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FI News – Liturgical Changes at Griswold

By December 16, 2007Fi News, Liturgy

Ave Maria!

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The last few months, at the North American Mother House for the Franciscans of the Immaculate in Griswold, CT have been marked with great excitement, ever since the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross when the extra ordinary form of the Mass (Traditional Latin Mass or TLM) was celebrated with great solemnity by Fr. Peter Fehlner, who, following the Mass in the sacristy turned to the Acolytes and commented joyfully “that is the Mass that St. Peter celebrated??. The following day Fr. Angelo Geiger celebrated a beautiful low Mass and the momentum and zeal for the TLM has been growing rapidly ever since.

With the visitation of our Most Reverend Father Founder and Minister General,?Fr. Stefano Manelli, came the news that he desired the novices to be proficient in serving the TLM as soon as possible. Of course, this news was received with great enthusiasm on the part of the novices who were given a few days a week to learn the detailed rubrics of serving it. Currently, the Griswold friary offers the TLM periodically, but with ever increasing frequency especially on Wednesdays for the 5:30 St. Joseph Mass, and for the evening Masses on feast days in honor of Our Lady. Diligently, the friars are preparing to celebrate a Missa Cantata (a Sung High Mass without Deacon and Sub-Deacon) with great solemnity for Christmas Eve Mass. To ensure that the Mass is offered with the greatest dignity and reverence as it has been passed down to us by Holy Mother Church, a careful study and preparation has been undertaken to learn the detailed but beautiful rubrics for the varying degrees of solemnity for which the Mass can be offered. Thankfully, we have had wonderful resources at our disposal and owe special thanks to the Society of St. John Cantius through their web site Sancta Missa, as well as receiving hands-on guidance from The Saint Gregory Society in New Haven, CT which is dedicated to preserving the TLM and has been doing so for over 20 years.

All this excitement about the liturgy has?spilled over to the ordinary form of the Mass (Novus Ordo) inspiring our Father Guardian, Fr. Ignatius to announce that all Masses at the friary will be celebrated Ad Orientem (when the priest faces east, with the people, toward Our Lord in the tabernacle). There has also been an increasing number of Novus Ordo Masses offered in Latin, including our Sunday liturgy. Currently, the friars are working towards developing a schola choir to sing the Gregorian Mass parts for the ordinary and extraordinary forms of the Mass.?Also we are implementing the long planned switch to Latin for our community prayers at the Griswold friary, such as meal prayers, visitation to the Blessed Sacrament, and a daily Rosary.

For all this excitement we sincerely say Deo Gracias, Holy Father Pope Benedict XVI, and Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever

Ave Maria!

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apostolate

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Join the discussion 13 Comments

  • magdalen says:

    I sure wish I was not 2000 miles away….

    no Latin Mass in my diocese that I have heard of.

  • Dora says:

    Oh Blessed be God!!!

    Deo Gratias!!!

  • David says:

    this is all wonderful news for the faithful. The Extraordinary form is beautiful, but I must acknowledge that I was more excited about the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass now being offered “ad orientem” at every friary Mass! Let us continue to pray that this practice and a renovation of liturgical music will trickle down into the parishes. May God bless the friars for the effect they are having on the liturgical renewal.

    Ave Maria!

  • Son of the Immaculate says:

    Benedictus Deus in donis Suis!

  • Khaled says:

    Wonderful news Indeed! Praise to Christ our God, and to His Immaculate Mother!

  • Marko T. says:

    Ave Maria! Ever since my first contact with FI friars (P. Carlo Maria visited Finland I think 5 years ago now — where is he staying now?) I had a feeling that this would happen. Here it is. How merciful God is!

    And thank you, Holy Father! Your humble wisdom in the service of the Lord will be very fruitful.

    Marko T., Helsinki, Finland

  • r says:

    “The gates of hell shall not prevail!” Sacred Tradition lives. St. Pius v, St. Pius X, Pray for Us.

  • Francis McWilliams says:

    Are any of the Tridentine Latin Masses celebrated by Fr. Fehlner available on DVD? I would be happy to purchase them. Also, I hope that the Franciscan Friars of the Immaculate become one of the first Orders to adopt the use of both the Novus Ordo (which is the general norm of the Church for the present), and the Tridentine Latin Mass on a regular and equal basis. We have several Orders in the Church which use only the Tridentine Latin Mass, and they are flourishing. Perhaps the Franciscans of the Immaculate would like to follow in this holy endeavour.

  • Francis McWilliams says:

    I also hope the Franciscan Friars worldwide join the number of religious Orders which are totally devoted to the Tridentine Latin Mass. The friars never have had a serious problem with vocations. Being a very traditional and orthodox community, they have many holy young men joining. However, I think that were the Franciscans to become the latest of about 8-10 religious Orders in the Church which are devoted principally to the Tridentine Latin Mass, and foster it among the faithful, vocations would be even more abundant.
    I hope the Franciscan Sisters of the Immaculate plan to institute similar changes in their chanting of the Divine Office (to Latin), and in their devotion to the Tridentine Latin Mass.

  • Mike A. says:

    No, this is NOT β€œthe Mass that St. Peter celebrated???, which would have been closer in form to that described in the Didache. Projecting the form of Mass of 1962 or 1570 back to the time of the Apostles shows a very sad ignorance of liturgical history and of church history in general. I hope that your dedication to the traditional form of Mass can be placed on a firmer foundation.

  • I am coming to Mass at the Friary in Griswold tomorrow, I wonder whether it will be the Extraordinary Form. What a wonderful suprise that would be!

  • apostolate says:

    Ave Maria!

    Dear Leticia,

    Glad you can come! Our next mass in the Extraordinary Form will be on Feb 2, this Saturday. See http://www.figuadalupe.com/ for our friary Mass schedule including any special Masses.

  • James says:

    What wonderful news many graces will come from liturgy being celebrated with such devotion. I thank God in my prayers of gratitude for what a wonderful congregation you are may the Good Lord continue to bless you with many good and holy vocations. In Domino,

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