Ad Orientem

Over at the New Liturgial movement we see pictures of the Holy Father celebrating the Feast of the Baptism of the Lord ad orientem. A few years ago a former priest of ours referred to this as " celebrating Mass with his back to the people." I would like to offer a different perspective: Today the Holy Father celebrated Mass standing united in prayer with the people facing our Lord.

Click the link below to see more pictures at NLM.
NLM: Sistine Chapel, 10 January 2010

Traditional Latin Mass celebrated in Diocese of New Ulm

[NOTE: The following article appeared in the November 2009 issue of the Prairie Catholic. This news is encouraging to me because not only has the number of EF Masses being celebrated in our diocese doubled, but so has the number of priests celebrating them.]

On July 7, 2007, Pope Benedict XVI wrote a letter titled Summorum Pontificum to the Universal Church granting explicit permission for the Mass to be celebrated in Latin as it was according to the Missal of 1962 for those of the faithful who request it, as well as the celebration of other sacraments as they were at that time.

The Holy Father asked the bishops of the Church to do what they can to make the celebration of this Mass available. Pope Benedict called it the extraordinary form of the Mass to distinguish it from the Mass that is presently celebrated in English.

Soon after the Holy Father’s letter, Bishop John C. Nienstedt, third bishop of the Diocese of New Ulm, (2001-2008) established a monthly Traditional Latin Mass in the
Diocese of New Ulm offered at the Church of St. Michael in Morgan on the 2nd Sunday of every month at 11:30 a.m. For the past two years that Mass has been celebrated.

As of October 2009, a second Mass each month is being celebrated according to the Missal of 1962 on the 4th Sunday of every month, at the Church of St. Michael in
Morgan, also at 11:30 a.m.

At this time, the Mass on the second Sunday of each month is a High Mass by Msgr. Robert Wyffels, and the Mass on the fourth Sunday of each month is celebrated as a Low Mass by Fr. Mark Steffl. For those who wish, attendance at these Masses counts for their Sunday obligation to attend Mass.

A Web site has been established that will be updated regularly with information (schedules and times) on the celebration of the Traditional Latin Mass in the Diocese of New Ulm. Visit [LINK REMOVED: I have removed the link to this site. After reviewing the site I have problems with some of their content -- Dave]

And With Your Spirit

Something that is not being talked about much (at least not around here) is the upcoming changes to the translation of Mass. Our bishops have been discussing the new translation and as a matter of fact the translation for the Ordinary of Mass (the parts that stay the same) has already been approved by the Vatican. Work is still being done on the Proper of Seasons. In a couple years we can look forward to some changes at Mass.

The Church is trying to make the new translations a more faithful reflection of the original Latin texts. The official Mass of the Latin rite (the Mass we attend every week) is written in Latin and all translations come from it. Unfortunately for us English speaking folks they did not translate the Latin very closely. They instead used a translation model called Dynamic Equivalence the result was the loss of a great deal of the beauty in our Mass prayers (that would be my opinion).

I thought I would start looking at the new translations and share my thoughts with you here. You can find a study copy of the Ordo Missae at the USCCB website.

If you follow that link one of the first changes that you will run into is the greeting:

2. Then the Priest, extending his hands, greets the people, saying:

The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ,
and the love of God,
and the communion of the Holy Spirit
be with you all.

Or:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.

Or:

The Lord be with you.

The people reply:

And with your spirit.

What's up with that?

The Latin text from where this comes is: "et cum spiritu tuo". And with your spirit is clearly a more accurate translation, but why?

Some think that it is a bit awkward to say "and with your spirit", but it is a reference to Paul's second letter to Timothy (2 Timothy 4:22). Paul also uses this form of address in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 6:18). If you read Paul's letters he talks quite about about the actions of the Spirit in his life. It was important to him and it should be to us as well. By saying "And with your spirit" we are recognizing the Holy Spirit who was poured out upon the priest at his ordination, the same Holy Spirit who provides the Eucharist for us though the consecrated hands of the priest.


The words and actions that the Church has selected for the Mass have meaning and are important. I hope to continue to explore and share my thoughts on these changes as I get further in to the new translations.

2009 Diocese of New Ulm Chrism Mass

Our diocese had its Chrism Mass tonight. It was held at Our Lady of the Lakes Catholic Church in Spicer Minnesota. This is a very new church and a very modern one. It as a very different setting that the last two years which were held at the cathedral in New Ulm. This year is also the first Chrism Mass celebrated by our new Bishop John LeVoir.

