Just went to my best Mass ever tonight!

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Rand_Al_Thor

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Peace be with you!

Wow! I just went to a Mass tonight that was the best one I’ve ever been to. It was at Holy Rosary Church in Portland, a Dominican parish. For the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord they had a High Mass celebrated by retired Bishop Basil Meeking. It was the Novus Ordo, but it was entirely in Latin, except for the readings.

The Mass started with a blessing of candles. Then the bishop, the pastor of the parish, and 10 altar servers did a Solemn Procession (around the inside of the church before going to the sanctuary). The Mass was chanted in Latin by Bishop Meeking (all responses from the congregation were in Latin as well) and the choir was simply incredible. For those who aren’t from Oregon, Holy Rosary’s Latin choir is quite well known and the music was SO beautiful (all done acapella). They did mostly songs by William Byrd. At Communion the Communion rail was used, as it is for all the Masses at that church. Incense was burned through the whole Mass.
Some friends from my Newman club came and my good friend who is Lutheran also came because he wanted to see what a High Mass was like (he likes Gregorian chant and wanted to go to a Mass that was done like that).

Anyway, words cannot really describe what the Mass was like tonight, except that it was almost like Heaven coming down to Earth, like people have described the Tridentine Mass (which I have not been to yet, though I did go to a Dominican rite Mass, which seemed to be almost exactly the same as the Tridentine Mass).

In Christ,
Rand
 
I am so bumbed 😦

This is my regular parish and was planning on going last night but all my kids were sick. Oh well, there will be a next time.
 
Rand Al'Thor:
Peace be with you!

Wow! I just went to a Mass tonight that was the best one I’ve ever been to. It was at Holy Rosary Church in Portland, a Dominican parish. For the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord they had a High Mass celebrated by retired Bishop Basil Meeking. It was the Novus Ordo, but it was entirely in Latin, except for the readings.

The Mass started with a blessing of candles. Then the bishop, the pastor of the parish, and 10 altar servers did a Solemn Procession (around the inside of the church before going to the sanctuary). The Mass was chanted in Latin by Bishop Meeking (all responses from the congregation were in Latin as well) and the choir was simply incredible. For those who aren’t from Oregon, Holy Rosary’s Latin choir is quite well known and the music was SO beautiful (all done acapella). They did mostly songs by William Byrd. At Communion the Communion rail was used, as it is for all the Masses at that church. Incense was burned through the whole Mass.
Some friends from my Newman club came and my good friend who is Lutheran also came because he wanted to see what a High Mass was like (he likes Gregorian chant and wanted to go to a Mass that was done like that).

Anyway, words cannot really describe what the Mass was like tonight, except that it was almost like Heaven coming down to Earth, like people have described the Tridentine Mass (which I have not been to yet, though I did go to a Dominican rite Mass, which seemed to be almost exactly the same as the Tridentine Mass).

In Christ,
Rand
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Gotta love those Dominicans!
 
That’s great! The best Mass I ever had was the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, NY last year. The procession, thurifier with clouds of incense, choir and organist. All I can say is wow!
 
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jay29:
That’s great! The best Mass I ever had was the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Syracuse, NY last year. The procession, thurifier with clouds of incense, choir and organist. All I can say is wow!
Click to expand...
Peace be with you!

Sounds great! At the church I went to for this Mass (that I normally go to on Sundays now, too–Holy Rosary) they do an Organ Voluntary before the Mass and the closing hymn is normally played on the organ, but other than that, the singing is all acappella. I know what you mean about the organ music, though. I went to a Mass at Mt. Angel Benedictine Abbey here in Oregon a few months back and they had a nun who was one heck of an organ player! The choir there was all monks and seminarians and about 25 priests concelebrated the Mass (I think they were all Benedictine monks as well) but most of them looked like they are probably retired and living at the abbey. The Mass and all the songs were in English (except the Kyrie) but they were all old hymns and it was a very beautiful and solemn Mass.

How do you know you’re REALLY Catholic? When you think it’s fun to share Mass stories.

In Christ,
Rand
 
Rand Al'Thor:
How do you know you’re REALLY Catholic? When you think it’s fun to share Mass stories.
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LOL

Bishop Meeking used to be one of our NZ bishops. I wish he was still here but I am glad he is still lifting up people’s hearts wherever he is. 👍
 
The parish I attend has a TLM after the NO Mass every Sunday. A couple of weeks ago our PP announced that he will be celebrating ONE Mass on August 6th for the Feast of the Transfiguration - a Tridentine Latin Mass.

The parish is to have a series of 9 meetings over the next 6 months to help them prepare for it.
 
A truly pious Novus Ordo Mass is an utterly breathtaking experience, IMO. When you experience one, you know what the Holy Spirit was trying for 🙂

Every NO Mass needs Latin, at least SOME Latin. When things are done just right, it can make your forget all about the liturgical abuses and soft Masses that are too often done under the revised Latin Rite. I truly believe that we will be seeing more and more of these “traditional” Novus Ordo Masses as time goes on, if for no other reason than they seem to have a profound effect on people and encourage them to show up. I’d honestly rather attend a Novus Ordo Mass like these than a TLM, anyway.

Peace and God bless!
Rand Al'Thor:
Peace be with you!

Wow! I just went to a Mass tonight that was the best one I’ve ever been to. It was at Holy Rosary Church in Portland, a Dominican parish. For the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord they had a High Mass celebrated by retired Bishop Basil Meeking. It was the Novus Ordo, but it was entirely in Latin, except for the readings.

The Mass started with a blessing of candles. Then the bishop, the pastor of the parish, and 10 altar servers did a Solemn Procession (around the inside of the church before going to the sanctuary). The Mass was chanted in Latin by Bishop Meeking (all responses from the congregation were in Latin as well) and the choir was simply incredible. For those who aren’t from Oregon, Holy Rosary’s Latin choir is quite well known and the music was SO beautiful (all done acapella). They did mostly songs by William Byrd. At Communion the Communion rail was used, as it is for all the Masses at that church. Incense was burned through the whole Mass.
Some friends from my Newman club came and my good friend who is Lutheran also came because he wanted to see what a High Mass was like (he likes Gregorian chant and wanted to go to a Mass that was done like that).

Anyway, words cannot really describe what the Mass was like tonight, except that it was almost like Heaven coming down to Earth, like people have described the Tridentine Mass (which I have not been to yet, though I did go to a Dominican rite Mass, which seemed to be almost exactly the same as the Tridentine Mass).

In Christ,
Rand
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