Name: Father Christopher J. Rossman
A Catholic priest of the Archdiocese of Kansas City in KS currently assigned as the Associate Pastor of Prince of Peace parish in Olathe, KS.
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This is my last entry on the Tridentine Mass for now and I wanted to study the considerations the Holy Father presented for the celebration of the Latin mass.
With regards to how and when the Tridentine Mass should be considered for celebration in a parish, the Holy Father makes this crystal clear as well. He says:
In parishes, where there is a stable group of faithful who adhere to the earlier liturgical tradition, the pastor should willingly accept their requests to celebrate the Mass according to the rite of the Roman Missal published in 1962...Priests who use the Missal of Bl. John XXIII must be qualified to do so... (Article 5, Summorum Pontificum).
There are two VERY important phrases here that dictate how and when it can be celebrated. First, is the phrase 'stable group of faithful' and this is probably the most important of the two phrases. Secondly is the phrase 'qualified to do so' and holds specific importance as well.
The phrase 'stable group of faithful' has been misunderstood, biased, ignored and its definition has somtimes been completely concocted. In discussing it with a number of priests, we came to an anonymous conclusion that a 'group' would be roughly 10 to 15% of the parishioners who regularly attend Mass, which is where I think the term 'stable' comes in. So, for example, at a parish with 300 parishioners, there is generally a higher percentage of regular Mass attendees (everyone knows if you don't show up). This would mean that 30 to 40 parishioners would suffice as a 'group' in a small parish. In a larger parish, however, usually there are alot less 'active parishioners' than the are registered. For example, we have 9,000 to 10,000 parishioners but approximately 5,000 regular Mass attendees. This would mean that we'd need roughly 500 parishioners with interest to consider that a stable group. This is going to vary somewhat, but for the most part we all agreed that a 'group'' should be one Mass' worth of parishioners to make it viable.
Secondly, the priest must be able to celebrate the Trindentine Mass. For those who remember the Mass prior to Vatican II, it is not a simple Mass for the priest to celebrate or for the people to attend. The Solemn Mass (often referred to as a High mass) requires a choir to sing the responses as well as a deacon and subdeacon. For all the Masses, altar servers must be trained to recite the responses. Additionally, the priest must have the training to both properly celebrate the Mass and to train others for their roles.
This is an important document for the Church because it give the faithful new opportunities to experience the liturgy of the Church in a way that resonates with them. At the same time, however, the Motu Propio did NOT radically alter the Rites of the Church nor did it signal a step backward 'to the way things were' in the Church. Ultimately, the Holy Father hopes that this will increase the ability of the People of God to faithfully worship and grow closer to our Heavenly Father. Until next time...God bless.
In continuing my discussion on the Tridentine Mass, I thought I'd examine what the Motu Propio does and does NOT mean in the life of the Church.
The Tridentine Mass was never banned after the Second Vatican Council. It WAS recognized from then on as the extraordinary form of Mass. This means that it certainly could be celebrated but was NOT to be considered the normal, daily Mass to celebrate except in certain parish communities in which the bishop had established it as a 'Latin Mass' parish. This document does NOT change that. The Holy Father makes it very clear that this Mass continues to be considered an extraordinary form of Mass. He says:
The Roman Missal promulgated by Paul VI is the ordinary expression of the 'Lex orandi' (Law of prayer) of the Catholic Church of the Latin rite. Nonetheless, the Roman Missal promulgated by St. Pius V and reissued by Bl. John XXIII is to be considered as an extraordinary expression of that same 'Lex orandi,' and must be given due honour for its venerable and ancient usage (Article 1, Summorum Pontificum).
He also makes it clear that these are two forms of the Roman Rite and not seen as one being better than the other. Contrary to many unfounded and sometimes purposely misleading opinions, this document is NOT the first step to reversing or negating the Second Vatican Council and its changes to our celebration of the sacraments. Those wishing to go back 50 years to the way the Church was before the Council need to consider building a time machine because the Church is not prepared to nor does it have any intention of moving backward. Until next time...God bless.
