TRADITIONAL CATHOLICS AGE 16 AND OVER PLEASE CONSIDER BECOMING A CATHOLIC MISSIONARY
BELOW IS AN UPDATE FROM THE FSSP ON THE MISSION OPPORTUNITIES AVAIABLE IN 2018
We shared with you over the summer the adventures of two St. Francis Xavier mission trips to Piura, Peru. A montage of video from both trips has been released, including interviews with the missionaries, the Peruvians they assisted and the priests who were involved with the trips. It is amazing. We dare you not to be inspired by the joy and love for God shown by those who are so poor and who live under such harsh conditions, and the gratitude that the missionaries themselves felt for this opportunity to give their time in service to others.
One Peruvian said: “After all that happened we are alive, so what we have to do is to thank God for everything.”
Registration for the 2018 St. Francis Xavier Mission Trips is now open. Available trips include a trip to Mexico for families and individuals aged 16+, and trips to Peru and the Dominican Republic for youth 16-21. Please visit the St. Francis Xavier website to learn more and sign up!
If you cannot go on a mission trip but would like to donate, you can do so online here. May God reward you for your generosity!
A few statistics from the Peru trips (totals from both trips):
46 kids aged 16-21, accompanied by 3 priests, 3 seminarians, 3 adult chaperones on each trip. Fr. Eggleston, all 3 seminarians, and 3 of those kids stayed in Peru for a whole month, working both missions.
22 bamboo houses constructed particularly for those families who were affected by the floods.
1 classroom building, similar to the houses, but slightly larger. The missionaries were told that this would be used primarily for catechism, as it was attached to the back of a village church.
16 food deliveries, each of which entailed bringing non-perishable food items (large sacks of rice, pasta, etc.) to families in need. Each delivery served about 5-6 families, so at least 80 families were assisted.
16 house blessings, for which the priests would take a missionary or two to assist as the priest would bless houses in the villages. Each of the 16 ventures included over a dozen houses.
15 Communion calls, each of which included about 10 different houses.
7 clothing deliveries, which entailed bringing 6-7 large bags of clothing to churches in the villages. The mothers were invited to select about 10 items for their families, the lines for these deliveries normally stretching out of sight.
7 stove deliveries, which entailed delivering gas stoves and propane tanks to those in need. Each delivery helped about 5-6 families.
3 trips to teach English to students at a local school.
this home, and under its shelter let there be health, chastity, self-conquest, humility, goodness, mildness, obedience to your commandments, and thanksgiving to God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. May your blessing remain always in this home and on those who live here; through Christ our Lord. All: Amen.
The hour-plus drive from Metter each Sunday is trivial compared to what Christy Kimsey finds when she arrives.
The transcendence, the reverence, the beauty, the real presence of Jesus, she says — it’s what she’s been missing her whole life.
“It brings me to tears almost every time,” she says, holding her hand to her chest after the 1 p.m. Mass at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist one recent Sunday.
And to be clear, she’s speaking of the Latin Mass, or “extraordinary form” mostly in Latin.
She attends the ordinary form in English, “new Mass” to some, closer to home throughout the week.
The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s approved use of the liturgy in the language of the people.
Then 10 years ago in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI declared that the extraordinary form was officially accessible to the church’s faithful, too.
“This just gives people another option,” says cathedral parishioner Felix Maher.
In 2002, the service was already held at Nativity of Our Lord Church in Thunderbolt after Maher pushed for it.
The dentist enjoyed the Mass while working out of town in bigger cities like Atlanta and Chicago. He feels that the new liturgy lacks a bit spiritually in the sense of sacredness, and that the Latin Mass is more mystical and spiritually fulfilling.
Compared to the new Mass, the Latin service has longer periods of silence, offers Gregorian chant and the priest faces east with the congregation, his back to them, praying with the people.
And of course, much is in Latin.
The priest’s sermon is in English, and Maher read twice from Bible passages in English. Otherwise, “amen” may be the only familiar part for newbies.
The extraordinary form is often met with resistance from the clergy, Maher says.
“Certainly, it was a struggle to get started,” he says.
He tried to convince the bishop of the Diocese of Savannah to have the mass locally, finally asking, what harm is it?
“We’re all worshiping Christ,” Maher says.
The attendance grew after the service moved from the Thunderbolt church to the beautiful, downtown cathedral, recalls Father Daniel Firmin.
Latin Mass attendance has about tripled from a decade ago to roughly 160 attendees, though still well under the roughly 700 typically at the cathedral’s earlier 11:30 a.m. ordinary Mass.
John Brenton, 35, is among the Latin Mass faithful. About a decade ago, the Pooler resident attended the service hoping it would suit his Latino wife.
But it wasn’t a Hispanic service; it was a holy one that astounded Brenton, a new Catholic.
“And it turned out me being just floored,” he says. “I knew I wanted more and wanted to connect with it.”
He likes that it is ancient, beautiful, has incense and Gregorian chanting.
People get hung up on the Latin part, he says. And it takes about seven services to be able to follow along, according to Brenton.
But there is enough beauty in the service to absorb that people don’t need to understand every word.
“The point is that Jesus shows up,” he says.
