UPDATED: Upcoming Area Traditional Latin Masses -- Fall 2014

The following Traditional Latin Masses will be offered this fall at Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church in the Port Richmond section of Philadelphia.

Sat. 10/11/14 - 12 PM -  Feast of the Maternity of the Blessed Virgin Mary
                        (Low Mass with hymns; Rev. Harold B. McKale, celebrant)
                        (Confessions heard in the Lower Church from 11:30 AM - Noon)

Tues. 11/18/14 - 7 PM - Feast of the Dedication of the Basilicas of Sts. Peter & Paul
                         (Sung High Mass/Missa Cantata; Rev. Harold B. McKale, celebrant)
                         (Rev. Michael Pawelko (of St. Joseph Parish in Ashton, PA), sermon
                         Palestrina: Missa Brevis

Fri. 12/12/14 - 7 PM - Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe at Nativity Parish
                         (Low Mass with hymns, Rev. Harold B. McKale, celebrant)

Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary Roman Catholic Church
2535 E. Allegheny Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19134
Rev. Dennis Fedak, Pastor
http://www.nativitybvmphila.org
215-739-2735

Those interested in supporting the Traditional Latin Mass in Port Richmond through singing in the schola (choir) or serving as acolytes (altar servers), or in any other way giving of your time, talent, and treasure, please contact Father McKale at the Nativity rectory, 215-739-2735.

Also visit the Archdiocese of Philadelphia's Traditional Latin Mass website, www.latinmassphila.org, for more information on area Traditional Latin Masses in the Delaware Valley Tri-State area.

Priesthood -- Part 3 of 3

In the hierarchy of holiness it is Mary as a figure of the Church that precedes all others in the path to holiness which is the call of all who participate in the royal priesthood of the Baptized. In her person, the Church has achieved perfection without spot or wrinkle. Within this Marian dimension of holiness the members of the Church, the Body of Christ, share in the Priesthood of Christ as Priest, Prophet and King. As priest, we unite ourselves to Him in our daily activities and lovingly offer them in union with the priest in Mass. As prophet, we accept and proclaim the Word of God in our daily lives. As king, we engage in spiritual combat by seeking to imitate Mary who embodies all virtues and holiness. The source of this common priesthood is Baptism and it is developed and strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation and sustained in the frequent and devout reception of Holy Communion where the Church receives from Her Bridegroom all her gifts. In this way, the Church fulfills her fundamental vocation to holiness for she is animated by the same Spirit who made Christ present in the womb of Mary. The Petrine dimension of Church involves the ministerial priesthood established by Christ which is ordered to the good of the royal priesthood of the faithful. It is through the manifold charisms in ministerial priesthood that Christ increases communion and love in the Church. At the end of John’s Gospel the Petrine dimension of the Church is presented as an act of love towards Christ as Jesus asks Peter three times, “Do you love me?” As Christ the Head the Petrine dimension of the Church, preserving good order for the good of the members, guides the Members of the Church toward her Spouse Jesus Christ ever yearning for her mystical consummation and the fullness of her glorification as the Spouse taken up by the Lamb. Until then she journeys in time and in history awaiting Her Bridegroom to take her up as the glorified Church depicted in Revelation.

--Rev. Harold B. McKale

Priesthood and Eucharist - Part 2 of 3

In the very heart of the Pascal mystery is the Holy Eucharist where one sees the unity of the Bride and her Spouse. Here is the unity spoken about in Genesis that the two shall become one. From the beginning of creation bridegroom and bride are made each for the other. The Church then is perpetually the ecclesia – feminine and receptive to her Spouse. Christ is most clearly the Bridegroom on the Cross in His sacrificial offering to the Father in the Holy Spirit which is made present on all the altars in the Church. Mary is not a priestess that is a sacrificing principle at the Cross; rather all she accomplishes in union with her Son. At the sacrifice stands Mary as an icon of the Church who enters into this mystical sacrifice through her consent to the immolation of her Son and is “plunged into an ocean of darkness” which draws her ever more deeply into a mystical marriage with her Son who becomes her Spouse. Into her soul Christ pours forth innumerable graces which flow from her like a torrent into the Church who mediates all graces from her mystical Spouse. As the Church is born in the heart of the Father, foreshadowed in the Old Testament, she, like Mary, is primarily born from Christ’s pieced side as an immaculate virgin as she is drawn further into an intimate oneness with the Trinity. It is in this manner that Mary is Co-Redemptrix and mediatrix of all graces. Mary’s act of faith at the Annunciation and at the Foot of the Cross shows her as a model of the Church in faith, in charity, and in perfect union with her Spouse. It also furthers her identification with the Church as Intercessor, which may also be seen at the Wedding of Cana. The Holy Spirit who is a hypostasis of love is poured out into the hearts of the People of God more fully revealing the Church at Pentecost through the prayers of Mary and the apostles.  

