Blessed Virgin Mary, Catechesis, High Mass

Mass for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception

The Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, a Holy Day of Obligation., will be observed in a Low Mass offered in the traditional Latin form on Friday, December 8, at 5:30 p.m. at St Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street, New Haven. The Reverend Peter Lenox, Episcopal Vicar for Liturgy and Worship, Diocese of Bridgeport, will be the celebrant.

The infallibly defined dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Latin Catholic Church reveals to us that “God freely chose Mary from all eternity to be the Mother of his Son. In order to carry out her mission she herself was conceived immaculate. This means that, thanks to the grace of God and in anticipation of the merits of Jesus Christ, Mary was preserved from original sin from the first instant of her conception” (Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church).

Mary is the “New Eve,” the Mother of God, Mother of us all. As such, we believe that Mary Immaculate is a type of the Church and the perfect model of holiness for all Christians.

Under the title is the Immaculate Conception she is the patroness of the United States of America. May she intercede for us before the Throne of Grace!

Catechesis, High Mass

High Mass for the First Sunday in Advent

The first Sunday in Advent will be observed in a celebration of High Mass in the traditional Latin form on Sunday, December 3, at 2:00 pm at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street, New Haven.  The Reverend Richard G. Cipolla, Pastor Emeritus of St. Mary’s Church, Norwalk will be the celebrant.

During the season of Advent, the Church reflects upon the twofold coming of our Savior: His birth at Bethlehem which will enlighten the world until the end of time, and His return at the last judgment when He comes to condemn the guilty to the flames and call the just with a loving voice to heaven.

Let us prepare for the Christmas feast by holy prayers and fasting and by reforming our lives, that we may be ready for that last great assize upon which depends the fate of our soul for all eternity. And all this with confidence for those “who wait upon the Lord will never be confounded” as expressed in the Introit, Gradual and Offertory of the Mass on this day.

Music for this service will include the Gregorian Mass Ordinary XI (“Orbis factor”), the Gregorian chant proper for the first Sunday in Advent (“Ad te levavi,” the motet“Alma Redemptoris mater” by Felice Anerio. and the hymn “Conditor alme siderum” by Guillaume Dufay.

News, Sacred Liturgy

Annual St. Gregory Purgatorial Society High Mass of Requiem

The annual St. Gregory Purgatorial Society High Mass of Requiem will be offered Thursday evening, November 16, at 5:30 p.m. at St. Stanislaus Church for those enrolled in the Saint Gregory Purgatorial Society as well as for members and friends of the Society.  The Peter Lenox, Episcopal Vicar for Liturgy and Worship, Diocese of Bridgeport, will be the celebrant.
This beautiful Mass of the Dead offered in the traditional rite is one of the most edifying experiences to be had by a faithful Christian. We urge our members and friends to attend and to enroll departed family members and friends in the Purgatorial Society for 2023-24. Please click the ”Purgatorial Society” button to the left for further information and access to the enrollment form.

News, Sacred Liturgy

Nota Bene: Cancellation of All Saints’ Day Service and Postponement of All Souls Day Requiem Mass.

Most regrettably, the services in the Traditional Latin Rite scheduled at St. Stanislaus Church, New Haven for All Saints Day (Wednesday, November 1 at 5:30 pm) and All Souls Day (Thursday, November 2 at 5:30 pm) will NOT take place.

The All Saints Day service has been CANCELED owing to the unavailability of a priest to celebrate the Mass.

Owing to illness of the scheduled priest caused by covid, the High Requiem Mass to have been offered on All Souls Day for the enrolled members of the Saint Gregory Purgatorial Society has been POSTPONED to a later date in November to be announced.

Catechesis, Sacred Liturgy

Solemn Mass and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament for the Feast of Christ the King

The Feast of Our Lord Jesus Christ the King will be observed in a celebration of Solemn High Mass and Benediction of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Stanislaus Church, State Street at Eld Street in New Haven, on Sunday, 29 October, at 2:00 pm. The Reverend Peter Lenox, Episcopal Vicar for Liturgy and Worship, Diocese of Bridgeport, will be the celebrant, and The Reverend Robert L. Turner, Pastor of St. Ambrose Parish, North Branford, will be the deacon.

Pope Pius XI instituted the feast of Christ the King in his Encyclical Letter Quas primas of 1925. This letter explained how laïcism and secularism by organizing society without any reference to God, lead to the apostasy of the masses and the ruin of society because of their complete denial of Christ’s Kingship, which is one of the greatest heresies of our time. The Pope proposed this feast as an annual liturgical assertion of Christ’s divine right of Kingship as an effective means of combating this pernicious heresy.

By its position on the last Sunday in October, towards the end of the Liturgical Year and just before the All Saints’ Day, the feast of Christ the King comes at the climax of the celebration of all Christ’s mysteries and a kind of earthly anticipation of his everlasting reign over the elect in the glory of heaven.

Music for the liturgy sung by the Schola Cantorum of the St. Gregory Society will include the Gregorian Mass Ordinary IV, the motets “Gloria tibi” by Wm. Byrd,  and “O Sacrum Convivium” by Ludovico Viadana, the Gregorian chant proper of the feast (“Dignus est agnus”), and organ music by William Byrd and Orlando Gibbons.