A traditional Mass ANYWHERE in San Antonio, TX?

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bluerose

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Forgive me if I sound desperate! I hope I don’t offend anyone, and I suppose this could be a simple matter of personal taste, but I would really like some help with this!

We visit friends in San Antonio quite frequently, but it’s a big city and we would really like to attend a more traditional Mass than what we’ve been going to. Of course we want a Mass in union with Rome, but lately we’ve been feeling very much that traditional looking churches (never mind the Masses) are not to be found here. The churches we’ve attended before resemble amphiteatres, but the last one was more like theatre in the round. Every time we step into a church, DH and I play “Find the Tabernacle” so we know in which direction to genuflect. This is getting a bit wearying.

What we would like to find is a Mass that does not have a “cast of thousands” (but only one priest) and a house band. Kneelers would be nice. Communion hosts that are NOT honey-wheat pita bits. And a priest who does not tell the congregation on Pentecost Sunday that when Jesus breathed on the disciples and said “Receive the Holy Ghost; whose sins you forgive are forgiven and whose sins you retain they are retained”, that he WASN’T commissioning priests or giving them the faculty to forgive sins in the sacrament of penance… he was telling all of US that we should forgive each other (now whether this was bad theology or bad choice of words, I’m not sure. We still weren’t comfortable with it.)

I know that as long as we receive the Euchrist (wait, I forgot about the pita bread… VALID Eucharist) we shouldn’t be concerned about all the extraneous stuff. Please don’t pound me for not liking the “contemporary” Mass. As I said, this may be considered a case of personal taste. Our friends, obviously, don’t have a preference for a more traditional Mass, so they don’t know where to refer us (they haven’t been there that long). So if anyone can help out, please let me know!
 
My Ecclesia Dei card shows a TLM at St. Francis Nursing Home Chapel at 11am on Sundays. Let us know how it goes.
 
If you are on the north side, you should visit Our Lady of the Atonement. It is Anglican Use, but very traditional and in union with Rome. The architecture, liturgy, music, vestments, and preaching are very Catholic and very traditional.

P.S. you won’t get any complaints about not being “contemporary enough” in this forum. We understand your frustration.
 
Thank you, thank you, thank you!:tiphat: We’ll probably be going back in a couple of months and we’ve been wanting to get our 13-year-old son to a Latin Mass as well, so this might turn out to be a special treat whenever we go to San Antonio (no TLMs around here, sad to say)!

I’d still like to find a traditional NO Mass if possible, as well. But thanks for the information so far!

Bless you all!
 
San Antonio is a big city so it depends on where you are going to be staying. If you can’t make the TLM Indult Mass then I would suggest going to the Maronite Church. Here’s the link:
stgeorgesa.org/

The Maronite Church is in full communion with Rome and has a beautiful liturgy.

For a traditional Church it doesn’t get any better than the Cathedral of San Fernando. You could also attend Mass at Mission San Jose or one of the other missions.
hth.
 
I’ve been to St. George’s - it was half a mile from my apartment. It’s nice. They have a prayer grotto that is very cozy. My wife would jokingly refer to it as “the mound” whenever I told her I was going to pray there. The chapel is pretty, too.

That having been said, I was truly swept away by the liturgy at Our Lady of the Atonement. They have something very special there.
 
Windmill said:
I’ve been to St. George’s - it was half a mile from my apartment. It’s nice. They have a prayer grotto that is very cozy. My wife would jokingly refer to it as “the mound” whenever I told her I was going to pray there. The chapel is pretty, too.

That having been said, I was truly swept away by the liturgy at Our Lady of the Atonement. They have something very special there.
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The Grotto becomes Jesus’ burial cave during the Triduum. I highly recommend the Holy Thursday Mass and the Good Friday procession.
 
:cool: I have heard of the masses at the St.francis Nursing home,but don’t have a chance to get there.
Haven’t been to mass at San ferdnando Cathedral,but when they “restored” it or whatever they call it they ruined the place.The altar is more like a table,and in the televised masses from there I can’t seem to see any tabernacle.
 