With my moving into my new parish and such, I haven't had a chance to blog about the Motu Propio, Summorum Pontificum, issued by the Holy Father regarding the celebration of the Tridentine Mass. There are many confusions and assumptions regarding this document and in the next couple of blog entries I want to explore this. I welcome any comments or opinions, but I also want my readers to know that this is not just my random comments but the recognized and authoritative position of the bishops worldwide that were presented in letters to its priests by each bishop.
The Mass is often called the Tridentine Mass and I will use this term in my blogs because it is the shortest to type while at the same time not confusing anyone. It gets this name because its norms were set after the Council of Trent in 1570. Some also call it the Latin Mass but this often causes confusion as the current Mass (Novus Ordo) can also be celebrated in Latin as well. Another name often used is the Mass of John XXIII. This is because he issued the last edition of the Mass prior to the Second Vatican Council. When using this term, the current Mass is referred to as the Mass of Paul VI since he approved the first edition of the current Mass.
I use the term 'current Mass' because that is what the Mass most of us attend (and I celebrate). It is the the current and normal Mass of the Church. This document does NOT dispute or alter that, contrary to some opinions. Rather, it allows for wider use of the Tridentine Mass by priests. Prior to this document, priests had to receive permission from their bishop to celebrate the Tridentine Mass. This is no longer the case. The only authority the bishop continues to have over the celebration of this Mass is ensuring priests that are saying the Mass can properly do so. Until next time...God bless.
What an awesome weekend. I had the 5:00 Saturday Mass as well as the 9:00 and 12:00 Masses Sunday. We tend to have a congregation of 600 to 800 for each Mass and that held true this weekend too. After Mass, I met more parishioners for the first time and some that I had met before. I even remembered the names of a few of them!!!
I also got to administer my first baptisms at PoP. I baptized 5 newborn children bringing them into the Catholic Church. Seeing the excited look on the parent's faces and the joy of their families is invigorating. Granted, one baby spit up on me a little, but...hey...my shirt will wash :-)
This week looks to be busy, but I have a somewhat established routine that will keep things more organized (hopefully). Plus, Carolyn and Lisa, our office secretaries, are a wonderful help in keeping Fr. Frank and I on task and sane.
I did want to note that with the Masses and other activities on Sundays, I will rarely blog that day. I will blog sometimes on Saturday mornings, but I will almost always blog on at least Mondays and Thursdays as well as other times during the week whenever the Spirit moves me. Until next time...God bless.
It was a busy and intense learning experience this week. I apologize to my readers for not blogging during the week, but I knew this first week or two would be nearly all consuming of my time. Now that I am settled in, however, I expect to begin blogging three to four times a week again.
This first week was fantastic, but also somewhat overwhelming. Since Fr. Frank and I are the only two priests, simply administering the sacraments is time consuming. However, I absolutely love being able to celebrate Mass with the PoP community daily, hearing dozens of confessions each week, anointing the sick of our parish, baptizing and witnessing weddings. I have had the chance to anoint a number of people already, including visiting Villa St. Francis retirement home on Thursday to anoint the residents. It is so humbling to see the faces of these people light up as I anoint their head with holy oil and spend a few moments with them. It's indescribable.
Tomorrow, I will baptize 5 children for the first time at PoP. We have around 300 baptisms a year, so 4 to 6 baptisms each Sunday is pretty much the norm. It will give me a chance to celebrate the beginning of the Christian life of these children and to be there for the final years of the life for the sick and elderly. What a way to spend my days here at PoP. Until next time...God bless.
My head is still spinning from all the events of today. I was the main celebrant at the 7:30am and 5:00 pm Masses at PoP today. BUT...after the 7:30 am Mass there was welcoming reception in the parish hall as well as one after the 9:00 am, 10:30 am and noon Masses. So, I spent from 8:30am through about 2:00 pm meeting parishioners. I am a little tired and my hand is a little sore from all the handshaking, but overall it was a great day.
There are so many wonderful people here at PoP. I met members of the Knights of Columbus, choir directors, Women's Organization members and hundreds of simple parishioners. Plus, I think I met about 500 kids from newborns up to college students. It's great meeting youth because they can do so much to revitalize you and gives you great hope for the future of the Church.
