Back Again

Another few days devoured by locusts with little time left for the blog. Amongst the good things, the weather is warming up nicely and the Highland pipes really enjoy the warmth. There isn't much moisture getting to the reeds and they are really singing. The Irish warpipes are another matter. I re-tuned the Irish chanter to play with some other folks a couple of weeks ago and it is taking far too much time to get it tuned back to its sweet spot. Too much valuable practice time wasted footering about with tuning.







In the past few days there has been good news for the traditional liturgy. Not, alas, locally. But still good news for the Church in general. Two new Roman Rite Masses have been instituted in the Orlando, Florida diocese. The diocesan website gives the details here. And the news from Phoenix, Arizona under Bishop Olmsted gets better and better. The Priestly Fraternity of St Peter is to begin a new apostolate on the first of July at the invitation of the bishop. The following details are taken from a letter recently distributed on a board devoted to the celebration of the traditional liturgy with the permission of the bishop:

The indult community currently celebrating the traditional Mass at St Thomas the Apostle parish in the diocese has been raised to the status of a mission, bearing the title Mater Misericordiæ Mission and under the pastorate of Fr Saenz, who remains pastor St Augustine parish. The Masses at St Thomas will continue.

The traditional liturgy will now be celebrated in a second location, at St Augustine's parish. This location will include daily traditional Roman Rite Masses Monday through Friday at 6:30 a.m. and another one on Wednesday evening at 6:30 p.m. with confessions beginning at 5:00 p.m. And what appears to be a first in the United States: at this indult location the sermons will be in Spanish as will, presumably, the confessions and the non-liturgical aspects.

The new Fraternity priest, Fr Stephane Du Pre, F.S.S.P., will be in charge of yet a third apostolate at St Cecilia parish, the details of which aren't defined yet.

Wonderful news for Arizonans.

[Addendum: a web-based confirmation here. Cite found via Recta Ratio and AMDG -- gratias ago vobis.]


Meanwhile, in the Diocese of Orange there is one Mass on Sunday morning in a gorgeous but far too small location that cannot begin to hold all those who would like to attend. And in the eastern part of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles, we continue to travel, from San Pedro on the first Sunday of the month, which is likewise a lovely location but very small, to Daniel Murphy High School chapel on the fourth and fifth Sundays of the month. The second Sunday is at the highly congenial chapel at St Therese's hospital run by the wonderful Carmelite Sisters of the Sacred Heart. But there is no Mass on the third Sunday of the month and hasn't been since St Bernardine's chapel closed some ten or fifteen years ago.