Worldwide Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, 15th August, 2021

From the Parish Priest's Desk

Dear Faithful,

Many of you will have read Bishop Peter Elliott’s opinion piece in The Australian a few days ago, prompted by Traditionis Custodes. His Lordship observed that “the pastoral effects of his diktat are confusion, anger, hurt and puzzlement.”

A couple of days later, a priest friend who has had a long and fruitful priestly ministry – mainly in the context of the new liturgy, although he celebrates both forms of the Roman Rite with ease – sent me the following commentary on Bishop Elliott’s piece. I found his insights very apropos, and with his permission I publish them here:

“The bishop has very sensitively addressed the issue of the celebration of the traditional Mass both within the Catholic Community and within the wider human community. There are two differing aspects at work. Within the Church, there was tension following the change overnight of the manner of worshipping in the Mass. People and priests went to sleep one evening and woke the next day to a form of the Mass that was so radically different than all that they had known. At a psychological level this was a huge mistake, and the scarring is still evident. The hurt and the recognition that there was no need to obliterate the form of the Mass that had been celebrated largely unaltered for over a millennium was addressed by several popes of recent times. With the heart of pastors and theologians, St John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI responded to the need of a sizeable group of the faithful and acknowledged that the attempt to eliminate the form of the Mass that had been known so well was not wise and in fact was a form of "abuse of power." Many in the Church think that the authority of bishops and popes is arbitrary, but they are in fact servants of what has always and everywhere been believed in the Church. This concerns not only the "what" of belief but also the "how". Pope Benedict affirmed in his Motu Proprio: Summorum Pontificum that the traditional form of the Mass had never been "abrogated", as was determined by a commission of inquiry."

"He, therefore, with the heart of a pastor and the conviction of a faithful believer gave form to the fact that a priest of the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church receives by the fact of being a priest the right to celebrate the Mass that has been essentially linked to the "Latin Rite." Please note that the new Order of the Mass remains the norm and the older form of the Mass is not proposed as being the only form of the Mass. The solution is for both to co-exist. The principle of Gamaliel, the Jewish Doctor of the Law in the apostolic period should apply. Namely, if something be of God, it will last and grow. If it is not it will wither. The celebration of the Mass in the more traditional form is bearing fruit and growing."

"The second aspect of Bishop Elliott's article concerns the contribution of the form of the Latin Mass to society. The "Agatha Christie" intervention is witness to the fact that a vast array of artists, scholars, historians, etc affirm that the form of the Latin Mass is part of the inheritance of the West that has been a catalyst for and an expression of the music, art and literature of the Western World. 
“Both aspects that I have outlined have been brutally expunged by edict of a Pope. The act is a defiant contradiction of the prudential judgement of his two predecessors and reflects a sheer exercise of power: a power that many faithful Catholics who love the Church and respect the office of the successor of St Peter believe is "ultra vires." The Pope's prime duty is to confirm the brothers in the faith. I am afraid that he has confirmed his own prejudices and done the exact opposite.”

Recently, one of the days during the lock down, I offered Holy Mass privately for the defence of the Church. The Gospel of that Mass is from the eleventh chapter of St Luke. Our Lord asks His disciples “And which of you, if he ask his father bread, will he give him a stone? Or a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask for an egg, will he reach him a scorpion.” Our pastors in the Church on earth are called to imitate the Good Shepherd, and to nourish and nurture us with the good gifts of our heavenly Father. That is the very foundation of their moral authority.

Let us pray for the Church, and for our pastors.

Fr Glen Tattersall PP

First Holy Communion: parents wishing to prepare their children for First Holy Communion (preceded by First Confession) are asked to email the Secretary as soon as possible, and provide baptismal certificates for the candidates (or the date of baptism if baptised in the Newman Parish). First Holy Communion will be held at the Solemn Mass on Sunday, 12th December, 2021 (Gaudete Sunday).

Sacrament of Confirmation – Saturday, 28th August: Confirmation will now be conferred by Bishop Elliott at St Aloysius’ Church on Saturday, 28th August, at 11.30 am.

Portiuncula Indulgence – Monday, 2nd August: this plenary indulgence is granted, under the usual conditions (Confession and Holy Communion within a week on either side of the prescribed day), to the Faithful who devoutly visit a Church and pray the Our Father and the Apostles’ Creed, praying also for the Pope’s good intentions.

The First Friday and First Saturday fall this week. Simple Benediction with the Ciborium will be given on Friday after 10 am Mass & Rosary; on Saturday, there will be Exposition, Rosary and Benediction after 10 am Mass.

St Joseph’s Sodality: the men’s prayer group will meet at Maryvale this Saturday (7th August) after Benediction. All Catholic men aged 18 and over are welcome.

Worldwide Consecration of Traditional Communities to the Immaculate Heart of Mary – 15th August (the Assumption): full details of this initiative are on our website and Facebook page. We will join in after each Mass on the Assumption, which this year falls on a Sunday. We will prepare with a Novena that will be made available this week.

Enrolment in the Scapular of Our Lady of Mt Carmel will now occur after the Sunday Masses on 22nd August (having been postponed due to lock down).

Forty Hours Devotion: we hope to hold the Forty Hours Devotion (which includes three Solemn Masses and continuous Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament for 40 hours) over the weekend of 17th – 19th September. Put it in your diary now and commit to Adoration and Reparation on this weekend.

Course on Sacraments: Fr Tattersall’s course will now recommence on Saturday, 25th September.

Sunday 1st Collection - Support for our priests

Sunday 2nd Collection - Support for the Parish and its works