Jared Seff, 26, also attends. The fine arts painter grew up Jewish, and converted to Catholicism after moving to Savannah and attending Savannah College of Art and Design. Like other Catholics, he goes to ordinary Mass throughout the week.
Yet Seff finds the Latin Mass a better fit.
“It allows me to get into my transcendental space,” he says.
The artist believes that creating art relies on inspiration, and is a spiritual matter. He mentions the link between the words “inspiration” and “spirit.” Some matters, however, are less defined.
Attendees mention “the mystery,” and appreciate complex spiritual matters, such as Holy Communion. Not knowing the service’s Latin language is just one part.
Firmin, who presides over the afternoon service, thinks unfamiliarity may actually help people pay attention versus hearing familiar English each week with a temptation to zone out.
And language is just one tool besides art, music and others; the Lord touches souls regardless, according to Firmin.
Kimsey is one soul-touched witness.
She tries to convince family members to join her, but in the meantime, she returns weekly to “the truth of Christ” she says she’s found—and feels—in the cathedral.
“He’s here with us,” Kimsey says.
The transcendence, the reverence, the beauty, the real presence of Jesus, she says — it’s what she’s been missing her whole life.
And to be clear, she’s speaking of the Latin Mass, or “extraordinary form” mostly in Latin.
She attends the ordinary form in English, “new Mass” to some, closer to home throughout the week.
The Second Vatican Council in the 1960s approved use of the liturgy in the language of the people.
Then 10 years ago in 2007, Pope Benedict XVI declared that the extraordinary form was officially accessible to the church’s faithful, too.
“This just gives people another option,” says cathedral parishioner Felix Maher.
In 2002, the service was already held at Nativity of Our Lord Church in Thunderbolt after Maher pushed for it.
The dentist enjoyed the Mass while working out of town in bigger cities like Atlanta and Chicago. He feels that the new liturgy lacks a bit spiritually in the sense of sacredness, and that the Latin Mass is more mystical and spiritually fulfilling.
Compared to the new Mass, the Latin service has longer periods of silence, offers Gregorian chant and the priest faces east with the congregation, his back to them, praying with the people.
And of course, much is in Latin.
The priest’s sermon is in English, and Maher read twice from Bible passages in English. Otherwise, “amen” may be the only familiar part for newbies.
The extraordinary form is often met with resistance from the clergy, Maher says.
“Certainly, it was a struggle to get started,” he says.
He tried to convince the bishop of the Diocese of Savannah to have the mass locally, finally asking, what harm is it?
“We’re all worshiping Christ,” Maher says.
The attendance grew after the service moved from the Thunderbolt church to the beautiful, downtown cathedral, recalls Father Daniel Firmin.
Latin Mass attendance has about tripled from a decade ago to roughly 160 attendees, though still well under the roughly 700 typically at the cathedral’s earlier 11:30 a.m. ordinary Mass.
John Brenton, 35, is among the Latin Mass faithful. About a decade ago, the Pooler resident attended the service hoping it would suit his Latino wife.
But it wasn’t a Hispanic service; it was a holy one that astounded Brenton, a new Catholic.
“And it turned out me being just floored,” he says. “I knew I wanted more and wanted to connect with it.”
He likes that it is ancient, beautiful, has incense and Gregorian chanting.
People get hung up on the Latin part, he says. And it takes about seven services to be able to follow along, according to Brenton.
But there is enough beauty in the service to absorb that people don’t need to understand every word.
“The point is that Jesus shows up,” he says.
Jared Seff, 26, also attends. The fine arts painter grew up Jewish, and converted to Catholicism after moving to Savannah and attending Savannah College of Art and Design. Like other Catholics, he goes to ordinary Mass throughout the week.
Yet Seff finds the Latin Mass a better fit.
“It allows me to get into my transcendental space,” he says.
The artist believes that creating art relies on inspiration, and is a spiritual matter. He mentions the link between the words “inspiration” and “spirit.” Some matters, however, are less defined.
Attendees mention “the mystery,” and appreciate complex spiritual matters, such as Holy Communion. Not knowing the service’s Latin language is just one part.
Firmin, who presides over the afternoon service, thinks unfamiliarity may actually help people pay attention versus hearing familiar English each week with a temptation to zone out.
And language is just one tool besides art, music and others; the Lord touches souls regardless, according to Firmin.
Kimsey is one soul-touched witness.
She tries to convince family members to join her, but in the meantime, she returns weekly to “the truth of Christ” she says she’s found—and feels—in the cathedral.
“He’s here with us,” Kimsey says.
IF YOU GO
What: Latin Mass
Where: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 222 E Harris Street, Savannah
Info: 912-233-4709 or savannahcathedral.org
Hear: The LatÃn Mass Schola www.facebook.com/SavannahLatinMass Community/videos/vb.1514066975480911/1995261054028165/?type=2&theater
What: Latin Mass
Where: 1 p.m. Sunday
Where: Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, 222 E Harris Street, Savannah
Info: 912-233-4709 or savannahcathedral.org
Hear: The LatÃn Mass Schola www.facebook.com/SavannahLatinMass Community/videos/vb.1514066975480911/1995261054028165/?type=2&theater
this new fire, and grant that after the darkness of this life we may come unsullied to you who are light eternal; through Christ our Lord. 
