TIME TO GET THAT REPORT READY MY LORD

The Bishops are due to submit their reports to Rome on the implementation and any problems encountered in response to the Holy Fathers accompanying letter to Summorum Pontificum.

1.  Do the laity have a veiw about the implementation of Summorum Ponticificum in the Diocese of Wollongong?  Yes - very strong views.

2.  Have the laity been consultated at any stage about the implementation of Summorum Pontificum? No - not at any stage.

3.  Has their been any change to the number of Extraordinary Form Masses celebrated in the Diocese since before the Motu Proprio?  No - despite requests there has not been any increase - most people leave the diocese on Sundays.

4.  Have there been any attempts to identify the needs of those attached to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in the diocese?  No. - not at any point.

5.  If a report to the Ecclesia Dei Commission regarding the implementation of Summorum Pontificum is sent misrepresenting the facts mightn't there be a backlash in the diocese from those who until now have exercised patience and good will toward the bishop and his advisors. I suspect that if people think that they have been ignored, overlooked or marginalised there is a threshold of patience and this issue may represent that threshold.

FRENCH SEMINARY TO USE BOTH FORMS OF THE ROMAN RITE

From Paix Liturgique

Cardinal Barbarin will open next year in Lyon a "bi-ritual" seminary, i.e. a seminary dedicated to both forms of the Roman Rite, which will be both taught and celebrated there. This is the first diocese in France after that of Toulon which offers this possibility to its seminarians. Cardinal Barbarin's project will even go further than that of Toulon: not only will the seminarians have the opportunity to be formed according to the extraordinary form, Mass according to the usus antiquior will be celebrated every day in the seminary, open to all seminarians, including those of the ordinary form.

IRISH BISHOPS GUIDE FOR TEACHERS

GUIDELINES FOR THE RECEPTION OF COMMUNION DURING THE EXTRAORDINARY FORM OF THE MASS

Children who attend the extraordinary form of the Mass will receive Communion in a different manner from their classmates who attend the ordinary form of the Mass.

At Mass in the extraordinary form, Holy Communion is received kneeling and on the tongue. Reception in the hand or while standing is not normally permitted.

Communion is received under one kind only, to emphasise the Church’s teaching that Christ is received whole and entire under the appearance of bread or wine.

Normally the child will approach the altar with joined hands and will kneel at the Communion rails (although children making their First Communion may use a prie-dieu).The priest recites the formula: “Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam. Amen.” (May the Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve your soul to everlasting life. Amen.) Note that the priest says “Amen”. The child should make no response.

The sacrament of Confession (or reconciliation) is often available before and during Mass in churches celebrating Mass in the extraordinary form. Almost exclusively, confession will be in the traditional form, using a confessional box, rather than face-to-face with a priest.

For teachers who wish to know more about the extraordinary form of the Mass, details are available at http://latinmassireland.org. The schedule of Masses for Ireland is also available. If a teacher wishes to take a class of First Communion children to experience Mass in the extraordinary form, that can be arranged in advance with the celebrant. Explanatory DVDs of the Mass are also available from the Latin Mass Society of Ireland.

CARDINAL PELL FOR ROME SOON...

His Eminence Cardinal George Pell, Archbishop of Sydney is rumoured to be heading off to Rome to take up an import post, possibly in the Congregation for Bishops.

Darling of orthodox catholics in Australia, he is nevertheless viewed by many traditional Catholics as a pragmatist and a politician. Often seen overseas sporting the Cappa Magna and celebrating the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, His Eminence was unable to accomodate the traditional catholic youth at World Youth Day with the same favour.

Some have argued that his overseas expliots, in this regard are staged to gain favour with the Roman authorities. Well, it must have worked!

The obvious question now is who will replace him?

Gwynnville Patronal Feast

The Patronal Feast of St Brigid was observed last Sunday at Gwynnville (in the Wollongong Diocese) with a Missa Cantata at 3pm.