We always try to make this Mass each year. There is something about it that I find very uplifting. I am not sure what it is, but when I leave this Mass I feel rejuvenated. Maybe it's because all the priests gathered together with the Bishop, or the fact that incense is used. I don't know why, but this Mass holds a special place in my heart.

Tonight's Mass was a beautiful Mass. A lot of incense was used with is always a plus in my book. Another plus is that the bishop chanted the prayers. I love it when priests chant in Mass. I wish they would do it more often.

In addition to about 35 priests there were also two deacons and several seminarians. One thing that struck me tonight during the Mass was the reverence that our seminarians displayed as they did the jobs assigned to them. They are the future of our diocese and I think we will be in good hands.

During his homily the Bishop spoke of the need for the priests to strengthen their relationship with Christ so that they can use that relationship to help them do the things that priests do. I think this is important. Unless you are a priest you really have no idea just what the life of a priest is like. I suspect that there might be an aspect of loneliness in the life of a priest where they need to have that strong personal relationship with Christ to make it though. I'm just guessing though.

After Mass it was interesting to watch my boys. They went looking for the former priests of our parish to talk to them. My youngest son was on a mission to find them all and then when he had done that he said, "Now, I have to find the bishop," and he led us to where the bishop was and we all shook his hand. My son was so tickled that he shook Bishop LeVoir's hand. Only when that was done could we head for home.

This is kind of silly but in past years we have always sat by the center aisle and we have been able to smell the wonderful smell of the Chrism oil. This year we could not sit there and on the way home I was lamenting the fact that we did not get the smell the Chrism oil. I then rubbed my nose with the back of my hand and low and behold my hand smelled like Chrism. I thought about it for a moment and asked everyone in the car to smell the back of the hand they shook the bishop's hand with. We all smelled like Chrism oil. I guess the bishop gave us a small gift when we shook his hand. :)

The Music from the Mass of Ordination for Bishop LeVoir

I thought that I would mention the music that was used during the Ordination Mass for Bishop LeVoir on Sept 15, 2008.

Prelude Music:

Solemn Entry byRichard Strauss -- arr. by Gary Olson
Spirit of Mercy, Truth, and Love - Anonymous - edited by Richard Proulx
In Nomine Jesu - by Jacob Handl
Ave Verum Corpus by Mozart
Hymn of Consecration - by Marvin Curtis

Processional -- Entrata Festiva by Flor Peeters

Gathering Hymn -- O God Beyond All Praising Text: Michael Perry

Thanks Be to God by Cecilia Fox (This was sung after the people gave their assent to the apostolic letter.)

Kyrie by Richard Proulx

Gloria from the Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen

Liturgy of the Word

Psalm -- Psalm 31 Father Into Your Hands by Bob Hurd

Gospel Acclamation -- Festival Alleluia by James Chepponis


After the gospel we sang Veni Scanti Spiritus

O Santissima. Sung by Archbishop Nienstedt and his brother priests and bishops during the homily.

Rite of Odrination

Litany of the Saints


Liturgy of the Eucharist

Preparations of the Gifts - Let All On Earth

Holy Holy Holy from the Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen
Memorial Acclamation from the Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen
Great Amen from the Mass of Creation by Marty Haugen
Lamb of God - Litany for the Breaking of the Bread by John Sciavone

Communion Song - Amen El Cuerpo de Cristo by John Sciavone

Blessing of the People -- You are God: We Praise You (Te Deum laudamus)

Closing Hymn -- Holy God We Praise Thy Name

Mass of Ordination for Bishop John LeVoir

UPDATE: Pictures of the event can be found here.

Today was a big day for the Diocese of New Ulm. Today our fourth bishop John Marvin LeVoir was ordained and installed. I mentioned in an earlier post that the timing was so bad for me that I could not attend. Well, I took some time off work and went.

The Mass was held at the civic center in New Ulm. This is to say we had Mass in a hockey arena. In the 50 year history of our diocese this is the first time a bishop as been ordained here. There were about 2,100 people in attendance and there is no way we could have gotten that many people into the cathedral.

The arena was sparsely decorated. Red and white streamers covered the ceiling to try to make it look less like an athletic facility. The bishop's chair was brought from the cathedral and sat to the left of a long altar. The altar was covered in white and had a dark red covering in the middle. Four candles were lit in front of the altar and the two large processional candles sat one on each side of the altar. The only crucifix was the processional cross. To the right of the stage on which the altar sat was a brass ensemble, and organ, and a large choir made up of members from all around the diocese.

