AN INVITATION TO THE TRADITIONAL LATIN MASS IN NELSON

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Bergoglio and Dr Taylor Marshall
https://taylormarshall.com/2021/07/711-pope-francis-drops-bomb-latin-mass-targets-traditional-catholics-new-doc-traditionis-custodes-podcast.html

When he more or less cancelled the Traditional Latin Mass Jorge Mario Bergoglio, aka Pope Francis, probably failed  to reckon on more conversions to Catholicism, more vocations to the priesthood and more, new saints.

Historically those are the by-products of persecution - which is what his motu proprio, sarcastically (surely!) titled 'Guardians of the Tradition' amounts to.

Neither would he have expected Catholics to react by issuing open invitations to all and sundry to their home to attend the Latin Mass. 

One wonders how many similar invitations might be elicited by Bergoglio's ban, worldwide.

Two readers of this blog say they are happy to advertise the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM), which is celebrated by priests of the Society of Saint Pius X (SSPX) in their Nelson home once a month, not just for Nelsonians but for visitors to that beautiful part of the country. 

And when these two SSPX priests say Mass, you get a cracker sermon. Comparisons might be odious (as they say) but they put Novus Ordo homilies in the shade.

In a guest post Rosemary and John Adams write: 

"We are proud TLM Catholics. We used to live near Palmy (Palmerston North) and attended the TLM at St Columba’s for about six years before moving to Nelson. This area is a desert wasteland for faithful Roman Catholics.

St Mary's Nelson - beautiful on the outside 

"St Mary’s in Nelson is an old style church but the sanctuary has been modernised, so looks appallingly bland with no tabernacle in the centre. We tried attending Holy Mass there but the focus was on man and too much chatter ... also no one talked to us or made us feel welcome. The sermons were vanilla, confessions only by appointment and the church was locked - apart from when a few Masses were offered. 

We stayed home, prayed the Rosary and whenever possible flew to Wgtn to attend Holy Mass at the Chapel of St Michael the Archangel in Tawa, Wellington. For more than a year now the wonderful Society of St Pius X (SSPX) priests Fr Francois Laisney and Fr Michael Johnson have been flying to Nelson to offer Confessions and the Traditional Latin Mass at 6pm on Sunday (the last Sunday of the month, usually the fourth).

'Holy Mass in a Nelson home'

Father also offers Holy Mass the next morning before he flies back to Wellington - on one occasion it was at 5 a m, but usually at 7a m. Such a blessing to have these beautiful Holy Masses in our own home. Doesn’t mean the devil and his henchmen leave us alone ... quite the opposite. 

There's enough room for at least 25 faithful and anyone who wants to attend a TLM is most welcome. Sometimes when Catholics are aware it is the SSPX priests, they turn away. 

We were not surprised by the Pope’s hard line taken towards fellow Catholics who love the tradition ... the signs have been there for a while. I am proud to be ‘rigid’ - it was my upbringing in Wellington where I was exposed to the Redemptorists at St Gerard’s Monastery and attended Our Lady of Mt Carmel primary school in Hataitai - which prepared me for wholehearted support of SSPX and the Mass of all Ages. 

We aren’t really affected by this edict from the Pope, which is driving a wedge between traditional Catholics and modern Catholics. It is not charitable to place traditional Catholics on the outside and almost banish us.  

St Columba's - more than this though, in the TLM congregation  

We have received an email from the St Columba's Traditional Latin Mass community, Ashhurst, and know how worried they will all be feeling. When the TLM first started there, the local N O parishioners gave us a hard time. Our TLM calendar was removed from the church, we were forbidden to leave our hymn books on the pews, we had to purchase our own candles, and there was even a complaint to the bishop that we had left crumbs on the floor of the hall next door.  

We are perplexed at the small number of faithful who attend the TLM in Nelson. Our home has enough room for at least 25 faithful and anyone who wants to attend is most welcome. 

Sometimes when Catholics become aware these are SSPX priests, they turn away. I place an ad in the local free paper each month and have received quite a few phone calls, but Catholics are afraid to attend.

Someone asked me why and my response was that they are afraid of the commitment - more is required of us, to be authentic followers of Jesus and to be lovingly devoted to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. N O Catholics have only to put aside forty minutes on a Sunday, then carry on as usual.

 After the Pope’s edict to sideline traditional Catholics, we need to be strong and hold the faith, always remembering to be charitable in words. 

I listen to Dr Taylor Marshall on YouTube. He is a traditional Catholic and offers wise, intelligent guidance, often sharing snippets of how his family prepare for significant Catholic events such as Advent, Christmas, Lent. His manner is always respectful and charitable. 

I must mention that for the past two years Fr Johnson has flown to Nelson on Christmas Day to celebrate Holy Mass and then the small gathering of faithful share a meal and company together - very special. 

Julia, as your blog originally was titled Carmelite Canto Fermo I have decided to pray for you to Our Lady of Mt Carmel ... a title with significant meaning for me after my primary school (no longer in existence).

I will pray for you in my daily Rosary as you need the spiritual help to continue with your mission. Please don’t stop. 

 

Kind regards,

John & Rosemary Adams.

(03-9276615)