The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost will be observed in a Low Mass in the Traditional Latin Form at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street, New Haven on August 27, at 2:00 p.m. The Reverend Richard G. Cipolla, Pastor Emeritus of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, will be the celebrant.

Quinquagesima Sunday will be celebrated in a traditional Latin High Mass at St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven, Sunday, February 19, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be The Reverend Peter Lenox, Vicar for Liturgy and Worship, the Diocese of Bridgeport..

The third of the Sundays of Shrovetide, Quinquagesima, on the fiftieth day before Easter, signals that Ash Wednesday is close at hand. The great Benedictine abbot, Dom Prosper Guéranger, speaks of Quinquagesima as a “time of Abraham” because of Abraham’s “docility and devotedness in following the call of his God.”

In the Gospel of St. Luke on this day, our Lord prepares His
apostles for His coming sufferings, that is, His sacred Passion in Jerusalem. The blind man represents the sinners who break their relationship with God, rejecting the offer of the promises of the Kingdom because of fallen man’s own selfishness in pride. The cry of the blind man is our cry, too: “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!.” This prayer moved the heart of Jesus who stopped, called out to him, and healed him. This personal encounter prompted our Lord to ask the blind man to name the desire of his heart: “What do you want me to do for you?” the Lord asks him. “Master, let me receive my sight,” the blind man answers. “Receive thy sight; thy faith hath made thee whole.”

Quinquagesima Sunday invites us to ask for the grace that the blind man had been given: sufficient awareness to beg for the Lord’s mercy in hearing our prayers for forgiveness of sins so that we may live in perfect freedom. Are we as Catholics prepared to be docile and devoted, like Abraham, like the blind man, before the promptings of the Holy Trinity?

Music for the service performed by the Schola Cantorum of the St. Gregory Society, will include the Gregorian chant ‘Missa Orbis factor’ (Vatican edition XI), the chant proper for the Mass (Esto mihi), The plainsong hymn, “O Quam glorifica,” polyphonic motets by Nicholas Renouf and Claudio Monteverdi, and organ music by Guillaume Nivers and Jean Titelouze.

The Twenty-third Sunday after Pentecost will be observed in a celebration of High Mass at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street in New Haven, on Sunday, 13 November, at 2:00 pm. The Reverend Richard G. Cipolla, Pastor Emeritus of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk, will be the celebrant. The Schola Cantorum of the St. Gregory Society will sing the Gregorian chant and polyphony for the service.

The Gospel for this Sunday presents Jesus raising the daughter of Jairus from the dead as an example of the great power and mercy of God.  So will His divine power raise up our bodies at the last Day.

We should remember that we are closely concerned with this great work of salvation, and that it is wrought on our behalf. With the Church we should ask God to vouchsafe in His goodness that what He has begun in us, His unworthy servants, He will mercifully complete.

Music for the liturgy will include Gregorian Mass XI (Orbis factor), motets by Gabriel Fauré (Ave Maria) and Camille Saint-Saëns (Ave verum Corpus), the Gregorian chant proper of the feast (Dicit Dominus), and organ music by Ernest Chausson and Leon Boëllmann.

The Saint Gregory Society seeks to increase the roster of men and boys who serve at the altar for the traditional Latin Masses celebrated at St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven.  Those interested should contact the Society’s Master of Ceremonies, Mr. William Riccio Jr., at wmvrjr@yahoo.com.  Mr. Riccio can arrange for training of those who have not served before at the traditional Mass.

The 2022 Purgatorial  Solemn High Mass for those enrolled in the Society will be offered on Thursday, November 10th at 7:30 p.m.