Prior to the start of Mass the choir sang several music pieces including my favorite Ave Verum Corpus. A Bell choir also performed. The only problem was that I could not hear the music because the 2,100 people were talking so loud they drowned out the music. Bummer.

Mass began with a long processional. At the beginning of the processional three women ministers for other ecclesial communities vested in their particular vestments entered. There was nothing I could find that told me what community they belonged to so I can't tell you that. The procession continued with priest and deacons from both our diocese as well at that of St. Paul and Minneapolis. There were about twelve to fourteen other bishops who entered including: H.E. Pietro Sambi, the Papal Nuncio for the United States, H. E. John Nienstedt, the Archbishop of St. Paul and Minneapolis, who was today's principal consecrator, Co-consecrators H.E. Peter Christensen, Bishop of Superior and H.E. Fredrick Campbell, Bishop of Columbus, Ohio. The only other bishop that I recognized was H.E Richard Pates, Des Moines, Iowa. I would love to know who the other bishop attending were so if anyone knows please leave me a comment.

After the processional, Archbishop Nienstedt incensed the altar and then made the sign of the cross to begin Mass. At the beginning he asked if there was a papal mandate to consecrate Fr. LeVoir as a bishop. Archbishop Sambi then read a letter from Pope Benedict elevating Fr. LeVoir to bishop. After the letter was read it was shown to the college of consultors for the diocese of New Ulm, the assembled bishops, and the people who gave their assent to the document with applause.

Mass began. The deacon of the word chanted the Kyrie, the Gloria was sung, and the Archbishop Nienstedt chanted the opening prayer. The first reading was read in English, the psalm was sung in both English and Spanish. The second reading was read in Spanish and the Gospel was proclaimed by the Deacon of the Word.

The first reading was from the Book of Jeremiah Chapter 1 where the Lord speaks to Jeremiah about being a prophet. This reading was selected by the new Bishop. The second reading and the Gospel follow the readings selected for the Feast of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Archbishop Nienstedt began his homily by singing O Sanctissima.

O Sanctissima

O Sanctissima O Piissima
Dulcis Virgo Maria
Mater amta intemerata
Ora ora pro nobis

English Translation:

O most holy, O most lowly
Sweet Virgin Mary
Beloved Mother, undefiled
Pray, pray for us!

Other verses:

Tota pulchraes O Maria
Et macula non est in te
Mater anmata intemerata
Ora ora pro nobis

Sicut lilium inter spinas
Sic Maria inter filias
Mater amata intemerata
Ora ora pro nobis

In miseria in angustia
Ora Virgo pro nobis
Pro nobis ora in mortis hora
Ora ora pro nobis


As he sang many of the priests and bishops joined in with him. Singing to open and close his homily is a sort of signature for the Archbishop. I truly hope that the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis enjoys him. In his homily,the Archbishop essentially passed the keys to the diocese over to Bishop LeVoir. He closed his homily with another verse of O Sanctissima.

After the homily, the archbishop questioned Fr. LaVoir about his willingness and readiness to be Bishop, then the Litany of Saints was sung by the choir and Fr. LaVoir lay on the floor prostrate. After the Litany, it was time to get down to the business of consecrating a bishop. Archbishop Nienstedt, seated at the cathedra of New Ulm (for the last time) prayed the prayers and then began with the Laying on of Hands. Fr. LeVoir knelt as the Archbishop placed both hands on his head and prayed. When he was done each of the co-consecrators did the same. Finally, each of the bishops attending also laid their hands on him.

After the laying on of hands, the Book of Gospels was opened and held pages down over his head, while the Archbishop prayed payers of ordination. What a wonderful image this was. It was as if they were pouring the words of God right into his head. When this was finished, the Archbishop anointed him with a generous amount of sacred Chrism oil.

After the anointing, it was time for the Bishop to receive the symbols of his new positions. First his ring, then his miter, and finally, his crosier. With the new bishop fully vested, Archbishop Nienstedt got up from the cathedra of New Ulm. The new bishop took his place on the cathedra of New Ulm.

Bishop LeVoir then celebrated the Eucharist for the first time as Bishop of New Ulm. He used Eucharistic Prayer #1 which is my favorite. I may have mentioned that before. He has a wonderful chanting voice. Some things that really struck me were that there were so many priests taking part in this Mass that when the words of consecration were spoken you could hear them all praying. It was very powerful moment. I find it almost electrifying when a large group of priests celebrate Mass together. The Lord's Prayer was chanted by everyone and it was beautiful. Another powerful moment

Communion took a long time with some 2,100 people and it was offered under both kinds which surprised me with a crowd so large.

