Sunday, January 20, 2008
SEPTUAGESIMA SUNDAY
If you're a cradle Catholic over 55 you probably remember that from your childhood. If you're a member of a Latin Mass community, you know that today is Septuagesima Sunday.
Today was Latin Mass Sunday at my house. My husband agreed to go to humor me. I should explain. He is a morning person. I am not. He thinks Mass on Sunday should be at 7 a.m. I think 7 a.m. on Sunday is when you finally get into a sound sleep, and anything before 12 o'clock Mass is penance. Latin Mass at St. Mary's is at 1 p.m. So, as I said, my husband agreed to go to humor me.
The Latin Mass community here in Akron has grown since I last attended it many months ago. Last time I was there, I was one of 35 people attending. (I counted them. It wasn't hard.) Today I stopped counting at 55 and would estimate there were nearly 75 in attendance. It felt like a congregation of the faithful now instead of a few lost souls. There were children in the pews. There were ladies in slacks. There were ladies without head coverings. There were ladies in mantillas. Some men wore suits. Some were dressed the way men dress at a Novus Ordo Sunday Mass. One man was wearing white scrubs. But what seemed more important was that men were there. Rough estimate would put the male part of the congregation at half. One man in the pew appeared to be wearing a cassock.
There is a choir now. I guess I should make that a schola. Whatever it's called, it sounded good. A lot of the faithful join in the chanting. Mass used to be low Mass. Now it's high Mass. Lasts about an hour and twenty minutes. There was the fragrance of incense drifting overhead and the offertory bells were in use. Father processed in wearing a cope.
The homily was about the great need for prayers and sacrifices for our priests, and Benedict's call for at least one priest in every diocese to be specially assigned to promote prayer, sacrifice, and Eucharistic adoration for the holiness of the priesthood.
It was a service set apart from the world. It was not man-centered, but the congregation did have a part in it. There were Mass booklets in English and Latin available for everyone. It was not rushed.
