From the Church bulletin:
Fr. Michael Stinson was ordained May 30th for the Fraternity of St. Peter (in Lincoln, NE). This order was established by Pope John Paul II in 1988. Their apostolate is centered in the offering of the Sacred Liturgy according to the Latin liturgical books in use in 1962. Fr. Michael will be visiting his family in the Austin area before heading to his first assignment in Sacramento, CA. He is the son of our parishioners, Benny & Barbara Stinson.
While he is in the area, Fr. Michael will be offering daily Mass in Latin here at St. William’s at 10:00AM in our Church on June 10, 12, 15, 16, 17, 18 and in the Sacred Heart chapel on June 22, 23, 24, 25. Fr. Michael will also offer a Latin Mass this Thursday June 11th (the traditional date of Corpus Christi) in the Church at 6:00pm.
I have never been to a Latin Mass and am curious to experience this part of the Church’s history (that many still enjoy today). I have also been asking God to find a way for me to attend a daily Mass at 10:00am so as not to disturb the naptimes of the girls, so I am delighted to be able to participate. I plan to attend at least once (hopefully more than once), but I can’t go this week. Let me know if you plan to go. I’m thinking we’ll probably sit in the “quiet” room (aka cry room) since I will have the girls with me alone & don’t know all the proper responses & postures for the Latin Mass anyway.
Any tips for a first-timer? Will it differ in length from the “normal” Mass?
Also, our parish is starting perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament next Friday. I am excited to have these two extra opportunities to know & serve the Lord.
Try this link:
http://www.fssp.org/en/liturgie1962.htm
Try also:
http://www.ewtn.com/liturgy/traditional/Resources.htm
There, you can review a PDF of the missal and you can view archived videos of the extraordinary form of the Mass. If you attend one of Fr. Stinson’s Masses (I’ve actually known Michael since before he entered the seminary), bring a few dollars donation and take home the paper missal you’ll receive. It will explain the Catholic Liturgy to an amazing depth.
My friends and I will be at St. William’s on Friday at 10 a.m.
We have a FSSP parish here in Lincoln and we know many people who attend the Tridentine Mass. I’ve always been curious but haven’t had the guts to attend one yet, fearing that I would mess up somehow.
How did it go?
Well, we made it twice. The first time did not go so well. We spent the whole time in the cry room, missed the first 25% changing diapers & then couldn’t hear anything because the priest wasn’t mic’d. I also had forgotten to eat breakfast before leaving so nibbled on crackers in the van and then wasn’t able to go to Communion so it seemed like a total loss. However, the new priest was able to offer a first blessing (because it is within a year of his ordination) after Mass and we did receive that at least!
The second time the Mass was in our new chapel (about the size of the Church in Dwight, fyi) on the Church grounds. Livy was at VBS so there was one less to keep quiet. We did okay, stayed for the whole thing and weren’t too disruptive (I hope). However, it would’ve been nice to be able to follow along in the book to appreciate more what was taking place but I didn’t have that luxury.
At this point, my opinion is that the Latin rite is a beautiful Mass and there is much richness & tradition in it that I would like to understand & appreciate better. For practical purposes, though, it is much easier for me to attend a Mass in English that I know & can appreciate even if I am only able to give it partial attention because of the girls.