Paschal Monday Extraordinary Form Missa Cantata--St. Joseph's Church, Fergus, Ontario

Once again, wonderful news from Fergus, Ontario!

For those who are off work on Monday, April 5; at 12:00 Noon, Father Ian Duffy, Pastor at St. Joseph's Church in Fergus, Ontario will celebrate the Holy Mass for Paschal Monday in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite--Missa Cantata.

For those looking for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite for the Paschal Triduum in the greater Toronto region, one will need to look at the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in St. Catharines, Ontario or in Ottawa as the closest. As for the Archdiocese of Toronto, since the departure of the Fraternity a few weeks ago, the only church is the Mass Centre of the Society of St. Pius X at the Church of the Transfiguration on Aldgate Avenue in Etobicoke where the litugies will all be in the most solemn form as the first assistant to +Fellay is visiting.

The Toronto Oratory's Triduum services will be reverent and beautiful as one has come to expect in the Ordinary Form of the Roman Rite at both St. Vincent de Paul and Holy Family. Sunday at St. Vincent de Paul there will be a Missa Solemnis at 11:30AM with the Oratory Children's Choir.

The sublime Sancta Missa Lecta et Musica

With the departure of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter from Toronto, next Sunday at St. Theresa Shrine Church the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form will be a Missa Lecta (Read Mass) or what is more commonly known as Low Mass. There will be NO MUSIC. Hopefully sooner rather than later we will return to the Missa Cantata or Sung Mass.

The Missa Lecta as many remember it gave rise to much of the need for liturgical reform. Bishops, priests and laity did not heed the desires of Pope St. Pius X, XI and XII in fostering the legitimate liturgical movement. Of course, ther was no internet then. The Mass was quiet or done with dated and sappy hymns with the then equivalents of On Eagles' Wings--not much has changed. People knelt and prayed the rosary or read a devotional book. They did not respond in dialogue, they did not read the Mass nor sing and the choir rarely sang the Propers and often a hybrid Mass was attempted with some of it sung and most of it not, all rubrically speaking, incorrect. Liturgical abuse or carelessness is not new and some priests said the Missa Lecta in 18 minutes! The line from the Elvis Presley, Mary Tyler Moore film, Change of Habit summed it up pretty good; "I liked the old days when we could come to church and not do a blessed thing!" That was a reference to the above and it was a film from about 1968 and as part of its finale it displayed the abrupt changes to the Mass prior to the promulgation of the 1970 Missal, it was an ugly time for liturgy including an offertory procession and a doo-wop trio.

Given that the resources were not always available for a Missa Solemnis or Missa Cantata and considering Sunday should not be simply a Missa Lecta (unless circumstances prevent anything else), what should this more basic liturgy look like?

Let us look very briefly at the different levels of what is now referred to as the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Keep in mind though that notwithstanding what some may say, the so-called Tridentine or Trent Mass was not composed there. The Council of Trent codified or made the Mass as it was celebrated in Rome the norm for the whole Latin Church except for certain ancient rites such as the Mozarabic and Ambrosian or the Sarum had their been no English schism and certain rites under the purview of religious orders such as the Carmelite or Dominican Rites. There were no printing presses until a few decades before Trent so a consistent rubric before this was not necessarily possible.

