The Good News

The good news we heard at Mass last weekend was from both the scripture readings and the announcements. I've blogged a bit about the spiritual richness of this area and the fact that our little town is so blest that we can choose from not only a variety of Mass times, but can choose from the Novus Ordo or Tridentine Mass as well.

For non-Catholics, the Tridentine Mass, more properly referred to as the extraordinary form of the Mass if I remember right, is the form of liturgy that most people refer to as the Latin Mass.  That's a bit misleading, since the norm for the Novus Ordo Mass most people are now accustomed to is actually Latin.  Nor is the Tridentine Mass exactly the Mass celebrated from the beginning although it, like any of our approved forms of Mass, encompasses the critical elements - its origins lie with the Council of Trent (1545-1563).   It is beautiful, intensely reverent, and theologically rich, it's the form of Mass celebrated at our little Augustinian priory.  And although I still need to use the translation given in the missal, I'm learning the Latin quickly enough that I'm referring to the English less and less. 

The more common Novus Ordo Mass, introduced in 1969 by Pope Paul VI, is offered in English and Spanish, i.e., the local vernacular, just down the road at St. James.  Using the vernacular has advantages and disadvantages.  Latin is not a language that's changing - vernacular languages are, and that can create issues with the meanings of words.  It also causes a problem when the local vernacular is not that of a visitor - those that celebrate the Tridentine Mass tend to have a missal with a translation from Latin to their own language.   Offered in a single language of unity, it doesn't matter if every language spoken in the room is different - we all are following and responding as one.  That was once an advantage of universities:  their common language was Latin.  Whatever your native language, as long as you knew Latin you could attend universities throughout Europe without a communications difficulty.

Both the Tridentine and Novus Ordo rites are Western Catholic rites.  But they aren't the only recognized rites - there are more than 20 recognized as valid in the Catholic Church.  Those two are just the ones that Americans are most familiar with.  Pope Paul VI, I believe, was Ambrosian Rite and had to learn the Tridentine Rite after he was elected to the papacy.

I'm not an either/or person.  As long as Rome says the Mass is legitimate, it's the Mass.  It's the re-presentation in an unbloody manner of Christ's sacrifice.  NOT a re-sacrificing - that seems to be a common misconception.  Both rites incorporate the ancient practices of the early Church:

"Assemble on the Lord’s day, and break bread and offer the Eucharist; but first make confession of your faults, so that your sacrifice may be a pure one. Anyone who has a difference with his fellow is not to take part with you until he has been reconciled, so as to avoid any profanation of your sacrifice [Matt. 5:23–24]. For this is the offering of which the Lord has said, ‘Everywhere and always bring me a sacrifice that is undefiled, for I am a great king, says the Lord, and my name is the wonder of nations’ [Mal. 1:11, 14]" (Didache 14 [A.D. 70]).

 "Our sin will not be small if we eject from the episcopate those who blamelessly and holily have offered its sacrifices. Blessed are those presbyters who have already finished their course, and who have obtained a fruitful and perfect release" (Pope Clement I, Letter to the Corinthians 44:4–5 [A.D. 80]).

"Make certain, therefore, that you all observe one common Eucharist; for there is but one Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, and but one cup of union with his Blood, and one single altar of sacrifice—even as there is also but one bishop, with his clergy and my own fellow servitors, the deacons. This will ensure that all your doings are in full accord with the will of God" (Ignatius of Antioch, Letter to the Philadelphians 4 [A.D. 110]).

I love them both, but, unfortunately, there are groups who have separated from the Church by denying the validity of the Novus Ordo Mass.  It might come as a surprise to the news folks who keep reporting that Mel Gibson is a Catholic, but he's not. He's part of one of these groups and as such is essentially the same as an Anglican.  Catholic rite, yes.  Catholic, no. (He's a sedevacanist, too, I believe, but that's a whole 'nother issue.)

Anyway, all my Masses have been down at St. James recently because the Tridentine Mass is a half hour longer, my house was Grand Central Station, I'm the only church-goer in the bunch, and I felt that I couldn't absent myself for the longer Mass.  But yesterday was a day to celebrate with the fraters at the priory and I spent the morning with them for the first time in a while.  And I heard some pieces of very good news beyond the proclamation of the scriptural Good News:  First, since the order now knows that it's remaining here it has been allowed to accept postulants, and there are now two new young men who want to give their lives to prayer and communal living as Augustinian monks and as a part of the Canons Regular of the New Jerusalem.  Dom Daniel, the head of the order, requests that we pray that he doesn't frighten them off.  Second, some folks who have been making long drives from bordering states in order to attend Mass at the priory on Sunday mornings have made the decision to move to Charles Town so that they can be more fully a part of this church community.  The spiritual nourishment that this area provides is so over-the-moon that I really get that.  Every time I get a I'm-moving-elsewhere fit I think "And what would be my options for a church community?"  Um...I can guarantee I wouldn't have what I have here so that puts a halt to the fit right there.  And things like this always make me smile:  as much as the media elites wish and hope that the Faith would die, and as much as our current government is attacking us, anywhere that the Faith is preached and celebrated faithfully the community grows.  There are places in the world where there are too many young men wanting to enter the priesthood to be accomodated - the seminaries can't be built fast enough.  And in the U.S., it's orders like this that are thriving, with Church of the What's Happening Now groups withering despite the media's hard work to keep them in the public eye.