When communion was done the Bishop was escorted around the room to offer his first blessing to the people. When this was done the closing prayer was chanted, the Bishop took some time to thank everyone and then offered the final blessing and dismissal.

Mass at Home

This week my family and I went to Mass at our home parish --the Church of the Holy Redeemer in Marshall, MN. It was nice being home again. It was apparent that some restoration work had been started on the masonry outside the church. Father said after Mass that the drills that they use on the bricks was like being in a dentist's chair. I can't imagine having to listen to that all day.

Mass this morning was wonderful. Contributing to its wonderfulness was the fact that we said the Confiteor today. I know that I tend to mention this form of the penitential rite (or lack of it) a lot in my posts, but it's something that is important to me...it's a personal thing. The other part of Mass that was wonderful was that the organ was used. There is just something about our big church that screams, "Play the organ at Mass", and it was most excellent to hear it being used this week. The organist did an excellent job. This is way better than drums and guitars in my opinion.

Mass in Onamia, MN

Today my family and I attended Mass at Holy Cross Church in Onamia, MN. This is a priory church of the Crosier Fathers and Brothers. Also located in this church is the National Shrine of St. Odilia.



As we entered the church we were greeted with a bowl of unconsecrated bread and a sign which read "If you will be receiving Communion today please place a host in the bowl. After we selected out share of the Communion bread we then went and visited the Shrine of St. Odelia before taking our seats in the small church.



The church was small, but had beautiful stain glass windows depicting the important moments of St. Odilia. The altar was a simple table made of wood. There was an ambo to the right of the altar. The tabernacle was not in the sanctuary itself, but was in a small adoration chapel off the the right of the sanctuary. The crucifix on the wall was one depicting our risen Lord rather than that of Christ crucified. On either side of the altar were chairs. This is where the Fathers & Brother of the Order were. They were dressed in their habits. Those who were priests wore a green stole over their habit.

Music for Mass came from the infamous "Gather" hymnal. The people gathered for Mass sang the hymns very strongly. Most everyone sang. There was a member of the Crosiers seated in the pew in front of us who had an incredible singing voice. It was just nice to stop and listen to him sing. After Mass I learned that this was their Prior, Fr. Kermit Holl, osc.

Mass began as it normally would. The priest used the penitential rite that does not include the Confiteor. That seems to be very common. I'm not sure I remember the last time I have heard it in Mass. The Gloria was skipped which surprised me because the people sang so well here. The priest read the opening prayer from a white binder. I am not sure if it is the prayer proper for today's Mass, but I'll assume that it was.

After the readings were done the Alleluia was sung and the priest proclaimed the Gospel. This was done a but differently than normal. The priest announced the Gospel with the words "A proclamation of the Gospel according too...". After the Gospel the priests held up the open Book of Gospels and chanted "The Gospel of the Lord" and everyone sang the Alleluia again.

Father gave a brief but good homily on St. Peter.

During the Eucharist I suspect that Father substituted his own words for several parts of the prayer. He did not, however, change the words of consecration. One of the parts that he did change that was confusing to me was after the Lord's Prayer. The part where the priest normally says, "...and protect us from all anxieties." He said, "...and protect us fro destructive anxieties." It confuses me because I do not see any need to add the word destructive in there. Most of the word substitutions that I caught were really minor wording changes as if he were putting things into his own mode of speech.

He also consecrated the Blood of Christ in a small glass bottle and later pured it into a larger more appropriate chalice. I suspect this was done because their altar was very small and their chalices were large.

After Communion Father ready a prayer while sitting and then shared parish announcements before giving us a final blessing. He dismissed us with his own version of the normal dismissal.

This was my first experience with a priory church. I learned a great deal about the Crosiers and about St. Odilia their patron saint. I am working on another post about them so keep an eye out for more later.

The Crosier Fathers & Brothers recently had a fire at their missionary in Indonesia. No brothers were injured, but their homes was destroyed and they lost their personal items. I am sure they would appreciate any prayers you could make for them.

Mass at Christ the King in Topeka, KS

My family and I traveled to Topeka, Kansas this weekend and attended the 7:30 am Mass at Christ the King Catholic Church. This was a big church with a school attached to it. It was built in the 1970s.