Arising out the catacombs the Mass was more or less organised in its current form by the sixty century. It was celebrated by the bishop assisted in his cathedral by his priests or by the Abbot in the monastery. These were generally at the centre of town or in the countryside where the people would travel. The Mass would have always been sung and was what we would refer to now as a Missa Ponticalis (Pontifical Mass celebrated by a bishop). The first part of the Mass up to the Mass of the Faithful (Liturgy of the Eucharist in the Ordinary Form) was from the cathedra or chair. This is now replicated by the priest in the Ordinary Form. As time progressed and a bishop was not always available the Mass without the bishop became known as a Missa Solemnis or Solemn Mass with the bishop's role taken by the priest assisted by a deacon and subdeacon and celebrated exclusively at the altar. From this came the Missa Cantata utilised when deacon and subdeacon were not available and then the Missa Lecta or Read Mass. As apostolate orders such as the Franciscans developed and village churches were opened the Missa Lecta became commonplace. Our history in Canada is mostly that of the quiet Mass, much of it because of the silent masses necessary in Ireland due to priestly persecution and often necessarily said in houses or barns or in the forest. Eventually, music was added to the Missa Lecta and this is primarily what people would remember from the days before the reforms following the Second Vatican Council. The Missa Cantata or Missa Solemnis was a rarity because the whole Mass must be sung. As an aside, this was one of the reasons that Msgr. John Edward Ronan founded St. Michael's Cathedral Schola (now St. Michael's Choir School.)

A Missa Lecta is a deeply meditative and contemplative union with God. Whenever possible during the week, it is something I will go out of my way to attend. You need a missal so that you can undertake actuoso participationem as so desired by Pope St. Pius X and you leave the rosary or private devotional book alone. You are not illiterate and this is not your grandmother's Low Mass. As we were told by Pope Pius XI in Divini cultus, Dec. 20, 1928 we are to be at Mass "not as strangers or mute spectators" but as we were advised by Pope Saint Pius X in Tra le sollecitudini, we are to engage in "actuso particpatonem." But on Sundays and Feasts or Solemnites the Mass should always be sung, though every Mass could certainly be sung and their are Gregorian Propers for every day of the year.

Depending on the local custom you may dialogue with the priest fully or partially. That is, you may recite the Server's part for the Prayer at the Foot of the Altar (not usually recommended) and undertake the responses to the priest. The Altar Server at as Missa Lecta is actually standing in for the deacon by ancient indult. Most will remember only the Server responding. However, Popes St. Pius X and Pius XII and the true liturgical movement of the nineteenth and twentieth century encouraged the people to take their part, though many resisted and still do. Again, depending on the local culture, the Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus may be said with the priest. Beginning in 1922, this was encouraged by Pope Pius XI as the Missa Dialogata or Dialogue Mass. It's popularity in Europe was generally confined to France and the Low Countries and resisted firmly in Ireland and in never really took hold in North America though it was not unheard of in Quebec.

The proof of what I say follows. Again, from Pope Pius XII "Da musica sacra:"

30. The faithful can participate another way at the Eucharistic Sacrifice by saying prayers together or by singing hymns. The prayers and hymns must be chosen appropriately for the respective parts of the Mass, and as indicated in paragraph 14c.

31. A final method of participation, and the most perfect form, is for the congregation to make the liturgical responses to the prayers of the priest, thus holding a sort of dialogue with him, and reciting aloud the parts which properly belong to them.

There are four degrees or stages of this participation:

a) First, the congregation may make the easier liturgical responses to the prayers of the priest: Amen; Et cum spiritu tuo; Deo gratias; Gloria tibi Domine; Laus tibi, Christe; Habemus ad Dominum; Dignum et justum est; Sed libera nos a malo;

b) Secondly, the congregation may also say prayers, which, according to the rubrics, are said by the server, including the Confiteor, and the triple Domine non sum dignus before the faithful receive Holy Communion;

c) Thirdly, the congregation may say aloud with the celebrant parts of the Ordinary of the Mass: Gloria in excelsis Deo; Credo; Sanctus-Benedictus; Agnus Dei;

d) Fourthly, the congregation may also recite with the priest parts of the Proper of the Mass: Introit, Gradual, Offertory, Communion. Only more advanced groups who have been well trained will be able to participate with becoming dignity in this manner.

32. Since the Pater Noster is a fitting, and ancient prayer of preparation for Communion, the entire congregation may recite this prayer in unison with the priest in low Masses; the Amen at the end is to be said by all. This is to be done only in Latin, never in the vernacular.