The third bit of good news is that a local Chesterton Society group starts meeting next week after Mass.  That is SO "Woo hoo!"and I am SO there!  Chesterton, with his larger than life wit, brilliance, theology, wit, brilliance...Did I mention that he was larger than life and that he was a brilliant wit and lay theologian? And convert.  Yeah, this is exciting.

Celebrations

Time has been crunched by two major celebrations this week, the first of which was last night, the second today.

Once upon a time, my church, St. James the Greater, was your standard small town church - a pretty, white-steepled building near the center of town.

It was a comfortable, small town sized building seating 175, complete with a basement room  for community assemblies, and it served Charles Town, WV, well enough.   Then the eastern panhandle of West Virginia became a bedroom community of D.C.  Along with the rest of the area population, the Catholic population exploded.  An energetic and charismatic young priest, assisted by an equally energetic and charismatic young deacon, both preaching and teaching faithfully, drew converts by the dozens and grew the Catholic population even more.   Dozens of ministries were established, squeezing into any space they could find. By the time I moved here,  5 Sunday Masses were being offered in order to accommodate the numbers, and even at that we were virtually hanging out the windows.  There was nothing for it - we had to have a bigger church.  Seating for 175 just couldn't handle 1200 families, let alone the nearly 4,000 parishioners that 1200 number represented.

When a substantial piece of property came up for sale the parish, with the permission of the diocese, bought 24 acres and planning began.  A vote was taken on what style the new home would be - the majority wanted  a classic Gothic style building.  The diocese bought the old church and rectory from the parish, giving permission for our priests to remain at the rectory until such time as we can build a new one next to the church.  With this seed money building began.  And eventually, with a mixture of joy and sadness, we moved to the new St. James.

Like the great Gothic churches of old, it's a work in progress.  Things are being added as we go and as we have the money.  And an interesting thing happened - when our financial burden for the building increased (the diocese does not pay for new churches - parishioners do) the parish's charitable giving increased as well. Father Brian started commenting that he was afraid to go out of town because every time he did he came back to 5 new ministries established Deacon Dave, who is also known to some of us as Obi Wan Galven for his ability to get people to say "yes" when there is a need.

There have been odd things, sometimes funny, sometimes not so funny.  When the concrete pillars were poured for the light posts for the parking area Father Brian got a call protesting the fact that we had set up all those pillars to put statues on to worship.  Father Brian politely explained that we don't worship statues and what the true purpose of the pillars was. Another time a local Wee Disciples group was being displaced by asbestos remediation and were hunting for a place to move to.  The church starting getting calls threatening us if we didn't let the group use the classrooms downstairs.  The classrooms were already in use by our own programs and the threats nearly ended any consideration whatsoever of accommodating Wee Disciples.  But in the end we did, despite it requiring Deacon to fish toys out of at least one clogged toilet during their stay with us.

Anyway, St. James mostly runs on volunteers - we only have 6 paid positions outside of the priests.  And we were having a major celebration today - one of own was to be ordained to the transitional diaconate here in his home parish.  And so we needed to spiff up in preparation.  I'm an outside spiffer - I spiff flower beds.  And we have a LOT of flower beds.  So for a week I've been digging and pulling and digging and pulling and was glad that Deacon Dave shanghaied a bunch of teens to do the bush trimming because I was running out of umph.

It was a spectacular Mass, celebrated by our bishop and priests and deacons of the diocese, and a wonderful party afterwards, and my stomach will probably pay me back but one thing about church people is that they can COOK.  And eat.  We are very good at the eating part.

The other celebration?  Well, believe it or not, out here in the boonies of West Virginia we have a priory, a small monastery if you will, of traditional Augustinian monks (called canons).  They took over the old St. James, and they have made it beautiful.  They too are beautiful, kind and loving men, and active in the community.  They teach school and run summer camps:

They bake as one of their ways of supporting themselves:

But most importantly of all, they have brought the traditional Latin chant Mass to the community and with it the most reverent, focused worship I have ever experienced.

And you know that lovely chant that people spend money on CDs for? Well, every day of the week the 3 canons make that music for free several times a day as they chant the Psalms, and they have voices like angels.  On Sundays they add two choir members for a High Mass, and it is exquisite, and well attended.  I've been counting 40 to 50 adults, many of them young and with families, each time I've been there.

Last night was a birthday Mass and party at the Priory - the order of The Canons Regular of New Jerusalem was 11 years old this week.  The always beautiful Mass was breathtaking.  And I'm very tired now because partying with monks kept me out way past my bedtime.

I know this post has been long and rambling.  And I haven't even tried to take on all the misunderstandings and misinformation that's out there about the Mass.  But I find it amazing that here in small town West Virginia we have more offered to us spiritually, more to feed the life of a soul,  more beauty than I ever experienced when I was living in the big city.   As I told Dom Daniel, the head of our little group of monks, last week, the Church is like a treasure chest that is so full of beautiful things that you don't always see each individual piece of treasure immediately.  Then one day you see something that's really been in the chest all along and it just blows your mind. 

h/t to whoever took most of these pictures, most of which have been stolen off the web.