Just before Mass started Father announced that while the musician had shown up the cantor at not so they would just go right on into Mass. This was the first Mass that I have attended that had no singing. The priest, servers and lector processed in to silence.

The priest greeted everyone and then began the penitential rite by asking that we take a moment to think about our needs and desires. After a brief pause he led us in the Confiteor, which was a good thing to my ears because we rarely use it at my home parish. This was followed by the Kyrie Eleison (Lord have Mercy) and then moved into the opening prayer. The Gloria was skipped.

The readings were read and the psalm was recited between each reading. The priest proclaimed the Gospel. The Alleluia was omitted since no one was present to lead us in song. After the Gospel the priest did a short homily on the Olympics and how its original intention was to put a halt to the bad things going on in the world to come together for two weeks of athletics. He called these two weeks a cease fire. He suggested that we look at our lives and find a place to call our cease fire. Nice homily, but did not tie to any of the readings.

After the homily the priest led us in the Creed and the prayers of the faithful were said. Then we went to the Offertory, but since there was no one to lead the song the offering was collected in silence.

Now onto the Eucharist. I forgot to mention that there were two chalices of wine put on the altar prior to Mass. They sat on the altar though the whole Liturgy of the Word. The priest received the gifts of a small flagon of wine and a small plate of bread. I remember thinking that there was not a lot there for the rather large crowd that had come to Mass. He handed both the wine and the bread to a server and took his pace at the altar. When the server got to the side he took both items and put them on the altar. He then prepared the cup with a drop of water and placed one hand on the bread and the other on the cup of wine and said a silent prayer. Did I mention that there was no music. I expected to hear "Blessed are you God of all creation..."

He then invited the people to prayer saying "Let us pray that our..." rather than "Pray brethren (or brother and sisters)". The people said the next part (May the Lord accept...) while sitting down and then after the prayer everyone stood.

The priest said the preface while leaning against the altar on both arms. He did none of the usual gestures. He did say the words of consecration without altering them and he did genuflect. IN the middle of the Eucharistic Prayer he stopped and asked us to remember a friend of loved one and pray for them. He gave us a moment before containing the prayer. All the the people's responses were recited because there was no one there to lead us in song.

The priest chanted the doxology before the Great Amen. He did this very well, by the way. After he was done there was a moment of silence because since there was no one to lead us in song so the priest simply said "Amen" and everyone followed suit.

The Lord's Prayer was said and then the "Sign of Peace" was shared. The then recited the Lamb of God". While the Lamb of God was being recited the EMHC came forward. While father handed each one of them the Body of Christ two ladies went and got a large container of reserved Hosts from the tabernacle and separated them into ciboria. Then the priest handed them their Body of Christ and the took their place in line with the other EMHC. The priest then held up a Host and instead of saying "This is the Lamb of God.." he made something up. We responded with the customary "Lord I am not worthy..." The priest then consumed his Body of Christ followed quickly by the EMCHs. The priest them took from the cup and then started at one end of the line. the EMHC then passed the cup down the line until they all had the Blood.

Then Father took his plate and went to distribute Holy Communion followed by each of his EMHCs including two who took the two chalices that were sitting on the altar throughout the Mass.

After Communion the EMHCs with he cup consumed the Blood left in their cups and set them on a side table. The two ladies returned the remaining Hosts to the tabernacle, Father purified his chalice and then sat down.

Announcements were read, the closing prayer was said and Father gave us the blessing saying "May almighty God bless us..."

Instead of saying "Go in peace ...." he made something up for the dismissal. Then we all left as there was no one to lead us in song for the final hymn.

Total Mass time: 35 minutes.

Folks, I could say a lot of things about this Mass, but all I will say is that I do not understand why some priests feel that they need to chnage the words used for Mass. The Church has selected the words it wants us to use for a reason and that should be respected. I also will find another parish to attend the next time I happen to be in Topeka, KS.

Pentecost: St. Ann's in Slayton, MN

My family and I enjoyed our fist weekend of camping near Slayton, MN this weekend. We attended the 5:15 PM vigil Mass for Pentecost. I really enjoy Mass at St. Ann's because they have somehow managed to hang on to Tradition. They have a tabernacle behind their altar that is covered in a veil (it was red this week to match the liturgical color), they also use a chalice veil (it was also red this week). On their free standing altar they have six candles. There was three servers (a boy and two girls) wearing white server robes and one (I am assuming this was a seminarian) dressed in a black cassock and white surplice.

