Monday, August 4, 2008

6:30am Daily Tridentine added to Grotto's Schedule (experimental basis)


There is no better way to start your day than with Holy Mass.

6:30am Daily Mass Added (experimental)
Assumption Grotto has added a 6:30am "Tridentine" to the daily schedule. It is being offered on an experimental basis and if there is adequate numbers assisting will likely continue. A number of people, including myself, have asked for this, but the parish was uncertain as to whether enough working class people would be able to make it.


7:00am Lauds Dropped
Turnout for the mixed English/Latin Lauds at 7:00am has dwindled to fewer people than I can count on one hand, except for the few altar boys and other priests. In order to open the way for a 6:30am Mass, this obviously had to be dropped, at least - so I've been told.

8:30am Mass Dropped
The parish recently dropped it's 8:30am Mass indefinitely. That timeslot has often been sacrificed at various times during the year when there were not enough priests around to offer all of the Masses. We have a religious order of priests, the Order of Canons Regular of the Holy Cross (ORC) which assist with many of the Masses, but they have certain seasons in which they spend time out on the road across the US doing retreats for priests and lay people.

DAILY MASS & THE WORKING CLASS
You might wonder why the 8:30 would be switched to 6:30. My own rationale is that we essentially had two Masses primarily accessible only to seniors, homeschoolers and people not working, or working later shifts and only one Mass available to the working class of every age.

The Nightly Mass
Assumption Grotto has a 7:00pm weekday Mass that has anywhere from 25-40 people, mostly working class. However, the matter of making daily Mass available for people who work gets a bit sticky.

The Pastor's Mass
One would think that the 7:30am Mass, typically the pastor's Mass, is early enough. It may be, if you start at 9:00am and don't have to drive more than ten miles. However, if you start at 8:00 or 8:30, it has not been possible to go to a morning Mass.

Looking at the whole picture...
People who start work before 9:00am, usually go to bed earlier and if you try to include a 7:00pm Mass, you don't do much but get home, eat dinner, head out to Mass, then come home and get ready for bed. It leaves no time for typical household upkeep, doing bills, or just getting a little reading in.

I have flex time and can start anywhere from 6:00 until 7:30, but it is not practical to leave before 4:00/4:30. This makes the 6:30 Mass at Grotto within my reach with time for at least a holy-half-an-hour if I get there sooner.

I was going to Sts Cyril & Methodius in Sterling Heights which has a 6:00am Mass that is quite filled with working class people and seniors. The end of last week, I could have sworn there were about 200 people there, lots of them young, and thought it might have something to do with being First Friday. I also wondered if Fr. Trigilio's call for a day of prayer and reparation for a desecrated Host impacted people's decision to go that day, as well. When Grotto does not have a Mass early enough for me, St. Cyril & Methodius is where I go.

Saying Thanks!
I am most grateful to the priests at Grotto for offering me this chance to go to daily Mass at my own parish. I hope that several other parishioners who have longed for an early Mass will take advantage of it and make it worth the good priests efforts. You might take the time to thank them. While you are at it, thank Fr. Perrone when you get a chance for permitting the change. Most of all, if you want this to continue into something permanent, start by giving Thanks to God now.

May I suggest the Te Deum!




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The obedient are not held captive by Holy Mother Church; it is the disobedient who are held captive by the world!