With the recent release of our Holy Father’s motu proprio (analysis and commentary to follow shortly), the traditional Mass according to the Missal of 1962 will once again be celebrated in parishes throughout the world. Thanks be to God!

For those unfamiliar with the Tridentine rite, I present to you three videos depicting it ‘in action’.

This first video was filmed on the Feast of the Sacred Heart int Saint Curé d’Ars, Flavigny, France, in 1999. The priest speaks in Latin (albeit with a French accent); Latin helps protect the liturgy of the Mass from improvisation and keeps the meaning of the words identical from century to century. Notice the attention to detail — the Confiteor (I confess) before ascending the steps to the altar, the genuflection at the name of Jesus Christ, the respect with which the Host is handled and elevated… The music in this recording is particularly beautiful.

This next instructive video, recently released from France, is perhaps the best of the three in terms of showing some of the attention to detail. (Unfortunately, it starts out rather annoying because of introductory thematic music. If the music bothers you, please continue watching; just lower the volume.) Notice in particular how the digits are kept in apposition after the priest first touches the Host until after the ablution (e.g., at 02:01 in the video). This is done to ensure that not even one little particle of the Host (which is Christ transubstantiated) should fall to the ground.

The rich symbolism requires catechesis. (That — catechesis — should have been the focus of Vatican II.) For those who did not understand the French explication in the previous video, in the following video, Archbishop Fulton Sheen provides narrative accompaniment to the Solemn High Mass of Easter, 1941, at the Church of Our Lady of Sorrows, Chicago. As a high Mass, it features the polyphonic motets, orchestra and gregorian chant.

July 16 is the Solemn Commemoration of the Blessèd Virgin Mary of Mount Carmel. First instituted in 1376, the feast memorializes July 16, 1251, when the Blessèd Virgin Mary bestowed the scapular to St. Simon Stock.

The Scapular (< L. scapula, shoulder) became the most important part of the monastic habit, traditionally brown. As such, it consisted of a piece of cloth or wool the width of the shoulders and hanging down approximately 3/4 length (to mid-calf) in front and behind. Presently, it may be worn by lay and religious Catholics, alike, in reduced form as the Brown Scapular.

The Carmelite Order, as a mystical monastic society, was founded in part by the prophet Elijah and his disciples in the desert of the Holy Land — although it was not until the 12th Century that the Rule was truly codified per se, and not until the reformation in the 16th Century (by St. Teresa of Avila, St. John of the Cross and others) that the Order attained its full richness and glory.

See also:

• The Carmelite Order (Catholic Encyclopedia)
• Order of Carmel web site
• Cloud of Unknowing
• Interior Castle — St. Teresa of Ávila
• Dark Night of the Soul — St. John of the Cross
• Practice of the Presence of God — Brother Lawrence
• I Want to See God: A Practical Synthesis of Carmelite Spirituality and I Am a Daughter of the Church — P. Marie-Eugene
• Divine Intimacy: Meditations on the Interior Life — Fr. Gabriel

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Today is the Fourth of July, Indepence Day for the United States.

May God bless America!

The privilege of Sunday Mass attendance obliges all the faithful, whenever a church is geographically accessible.

Parishioners who are traveling may visit MassTimes.org or call 1-410-676-6000 for the location and schedule of Masses throughout the United States.

In these more relaxed days, as throughout the year, it is important to remember that what is acceptable for recreational wear is often not prudent for the House of God. Most churches are cool by design, and many are air-conditioned, so that one can be both comfortable and dressed properly for sacred worship.