They make good used of their organ during the songs, and while they did have a cantor she allowed everyone to sing and did not try to be the star of he show. After the opening song the servers brought Father the asprgellium and liturgical salt. Yes, that's right. He blessed the water in the traditional manner, with salt. This is the first time that I have ever seen salt used in the blessing of holy water.

After the sprinkling rite, which was done during the Gloria, Father chanted the opening prayer. He really has a excellent chanting voice. The Liturgy of the Word seemed a bit rushed, however, this might be because they used one lector who went from one thing right to the next. The Psalm response was led by the cantor, but the actual psalm was recited my the lector. The focus was on the words not the musical performance. Bravo.

Father read the Gospel (I was hoping that he would chant that too). Father read the actual reading assigned to the Vigil of Pentecost which ended with a rather confusing passage about the Holy Spirit not existing. At the beginning of his homily Father clarified that the Gospel writer did not mean that that the Holy Spirit did not exist until Pentecost, but that they had not yet received the Holy Spirit. Good catch Father!

After the creed was recited Father led the "Prayers of the Faithful". He added several intentions for mothers as it was Mother's Day weekend. He then gave the mother present a special blessing.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist was wonderful and followed the liturgical books. After he prepared the altar the seminarian (I'm assuming he is a seminarian) ducked out into the sacristy and brought out the thurible and boat. Father added incense and then blessed it. He then incensed the gifts and the altar.

Father chanted the preface and used Eucharistic Prayer #1, which as I have stated before is my favorite. Everyone chanted the Our Father. Surprisingly, everyone held hands during the Our Father. Even to the point of reaching around behind them and holding hands with the pew behind them. The Sign of Peace was offered.

Communion was distributed by Father and three EMHC (one of them the seminarian).

After Communion father recited the closing prayer and then chanted the dismissal.

To sum this Mass experience up in one word...wonderful! I predict that they will be seeing a lot of my family there this camping season.

Dad a Bat!!!

This morning during Mass I got a unpleasant surprise. After the sign of peace as we were getting ready to kneel again my son says, "Dad a bat!" and points at my leg. There on the floor now under my foot was a very unhappy bat. It must have been roosting under the pew bench and I must have knocked it off when I got up for the Our Father. Carter tells me that it was hanging from my pant leg when he warned me but when I moved it fell off and then I stepped on its wing. It made a terrible racket. We moved to another pew (I was not about to kneel on top of an injured bat) and we continued on, but I have to say that it really did much to destroy the inner peace that I had beforehand.

Carter, the naturalist that he is, wanted to stay with the bat to see if he could help it.

After Mass once of the people sitting near us remvoed the bat. I'm not sure what he did with it.

I do not care for bats. :(

Mass at St. Rose Catholic Church in Proctor, MN

This Sunday, my family and I attended Mass at St. Rose Catholic Church in Proctor, Minnesota. We attended this church on the recommendation of the clerk at our hotel, so we were a little confused when we got there and found ourselves standing outside the St. Rose Catholic School. There were, however, people gathered outside so we followed the crowd into the school.

After being greeted warmly by a greeter stationed at the door we walked into the school cafeteria; part of which had been converted into a church. A wood, carpeted platform had been placed on the floor next to the wall to form a raised sanctuary. On the sanctuary was a free standing altar. The altar was covered with a white altar cloth and on it were to candles; one on each side. To the right of the altar was the ambo. To the left of the altar was a small baptismal font and the paschal candle. On the wall directly behind the altar was a large crucifix. On the floor on either side of the crucifix were pillar pedestals each holding a candelabra with 8 candles. Also on the wall behind the altar were the stations of the cross. To the left of the crucifix against the wall was an ornate wooden enclosure that held the tabernacle and sanctuary lamp. Between the tabernacle and the crucifix was the priest's chair and small table, and a second chair; which was not used at this Mass. To the right of the crucifix was another matching wooden enclosure that held the Sacred Heart of Jesus statue. On the right side of the statue was a gilded processional cross.

The church was arranged in the usual way with traditional church pews to the left and right of the sanctuary forming wings. On the left wing was another wooden enclosure containing a statue of our Blessed Mother holding the baby Jesus. On the right wing there was an enclosure containing a statue of St. Joseph (I think). In the front of the sanctuary were several portable pew benches (by this I mean they were on wheels) complete with padded kneelers. I would be willing to bet that these pews will also convert into nice cafeteria tables when school is in session. Very clever multipurpose equipment.

