Wednesday, October 27, 2010

All Saints and All Souls


Next Monday Nov. 1st, The Feast of All Saints will be celebrated at St. Paul Church with Mass in the Extraordinary Form at 7 pm. The following evening, Nov. 2nd at 7 pm, the pastor of St. Paul's, Father Gerald P. Carey, will offer his first requiem Mass in the Extraordinary Form for the commemoration of All Souls Day. A catafalque draped in black and surrounded by four unbleached candles will be used as part of the requiem Mass.

Father shared something with me that another priest told him about the Traditional Latin Mass and how it's like Heaven. I'm paraphrasing, but here goes: You won't believe who you see there, you won't believe that you're there, and you won't believe how beautiful it is.

You don't have to be familiar with the Traditional Latin Mass to come. The booklets supplied before Mass are very helpful, as are many members of the congregation who will be glad to help you with whatever you need. St. Paul's is located on Christian Street between 9th and 10th with parking available in the schoolyard directly across the street from the church.

One of the things that may immediately jump out at you is how quiet it is before Mass begins. People actually pray before and after Mass. Another thing is the number of large families (by today's standards, anyway). Women are dressed modestly and the men are dressed appropriately. This doesn't mean you have to be dressed expensively or elaborately. It just means dressing in a manner that conveys respect to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. It does cause me to wonder whether or not the Church would have lost so many members and whether our society would be in its current state of deterioration had this Mass not been mothballed. Thankfully, it's been liberated by Pope Benedict XVI. I do hope more of you will take advantage of this priceless opportunity to take part in such a beautiful liturgy.

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