It’s hard to believe, but this week marks the end of July and the beginning of August. August promises to be a very eventful month for us.
With August comes a new addition to the Mass schedule. In addition to the 5:00 P.M. anticipated Mass on Saturday and the 8:00, 9:30, and 11:30 A.M. Masses on Sunday, we will also have a 2:00 P.M. Mass in the Extraordinary Form (a.k.a. the “Tridentine” Mass). As I’ve said here before, this was something that the Archdiocese had asked of me, and I’m very excited that we are able to make this Mass available to our parish and to people in the area who have an attraction to the Tridentine Mass. Of course, this wouldn’t be possible without the generosity of Fr. Tom. I am grateful that he is here with us.
While the Ordinary Form of the Mass (a.k.a. the Mass of Paul VI or the “Novus Ordo”) has been around for just over forty years, the Tridentine Mass dates back to the late 16th century as a result of the Council of Trent (hence the name “Tridentine”). Sometimes, a mistake is made in thinking that the Mass has only existed for forty years and that everything before that was wrong. One reason why Pope Benedict XVI made the Extraordinary Form more available to everyone was to remind us that there is an “internal continuity of Church history”. In other words, Vatican II did not introduce a new Church into being completely separate from the rest of history. This was never Vatican II’s intention. Rather, Vatican II has to be looked at in the context of the entire history of the Church. Reintroducing the Tridentine Mass into the regular life of the Church will go a long way in making that possible. Having it as part of the regular life of our parish will do nothing but strengthen our Catholic identity if we are open to it. In short, we are not “turning back the clock”. We are recovering a part of ourselves. The family member that was once ignored and disowned (not by the Church, but by some groups within the Church) is coming home, and the family can be made whole once again.
I will be away from August 6-9 because I will be participating in a program called “Good Leaders, Good Shepherds.” This is a program put together by the Catholic Leadership Institute designed for priests to learn valuable leadership skills necessary for the modern challenges that they will have to face. Over a period of twenty months, the group that I belong to will meet seven times for about three days each. The August meeting will be our second. Please pray for me and my group that the Lord will help us to become good shepherds in His holy Church.
August is also traditionally dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Two Marian feasts fall in the month of August: the Assumption (August 15 – a Holy Day of Obligation) and the Queenship of Mary (August 22). Why are we as Catholics devoted to the Heart of Mary? Because no heart was ever closer to Jesus’ Heart than the heart of His Mother, and if we want to be united to the Sacred Heart, we must go through our Lady’s Immaculate Heart.
August also has the feast day of one of my favorite saints – Saint John Vianney. Although St. John Vianney has long been the patron saint of parish priests, Pope Benedict XVI declared him to be the universal patron of all priests in 2009. I recommend his story, particularly the one written by Abbe Francois Trochu. In St. John Vianney, we see what a priest should look like. He is certainly someone who I aspire to imitate in my own life.
Lastly, with the help of God’s grace, August will be the month that I finally finish unpacking. Between settling in, fixing up the rectory (with the help of many generous souls), getting to know the parish, and trying to become comfortable being a pastor, it has been difficult finding time to unpack. I appreciate everyone’s patience as I try to get settled in. At my last parish, I often compared beginning a new assignment to jumping into a fast-moving stream. Well, beginning a new assignment and a new role is like that but many times more. But it’s been such a joy being here. May the Lord continue to guide us through this coming month.
Yours in Christ,
Fr. Acervo