This is the Mass that you pray most intimately with the priest. Most of it is on kneeling, sitting only for the Epistle and from after the Credo to the Sanctus with the remainder kneeling, though one may sit after the Ablutions. One would stand for the entrance, Gospel and Credo and Last Gospel. Whether silent or in dialogue, the Missa Lecta is sublime. As referred to, if one follows the whole Mass with the priest and even silently in one's mind reads the whole Mass in time with the priest, it is the most active or actual participation in the Holy Mass that any Catholic can undertake.

Eventually music was added to the Missa Lecta, particuarly on Sundays. But because of the difficulty of a full Missa Cantata with sung Gregorian propers and the priest chanting the epistle and gospel a "hybrid" developed with the singing of the Kyrie or Sanctus and Agnus Dei as an example and perhaps a hymn. While this is what many remember, this was not in keeping with the rubrics. The Rossini Propers were meant to be the answer here for some parishes.

For the next little while, we will undertake the Mass at St. Theresa as a Missa Lecta et Musicam and we will do it according to the rubrics. This is very important for anyone moving forward with the Extraordinary Form. Until Rome issues new rubrics if it even will we must look carefully at what was intended in every way we celebrate the EF.

Based on the document from Pope Pius XII, De musica sacra et sacra liturgia; let's look at what the Congregation of Rites, the predecessor of today's Congregation for Divine Worship and Discipline of the Sacraments had to say, quoted here at length on September 3, 1958 pp47, 48 of the 1959 Edition of Matters Liturgical:

"First of all, such popular religious hymns are greatly to be commended and esteemed, since they constitute a most effective means in directing the minds of the faithful to heavenly things and in imbuing the Christian life with a genuine religious spirit. Strongly to be encouraged for pious exercises, they can only be sung at liturgical functions "when this is expressly permitted."

"English hymns are expressly permitted during a Low Mass, but in general expressly forbidden during a High Mass: Hymns in the vernacular are permitted at a Low Mass, on condition that their theme corresponds to the part of the Mass at which they are sung. This means that a theme of sacrifice or offering is retained at the Offertory, of thanksgiving, love of God or any similar theme at Communion time. However, the singing of vernacular hymns at a sung Mass or Missa Cantata is manifestly an abuse that can only be tolerated when backed up by a long standing custom that has lasted for over a century: They [hymns in the vernacular] are permitted at a Mass in chant only in the case of a centenary or immemorial custom, which in the judgment of the local Ordinary cannot prudently be suppressed."

What the above will looks like with a few posture lyrics follows; here is a sample Missa Lecta, for Lent:

Choral Preludes: Audi Begnigne Conditor & Parce Domine
Processional Hymn: LORD, Who Throughout These Forty Days
Prayers at the Foot of the Altar--kneel
Epistle--sit
Gospel--stand as priest moves to Gospel side of Altar
Homily--sit (stand for Gospel if read in vernacular)
Credo--stand (genuflect at "et incarnatus est...")
Offertory--sit
Offertory Hymn: Attende Domine
Sanctus--kneel
Communion Chant: Responsory from Ash Wednesday, Emendemus in melius
Communion Hymn: Ave Verum Corpus-chant
Second ablution--sit
Last Gospel--stand
Marian Antiphon: Ave Regina Caelorum
Recessional Hymn: Forty Days and Forty Nights

Oh, notice something? For good or ill, this is the origin of the Ordinary Form's four-hymn sandwich; and we still don' sing the Propers even though they are in the book!

Last Mass (for now) of Toronto FSSP Apostolate

They came from Brampton and from Stouffville, from Peterborough and Niagara Falls, from Hamilton and from Mississauga. They came; 155 Catholics. They came to the worship God in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form and to say good bye, or perhaps until we meet again, to Father Howard Venette, FSSP and the wonderful experiment of the Toronto Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter.

