What's the Condition of Your Nearest EF Mass?

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I’m curious about how the EF Mass is doing at the parish nearest you? Back when the motu proprio was released my then brand new bishop made sure that each deanery had at least one EF Mass. His choice of parishes was wonderful from a facilities/location/welcoming position. Here locally he assigned a local retired prison chaplain who was eager to celebrate the EF.

Unfortunately the EF has floundered here locally and it seems to be slowly dying. The priest is not a local pastor so those who attend the EF don’t seem to be part of the parish – by their own choice it would seem. The group doesn’t seem to have the ability to support anything more than a low EF and that gets old after a while.

It would be nice to hear how other EF’s are doing, particularly those that were instituted after the release of the motu proprio.
 
I haven’t been to a Sunday EF Mass, but the two First Fridays I was there, there was a good amount of people I would say, comparing to my own parish. Plus they were in the middle of a renovation that time so they must be doing good if they have the funds for renovations/improvements. The parish is run by the FSSP
 
ConstantineTG said:
I haven’t been to a Sunday EF Mass, but the two First Fridays I was there, there was a good amount of people I would say, comparing to my own parish. Plus they were in the middle of a renovation that time so they must be doing good if they have the funds for renovations/improvements. The parish is run by the FSSP
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I think the local EF would be doing better if it was celebrated by the FSSP.
 
The local EF is at an FSSP community that the Bishop supports, and they have daily Mass. They meet in one of the local parishes, but are separate from it. They seem to have pretty consistent Sunday attendance of maybe around 80-100. Very light daily Mass attendance the times I’ve been there. I think they are doing fine, but not flourishing. Most other Catholics around here seem to see them as a vaguely interesting curiosity that they might get around to visiting some day.

This is an area with a very low Catholic population; this is the only EF in the diocese, but Lexington is really the only city of any size in the diocese. I don’t think an EF community in the rural parts of the diocese would have more than a few families - some of those parishes are really tiny anyway.
 
I haven’t been to one myself because our bishop doesn’t like the motu proprio and basically stifled it. The nearest EF Mass to us is more than 100 miles away, and that is a little out of our range given costs, times, schedules and other such things.
 
In Milwaukee (the Archdiocese that that Weakland ran for decades), we have one TLM - run by ICKSP. Lovely. Aside from that, I do not know of any other TLMs in the city, aside from some sedevacantists and the SSPX out in the suburbs. ICKSP runs a Mass in Kenosha and Racine, as well, but from our chapel in Milwaukee.

In Terre Haute, where I go to school, there is no TLM. There is an FSSP parish in Indy, but that is an hour away.
 
The condition is very good. There are three churches in Manhattan, NYC that have the TLM; one of those parishes has it every day with High Masses Sundays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
 
observer.rockforddiocese.org/Archives/2010Archives/December102010/StMaryOratorycelebrates125years/tabid/3305/Default.aspx

125 years and still going!

We have large and flourishing Catholic parishes in our city that offer the OF of the Mass. Most Catholics attend these. There is a large Life Teen Mass offered on Sunday evenings in our city (I don’t know if this Mass is offered in any other deanery in the diocese). Our wonderful bishop, a conservative and orthodox man with a doctorate in canon law, is diligent to maintain liturgical correctness in these OF Masses

So there seems to be little to complain about in our neck of the woods! 🙂 We all have access to the Mass of our choice, and these Masses are well-done (although in my personal opinion, the music tends to limp along a bit, but that’s OK). Praise God!
 
It’s good to see the Extraordinary Mass is doing well in some parts.
 
The Church what I attend, offers either Traditional Latin, New English and New Spanish masses. As for reverence toward God there is no difference, the liturgical differences (no Psalm 42, extended Scriptural reading, different sequence of the Communion of faithful and Conclusion) are minuscule, the more significant change in the Offertory prayers is hidden from the faithful, looking from the pew the priest does the same thing, and the same Offertory chant and similar Latin motet is sung by the choirs.

It had to be noted that in the New rite too the priest turns toward the tabernacle, the communion is received kneeling and to tongue, only priests distribute the communion, the chant is Latin Gregorian, the servers are boys; no offertory process or rite of peace, both are optional)

The Church is full in every Mass, the only difference that the Traditional Latin mass collects the faithful from a larger area, the vernacular masses are filled by mostly locals or from the neighboring parishes.
 
My diocese has only 2 regularly scheduled EF masses. The larger has mass twice a month, first and third Sundays. It is said by a diocesan priest with a few other diocesan priests occasionally taking a turn. The attendance is small but has been fairly consistent since its inception. The other one is celebrated by a retired diocesan priest and is held in an oratory (a rural parish that was merged due to its declining size but the building is sometimes used). Not sure how many it draws.

I am seeing a renewed interest, though, among our diocesan seminarians in learning to offer the EF.
 
laszlo said:
The Church what I attend, offers either Traditional Latin, New English and New Spanish masses. As for reverence toward God there is no difference, the liturgical differences (no Psalm 42, extended Scriptural reading, different sequence of the Communion of faithful and Conclusion) are minuscule, the more significant change in the Offertory prayers is hidden from the faithful, looking from the pew the priest does the same thing, and the same Offertory chant and similar Latin motet is sung by the choirs.

It had to be noted that in the New rite too the priest turns toward the tabernacle, the communion is received kneeling and to tongue, only priests distribute the communion, the chant is Latin Gregorian, the servers are boys; no offertory process or rite of peace, both are optional)

The Church is full in every Mass, the only difference that the Traditional Latin mass collects the faithful from a larger area, the vernacular masses are filled by mostly locals or from the neighboring parishes.
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May I ask where you are?
 
I should further note that in Lexington, it’s become a trend for seminarians to learn the Extraordinary Form, and the bishop supports that. I know that one of the two ordained last year says/sings the Extraordinary Form on occasion, and one about to be ordained next year is preparing to be able to say/sing it as well.
 
Fairly good, to be honest. My EF community meets at 9am every week in an OF parish, with the permission of the pastor. We regularly get up to 50 attendees, who travel up to 25+ miles to attend Mass. Mass is always Low Mass, and we have three main celebrants. Two are priests from the Institute of Christ the King, the third is a retired priest from a missionary order. Nearly every week, we have refreshments in the parish hall after Mass.
 
Here in the Seattle Archdiocese we have the FSSP and that community is growing. Its getting to the point where we need to expand. Folks travel many hours to attend. We travel a couple of times a month 120 miles each way. Others travel further. However, we now have a new Archbishop who is at least friendly to the FSSP.

In the south end of the state, we have a group that celebrates the Dominican Mass about once a month. Their group is small and varies between 30 and 50 people. Its not growing because no one can count on exactly when it will be celebrated as the dominican priest travels to them when he can take the time off from his own parish in Portland. But it seems to be very stable.
 
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