Posted on 02/04/2002 9:31:18 AM PST by Antoninus
At New Jersey parish, all Latin all the time
Judging by its modest sanctuary, Mater Ecclesiae Roman Catholic church in Berlin, N.J., might be any Catholic parish.
But when its rector, the Rev. Robert Pasley, begins to say Mass, this little church reveals its special place in modern Catholicism.
"Introibo ad altare Dei," Father Pasley said last Sunday, early into a long, elaborate high Mass.
"Ad Deum qui laetificat, juventutem meum," replied the five altar servers.
Yes, it's Latin: the language of Catholic liturgies for centuries until the early 1960s, when the Second Vatican Council decreed that liturgies should be said in the prevailing language of the parish.
Latin is not all that makes Mater Ecclesiae unusual, however, as many dioceses - including the Archdiocese of Philadelphia - allow a Latin Mass for special occasions. Our Lady of Consolation parish in the Tacony section and St. Francis of Assisi parish in Norristown, Montgomery County, each say one Tridentine Latin Mass every Sunday.
Founded in October 2000, the 266-family Mater Ecclesiae, in the Diocese of Camden, is one of only about 16 Catholic parishes in the United States that says Latin Mass every day according to the old "Tridentine" rite. And it is attracting worshippers from more than 50 miles away.
Here, the priest says Mass with his back to the congregation. Communion is taken silently, kneeling, and on the tongue, as in bygone days.
Other Vatican reforms are absent as well: There is no handshaking or "kiss of peace." The choir sings Gregorian chant in Latin. And only men and boys are altar servers.
"I guess you could say I'm a bit conservative," Father Pasley, 46, said and laughed. "I always felt Vatican II went too far" with its reforms.
Mater Ecclesiae's two Sunday Masses, as well as all baptisms, weddings, funerals and weekday Masses, are not only said in Latin but are performed according to the all-but-abandoned liturgical rite prescribed by the Council of Trent (hence "Tridentine") in the mid-16th century.
"That's incredible," said Jean Peters, copublisher of Veritas Press in Santa Monica, Calif., which issues a national directory of Catholic parishes that say Latin Masses. Last year there were 192 parishes in the United States that said at least one Mass a month according to the old rite, Peters said. But completely Tridentine parishes are "extremely rare." What makes Mater Ecclesiae (it means "Mother Church") rare even among Tridentine parishes is that it is staffed by a diocesan priest rather than a member of a traditionalist religious order.
St. Mary's parish in Rock Island, Ill., is a diocesan Tridentine parish of 450 families, "but we say English Masses, too," its pastor, the Rev. Michael Driscoll, said last week.
"This has been a response to requests from the people," Msgr. James Checchio, moderator of the curia for the Camden Diocese, explained recently.
Unlike some bishops who barely tolerate the Tridentine rite, Camden's leader, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio, plans to attend Mater Ecclesiae's Candlemas service Sunday as a gesture of support, according to Msgr. Checchio.
Last Sunday's high Mass, which started at 11:30 a.m., began with a procession up the center aisle followed by the aspergis, or sprinkling of holy water on the altar and congregation. "Asperges me, Domine, hyssopo, et mundabor," Father Pasley intoned.
It translates to "Thou shalt sprinkle me, O Lord, with hyssop, and I shall be cleansed."
Slow and solemn - even mysterious - and shrouded at times in clouds of fragrant incense that filled the sanctuary, the Mass ended around 1 p.m. with a Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament, the ceremonial exposition of a communion wafer for adoration.
Mater Ecclesiae has no geographical boundaries, and membership is open to any Catholic who wants to worship there.
"We do love it," said Diane McBride, 34, of Pottstown, Montgomery County, who travels 90 minutes each way with her husband, Michael, and their four children most Sundays.
"It's more reverent" than the contemporary Masses and liturgies that grew out of the Second Vatican Council, she said. "We feel it expresses the church's teachings in a more clear way."
Susan Fetta of Doylestown, Bucks County, met her husband, Guido, at a Tridentine Mass in Camden's Immaculate Conception Cathedral about four years ago. He was an altar server; she was singing in the choir.
"It's just a love for the reverence of this Mass," said Susan Fetta, 44, who sings Gregorian chant and Latin polyphony. Father Pasley married them three years ago in a Tridentine rite at the cathedral; like the McBrides, they belong now to Mater Ecclesiae and drive 90 minutes to Mass.
Michael Meier, 39, of Voorhees, Camden County, has only a 15-minute drive to Mass. "We like the reverence, the beauty of the liturgy, the silence," he said.
Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua, Archbishop of Philadelphia, has declined requests for more Latin Masses or the establishment of a Tridentine parish, according to the Rev. Thomas Mackle, director of the archdiocesan office for worship.
"We get petitions, but in our parish self-studies and cluster planning" during the 1990s "there were just not sufficient numbers" to justify it, Father Mackle said.
In 1990, Cardinal Bevilacqua granted an "indult," or special permission, for a Tridentine Mass to be said Sundays at St. John the Evangelist parish in Center City. Parking proved limited, however, so the archdiocese reassigned the Masses to the two more accessible parishes in Tacony and Norristown.