Anyway, the day has come to a close and I should probably get some food. I haven't had a meal all day (unless you count 4 donuts and a piece of heavily icing covered chocolate - which Mom would NOT consider a meal!) so I will return to the rectory for the evening. Until next time...God bless.
I forgot to tell you, my readers, that I was going to be moving to Prince of Peace this past week and would not be blogging until this weekend. I apologize for that. It has been a very busy week, but I did get everything moved to PoP and am somewhat organized in both the rectory and my office.
Since this is my first parish as an Associate Pastor, I thought that it'd be good to detail my ministry over the next few weeks so you are able to get some insight into the life of a priest. Obviously, I cannot reveal some things, but I can share my general activities and encounters.
The most difficult thing about coming into a new parish, obviously, is getting acclimated to how thing are handled. Since PoP is the largest parish in the diocese, this is especially difficult. I have already encountered things I never considered as being important to know. For example, how to lock the building at night, retrieving your message from the voicemail, trying to find a cottonball in the sacristy (don't ask...weird story), etc. Luckily, Fr. Frank is a VERY patient and understanding person. He realizes both the fact that this is a large parish and my first assignment as well as the fact the seminary tends to be very poor in preparing seminarians for the practical elements of being in a parish (very poor can be replaced with miserably poor). I am very blessed to have a pastor such as Fr. Frank.
I have a homily to write so I better get to work. The parish is having a reception after the Sunday morning Masses and for some reason they have plastered my mug shot on the front of the PoP bulletin (it is a better pic than the one at the Post Office though). One last thing before I close. I again invite any of my readers to join Catholic PrayerNet (http://www.catholicprayernet.org). The more people we have praying for each other's intentions the better. Until next time...God bless.
I wanted to make a quick entry (via my cell phone) tonite. I had hoped to blog about the conference and our day at Discovery Ministries. Unfortunately, we had a minor medical situation with a person on the trip and so we are still on the road. We aren't scheduled to arrive home until 10:30pm which is 4 hours later than planned. So, I will blog tomorrow about the experiences then. Until next time...God bless.
It's 1am here at the Steubenville Conference in Springfield, MO and I've just finished 3 hours of confessions this evening for a total of 8 hours of confessions today!!! Needless to say I am tired so this will be short. I wanted to say how impressed I am with the young Catholics here in confession. They are so honest with their sins, they recognize where Christ is missing in their life and they are sincerely searching for him. I so wish more Catholics were that way both in confession and in making Jesus central in their life. The youth give me great hope for the future of the Church. Until next time...God bless.
I will be away this weekend at the Steubenville Youth Conference in Springfield, MO. This is a wonderful conference for high school students that draws them deeper into their faith and gives them the opportunity to experience their faith in an environment of their peers.
The conference is Friday through Sunday and then our group is going to Discovery Ministries on Monday to either canoe or go cave exploring. We return to Kansas City on Monday night. As such, I will not be blogging regularly this weekend, but may submit a blog entry via my cell phone if time permits. I will return to my normal daily / semi-daily blogging on Tuesday. Until next time...God bless.
Today in the United States, we celebrate Independence Day - commonly called the 4th of July. On Independence Day, we celebrate our freedom as a nation of our own. We celebrate freedom of speech, liberty and individual freedom. We celebrate freedom of religion...or do we???
In this country today freedom of religion has become so distorted and misunderstood. Whenever religion is even remotely connected to anything civic or governmental there is someone out there who files a lawsuit crying out that his right to the separation between church and state has been violated. Let me give you a couple interesting facts about the "separation of church and state:"
The words of the 1st Amendment quoted above are what everyone references when citing a violation of church and state. It is so abused, however, that people seem to think it says, "Congress shall not promote, recognize or even acknowledge the existence of religion." I call this the pseudo-1st Amendment. Let me give you a few examples that demonstrate the two:
These are just three examples of the distorted understanding of the freedom of religion. Prohibiting the government from enforcing or establishing a state religion is appropriate. Guaranteeing the freedom of religion for its citizens is vital to our liberty. Completely eliminating any reference to religion or ability to practice your religion in public is wrong. That isn't freedom of religion...its freedom FROM religion.