It will be a Missa Lecta or Low Mass for now. The choir will remain for the time being and provide a simplified music program; the Ordinary (Asperges, Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus and Agnus) and the Propers (Introit, Gradual, Alleluia/Tract, Offertory and Communion) are not sung and none must be sung in accord with the rubrics. But we will present a simplified Mass to encourage the people not to lose heart and to assist them as best we can with expressing their love of the Mass through music. There will be a Processional and Recessional hymn in English, the Marian Antiphon to conclude Mass and a Latin chant, antiphon, hymn, motet or responsory during the Offertory and Communion. While the rubrics permit a vernacular hymn at the Offertory and Communion provided it is in keeping with those to actions, we will remain with Latin. We certainly have enough seasonal repertoire. (Nota bene; Since this was written the priest has decided that the Mass will be a Missa Lecta or Low Mass with no music).

The Toronto Traditional Mass Society is a registered member of International Federation Una Voce, which you should join. Your support is needed.

As well, you might consider joining the Facebook site.

On behalf of all of those at St. Theresa's Latin Mass Community thank you to Father Howard Venette for the last 19 months of his faithful and prayerful chaplaincy. Thank you to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter for coming to Toronto and bringing us many blessings. Thank you to His Grace, Archbishop Thomas Collins for inviting them here and for the public commitment to invite them back again when the circumstances are more appropriate.

We hope and pray that this is not good-bye, but only until we meet again, and that our waiting may be short.

Getting There From Here

To shock you into where we need to go from here, it is important to preserve this evidence lest we forget what is at stake. Now, this is an extreme liturgical abuse and clearly not indicative of the Mass in Toronto but it was allowed to happen. It took place on July 2, 2006 (prior to the appointment of Archbishop Thomas Collins). This is a magnificent century-old stone classical Church in the east end of downtown Toronto, St. Ann's.

 

On February 2, 2009, at St. Brigid's not far from St. Ann's but as far as what you saw above could be short of a Missa Pontificalis, Father Howard Venette, FSSP assisted by transitional deacons and seminarians from St. Augustine's Seminary celebrates as Solemn High Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

This is the truest Catholic worship to Almighty God. The first three pictures are a matter of sacrilege and false theology that is more pagan than Catholic.

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While the FSSP will leave Toronto, the Mass will continue at St. Theresa Shrine Church on Kingston Road at Midland. The Mass will continue at 1:00 with a retired priest as a Low Mass. The goal is a stable and consistent parish where, if not exclusive, at least the shared and integrated existence where both "Forms of the Roman Rite" can co-exist and compliment each other in a normal parish life.

Father Michael Eades, C.O. celebrating his first Solemn High Mass at The Oratory (St. Vincent de Paul Church) on Pentecost Sunday 2009. Father Eades, C.O. was ordained at The Oratory (Holy Family) by Archbishop Thomas Collins on the feast of their founder, St. Phlip Neri only a few days before, Father Eades first Mass the next day was in the Extrordinary Form.