"It's a great opportunity to reach out to a portion of the Catholic community who might otherwise be disaffected," said the Rev. Dominick Finn, a hospital chaplain in residence at St. Francis of Assisi parish.
He has been saying Tridentine Masses there on Sundays since mid-1999.
"I couldn't believe how quickly it [the Latin] came back to me," said Father Finn, who was ordained in 1956. About 90 people typically attend the Masses there.
Although it functions autonomously, Mater Ecclesiae is a mission of St. Edward's parish in Pine Hill, Camden County. Its member families "are very generous with their support," said Father Pasley, who hopes Bishop DiMarzio will grant it full parish status soon.
Mater Ecclesiae's history parallels the troubled history of Latin Masses since the Second Vatican Council.
According to Father Pasley, the eight-acre site was farmland in 1970 when Joseph Natale bought it in hopes of creating an order of disabled Benedictine monks.
He raised a complex of buildings that now serves as Mater Ecclesiae's campus. Although Natale imported the Tridentine rite Masses and called himself "Brother," he was never ordained and operated his "Holy Family Monastery" without permission of the diocese.
Meanwhile, many traditionalist priests and laity around the world who resented the reforms of the Second Vatican Council had joined a schismatic church headed by French Archbishop Marcel LeFevre.
In 1988, Pope John Paul II acknowledged that a sizable number of Catholics still yearned for the old ways, and allowed diocesan bishops to accommodate them with "a wide and generous application" of Tridentine liturgies.
A messy dispute over ownership of the Berlin monastery erupted when Natale died in 1995. Worshipers who enjoyed the Tridentine Masses won.
With the permission of former Bishop John McHugh, a member of the traditionalist Fraternity of St. Peter began saying regular Masses there, but he left in 2000 when Bishop DiMarzio refused permission for him to establish his own religious order.
Last year, Bishop DiMarzio turned to Father Pasley, who has a special interest in traditional church music, and asked him to become rector of a mission to be known as Mater Ecclesiae.
"We're beginning to be known now," Father Pasley said last week. "People appreciate the music, the sense of awe. In a world of confusion, it's nice to pray in a quiet atmosphere."
I would never want to see the Novus Ordo Mass ripped away from those who are wedded to it and comfortable with it as the Tridentine Mass was ripped away from us in the mid-60s but the deforms of the 1960s have obviously failed.
I also cannot imagine why there should be any objection to the praying of rosaries during Mass. The priest says the Mass. I am not the priest. Altar boys are sufficient for giving responses to the prayers of the priest. They do this "on behalf of the people." The praying of the rosary is very much a part of being Catholic and certainly always appropriate in the presence of the Holy Eucharist.
At the risk of confusing non-Catholics, the Mass is more formally known as the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ upon the Cross is made present spiritually upon the altar. If I could be transported back in time to be present at Calvary, I would have no compunctions about saying a rosary or saying it for three hours for that matter.
If anyone lives near Rockford, or is just visiting, come by and enjoy. Communion only on your knees at the intact altar rail unless you are handicapped. Altar boys only. Usable kneelers at every pew. A community of enthusiastic worshippers who actually socialize over coffee and donuts for an hour or two in the Church hall every Sunday after Mass. Old-fashioned screened confessionals. No ambiguity about the Eucharist being the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ either.
A joke, I assure you...I've spent the last 10+ years in corn fields, and wouldn't have it any other way.
How far is Berlin from the Newark area? (My family lives in Summit)
nick, you don't have to go all the way to Berlin. I live in Summit and attend a traditional parish in West Orange. It has been there for about 5 or 6 years. Also, a church in Jersey City has received approval from Archbishop Myers to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. They won't be starting that until some time in March or February. FReepmail me for more info.
We had a wonderful Candlemas Mass on Saturday with a ceremony beforehand to bless the candles. After the priest blessed the candles (with five prayers in the Missal for Feb. 2 Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary), we all went up to the front of the church, received a candle, went to the back of the church where the candles were lit, then we all proceeded up the main aisle (after the alter servers and priests) and around to our seats with the lit candles. Then the candles were lit for the Gospel reading and post communion prayer during Mass.
sinkspur, our church also prays the rosary before Mass. I haven't seen anyone praying it during Mass.
And we continue to raise funds, and our lawyers continue to butt heads with the pig-headed county planning commission morons in Fairfax, and sooner or later we can all gather with our Pastor, and our Bishop, say a prayer, and stick a shovel in the ground.
AB
The article doesn't seem to be telling the whole story w/r to the turnover of pastoral leadership or the legal problems with the ownership of the land. And what's up with the new name? What happened to "Maris Dei?"
Exactly. The Latin mass was once cherished by servicemen and businessmen who travelled overseas, as attending mass made them feel like they were home. It speaks volumes that the shopping mall has replaced the church as the place of familiarity and comfort for foreign travelers.
More or less, no accounting for spelling, 'cause the missallettes at church!
Latin Rocks.
You folks are lucky to be have a regular Tridentine rite mass so nearby. I live in North Florida, and we have an 8:00 a.m. low mass on Sundays - an hour and a half away from me. We recently got a new bishop, and I don't think he's very pro-Latin Mass, so it will be interesting to see if we even get to keep this one.
I think you got the spelling right.
AB
My wife sings that in the choir. Mmmm-mm beeeeeyootiful!
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