Today we celebrate our independence...our freedom. Yet, over 230 years after we established our freedom, we are still restricting it. We deny the right of prayer or scripture in any public entity. We restrict the freedom of religion by deciding that it must be freedom FROM religion. Pray for our country. Pray that God may again become the center of our life. Until next time...God bless.
About six months ago, I was sitting around one day wondering how I was going to keep track of all the prayer requests I receive. As a deacon and even more so as a priest, you are often asked to pray for this person or for something important in the life of someone else. As I was thinking, I also realized that others could be praying for these needs as well. With my computers skills and after a lot of thought, I decided to create an online prayer site in which persons could post their prayer requests.
The website, which I decided to call Catholic PrayerNet (www.catholicprayernet.org) is very simple. A person wanting to post prayers first must register on the site. This prevents hoaxes, spammers and other malcontents from inundating the site. Once a person registers and receives confirmation of their userid and password, they can post prayers to the site. The only cost for using the site is that persons are asked to pray daily for the prayer requests posted on the site. That way everyone on the site is praying for your requests and you are praying for their requests. Jesus says, "...he will get up to give him whatever he needs because of his persistence. And I tell you, ask and you will receive; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you (Luke 11:8b-9). I figure if one person 'knocks' and Jesus responds how much more so will he respond if many 'knock' with persistence? So, praying for each request is the only 'fee' for using the site. There is even a button on the site for printing out the prayer requests so a person can take them into their private prayer time, adoration, prayer before Mass, etc.
Once a person submits a prayer request, they may remove it or renew it at anytime. They can only modify their own prayers, however. Prayers remain on the site for 30 days unless renewed. A person receives a notice via email a few days before the prayer is to be removed to give them the opportunity to renew it. When the prayer reaches the 30 day limit, the person also receive an email informing them of its removal. Prayer requests usually take only an hour or two to post but may take up to 48 hours to post depending on whether my computer is on or not (my computer processes prayer requests and registrations) or if the site that processes the HTML forms is down, which it rarely is. Registrations require my manual approval and so sometimes take longer to be processed. Prayer requests, renewals or removals are automatically processed, however, and only require my computer to be on (which it almost always is).
For the last few months my friends and family have been using the site to test it and find any glitches. I believe it is ready to open publicly to everyone who wishes to use it. With that in mind, I open it to you, my readers, and to those close to you that you wish to pass the URL to as well. When you register, you will be asked "How did you hear about this site?" Please answer with "from the blog site" or something similar so I know who is requesting access. Otherwise, I have to reject the request since I don't know who it is and need to protect the site.
All my readers are welcome to use Catholic PrayerNet and add to those praying for each other from around the world. Lastly, if you find any errors or glitches or have any suggestions, please let me know. I am a little pressed on time right now, but I will fix any errors ASAP and certainly take any suggestions into consideration for future updates to the site. Until next time...God bless.
There's no place like home...there's no place like home. My family and I returned to Kansas this afternoon after spending the weekend in Minnesota where I celebrated a Mass in Buffalo for the Knights of Columbus and my mom's family. It was a wonderful weekend and we were happy that Kansas was still here when we returned and hadn't floated down to the Gulf of Mexico!
The Minnesota trip was the last of my Masses of Thanksgiving. I greatly enjoyed returning to parishes that have had such an impact on my life and celebrating Masses for people who have supported me throughout seminary. Yet, it is also good to be home. Granted, I will be away this coming weekend for the Steubenville Youth Conference being held in Springfield, MO but I am not driving and am simply going as a priest for the youth. These trips were great, but were also tiring. For example, this Thursday I will have owned my new pickup for one month (yes I will post some photos soon) and as of this afternoon, it has 3,300 miles on it. That is a good example of the busy month I've had.
Anyway, I just wanted to let all know that I am home. I am rather tired so I will actually blog about something interesting tomorrow rather than my vehicle mileage. Until next time...God bless.
