its princes someone like yourself to show us — in the simple, but beautiful habit of your Capuchin order, and its touches of the resplendent colors of your office — that we too can combine the particular outer forms that we cherish in such a way that the charity in our hearts toward one another will shine more brilliantly than anything that could separate us.

Thank you for continuing to pastor beyond the borders of Boston through your blog. It’s been a while since I’ve made it over here, but once again having visited, I have find myself renewed and refreshed.

Your explanation of the meeting with the Bishops and the Holy Father was very informative for me and contextualized the pastoral considerations in very meaningful ways. I really do understand the MT more clearly now and it will help me as a member of my parish liturgy committee and within my community and other faith circles.

Blessings on your vacation! May it be a time of rest, relaxation, and renewal. And many blessings, too, on the Poor Clare Nuns and Sisters of Cleveland.

Lisa

Greetings from Cincinnati! What great photographs! You are certainly a blessing to the Sisters and to all of us. We hope your vacation was restful. Please keep our family, the residents, and priests of Madonna House in your prayers as we head to Combermere, ON, to help lead a Cana retreat. We all miss you and are grateful that you look so well.

In the Peace of Christ,

Forrest
Fall River ’93

While we have a new Bishop here, in Port Orange Florida, we get the Pilot each week as we watch the goings on of the Archdi of Boston. Why be interested in Boston? ..Easy, I had been a member of ‘it’ from 1926 to 2005. Blessings and Love. Eddie and Marie Leahy…..parishes of St. Ann, St. Joseph Somerville; Immaculate Conception, Cambridge; St. Mary, Hull; Immaculate Conception, Weymouth (24 yrs), St. Clare, Braintree, 6 years and now Our Lady of Hope, Port Orange. Florida.
God Bless Cardinal Sean and all his fellow priests, who continue to follow their Bishop in Boston and Rome. I must add that Fr.John Crispo, a close friend of mine from grade 1, St. Ann’s School until his death , a short time ago always stated a simple Faith…God is Good, Let us continue to praise the Lord.
My prayer, at age 81 is the same. Let us continue to Praise and Hope in the Lord.

God Bless the Cardinal Archbishop of Boston and our Beloved Pope, Benedict XVI. Deo Gratias.

To His Eminence: Happy Birthday, and thank you for news of the Motu Proprio. I assure you that many faithful catholics are eager for this document and for a new flourishing of our liturgical tradition!

The only reason I have not attended a Latin Mass is because the closest one is over an hour away and I just don’t want to go into Boston on a Sunday morning. I have been waiting for the Latin Mass since I came back into the church in 2001. I am not old and sentamental. I am 39 years old and would love to celebrate the Mass that was celebrated for more than 1000 years. I do believe that the new Mass is valid but it leaves much to be desired especially when you have liturgical abuses that just leave you shaking your head wondering what these priests are thinking and what they themselves believe. Thank God for Pope Benedict and his bravery maybe now the Church will get back to being the Church and not a club. By the way I am part of the Archdiocese of Boston (Lowell to be exact) and the want for the Latin Mass here is great we just don’t have access to one that’s convenient and therefore are unable to attend. Once the Latin is available again I will bet that you see the numbers soar.

God Bless You and Happy Birthday.

I am a young adult who lives within the Archdiocese of Boston. I would love to attend the celebration of the traditional Mass but can not make the Mass in Newton. My parish priest would not celebrate the traditional Mass even though many other young adults in the parish would rather attend a traditional liturgy. Allowing greater access to the traditional Mass would be a great blessing. I pray that the Bishops would do the right thing and allow a priest to say the traditional Mass without any legislative hindrance. I also pray that you would do the right thing, and train your seminarians in both forms of the liturgy.

Firstly, after all the fuss and botheration about the Moito Proprio, do you think it actually matters? After all, the old mass was very permissable with the permission of the local
Bishop-are there that many occasions where a local Bishop actually forbade this mass?

Secondly, how many priests are even able to serve this mass? You should know (being a Bishop and all)-aside from the Jesuits, and perhaps the various orders of St. Francis, and some Dominicans, who knows enough Latin to do this well? I hope you agree that the important thing is that the mass is done with integrity and dignity-regardless of language.

Thirdly, do you really think the first photo on this blog entry is wise? What do we have here-the most intelligent ladies of the diocese being shown to be confined behind a cage, lest they infect the really important (male) officials of the diocese? This is not an image that is useful when I try to talk to my neices about the Church.

Finally-and this is perhaps not something to be done on your blog-but I don’t know anyone save the Cardinal
Archbishop of Boston who can answer this question. To whit-what is this about the pallium being besowed on “new” Metroplitan Archbishops? What i’m thinking of is about our highly regarded former Archbishop of Edmonton (a Metroplitan See) getting I guess a new pallium for his promotion to Toronto. I actually know that they are only to be worn in the Metro’s own see, but given that they are identical, why would one get a new one?