Before Mass started, Father came out and placed his homily in the ambo and then recruited two children (1 boy and 1 girl) to be his servers. The server who lit all of the candles, did so in a very reverent manner; taking the time to bow toward the altar and tabernacle.

Mass began with the opening song; Option C was used for the Penitential Rite; the Gloria was recited and the opening prayer was said.

They had one Lector who read the first reading. He also recited the psalm, however, the people sang the response. After the second reading the priest proclaimed the Gospel and then began his homily. Father focused his message on the need to Christians to do more; to "go the extra mile" just as the Good Samaritan had done.

After the homily the Creed was recited and the Prayer of the Faithful was said. During the presentation of the gifts the server with he cross took it back down and lead the gifts forward. I have seen this done with candles before, but never with the processional cross.

Father used Eucharistic Prayer #2 for Mass and did not depart from the written text. The people sang their Mass parts without the need of a cantor and all was done reverently. The servers rang hand bells at the censecration. The Lord's prayer was recited and the Sign of Peace was given; again all done reverently.

Father's only ad lib that I heard during the Liturgy of the Eucharist came at the "This is the Lamb of God..." section. He added some additional words to that. I have seen other priests do this too. I'm not sure if it is right or wrong.

During communion, I would say that more than half of those receiving did so on the tongue --even the children received on the tongue. The people were reverent. After Mass was over not one person left before the end of the final song which is a rather rare occurrence these days.

It was a pleasure to attend Mass at St. Rose Catholic Church I found it to be a wonderful Christ Centered experience. I was left with one burning question, however. "Why did they move their church into the cafeteria of their school?"

Mass in Slayton MN.

My family and I were camping near Slayton, MN this weekend so we attended Sunday morning Mass at St. Ann's in Slayton. It was, I have to say a very beautiful and reverent Mass celebrating the solemnity of the Birth of John the Baptist. There were two seminarians and three servers. The priest chanted the opening prayer. I really love it when priests chant.

In his homily, Father talked about how John the Baptist's job was to point to Jesus. He remarked that much of the artwork depicting him shows him actually pointing, not to himself but to Jesus. He also told us that John was considered to have been without sin just as Mary was. This was news to me. I had never heard that before.

The priest again chanted the opening of the Liturgy of the Eucharist and said Eucharistic Prayer #1 (my personal favorite). They used incense. The Mass was wonderful.

Since we plan to camp near Slayton a lot this summer it is a safe bet that we will be returning to St. Ann's in the future.

Mass at the Church of St. Bernard

This weekend my family and I attended Mass at the Church of St. Bernard in St. Paul, Minnesota. If I had grown up Catholic this is the church that I would have attended as a child. It is a beautiful church. The ceiling is covered with murals that depict a different point in the life of St. Bernard. The artwork and stained glass windows are wonderful.

We attended the 7:30 AM Mass. The start of Mass was announced by the ringing of the church's bells. Fr. Mike, a server and the reader processed in. A Cantor led the music along with a mucsician who played the chirch's pipe organ. I like organ music and it was good to hear it at Mass.

There was no shaking of hands or welcoming prior to the start of Mass. The priest led us in the Kyrie, and opening prayer. The readings were read and Fr. Mike proclaimed the Gospel. After proclaiming the Gospel the priest did not close the book but carried it down in front of the ambo and placed it open on a book stand. This is the only church where I have seen this done.

The Liturgy of the Eucharist was very reverent. They rang hand bells at the elevation of the host and cup. I love that. The only thing that seemed off base was when Fr. Mike concesrated the wine in one large cup and then poured the Blood of Christ into another cup for distribution. Another notable thing was that during the Eucharistic prayer he said "...and Harry and John our Archbishops." That made me smile.

St. Bernards is a great church. It is my home away from home. If anyone is in the area I encourage you to attend Mass there.

Holy Week

Holy Week has usually been a hard time for me. I lost my mother on Holy Thursday in 1997 and my father a few years later. Both of their deaths caught me by surprise and because I was very close to my mother I struggled with Easter time for a number of years. I've come a long way since then.

After Mass tonight my youngest son asked if he could light a candle for my dad. So he and I said a prayer and lit a candle. He lit one for my father and I lit one for my mother. Happy Easter Mom and Dad.

Chrism Mass

Last night my family and I attended the Chrism Mass at the Cathedral in New Ulm. This was the first Chrism Mass for me and I will just start by saying that it scored a 9 on my WOW! scale. It was truly the most moving Mass that I have been to (not counting the Easter Vigil Mass where I came into the church).

