Catechesis, Pentecost

Pentecost 2021

Pentecost, or Whit Sunday, will be celebrated in a High Mass in the traditional Latin form at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street in New Haven, on Sunday, May 23, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be Father Michael Novajosky, who serves as a special assistant to the Bishop of Bridgeport for the Eucharistic Ambassador’s initiative.

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 Spirit” (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 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 Claudio Monteverdi and Lorenzo Perosi, the proper Gregorian chants, and organ music by Girolamo Frescobaldi.

Catechesis

Latin Mass for the 5th Sunday after Easter

The Fifth Sunday after Easter will be celebrated in a High Mass in the traditional Latin form at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street, in New Haven on Sunday, May 9, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be Father Robert L. Turner, Pastor of St. Ambrose Parish, North Branford.

The proper texts of the liturgy for this Sunday’s Mass continue to sing 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,” motets by Jean-François Lalouette, the Gregorian chant proper, “Vocem jucunditatis,” and organ music by Guilllaume de Nivers and Jacques Boyvin.

Catechesis

TLM for 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 25, at 2:00 pm. The celebrant will be Father Richard Cipolla, Pastor Emeritus of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk.

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,” motets by Charles Gounod, the Gregorian Mass proper, “Jubilate Deo,” and organ music by Eugène Gigout and Léon Boëllmann.