We are looking for a priest and, get this, he must be a modern priest, not one who celebrates the Tridentine Latin Mass.
The poor old boy has finally cracked I hear you say: He's a few beads short of a decade, but please hear me out.
Here in dry old Menevialand we only have two brace (or less) of priests who are able to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Now, I don't know the square mileage of the Diocese but it must run into something like a modest 5,000 square miles...that means we only have .00001 of a Latin Mass priest per acre (don't try to check the maths!).
So, in the aftermath of our good Bishop Thomas Burns appointing Fr Jason Jones as EF Mass Coordinator for the Diocese, a most wise move, we now have a lay group called The Confraternity of the Holy Cross whose aim it is in life to support the few priests we have, pray on behalf of the Bishop and to aid the development of the Latin Mass in the Diocese.
Some in the CHC have been very busy and aided the recent and magnificent Corpus Christi Mass and procession, others support with the daily Fraternity prayer (We adore Thee O Christ and we praise Thee, because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the World) and some, great souls have even chipped in a few pounds (quite a few in some instances) to a special fund to help priests in the Diocese learn how to celebrate the EF Mass. This does not cut across Latin Mass Society work, in fact, it complements it as we plan to assign priests on to the LMS Training Programme. In fact, LMS members might be more forthcoming with donations to the training fund if they knew that the money they raised would go towards supporting a priest from their own Diocese, but I digress.
So far we have raised the sum of £305 - Huzzah! That means we can send 1.24 priests for training, although we might wait until we have a round £500 and send two whole ones!
Now we hit the rockface - are there any priests out there who wish to put themselves forward? It would be especially good if we had one from the Western boundaries of the Diocese as this is Indian country (literally) as far as the old Mass is concerned. We have Mass in the Syro-Malabar rite and we have it in Polish, Tagalog and even Welsh (attended by 2 people and one sheepdog) - I jest - please don't burn me out! But we do not have, or at least only on a wobbly once a month basis, the Latin Mass.
It is a big problem......some priests just do not wish to go down that route and I respect their wishes but believe them to be wrong; some are too immersed in their Indian or Phillipino culture and some, I suspect, would like to do it but are a bit concerned about how they will be perceived by their fellow priests, Deans (especially the Deans) and, possibly, the Bish.
That leaves us up whatsit creek without a paddle - so please pray that we find a priest who will shoulder the cross and go forward to be trained.
Would you please offer a Rosary for this cause?
It will, as my mother used to say when one of us had to undertake some chore or other: "Put another jewel in your crown in Heaven"
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| Sorry Romeo, I was actually looking for a Catholic priest! |
The poor old boy has finally cracked I hear you say: He's a few beads short of a decade, but please hear me out.
Here in dry old Menevialand we only have two brace (or less) of priests who are able to celebrate Mass in the Extraordinary Form. Now, I don't know the square mileage of the Diocese but it must run into something like a modest 5,000 square miles...that means we only have .00001 of a Latin Mass priest per acre (don't try to check the maths!).
So, in the aftermath of our good Bishop Thomas Burns appointing Fr Jason Jones as EF Mass Coordinator for the Diocese, a most wise move, we now have a lay group called The Confraternity of the Holy Cross whose aim it is in life to support the few priests we have, pray on behalf of the Bishop and to aid the development of the Latin Mass in the Diocese.
Some in the CHC have been very busy and aided the recent and magnificent Corpus Christi Mass and procession, others support with the daily Fraternity prayer (We adore Thee O Christ and we praise Thee, because by Thy Holy Cross Thou hast redeemed the World) and some, great souls have even chipped in a few pounds (quite a few in some instances) to a special fund to help priests in the Diocese learn how to celebrate the EF Mass. This does not cut across Latin Mass Society work, in fact, it complements it as we plan to assign priests on to the LMS Training Programme. In fact, LMS members might be more forthcoming with donations to the training fund if they knew that the money they raised would go towards supporting a priest from their own Diocese, but I digress.
So far we have raised the sum of £305 - Huzzah! That means we can send 1.24 priests for training, although we might wait until we have a round £500 and send two whole ones!
Now we hit the rockface - are there any priests out there who wish to put themselves forward? It would be especially good if we had one from the Western boundaries of the Diocese as this is Indian country (literally) as far as the old Mass is concerned. We have Mass in the Syro-Malabar rite and we have it in Polish, Tagalog and even Welsh (attended by 2 people and one sheepdog) - I jest - please don't burn me out! But we do not have, or at least only on a wobbly once a month basis, the Latin Mass.