The choir (and everyone else) sang with much emotion as the priests were coming in; it was a truly amazing experience. I was just pulled right into the Mass. There was absolutely nothing else happening as far as I was concerned. There was also plenty on incense used and they rang bells at the consecration. Incense is rarely used in our parish and the bells are not used at all; it was a joy for me that these things were used here. The music, smells, and bells all contributed to pulling me into the Mass and keeping me focused there.

This was also the first time I have heard Eucharistic Prayer #1 used in our Diocese. I have heard it used on EWTN quite often, and watching all of those priests concelebrating just reminded me that the priesthood is truly one of the Church's treasures. We need more of them.

My boys, like me were also very into the Mass. My oldest had a lot of questions. He was very excited that when it came time to receive Jesus that he was in the bishop's line. It was just his luck though that when he finally got up to the front of the line, the bishop was replaced by another priest. Bummer!


This was truly a great experience; one that I'll not be forgetting soon.

Mass in Granite Falls

Camping once again, my family and I attended church at St. Andrews parish in Granite falls, which is also in our diocese. The church itself sort of reminded me of a ski chalet. The walls were off white and dark wood beams trimmed the ceiling windows, and doors.

This was a Saturday evening Mass and the church was packed. This parish shares a priest with three other towns so this was their only Mass for the weekend.

We arrived about five or ten minutes before Mass and were greeted by the priest with a hand shake. The church was already near full so we found seats in the last pew and waited for Mass to start.

The priest wore no chausable, just a white alb and a white stole with gold designs. There were no guitars in this Mass. Three women served as cantors and did a wonderful job singing. The priest's homily was about racism. After the homily we recited the Creed. I looked up form my bow during the incarnation part of the Creed. No one appeared to be bowing, not even the priest.

The priest began the Liturgy of the Eucharist with "Let us pray..." rather than "Pray brethren...", or "Pray brothers and sisters..."...and at the consecration there was no elevation of their the Body or Blood of Christ. He just held it in front of him. He also bowed instead of genuflecting. I can only assume that he had some physical issues that were troubling him.
We were nearly the last people to receive Holy Communion. When my wife got to the EMHC she bowed and the look on the EMHC's face was one of stunned shock. She clearly was not expecting her to bow. By the time is way my turn she was not longer surprised by the bow. Did I mention that not many (if any) people bowed before receiving.

Another thing of note was that this parish also used glass for the chalice. It must be a theme in our diocese. The last three churches that I have visited used glass as does my own parish.I have asked my Pastor why he uses glass and his reply is that people can see the blood of Christ that way.

The Mass concluded with a blessing and the closing hymn. After the recessional the priest did something that I have never seen before. When he got to the back of the church he stripped off his Alb and stole and set them in a pew. He then went outside to get ready to shake hands. Maybe I've just never seen it before because I do not usually sit in the back. It was also very hot outside....really hot.

Mass in Walnut Grove

My family and I attended the Laura Ingalls Wilder pageant in Walnut Grove. So prior to the show we attended Saturday evening Mass in Walnut Grove. The church was a newer style church. I would guess it might have been built in the late 70s early 80s. I forgot to look for a cornerstone. The atmosphere inside was one of quiet reverence. The tabernacle was located in the middle. I was glad to see this as I really like the tabernacle to be there as opposed to off to the left of the sanctuary.

The Deacon was sitting in the front putting the finishing touches on his homily. All in all, this was shaping up to be a great Mass and then....out came the cantors...with their guitars. This always makes me groan because I am not a big fan of electric guitars in church....I did not like it when I was a Lutheran either! This is my own personal preference though.

In all fairness, the guitars were used appropriately, that is to say, that they played normal approved music and were not obnoxiously loud. For the most part they were respectful of the Mass and the Eucharist. One of the guitarist cantors did go up to receive Jesus with the guitar still strapped to him...it looked really awkward and I think he almost nailed the priest in the head with the handle when he turned.

The church was about half full for this service. There were to altar servers who sat in the first pew during the parts of Mass where their services were not required.

I did notice that the they used glass chalices and patens. This seems to be really common in the churches of our diocese. I am not sure why. The Body of Christ was received in the hand. It seemed that many people did not bow before receiving Jesus. I've noticed this in several churches we have visited this summer, I wonder if this practice is disappearing. Also, bowing during the Creed seems to be disappearing as well.

All in all, it was a good Mass, even with the guitars.
Dave