This already exists in Toronto and it is at The Oratory (above photo). The good Fathers there in addition to their own House and Seminary operate two diocesan parishes, Holy Family and St. Vincent de Paul. The usus antiquior (ancient use) is offered daily at Holy Family as a Missa Lecta and Sunday at St. Vincent's as a Missa Cantata and moving more frequently towards the Missa Solemnis. This is ideal and what Pope Benedict XVI hopes for by his motu proprio; that the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms can co-exist side-by-side and integrated into parish life. At this place, there is no rancour or dispute or debate about which is "better" or brings one "close to God." There is no "us and them" mentality; no pre or post-Vatican II Church. There is only one Church. Go to Vespers and you will find people that attend both Forms. Go to the 8:30 on Saturday to the usus antiquior and you'll find someone there who was at the 5:30 Novus Ordo the afternoon before. No complaint, just sinful people trying to be better and working at their salvation in fear and trembling and accepting and praying and doing that which the Church asks. Present them both, and let the Holy Spirit do His work. To be sure, the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter is a wonderful grace. Similar is the Institute of Christ the King. The challenge though, which has been clearly evident at St. Theresa Shrine parish is that before and after the FSSP's arrival, the Traditional Latin Mass there has been ghettoized. Very few attendees actually lived within the boundaries of the parish and those who did rarely ventured in at 1:00. To the "real" parish, it was like these people were intruders at worst or didn't even exist at best. When I first arrived as Cantor and to build the choir in Advent 2008 (and singing from the front it was easy to see) there were on some Sundays 40 maybe 50 people. It's an old habit of choir directors from the loft to count. In the summer of 2009, I was embarrassed to see it even drop to about 30. But then something happened. More publicity was being created on blogs and the internet about the Mass in other parts of North America and around the world. The motu proprio was becoming more known and the word was getting out. EWTN continued to broadcast from the Shrine special Masses by the FSSP and people came to realize that the Fraternity was actually here. We were consistent with our Missa Cantata on Sundays and Feast Days and Solemnities and the Chaplain worked to cultivate the vineyard. By autumn it started to increase, slowly. Throughout January 2009 the attendees were consistently moving up to 70, 80 even a few more. Lest anyone forget their math. If we said that typical attendance was 40 in December 2008 and in January 2009 it was consistently 80 that is a 100% increase in attendance. It was my view that by next Christmas we would be up a similar amount. That is how fast it was growing.

And better still, they were not little ladies with doilies on their heads (forgive me please). These new congregants were younger, with children and they were not even born before 1970. They could hardly be accused of "nostalgia neurosis" as was said once by a long since retired Ottawa Archbishop Emeritus about Gregorian chant. Some going tto St. Theresa's for years and sitting up front insist they always had 80 to 100 people. This is simply not true. Before the arrival of Father Howard Venette, before the fully implemented Gregorian chant, the choir and the publicity, this little Latin Mass community was on life support. The laity there did little to nothing to promote the Mass or support Una Voce Toronto, lobby, write or encourage anyone to attend. It was a closed and quiet little group and if we are not careful, that is what it will return to. People attending the usus aniquior in other parts of Toronto did nothing to support these or Una Voce. All have been pretty passive and complacent. As a fruit of the last 19 months of the Fraternity's presence, there are two young men who are discerning a call to the priesthood. Yes, you read that correctly. Two. Young. Men. Discerning the call to the priesthood. In 19 months! The responsibility now to move forward lies with all the laity there. Una Voce Toronto requires more support. There are people attending St. Theresa Shrine who do not belong to this most important international association. There are people attending the Latin Mass in other parts of Toronto who have not joined.

Join the Toronto Traditional Mass Society-Una Voce. Now! Join Latin Mass Toronto on Facebook. Now! So what are the solutions?

• In a perfect world, the Pastor at St. Theresa Shrine Church would simply undertake to celebrate the Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. The people after all, do take up the collection which goes to the parish.
• If the above is not possible, then a "Chaplain" needs to be appointed to undertake this as a mission on Sundays.
• The appropriate solution is that at St. Theresa Shrine Church or another church in the east of Toronto where the Sunday Mass can move, the Mass in the Extraordinary Form needs to be offered daily and on Solemnities and Feasts in the normal life of a parish undertaken by a visiting Chaplain or Parish Priest or Associate.
• For the people of God, the importance of it being in one location, daily cannot be underestimated. This would also serve to re-invigorate a needy parish with more people, more life and more--dare I say funds! (The fact is, Latin Mass attendees, while they still may not tithe are usually generous so that they can preserve what they have).

