ALTAR RAIL BLESSED AT LATIN MASS SAVANNAH DIOCESE

BELOW IS A WONDERFUL REPORT FROM FATHER MC DONALD ON THE INSTALLATION & BLESSING OF THE REINSTALLED ALTAR RAIL IN MACON (SAVANNAH DIOCESE)

On Sunday's Extraordinary Form High Mass for the Feast of the Holy Name of JESUS, we blessed our newly restored altar railing for Saint Joseph Church in Macon, Georgia.

The Mass, as usual, was exquisite. I have come to appreciate this Mass more and more for it touches the heart in ways that even a child perceives. We are not bombarded with words, idiosyncrasies, or contrived horizontal, banal signs and symbols. That doesn't mean that the horizontal is not at work in this Mass. Oh yes it is!

The most powerful sign of the horizontal at the EF Mass is the traditional way in which Holy Communion is distributed when the communicant kneels at the communion rail. As a child and teenager I received Holy Communion at an altar railing from the time I was 7 until I was about 18 as my home parish in Augusta was late in changing this time honored and most reverent means of receiving Holy Communion kneeling to the now more banal standing method.

Yesterday was the first time ever as a priest that I distributed Holy Communion in the traditional method at the full length of an altar railing! I felt like it was Holy Thursday when I process with the Most Blessed Sacrament through the Church to the Altar of Repose and all are kneeling in adoration as our Eucharistic Lord passes by them!

There is a real, reverent and authentic sense of "community" and of the "communal" nature of receiving Holy Communion at the extension of the "table" of the Lord which is the communion railing where the "meal" aspect of Holy Communion is truly visible and experienced.

And the true "Holy Communion Procession" is experienced in the traditional way of receiving Holy Communion at the Communion Rail. Christ processes up and down the full length of the communion railing, as communicants await for His passage before them and unto them!

SAVANNAH DIOCESE ALTAR RAIL BLESSING

SAINT JOSEPH CHURCH NEWLY RESTORED ALTAR RAILING (COMMUNION RAILING) WILL BE BLESSED ON SUNDAY'S FEAST OF THE MOST HOLY NAME OF JESUS AT THE 2:00 PM EXTRAORDINARY FORM HIGH MASS (NEWS FROM FATHER MCDONALD)

Of course everyone knows that this Sunday, January 4th is not the Solemnity of the Epiphany but the Feast of the Most Holy Name of Jesus. Of course everyone knows that the Feast of the Epiphany will be celebrated at St. Joseph Church on Tuesday, January 6th at 5:00 PM.

At our Sunday's EF 2:00 PM High Mass as a prelude to the Asperges Me, our newly restored Communion Railing (aka altar railing) will be blessed. At Holy Communion time, communicants as is the norm for the EF Mass will approach the communion railing the full length of the railing as the authentic "Communion Procession" takes place which is not the people approaching Jesus in Holy Communion, but rather Jesus processing to each of them at the railing!

Unfortunately the new gates and the full length kneeling pad will not be in place. So kneeling on the hard marble will be an ascetical practice which will merit graces also! My apologies for the hard floor but my gift for the additional graces!

BLESSING OF WINE

On December 27th, in the Roman Ritual there is the blessing of St John wine. Have your priest Bless wine on this day.  You use this wine to drink a toast  to St John on this day before dinner.  Here is how it it done:

When it is drunk on his Feast Day, we drink it before dinner as a toast to St. John. The Father of the house lifts his glass toward Mother and says, "I drink you the love of St. John." The Mother replies "I thank you for the Love of St. John" and then turns to the oldest child, lifts her glass, and says, "I drink you the love of St. John..." -- and on it goes down the line until each has been toasted.

Here is the blessing of the wine and how it is done:
BLESSING OF WINEon the Feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist (December 27)
At the end of the principal Mass on the feast of St. John, Apostle and Evangelist, after the last Gospel, the priest, retaining all vestments except the maniple, blesses wine brought by the people. This is done in memory and in honor of St. John, who drank without any ill effects the poisoned wine offered to him by his enemies.
P: Our help is in the name of the Lord.
All: Who made heaven and earth.
P: The Lord be with you.
All: May He also be with you.
Let us pray.
If it please you, Lord God, bless + and consecrate + this vessel of wine (or any other beverage) by the power of your right hand; and grant that, through the merits of St. John, apostle and evangelist, all your faithful who drink of it may find it a help and a protection. As the blessed John drank the poisoned potion without any ill effects, so may all who today drink the blessed
wine in his honor be delivered from poisoning and similar harmful things. And as they offer themselves body and soul to you, may they obtain pardon of all their sins; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
Lord, bless + this creature drink, so that it may be a health-giving medicine to all who use it; and grant by your grace that all who taste of it may enjoy bodily and spiritual health in calling on your holy name; through Christ our Lord.
All: Amen.
May the blessing of almighty God, Father, Son, + and Holy Spirit, come on this wine (or any other beverage) and remain always.
All: Amen.
It is sprinkled with holy water. If the blessing is given privately outside of Mass, the priest is vested in surplice and stole and performs the ceremony as given above.

The only known use of this blessing in Georgia will take place Saturday at the parish of St Francis de Sales 587 Landers Drive Mableton Ga 30126 after the 9:00 am high mass

ALTAR RAIL INSTALLED SAVANNAH DIOCESE

Altar rail being reinstalled

The below is from Father Mc Donald, pastor of St Josephs in Macon Ga (Savannah Diocese)

"It is finally happening and after 10 years ago having been removed, the altar railing is being restored to St. Joseph Church. We are using some of the original railing but new marble has been fabricated as well. There will be two gates in the center (which aren't quite ready) and one gate in the middle of both of our side chapels. Apart from the gates, it should be completed by Sunday or early next week before Christmas. What a nice Christmas gift for the parish!"

LATIN MASS ON TV

Una Voce is delighted to announce that Extraordinary Faith episode 3 will be airing next week on EWTN. The episode, filmed during a CMAA academic conference during October 2013, features the work of the CMAA and the wonderful legacy of Msgr. Richard Schuler and the Twin Cities Catholic Chorale at the Church of Saint Agnes in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

EWTN will be airing Episode 3 of Extraordinary Faith on all of their international English program feeds on Monday, December 15 at 3:00 AM & 6:30 PM Eastern time in the U.S. and Canada. Live streaming is available for free on EWTN's website.

UK & Ireland: 2:00 AM, 10:30 AM, & 9:00 PM
Africa/Asia: 3 airings; see EWTN's page for your time zone
Asia-Pacific: 2 airings; see EWTN's page for your time zone

More information on the episode, including behind-the-scenes photos, is available here. 

RULES ON WOMEN WEARING VEILS AT MASS

Veiled Women at the Altar Rail

UNA VOCE INTERNATIONAL ISSUES WHITE PAPER ON HEAD COVERINGS AT THE LATIN MASS

To read the official position paper by Una Voce on the history customs and rules of head coverings for women and men in Church, please click  here:

http://www.unavoce.ru/pdf/FIUV_PP/FIUV_PP22_Head_Covering.pdf

RORATE CAELI MASS ATLANTA DIOCESE

Rorate Caeli Mass Said By Candlelight

The only known Rorate Caeli  Mass in the state of Georgia will be at St Francis de Sales in Mableton on Saturday morning December 13th at 7:00 am. The church is lit only by candle light. This mass is said before sunrise and ends as the sun comes up.  During the mass sun light gradually fills the church to correspond to the prayers of the mass. This will be a high mass.

For directions click here:

www.francisdesales.com