I was in dental school when all of that came through with the renovations. Sad. The history of the cathedral was magnificent, and some of it was lost.

I sing in a men’s gregorian chant schola, and one of the men is from San Antonio. He’s one of the first members of the Traditional Latin Mass community at the nursing home.
 
Wow, Our Lady of the Atonement looks really neat. I’ll have to check it out the next time I’m in SA.

BTW, what does “Anglican use” mean?
 
The Anglican Use Mass is a Roman Catholic Mass in every way. In 1982 some Anglican priests converted and were subsequently ordained as Catholic priests under the pastoral provisions of the Pope. They brought many from their parishes with them and petitioned the Pope to allow them to retain some of their traditions. The Anglican Use Mass was the High Church Anglican Mass modified to conform to the liturgical norms of the Roman Catholic Mass and was approved by John Paul the Great when he was Pope. Some of the differences are that there are more prayers, we always kneel during the prayers, the priest faces away from the congregation with his back to the congregation when at the alter, and we always use Eucharistic Prayer 1 (The Roman Canon). In my opinion it is a far more traditional, reverent, solemn, formal rite of worship than the Novus Ordo Mass. Please don’t take this as a criticism of the NO Mass. There are no Eucharist ministers. Communion is only given by a priest or one of the deacons. It is always received while kneeling at the communion rail by intinction which is the Eucharistic practice of partly dipping the consecrated bread, or host, into the consecrated wine before consumption by the communicant. Many Catholics from other parish’s come to this Mass strictly for the liturgy. High Mass is at the 9AM and 11AM Masses, Low Mass, which is shorter, at 7:30AM and the Novus Ordo Mass in Latin is celebrated at the 6PM Mass. I am a convert and this Mass and this church is everything I expected and wanted. When I am in this church, I know I am in a Catholic Church. I hope you will visit us.
 
HollyDolly said:
:cool: I have heard of the masses at the St.francis Nursing home,but don’t have a chance to get there.
Haven’t been to mass at San ferdnando Cathedral,but when they “restored” it or whatever they call it they ruined the place.The altar is more like a table,and in the televised masses from there I can’t seem to see any tabernacle.
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The new archbishop has installed a stone altar and railing separating the Retablo Area from the Altar at San Fernando’s.

If you are willing to drive an hour north, there is a beautiful liturgy at St. Mary’s Cathedral in Austin, including an EF Mass.

And if want to take a tour of South Texas, the Oratorian Fathers have an EF, a Latin OF, an English OF and a Spanish OF at St. Jude Thaddeus Catholic Church in Pharr, Texas. That’s three hours to the south. Liturgy in the Brownsville Diocese is on the upswing since the new bishop took over.
 
I have been to the 6 pm Mass at Our Lady of the Atonement and it is beautiful. I have also been to a Byzaninte mission church, St. Anastasia. They have Divine Liturgy every 1st and 3rd Sunday at 3 pm at St. Brigid’s day chapel. It is a beautiful liturgy as well. Does anyone know of atleast a San Antonio Catholic Church that has traditional music?
 
BlueRose - As an Eastern Catholic (Byzantine Ruthenian) I would also suggest you try an Eastern Catholic Service. The Divine Liturgy - as the service is termed - hasn’t changed in hundreds of years, all Parishioners sing the responses, Church is designed so that EVERYONE FACES EAST, Communion given (by Priest only) in both forms via a golden spoon, etc. There are a number of differences. Expect Liturgy to last longer - an hour or more - no kneeling – everyone stands. If you’ve ever attended an Orthodox Liturgy, this is the same — except we are in union w/Rome. (after excommunicating each other for about 5oo yrs.)
 
I can second others’ recommendations for Our Lady of the Atonement. They have a beautiful Sunday Mass, at 6 PM, in Latin, in the Ordinary Form. Marvelous music, lots of holy smoke, properly oriented liturgical prayer…great stuff 👍
 
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