The four points above are the short-term solution to the departure of the Fraternity of St. Peter from Toronto. The odds of a whole parish building being given over to the FSSP or the Institute of Christ the King (ICK) or their attendance here, at least in the short term, are not great. Further, the fact of the matter is that even if the congregation was 200 a week, the collection, may still not be sufficient to maintain the salaries of a priest and secretary and the property. Let's face it; there are some beautiful churches in east Toronto where this Mass could blossom, Holy Name, St. Ann's, Canadian Martyrs, and Immaculate Heart of Mary to name four. All have declining attendance but taking over a building of the ages of these by a small group would not be sustainable. The "sharing" of a parish and "integration" is the short-term answer and this would also prevent the ghettoization which currently exists at St. Theresa Shrine.

The Archdiocese of Toronto also has a responsibility to fully implement the Holy Father's desires in Summorum Pontificum. Clearly it is a chicken and egg scenario. On one hand, if there is no demand what is the Chancery to do? On the other hand, if they do not promote SP how can people respond? So far, the growth has been because of individual discovery, probably through the internet. But is this really what the Holy Father wanted when he referred to the gravitational pull of "two forms of one Roman Rite?" After the implementation of the four points above both the Archdiocese of Toronto and St. Augustine's Seminary should consider the following:d

• Mandatory training of all Seminarians in both the Ordinary and Extraordinary Forms of the Roman Rite at St. Augustine's Seminary in both its practicum and theology. I say "mandatory" so that these priests in the future can fulfill the obligations of Summorum Pontificum. Let us assume that a priest in Brampton establishes as part of the regular parish life through the request of a stable group or at his own initiative as announced last week by Ecclesia Dei; he is transferred to a new parish, and the new priest arriving must be able to serve the people in a liturgical manner desired. How could a priest be appointed to tell an existing group of 50 or 200 that "I won't say the EF? This is not a good scenario.
• Refresher courses for those elderly priests trained prior to the reforms who may wish to celebrate it; and, courses for priests who wish to learn it to implement it in their parishes.
• Establishment of firm guidelines from a "liturgical" office on what is appropriate and what is not for example; the question of the distribution of Holy Communion (the hand and EMHCs are not appropriate liturgically and are within the purview of the Local Ordinary to regulate), gender of Altar Servers (see the last), manner of celebrating Missa Lecta with music (we are not sure how the 1967 Musicam Sacram applies to the 1962 Missal. Currently, the Missa Lecta cannot have a sung ordinary (Kyrie, Gloria, etc.) but it can have an opening and recessional hymn in English, Latin at Offertory and Communion but no Sung Propers or Ordinary). These are important questions which will need to be addressed, certainly locally but also by Rome. The prospect of these "indults" of communion-in-the-hand, the use of EMHC's (and their overuse) and Altar Girls would not allow us to move forward in peace and would provoke severe debate from those who desire the more traditional form of worship.
• The eventual holding of a conference in and sponsored by the Archdiocese of Toronto on Summorum Pontificum.
• In a perfect world, the eventual celebration of a Pontifical High Mass at St. Michael's Cathedral, (I hear they have a pretty excellent choir), thus showing to all Catholics in Toronto that this is part of the Church's life.d

In the Holy Father's letter accompanying the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum he wrote "It is true that there have been exaggerations and at times social aspects unduly linked to the attitude of the faithful attached to the ancient Latin liturgical tradition. Your charity and pastoral prudence will be an incentive and guide for improving these." He further added that "Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the Body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church or its leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of the blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden."

All of us need to move forward, but those who desire the liturgical ebb and flow and marking of the usus antiquior desperately need pastoral outreach. I think this is what the Holy Father refers to above.

This must never be a debate about which is better, the OF or EF? Many of you know I assist with my professional skills at both and when I usually attend Mass during the week it is in the Ordinary Form.

But one thing that has hardened "traditionalists" is at the top of this blog and what follows below.