A Choir made up of local and imported (from Sydney) members under the direction of Stephen Smith rendered beautifully the proper and ordinary chants of the Mass (Missa XI - Orbis Factor). Additionally two motets were sung; Alma Redemptoris Mater of Palestrina at the Offertory and Ave Verum of Byrd at communion. The concluding hymn was "For all the saints" by R. Vaughan Williams - all the verses were sung at the instance of the celebrant Fr J. Stork!

The fledgling choir is scheduled to sing again on the first sunday of March and on every first Sunday thereafter.

The choir master is looking for new members - so if you are interested please contact;

Stephen Smith on Mobile No. 0423099131
or email: primicerius@gmail.com

Patronal Feast of Gwynneville - Missa Cantata - Sunday 1st of February 3.00pm, according to the "More Ancient Use"

Bridget (Brigid, Bride, Bridey) of Kildare was born around 450 into a Druid family, being the daughter of Dubhthach, court poet to King Loeghaire. At an early age, she decided to become a Christian, and she eventually took vows as a nun. Together with a group of other women, she established a nunnery at Kildare.

She was later joined by a community of monks led by Conlaed. Kildare had formerly been a pagan shrine where a sacred fire was kept perpetually burning.Rather than stamping out this pagan flame, Bridget and her nuns kept it burning as a Christian symbol. (This was in keeping with the general process whereby Druidism in Ireland gave way to Christianity with very little opposition, the Druids for the most part saying that their own beliefs were a partial and tentative insight into the nature of God, and that they recognized in Christianity what they had been looking for.)

As an abbess, Bridget participated in several Irish councils, and her influence on the policies of the Church in Ireland was considerable.Many stories of her younger days deal with her generosity.

TWO VERSIONS OF ST BRIGID'S PRAYER

"I would like the angels of Heaven to be among us.

I would like an abundance of peace.

I would like full vessels of charity.

I would like rich treasures of mercy.

I would like cheerfulness to preside over all.

I would like Jesus to be present.

I would like the three Marys of illustrious renown to be with us.

I would like the friends of Heaven to be gathered around us from all parts."

&

I wish I had a great lake of ale for the King of kings, and the family of heaven to drink it through time eternal.

I wish I had the meats of belief and genuine piety, the flails of penance, and the men of heaven in my house.

I would like keeves of peace to be at their disposal, vessels of charity for distribution, caves of mercy for their company, and cheerfulness to be in their drinking.

I would want Jesus also to be in their midst, together with the three Marys of illustrious renown, and the pople of heaven from all parts.

I would like to be a tenant to the Lord, so if I should suffer distress, He would confer on me a blessing. Amen

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE "USUS ANTIQUIOR" IN WOLLONGONG (PART I)

A brief history of the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) in the Diocese of Wollongong since 1970.

Wollongongensis understands that the TLM has had a presence in the Diocese of Wollongong (DOW) for a number of years. We are uncertain exactly when, and under what provisions the first TLM was offered, but certainly not under the limited provisions of Quattor abhinc annos in 1984. It is more likely that because of the lack of response to the previously named document and indeed the excommunication of Archbishop Lefebvre in 1988, the TLM probably re-emerged in the diocese, after an absence of nearly twenty years or so, under the provisions of the decree Ecclesia Dei adflicta issued in 1988.

Rebuild build my church
Shortly after the decree Eccelsia Dei in the late 1980's the new parish church of St Francis of Assisi at Warrawong was built. Its design had taken into account the possibility of ad orientem celebrations at the behest of the young Conventual Franciscan friar Fr. Terence Mary Naughtin. Within weeks of its opening a Solemn Requiem Mass was celebrated according to the 1962 Missal. The TLM was then offered at regular intervals under a celebret which the young priest had received from the Ecclesia Dei Commission in Rome, the terms of which did not require permission from either local ordinary or superior. Needless to say the young priest was subjected to considerable pressure not to celebrate the TLM, particularly within his own Order.