--Rev. Harold B. McKale

Catechesis of the Petrine and Marian Dimensions of the Church, Part 1 of 3

Sinless Virgin Mother Bride

The Marian dimension of the Church involves Mary as the receptive Bride who stands as an archetype for the Church while the Petrine involves the hierarchical structure of the Church. In her Immaculate Conception Mary stands before God as the New Eve, His Beloved daughter of Zion. Here she being sinless and free from original sin is totally free as was Eve to chose to do the will of God. In her sinless and virginal obedience to the will of the Father she becomes the cause of our salvation (St. Irenaeus). Where Eve failed, Mary succeeds, for the wages of the motherhood of Eve is death because she mediates the Fall where the wages of Mary’s motherhood is eternal life. Mary is the true tabernacle filled with grace who always faces the Father in an Eternal and joyful fiat. She attains a unity with the Trinity that surpasses all human expectations and imagination. Through her open receptivity to the working of the Holy Spirit in her soul she receives a supernatural elevation to union with God which bespeaks of her complete and utter holiness. As the handmaid of the Lord she gives herself in total gift and self-surrender to God her Divine Spouse. This is a requirement for virginity as it is meaningless when sought for its own sake but rather it is fecund when it is given freely as a gift of self. Mary’s perpetual virginity is necessary because she must not have divided loyalties; she must belong totally to her Spouse. Here Mary’s motherhood includes a willingness to be poured out for others – for all those embraced by the love of Christ, which involves an openness to all. In these qualities one can see the Church as Virgin and Mother. Holy Mother Church becomes a mother in her openness to the Word of God as she contemplates the sanctity of Mary, imitating her charity, and faithfully following the will of God. She is fruitful like Mary through the preaching of the Word and through the sacrament of Baptism wherein she gives birth to new Christians. For in the Creed we state that by the power of the Holy Spirit Jesus was conceived. The Church imitates Mary in giving birth to her members in a virginal way. For the Church contains in herself the living mystery of maternity. She is feminine and therefore, she is receptive to her Spouse. This spiritual regeneration accomplished through Baptism means that one can see the baptismal font as the womb of the Church being a font of grace as is Mary’s womb. For no one can understand the reality of the Church without considering the Virgin Mother Mary. The Church then as Mary is the Bride of Christ. For she being submissive to her bridegroom is presented before God pure and spotless. She is the Immaculata which is embodied in Mary. The Old Testament is replete with this kind of bridal imagery for God & Israel, especially in the prophetic books such as Hosea.

To be continued... 

 

--Rev. Harold B. McKale

2014 Solemn High Mass of the Assumption, Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter & Paul

Fr. Robert C Pasley, KCHS, Rector of Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic Church, Berlin, NJ, Diocese of Camden, invites all to Mater Ecclesiae’s 14th Annual Assumption Mass. The Choral High Mass in the Extraordinary Form will take place on Friday, August 15, at 7 p.m., at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, 18th St. and the Benjamin Franklin Pkwy in Philadelphia. Parking is available in the lot next to the Cathedral and there is an underground garage at the Sheraton Hotel on 17th Street.

The Celebrant of the Mass, who will also deliver the sermon, is Monsignor Andrew Wadsworth. Msgr. Wadsworth, originally a priest of the Diocese of Westminster, London, is now the superior of the Oratorian Community of St Philip Neri, an oratory in formation in the Archdiocese of Washington. Since 2009, he has been Executive Director of the International Commission for English in the Liturgy (ICEL), responsible for the proposal of English translations of Latin liturgical texts for use in places where the liturgy is celebrated in English.  Msgr. Wadsworth has written and lectured widely on both forms of the Roman Rite and the ‘ars celebrandi.'

Mater Ecclesiae’s High Choral Mass of the Assumption was begun fourteen years ago to thank and honor Our Lady for the establishment of Mater Ecclesiae, the first diocesan owned and staffed Traditional Latin Mass parish in the United Sates. “We wanted to feature some of the greatest works of orchestral/choral music ever written for the Sacred Liturgy,” Father Pasley said.

The setting of the Ordinary of the Mass will be the “Missa in Angustiis,” or “Lord Nelson Mass,” by Franz Joseph Haydn sung with full orchestra. Other works include the motets “Salve Regina” by Antonio Salieri (1750-1825), “Salutatio D.N.I.C.” by Ludwig Senfl (1486-1543), “Beata Viscera” by Gregor Aichinger (1565 – 1628), the “Adagio” from Concerto for 2 Oboes in G Major, by Tomaso Albinoni (1671-1751), The “Hodie Maria Virgo” by Luca Marenzio (1553-1599), the Tantum Ergo” by W.A. Mozaert (1756-1791) and a Postlude, “Concerto for 2 trumpets in D Major,” by Giuseppe Maria Jacchini (1663-1727). The traditional hymns, “O Sanctissima and Hail Holy Queen,” arranged by the Music Director, Dr. Timothy McDonnell, will also be sung.

Father Pasley said “We wish to thank His Excellency, Archbishop Chaput, as well as the rector of the Cathedral, Father Dennis Gill, for this great privilege. Please spread the word about this most grand celebration of Our Lady’s Assumption.”

_________________________________________

Link to original article: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2014/07/mater-ecclesiaes-14th-annual-assumption.html