I am perhaps a bit too concerned with protocol -but I really wonder. This is the sort of question you’re going to get, your Eminence, when you’re the only Cardinal who has the guts to make a blog!

For which I cannot thank you enough. And if you don’t know (and even Cardinals can’t know everything!)-perhaps you have a priest well versed in canon law who can answer this trivial question?

Belated birthday greeetings.

I wish to take exception to those who regard the Missal of 1970 as the isolated cause of lowered Mass attendance. Doubtless the manner in which the sacred liturgy has been celebrated at times over the past 37 years has made matters for the Church worse rather than better. But in 1958 Mass attendance was at a high of 74 percent. Before the Council itself a slight decrease had taken place. By 1965 that figure had dropped to 67 percent, and by 1969, before the Missal of Paul VI was even issued, it had dropped to 58 percent, a 16 percent total drop in less than 12 years. Since 1970 we have witnessed an additional 18 percent drop in weekly Mass attendance.

Like I said, obviously many of the intended fruits of the liturgical renewal have been shortchanged or down right jettisoned by poor liturgical celebrations and sacramental catechesis. But we already had significant problems by 1970. It’s time to look at the entire situation and work towards improvement, always trusting in the Lord and his promise for his Church: his one, holy, catholic and apostolic Church.

I believe the wisdom of the Holy Father, that of maintaining one single Roman Rite with two essential forms of celebration, will serve well the liturgical life of the Church. I am hopeful both forms will sustain and inform each other. Certainly the manner in which the “ordinary” form of the Roman Rite is celebrated needs much improvement.

Thank you very much for giving us the word about the impending Motu Proprio which will derestrict the “Traditional Latin Mass”.

I and many others await the fruits of this wonderful news.

Sincerely,
–Guy Power

God Bless you and the Poor Clare sisters. They are a wonder indeed!

I am glad to see that the Holy Father is trying to heal this rift with the SSPX. I would love to see so many priests (400) come back into the church. What a need that would fill…especially here in New England.

I think the MP will also enrich the NO mass. I do not fear, as some who attend the NO have told me, that their churches will empty in favor of the TLM. I think improvements to the NO will be the result of the MP and that the entire church will benefit. All Catholics stand to gain from the Holy Father’s reconcilliation gesture.

I think the springtime that JPII told us about is upon us!

bjr

Please do not underestimate the desire for the traditional rite in the United States. There are many of us, born well after the Council, that feel deprived of our Catholic liturgical and cultural heritage. We are waiting eagerly for a chance to worship regularly in the traditional rite and have great hope that this will bring a greater sense of the sacred back to the celebration of the new rite as well. Please do not deprive your people of this opportunity.

May God bless and protect you.

Thank you for a wonderful site that provides a unique perspective for Catholics around the country. In the days of the 24-hour news cycle and, to some extent, manipulation of the news by the popular media, it is refreshing to hear about Church issues and Church business from a respected, faithful Prince of the Church.

May God bless you and keep you safe during your travels.

Thank you for the report on the Motu Proprio. What wonderful news for the Church. The Ordinary and Extraordinary celebration of the Mass will enrich the life of the Church.

Will Riley

I was interested to read your comments on your meeting with the Holy Father and bishops recently in Rome, concerning the forthcoming Motu Proprio. You have done much good in facilitating Traditional Rite masses in your diocese, and I am sure that those attending those masses are very grateful. I suppose you are right in much of what you say about the MP in your blog : but I think that the MP will help fulfill an increasing pastoral need in the church, for an increasing number of individuals. I suppose the liturgical issues surrounding the MT – for instance, the beauty of the Traditional Rite (i.e. the ‘extraordinary’ Roman rite) the revision of the rites after Vatican II and badly celebrated Novus Ordo masses – are more wider and, in many ways, important than the number of individuals who attend the Traditional Rite maases. I hope that the MP will help the so-called ‘reform-of-the-reform’ of the Novus Ordo (which we use in my abbey ) and that the ‘stigma’ over many of those who find the Traditional Rite an aid to their participation in the life of the Church and their spiritual lives, will finally be lifted. The MP may help the reconciliation of the SSPX, but we will have to wait and see.

With prayers and greetings,

Yours obediently in Christ,

Fr. Anselm.

Thank you for your comments on your meetings in Rome and the beautiful pictures. The picture of St. Paul Outside the Walls, in particular, brought back memories of my honeymoon, as my husband Robert and I visited it. (We also had the privilege of meeting the late Holy Father, John Paul II, as sposi novelli, or new spouses, during a Wednesday general audience.)

I am intrigued by your comment that interest in the Traditional Latin Mass is low in New England. As the leader of Una Voce Boston and a member of the Traditional Mass movement for almost twelve years, I sense a lot of “pent up demand” for this form of worship. One leader in the movement reported that even last fall, as the first stories about the motu proprio were appearing, that callers to a talk radio show on which he was a guest felt that they were, for the first time in decades, able to talk about their desire to attend the Traditional Latin Mass. We hope that the new motu proprio will give the faithful a sense that they are able to attend what will now be labeled the extraordinary form of the Roman Rite and become better Catholics as they encounter Christ in the Mass with renewed devotion, that the number of such faithful will increase substantially, and this will also “spill over” into increased attendance at the normative rite.