It is a big problem......some priests just do not wish to go down that route and I respect their wishes but believe them to be wrong; some are too immersed in their Indian or Phillipino culture and some, I suspect, would like to do it but are a bit concerned about how they will be perceived by their fellow priests, Deans (especially the Deans) and, possibly, the Bish.
That leaves us up whatsit creek without a paddle - so please pray that we find a priest who will shoulder the cross and go forward to be trained.
Would you please offer a Rosary for this cause?
It will, as my mother used to say when one of us had to undertake some chore or other: "Put another jewel in your crown in Heaven"
I will certainly pray a rosary for your intentions Richard. I prayed for you to have the Pope celebrate an EF Mass, yesterday and today. I will keep praying until it happens or God's will is made manifest to you accordingly.
ReplyDeletePlease offer a prayer for my continuing faithfulness to God's plan for me.
Have a good Friday wih your fish of choice! I've got tinned tuna for lunch and possibly cod for tea! Still, all the viamin B makes me less crazed, well it will eventually..... ;)
Done. (It was an extra five sorrowful mysteries for your personal intentions re priests for the Latin Mass).I also posted your intention on the online rosary prayer site, so expect results!
ReplyDeleteGod bless.
Grateful thanks Ros, you and Patrick are still in our prayers.
ReplyDeleteSpanish omelette tonight, no animal flesh whatsoever :(
Richard - why exactly did you think it necessary to set up a separate group to do what would normally be done by a local LMS Rep?
ReplyDeleteJoe - firstly, the concept was not mine but that of Fr Jason Jones. Secondly, we have many of our flock who are, basically, OF followers, they are not tainted with any prejudices re Traditional or Modern and that is a good thing. They find their own way to the Latin Mass and that is enough for them; they do not want to be associated with any formal organisation. They just want contact at a local level at a pace that suits them.
ReplyDeleteThirdly, some people (Traditional Catholics) do not want to become involved in the LMS (I do not know their reasons, it would be a good marketing exercise to find out). This also applies to some priests, again, I have not researched their reasons for not wanting LMS involvement but the control element may be the root cause.
The LMS does a good job and I am, of course, a member, but it does appear to me that it has a control issue; it seems to wish to brand every event, every Mass as an 'LMS Mass'. That is, to my way of thinking, short-sighted.
I believe that, if the LMS were more relaxed about 'ownership' and more active on the episcopal front (I mean actually challenging the Bishops as to why they are not allowing more EF Masses)there would be many more supporters emerging.
These views are purely my own and not those (as far as I am aware) of any other member of the Confraternity.
I also believe that an organisation such as the Confraternity has a 'local' influence that may not always be available to the LMS.
I repeat, I am a supporter of the Society and plan to continue to be so.
Richard what you say fails to make sense on several levels.
ReplyDeleteYou say people don't want to join an organisation - so they join an organisation.
You say that the new group might have influence at a local level the LMS does not - but you are clearly undermining the LMS' local organisation.
You say that the LMS wants to 'control' everything but the LMS is totally decentralised as regard local events. Local events are run entirely as the locals want to run them.
You say that there are vague worries about the LMS which people have not even articulated, at least to you. And yet you are supporting a project which is based on the premise that those reasons are good ones.
Look, Richard, is there is some way in which the LMS could improve, let us know. Don't just go off and sulk.
Joe, I have no reason to sulk I can assure you and am not doing so. I was, perhaps, wrong to use the word 'organisation' in the context of the Confraternity. We are a group of some 43 souls; we have no committee, no constitution,no real structure as such and it works very well on an informal basis. We do have a religious Director, if that does not sound too pompous, in the form of Fr Jason Jones, whose idea it was to form this group. I am only a foot soldier responsible for communications and a few odds and sods.
ReplyDeleteWe do, however, have a Treasurer, none other than our own Menevia LMS rep - an excellent chap! So, the LMS does have an integral role in this group. You might like to throw some of your queries in the direction of your own officers.
I have always viewed the Confraternity as an 'incubator unit' for the LMS, where lay men and women who are new to the Latin Mass may be introduced gradually to a more formal organisation such as the Society. I believe that this is the way that you should regard the Confraternity and, if your marketing people were on the ball they might like to replicate this model around the country.
At the risk of being repetitive, there are some priests and laity who do not wish to join the LMS; in fact, they find the LMS a bit off-putting (I wonder why?).
As far as influence at local level is concerned I think that all that I have stated previously covers the subject fully and, as far as the LMS improving, these points also include that area.
Far from undermining the LMS, the Confraternity is working to support it.