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Catechesis, Sacred Liturgy

HIgh Mass, Procession, and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament for the Feast of Corpus Christi

The Feast of the Most Sacred Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, or Corpus Christi, will be celebrated in a Solemn High Mass in the traditional Latin form at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street in New Haven, on Sunday, June 11, at 2:00 pm. The Mass will be followed by a Procession and Benediction of the Most Blessed Sacrament. The celebrant for the service will be The Rev. Robert Turner, Pastor of St. Ambrose Parish, North Branford.

The origins of the Feast of Corpus Christi date from the early 13th century when St. Juliana of Mont-Cornillon urged the French hierarchy to establish a feast celebrating the Real presence of the Body and Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ in the elements of Eucharist. In 1268 Pope Urban IV instituted the feast of Corpus Christi universally in the Western Church. The pope requested that St. Thomas Aquinas compose the texts for the liturgy of feast, which include the propers sung at Mass, notably the sequence Lauda Sion, as well as the chants sung in the procession and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament.

The Benediction that follows the service is the supreme devotional ceremony of adoration of the Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, in which prayers and hymns are addressed to Our Lord in the Host exposed in a monstrance placed on the altar. The concludes with the reposition of the Sacrament in the tabernacle.

Music for the service, performed by members of the Schola Cantorum of The Saint Gregory Society, will include the Gregorian Mass Ordinary XI, “Orbis factor,” motets by Ludovico da Viadana and Jean-Baptiste François Lallouette, the proper Gregorian chants, and organ music by Girolamo Frescobaldi and Claudio Merulo.

 

 

Catechesis, Easter, Sacred Liturgy

High Mass for the Feast of Pentecost

The feast of Pentecost, or Whitsunday, will be observed in a High Mass in the traditional Latin form at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street in New Haven, on Sunday, May 28, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be The Reverend Richard G. Cipolla, Pastor Emeritus, St. Mayr’s Church, Norwalk

Celebrated on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday, Pentecost commemorates the first manifestation of the Holy Ghost among our Lord’s disciples and the foundation of the Church itself. as described in the Acts of the Apostles (Acts 2:1-31).

We read in the Gospel at the Mass on this great feast that our Lord foretold the coming of the Paraclete to his disciples, and the Epistle shows us the realization of that promise. God descended upon the Cenacle, and a mighty wind which blew suddenly upon the house, together with the appearance of tongues of fire within, were the wonderful tokens of His coming.

Taught by the “Light of Thy Holy Ghost” (Collect at Mass) and filled by the gifts of the same Spirit poured out upon them (Sequence), the apostles became new men to go forth and renew the whole world (Introit). In the words of the Alleluia: “Come Holy Ghost, fill the hearts of Thy faithful, and kindle in them the fire of Thy love” Let us fervently pray that the Holy Ghost thus will come down upon us.

Music for the service, sung by members of the Schola Cantorum of the Saint Gregory Society, will include the Gregorian Mass Ordinary I, “Lux et origo,” motets by Lorenzo Perosi and Guillaume Dufay, the proper Gregorian chants, and organ music by Girolamo Frescobaldi.

Easter, News, Sacred Liturgy

High Mass for the Fifth Sunday after Easter

The Fifth Sunday after Easter will be celebrated in a Solemn High Mass in the traditional Latin form at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street, in New Haven on Sunday, May 14, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be The Reverend Richard G. Cipolla, Pastor Emeritus of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk.

The proper texts of the liturgy for this Sunday’s Mass continue to tell of Christ’s victory and of the salvation of Christian people whom He has redeemed. During the Rogation Days that follow, the Church exhorts us to pray in “His name” and ask for what is necessary for us, salvation first and foremost; these prayers will unfailingly be granted us “that our joy may be full.”

We must ask, too, that we may be worthy to enter with Him into His Father’s kingdom, while acknowledging that prayer that is sincere implies generosity: St. Jame’s Epistle reminds us that it is not enough merely to pray; we must also be “doers of the Word.”

Music for the service, sung by the Schola Cantorum of The Saint Gregory Society, will include the Gregorian Mass Ordinary for Eastertide (Vatican Edition I: “Lux et origo,”) the motets “Cantate Domino” by Hans Leo Hassler and “Panis angelicus” by Marc-Antoine Charpentier; the proper Gregorian chants, and organ music by Guillaume Nivers and Jacques Boyvin.

 

 

 

Easter, Sacred Liturgy

High Mass for the Third Sunday after Easter

The Third Sunday after Easter, will be celebrated in a High Mass in the traditional Latin form at St. Stanislaus Church, State and Eld Streets in New Haven, on Sunday, April 30, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be The Reverend Robert L. Turner, Pastor, St. Ambrose Parish, North Branford

Holy Mother Church, rejoicing in the Resurrection, sings her joy and proclaims the glory of God (Introit, Offertory).  “A little while now, and you shall not see me,” said our Lord in the Cenacle, “and you shall lament and weep; and again a little while, and you shall see me and your heart shall rejoice” (Gospel). When the Apostles saw the risen Christ again, they experienced this joy with which the Easter liturgy is still overflowing.

Easters celebrated on earth are a preparation and symbol of the eternal Easter when joy shall be full—the joy of the Church when, having with sorrow begotten souls to God, she shares the glories and joys of the Lord.  This holy joy begins here below; it is founded on hope and on Christ’s invisible but real presence even now with us.  As strangers and pilgrims on our way to heaven, we should be imbued with this Christian joy which frees us from earthly pleasures and leads us to God, whose grace succors us and upholds us to the end of our journey.

Music for the service, sung by members of the Schola Cantorum of The Saint Gregory Society, will include the Gregorian Mass Ordinary for Eastertide (Vatican Edition I: “Lux et origo,”) the motets “Regina caeli, and Ave verum corpus by Charles Gounod, the Gregorian Mass proper, “Jubilate Deo,” and organ music by Eugène Gigout and Léon Boëllmann.

News

The Saint Gregory Society Needs Your Support!

We remind our members and friends that the St. Gregory Society’s mission of preserving and promoting the traditional liturgy in our community and throughout the world is supported largely by their generosity.

We are deeply grateful to St. Stanislaus Parish for their hospitality in providing a splendid setting for the Latin Mass offered in New Haven. Nevertheless, the manifold expenses in support of these celebrations in the traditional liturgy—clergy travel expenses, choristers’ stipends, printing of service leaflets, etc., all depend upon the funds raised by the St. Gregory Society through memberships, sales of publications, and contributions to the second offering at our Masses.

We therefore encourage all who are devoted to the traditional liturgy to become new members or join those who have renewed their annual memberships for 2023. After the many expenses of Holy Week, your contribution will be a welcome assurance that we may afford the remaining High Masses on the Spring Schedule.

Please click on the “Membership” link at the left to make an online contribution via PayPal or a contribution by mailing a check or money order.