May Our Lord and Our Lady bless your vacation.

… And 103 chapels in 38 states, 25 schools, a college, 4 retreat houses, a publishing house, 63 priests, 64 seminarians, 11 brothers, 24 sisters, 803 third-order members, thousands and thousands of parishioners.

And what about the FSSP, which is not even free to open chapels in many parishes?

And what about the ICKSP?

Your Eminence,
I find it astounding that you are not aware of the increasing interest in the traditional mass and sacraments among young people in this country. It is true that there is no mass movement in favor of the traditional rite, but one would hardly expect such a mass movement since the traditional rite has been vilified and suppressed for decades. Let us wait for 10 years after the Motu Proprio and see if things have changed, I suspect they will have.

My concern over the Latin Mass is … who is going to celebrate it.. How many Priests in America could ??

ron shaplehy

Thank the Lord…
Richard Volk Diocese of Albany

Peace be with you! I’m a regular reader and enjoy your blog. This posting was especially wonderful because of the timeliness! I feel as though I am in Rome! Thank you! Enjoy your vacation, I think having the newly ordained fill in will be a very special experience.

Faithfully yours in Christ,
~Jake Wood

P.S. You sure that the interest in the Latin-Greek-Hebrew Mass in New England is all that low?

As a young American, I must disagree with your characterization of the demand for the Traditional Latin Mass. This issue is at the forefront of orthodox Catholicism today, particularly among the young Catholics of the John Paul II generation. I was born long after the Council, and have felt deprived of my liturgical heritage. I am not alone.

I am happy that you were able to meet with the Holy Father, but your implications that the impending motu proprio is meant primarily to effect a reconciliation with the Society of St. Pius X doesn’t quite “jive” with the Holy Father’s prior comments on the matter. I await the actual text itself.

For years prior to his elevation, the Holy Father spoke (effectively) of the unprecedented (and, by implication, imprudent) imposition of the new rite. That is an issue not solely for the SSPX, nor solely for “traditionalist” Catholics, but for the entire Church herself. The creation of this “New Mass” and its pressured, top-down imposition on the faithful was as unprecedented in Church history as it was breathtaking in its reliance on raw power. It is an authentic miracle that a more significant schism did not result.

It seems clear that the Holy Father envisions the Rite of St. Pius V and the Rite of Paul VI co-existing in a symbiotic fashion. In this manner, the rites can instruct each other.

while it is already past midnight, may I still wish you all the best and God’s abundant blessing on the occasion of your Eminence’s birthday? May He preserve and strengthen you for His service.
May I also suggest, regarding this posting, that the Holy Father, by making the Classical Roman Mass more available, is not only reaching out to the faithful who are presently involved with the Society of St. Pius X, but also, as has already been publicly stated by both Cardinals Castrillón and Bertone, endeavoring to rediscover the treasure of the liturgical heritage of the Church, to foster a hermeneutic of continuity, and to refocus – in all of the Roman Rite – our sense of what the liturgy is all about, preparing what he has termed a “reform of the reform”.

I am so pleased you were able to be in Rome to speak with the Pope on the Motu Proprio on the Traditional Mass. I believe you underestimate the power of and the latent desire for this Mass in the United States. Most people have not even heard that it is an option. The Masses I have attended have been packed with young, devout familes. The seminaries that train priests for the Traditional rite are full. Wherever the Traditional Mass is freely offered, it is well atended. I myself feel such a spiritual lift from a single Traditional Mass, that I feel spiritually empowered throughout the entire week. The fact is, since the Novus Ordo was introduced, Mass attendance has decreased by half in this country, and by 80 to 90 % in Europe and Canada. Even in Boston, Catholic marriages are down 60% in the last 20 years! If the Traditional Mass can bring them back, why not try it in most parishes in the archdiocese and see what happens? At least it’s a talking point for inviting someone to come back to the Church. On this feast of St. Peter and Paul, with its focus on evagelization, let’s do everything we can to evangelize our own. If that means having two forms of the Mass as the norm, then so be it! If we are seeking unity with Protestants, then why not with Traditionalists? And don’t underestimate our numbers. We are truly everywhere… we just have not been invited to come out and join the celebration. Now it is our turn to invite the rest of the Church to join us in the traditonal form of worship which nourished so many saints for so many centuries. Please let the Spirit work freely in our midst and support the flowering of Tradition in our parishes!

Thank you for your very interesting account of Wednesday’s meeting with the Holy Father. I am also grateful to you for your willingness to be available to address the needs of TLM attendees in your archdiocese.

I’m wondering: Is there not also another element to this MP, that being the reforming influence which the Traditional Mass might have on the current Missal?

Thank you, and may God prosper your work.