In Summorum pontificum the Holy Father went on to write: "Many people who clearly accepted the binding character of the Second Vatican Council, and were faithful to the Pope and the Bishops, nonetheless also desired to recover the form of the sacred liturgy that was dear to them. This occurred above all because in many places celebrations were not faithful to the prescriptions of the new Missal, but the latter actually was understood as authorizing or even requiring creativity, which frequently led to deformations of the liturgy which were hard to bear. I am speaking from experience, since I too lived through that period with all its hopes and its confusion. And I have seen how arbitrary deformations of the liturgy caused deep pain to individuals totally rooted in the faith of the Church"

In case we need a reminder of what Pope Benedict XVI, was referring to; what you see below occurred in June 2008 at the Jesuit Farm near Guelph in the Diocese of Hamilton, and this is a priest, Father Jim Profit, S.J., becoming "one with the earth." I don't think anything this bad happened in Toronto since the "hindu" Mass at St. Ann's as referenced above.

Fr. Jim Profit offers the sacrifice of the Mass as a sacrament which connects us to God's creation at the Jesuit farm in Guelph, Ont., June 1. (Photos by Michael Swan)

Availablility of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Toronto

CLARIFICATION: I have received a clarification from Neil MacCarthy, Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Toronto that the article in the Catholic Register should have expressed "archdiocese" and not "city." Further, the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite is offered in six locations (though the Carmel in Zephyr is not a parish, the public may attend) spread over different times during the week.

To confirm:

• Sunday: St. Patrick's, Schomberg, 9:00AM Low Mass
• Sunday: Carmel of the Infant Jesus, Zephyr, 11:30AM Low Mass
• Sunday: St. Theresa Shrine Church 1:00PM Low Mass (beginning March 7.)
• Sunday, St. Vincent de Paul Church, 11:30AM Oratorian Fathers Missa Cantata/Missa Solemnis once per month.
• Monday to Friday, Holy Family 11:30AM, Saturday 8:30AM, Oratorian Fathers Low Mass.
• Friday (not First Friday) St. Elizabeth Seton, Newmarket, 7:00PM Low Mass.
• Saturday St. Elizabeth Seton, Newmarket, 10:00AM Low Mass.

The Mass is available in six locations in the Archdiocese of Toronto throughout the week.

However, in all of these places it is only offered by an elderly priest or by one religious congregation, the Oratorians and while they celebrate it at two parishes it is really only at one since it is only once per day. Not desiring to split hairs, but "six parishes" really means four on Sunday, one daily and one once or twice per week.--Vox

FSSP APOSTOLATE IN TORONTO COMES TO AN END!

TORONTO--Only three weeks after a Solemn High Mass was held on Candlemas assisted by transitional Deacons and Seminarians of St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto; and less than a week after a column appeared on Rorate Caeli Blog extolling the provisioning of the Traditional Latin Mass in Ontario, it was announced today after the Mass for Quadragesima Sunday that effective next Sunday, February 28, 2009, the Toronto Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter will come to an end.

Apostolate Chaplain, Father Howard Venette, FSSP addressed the nearly 100 congregants following the Mass advising the shocked congregation that the departure was due to "internal personnel" matters. Father Venette will be reassigned to Orlando, Florida following his 19 month stay in Toronto.

The FSSP was invited to Toronto by Archbishop Thomas Collins with the hopes of establishing a personal parish for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. In September 2009, a public announcement was made by the Fraternity and on the Archdiocese of Toronto web page that Canadian Martyrs parish would be the location over a six-month transitional period. Within days of this announcement and without public explanation, the situation changed and the parish plan did not materialise.

Recently, the Fraternity was advised that while a parish was not currently available, its provision would depend on the continued growth and financial viability of the community. In the last 19 months, attendance at the Sunday Mass at St. Theresa Shrine Church increased over 100% from the attendance under the former indult at the Missa Lecta to the Missa Cantata.

Upon arrival in Toronto, Father Venette was in residence at Holy Cross parish where the Mass was celebrated daily and on High Holy Days. Following the situation in September over Canadian Martyrs, Father was moved to St. Brigid's where the daily Mass schedule changed from week to week and the High Holy Day liturgies were split between St. Brigid's and St. Theresa's Parish.

