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.