Lion of the tribe of Judah
With Fr Terrence's departure in the early 1990's, Fr Leo Stevens celebrated the TLM at Villa Maria and then latter in Bulli, attracting up to a hundred people. It seems that Fr Stevens was a willing celebrant but plagued with ill health. The masses were not publicly advertised, and certainly not encouraged at a diocesan level and they were frequently cancelled at short notice due to illness. After his death there was a hiaties, and indeed a type of despair must fallen upon those who preferred the TLM.

In Exitu Israel...The wandering tribe
The DOW made no provision for what was effectively a stable community. A number were courted by the Society of St Pius X, and where indeed lost to them. Others travelled to attend approved masses in Sydney both at St Michael's College, Chapel of the Resurrection in Darlington and the Chapel of the Maternal Heart at Lewisham.

Benedictus qui venit...
With the coming of the new pope, Benedict the XVI and his desire to re-establish a "hermeneutic of continuity" the motu proprio "Summorum Pontificum" has given both to the clergy and the laity the opportunity to request and celebrate the TLM with impunity. Due, perhaps to episcopal obfuscation, in regard the previous provisions, reference to the local ordinary is no longer necessary, and organisation may occur at a grass roots level.

BISHOP OF WOLLONGONG, PASTORAL REFLECTION ON SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM

The pastoral letter below is an extaordinary document, which clearly states the way in which the Bishop of Wollongong has read not only 'Summorum Pontificum" but the adjoining document which was sent to all bishops. It ignores many of the points which the Pope has clearly made in both documents. It also explains why to date the diocese has not made adequate pastoral provision for those who wish to attend the usus antiquior exclusively.

_______________________

DIOCESE OF WOLLONGONG

DIOCESAN CURIA

Catholic Church Offices

PO Box 1239

Wollongong NSW 2500

Australia86-88

Market Street

Tel: +61 2 4253 0900

Fax: + 61 2 4253 0977

BISHOP PETER'S PASTORAL REFLECTION ON POPE BENEDICT'S APOSTOLIC LETTER MOTU PROPRIO "SUMMORUM PONTIFICUM"

Pope Benedict's motu proprio of 7 July 2007, which allows a freer use of what he rightly calls the "extraordinary" form of the liturgy according to the Missal of St Pius V reformed by Bl. John XXIII 1962, comes into force today, 14 September 2007.

"The "ordinary" form of the Mass embodies the reform of the Second Vatican Council in the 1970 Missal of Pope Paul VI. This remains the usual liturgical expression for the celebrating the Eucharistic Sacrifice and may be celebrated in English or Latin.

Both these expressions of the Latin Rite are united as one, because which ever form of the liturgy i being used, the same mystery is being celebrated. So, speaking, writing or thinking in terms of two rites (Tridentine and Post Vatican II) should be avoided.

The Mass in the sacrament of our unity in Christ and must not provoke division.The Tridentine expression of the Mass nurtured my young faith until after I was ordained, as it nurtured the faith of countless millions.Yet the Second Vatican Council in fact crystallised and made official the rich fruit of the biblical, theological and liturgical development of doctrine in the decades that preceded the Council.

Personally I have always felt that Pope Pius XII was quite prophetic with his encyclicals in the 1940s on the Mystical Body of Christ (Mystici Corporis), Scripture (Divino Afflante Spiritu) and the Liturgy (Mediator Dei). The seeds of Vatican II are there. It is also worth remembering that it was Pius XII in the 1950s who effected changes in the Missal of St Pius V by restoring the Holy Week Rites, especially the Triduum, including their proper hours of celebration: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper; the Good Friday afternoon celebration of the Passion; and the Easter Vigil being a Holy Saturday night celebration.

The very first document the Vatican Council promulgated was on the Sacred Liturgy. This expressed in our liturgical celebrations, the central axiom that underpinned the major new emphasis of Vatican II: to mirror the full and active participation in the governance and pastoral life of the Church, at a diocesan and parish level, through finance and pastoral councils and the laity's witness to Christ in secular society.

Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing. I have personally felt that if the freedom to celebrate the Tridentine form of Mass had not been proscribed in 1970, and the clergy and faithful had been better educated to understand the theology of Vatican II, possibly the Missal of Pope Paul VI may have been more reverently and adequately accepted, appreciated and celebrated. This may have lessened resistance to misunderstood change which, in some cases, resulted in a hardening of attitudes.

The intention of Pope Benedict's motu proprio is to facilitate reconciliation for people who felt ostracised or marginalised or had joined schismatic groups in response to the Missal of Pope Paul VI.

The Holy Father is seeking to restore unity within the Church. He wants to assist those still attached to the Tridentine expression of Mass. I do not see that the Pope is intending his legislation to attract new recruits to what he now calls the "extraordinary" form of the Mass.

The "extraordinary" form of the Mass cannot be imposed on a congregation by a celebrant. In Art 5§1 the Pope sets out the limits for its celebration.

In the Diocese of Wollongong, for some years now, the Tridentine "extraordinary" form of the Latin Rite has been celebrated. It is currently celebrated by Fr John Stork at St Brigid's, Gwynneville at 3.00pm on alternate Sundays of the month. It would be good to advertise this in your parish bulletin. Please contact the Cathedral Parish Office for dates.

I also believe there is still much more work to be done at parish level on the "ordinary" form of Mass to improve the sense of reverence for the mystery being celebrated with the full and active participation of the faithful and to bring out the spiritual richness and theological depth of the Missal of Pope Paul VI.

The Vatican Council restored to our 1970 Liturgy of the Mass treasures from more ancient sources for Catholic worship that had been lost over the centuries; eg, a wider inclusion of Scripture, the general intercessions, greeting of peace.

With one legislative act, Pope Benedict has now shown that to reject our liturgical inheritance is an unacceptable as to deny the possibility of liturgical development.The Pope imposes tolerance on all of us. There is only one Latin Rite and the 1970 and 1962 Roman Missals are both expressions of it in an "ordinary" and "extraordinary" form.

The Pope has laid to rest any kind o suggestion that the 1970 Missal of Pope Paul VI is not a valid expression of the Liturgy of the Mass. By honouring the past, Pope Benedict seeks to achieve healing now and maintain unity in the future by making the extraordinary expression of the Mass available to those who have traditionally used it.

In his letter to Bishops that accompanied his motu proprio Benedict XVI explains the positive reason that motivated his decision.

"It is a matter of coming to an interior reconciliation in the heart of the Church. Looking back over the past, to the divisions which in the course of the centuries have rent the body of Christ, one continually has the impression that, at critical moments when divisions were coming about, not enough was done by the Church's leaders to maintain or regain reconciliation and unity. One has the impression that omissions on the part of the Church have had their share of blame for the fact that these divisions were able to harden. This glance at the past imposes an obligation on us today: to make every effort to enable for all those who truly desire unity to remain in that unity or to attain it anew."

Whether we pray the Mass according to either the "ordinary" form or the "extraordinary" form, we all are confronted with this same prayer before Communion:

"Lord Jesus, you said to your apostles: I leave you peace, my peace I give you. Look not on our sins, but on the faith of you Church, and grant us the peace and unity of your kingdom where you live for ever and ever."

"St Augustine said:
In what is essential, let there be unity,
In what is non-essential,
let there be freedom;
But in all things, let there be charity."

+ Most Rev Peter W Ingham DD
BISHOP OF WOLLONGONG
14 September 2007

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NOTICE: TRIDENTINE MASS - WOLLONGONG

Fourth Sunday of Advent

A Missa Cantata will be offered on the 4th Sunday of Advent at St Bridget's Church at Gwynnville, in the Wollongong area.

The Mass is celebrated with the support of the Bishop of Wollongong and needs your support.

Please support this Mass with your attendance.

Missa Cantata - Gwynneville 1st Sunday of Advent

A simple Missa Cantate (sung Mass) will be celebrated at 3.00pm in the Church of St Bridgitte, Gwynneville according to the 1962 Missale Romanum this comming Sunday 30th November 2008. Anyone who supports the Traditional Mass in the region is urged to attend.