|
|
+ Pax Christi in Regno Christi! +
How to Make Your Latin Mass Thrive
(or maybe just improve on conditions!)
- So, you have the Latin Mass in your diocese? Are the conditions like how many other places? Once per month on a Thursday evening around 10:00p.m. but only after the full moon in months containing the letter “o” and within 39 days of the last equinox?
- Or are conditions a bit better than that? No matter which, the following is an outline of the best and most necessary ingredients to make your Latin Mass improve, and, Deo volente, thrive and grow.
- Quit complaining, don’t wait for others to act, and don’t seek permission for something you may or must do yourself. The key is simple but persistent effort, not lots of time or hard work.
- 1) Pray to Our Blessed Lady.
- Pray the Holy Rosary for the continuation and improvement of conditions for the Mass. Pray that many newcomers be added to your community. Pray that the enemies of the Mass be humbled.
- 2) Offer coffee and donuts after each Mass.
- Show your good cheer and don’t give anyone reasons not to come back. Introduce yourself to everybody and get to know especially the newcomers. Be sure to obtain everybody’s address and phone number to keep in touch with them.
- 3) Be missionary and set a good example.
-
- Each
week, invite and try to bring at least one other (i.e.
non-Latin-Mass-going) person or family to the Latin Mass. Start with
family, then friends, then acquaintances, potential converts,
then everyone else. Frequently remind other Latin Mass-goers to
do the same (by letter and especially by phone), to help everyone
form a habit of attending the Latin Mass.
-
- 4) Music,
preferably by choir, is a crucial component.
-
- The
heritage of Catholic scared music is rich enough to feed any soul
starving for transcendence and beauty. For advice about how to start
a choir or how do the best with the music you have, contact
Thomas Savoy; New York Catholic Chorale; P.O. Box 3796; Albany, NY 12203; 518-875-9156; tsavoy@capital.net
or
Mrs. Bernadette Higgins, PO Box 1291 Millbrook NY 12545-1291; tel/fax
914.677-9388.
-
- 5) Missals are
a must.
-
- Unless
already fluent in Latin, every Latin-Mass goer needs a missal to
follow -- to pray -- the Holy Mass. The Coalition in
Support of Ecclesia Dei has prepared the now famous “red
missal”, which can be ordered in bulk and is very helpful
getting started. (PO Box 2071, Glenview IL 60025-6071; tel/fax
847.724-7151)
-
- For
more comprehensive, daily and devotional missals contact The
Remnant Press (see #9, below),
Veritas Press, Catholic Treasures and Angelus
Press. (Call NCCL for more information; cf.
below.)
-
- 6) Communicate
by mail.
-
- Schedule
a one-page letter to arrive each Tuesday before Sunday Mass, with
enough time to prepare for Mass but not enough time to forget. If
you have the Mass each week and are working to have it every day,
send out a letter at least monthly with tips about how each person
or family can do one simple act to contribute to obtaining a daily
or otherwise more frequent Mass.
-
Include
any recent news or edifying stories about the Mass. (There
is no need at first to prepare a newsletter: it demands a lot of
work with scant results to justify all the labor. Get them there
first: the news will make itself thereafter.)
-
- The
monthly letter to remind everyone about the monthly Mass might read
as follows:
-
- Dear
Friend of the Latin Mass,
-
- This
Sunday, November 2, is the first Sunday of the month and the Latin
Mass begins at 9:30 at St. John’s on Main Street in downtown
Littletown.
-
- Because
November 2, the Feast of All Souls, falls this year on a Sunday it
is transferred to Monday, and we shall celebrate in its place --
as is the custom in the Roman Rite -- the Feast of All Saints.
The readings for this Sunday are taken from St. John’s Gospel
chapter 6, verses 22-72, and from St. Paul’s First Epistle to
the Corinthians chapter 11, verses 1-34.
-
- As
last month coffee and donuts will be served in the social hall
across the street [or at the diner] immediately after Holy Mass. Be
sure to invite and bring one other individual or family with
you to Mass. Please call me if you have any questions. See you
there!
-
- Follow-up
some of the letters with key phone calls; have a checklist of
questions: (1) Are you coming? (2) Will you come to the social hall
or diner for coffee and donuts? (3) How many non-Latin-Mass-goers
have you invited and how many are coming to Mass with you?
-
- 7) Stay in
touch with your fellow parishioners.
-
- Practice
hospitality by inviting a family over for supper. Start a
reading/study group that meets regularly (e.g., to learn the
Catechism of the Council of Trent). Home-schooling
families can get together to celebrate major feasts, take field
trips, et cetera. In short, get to know better and associate
with your fellow parishioners.
-
- 8) Notify a
local newspaper of the restoration of the Mass.
-
- Contact
NCCL for a sample news release/article. After the report appears
in print, be sure to have clipboards and sign-up sheets ready at
each exit of the church to get the names, addresses and telephone
numbers of the newcomers, so you can keep them in touch with the
Mass.
-
- 9) Subscribe
to authentically Catholic periodicals.
-
- The
Remnant is the voice of traditional Catholicism for over
30 years. Single subscriptions of The Remnant, a fortnightly
publication, can also be ordered in bulk and offered for sale
at Mass. Order from The Remnant Press; 21170 W. Linwood Dr. N.E.; Wyoming, MN 55092; Remnant@Compuserve.com
-
- A
new quarterly magazine, The Latin Mass, is also worthwhile
reading: The Latin Mass; Keep the Faith, Inc.; 50 So. Franklin Turnpike; Ramsey, NJ 07446-2546; www.latinmassmagazine.com
-
- 10) Time to
petition the bishop for more frequent Latin Masses?
-
- Is
your ‘community’ stable and ready to expand? Call NCCL
for advice.
|