According to officials from Una Voce Toronto, Archbishop Collins had indicated that he desired no less than "five" Extraordinary Form Masses throughout the Archdiocese of Toronto every Sunday.

A Solemn High Mass was being planned for St. Theresa's for March 19, the Feast of St. Joseph, Patron Saint of Canada and has now been cancelled. After the departure of Father Venette, the only daily Mass in the Extraordinary Form in the Archdiocese of Toronto will be at The Toronto Oratory Church of the Holy Family. The Oratorians continue to celebrate the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite Missa Cantata or Missa Solemnis Sundays at St. Vincent de Paul Church at 11:30AM.

Candlemas-Solemn High Mass in Toronto

For those of you in the Toronto area, please note that on Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 7:00 P.M. the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass will be celebrated, Missa Solemnis, by the Toronto Apostolate of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter at St. Brigid's Catholic Church on Wolverleigh Boulevard. The Toronto Apostolate of the FSSP is awaiting a permanent home and Mass is celebrated (Missa Cantata) every Sunday at 1:00 P.M. at St. Theresa Shrine Catholic Church on Kingston Road at Midland Avenue.

The Mass will be preceded by the Blessing of Candles and Procession with the full Gregorian Antiphons and Responsory sung. The music for the Holy Sacrifice will of course include the full Gregorian Propers and the Ordinary will be from Gregorian Mass IX for Feasts of the Blessed Virgin, Missa Cum Jubilo or Mass with Shouts of Joy. The Offertory Anthem will be Ave Maris Stella to an Italian melody and after the Communion Antiphon with it's psalm, Nunc Dimittis, will be sung Palestrina's Jesu Rex Admirablis.

The Deacon and Subdeacon for the Solemn High Mass will be two transitional Deacons from the Archdiocese of Toronto, both to be ordained to the Priesthood this spring by Archbishop Thomas Collins. The Master of Ceremonies, Acoytes, Crucifer, Thurifer, and Torch Bearers will be Seminarians from St. Augustine's Seminary in Toronto.

Candlemas or the Purification of Mary, more commonly known in the Ordinary Form as the Presentation of the LORD, recalls both events in the life of Our Lord and His Mother. Following the ritual commands forty days after giving birth, Our Lady presents herself in the temple for her Purification and as the first-born son, Jesus is presented to God in the Temple.

Truly, a day in Toronto for shouts of joy!

Christmas Mass in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite -- Toronto and area

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St. Theresa Shrine Church
2559 Kingston Road
Toronto (Scarborough), Ontario
Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

First Mass of Christmas

Missa Dominus Dixit Ad Me

12:00 Midnight
Missa Canata
Third Mass of the Day
Missa Puer Natus est Nobis
1:00 PM
Missa Cantata

Oratory Church of St. Vincent de Paul
263 Roncesvalles Avenue

Toronto, Ontario
Oratory of St. Philip Neri

First Mass of Christmas

Missa Dominus Dixit Ad Me

12:00 Midnight
Missa Solemnis

Third Mass of Christmas

Missa Puer Natus est Nobis

11:30 AM

Missa Cantata

St. Joseph's Catholic Church

460 George Street West
Fergus, Ontario

Father Ian Duffy, Pastor

Third Mass of Christmas

Missa Puer Natus Est Nobis

11:00 AM

Missa Cantata

Our Lady of the Angels Oratory

75 Rolls Avenue

St. Catherine's Ontario

Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter

First Mass of Christmas

Missa Dominus Dixit Ad Me

12:00 Midnight

Missa Cantata

Second Mass at 8:00 AM;

Third Mass at 9:30 AM

Missa Lecta (Low Mass)

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St. Patrick's, Kinkora

4597 Perth Road 145

Sebringville, Ontario

Father Paul Nicholson, Pastor

12:00 Midnight

Missa Cantata