Fifty-six were at Mass this morning (or so Fr counted the communicants), for Tasmania's one and only monthly Traditional Mass. A good development: another priest attended the liturgy, which bodes well. Yours truly, meanwhile, had a bird's eye view of the sacred action, since I was singing with the choir in the loft at the west end. Tony ably led us in the chant, and with him and Simon strongly singing at my ears, I was able to sing up loud and not so often out of tune; the ladies did a great job of the Alleluia also, which was their special piece.
It must have all been quite decent, since Fr, turning from the altar after the end of the Mass, thanked all and sundry and us in particular for chanting the Adoro te (which was our offertory extra). For the record, as well as the full Gregorian propers, Mass XI (Orbis factor), Credo I, the Adoro te, Dona nobis pacem (as a round for Soprano, Tenor and Bass), and finally "We stand for God" were sung - the last being a good hymn for the Church Militant marching as to war!
Fr swiftly drew our attention to to-day's sobering Gospel, St Luke xix, 41-47a (and implicitly to its aptly-matching Epistle, I Cor. x, 6b-13): we are heedless of the signs of the times, as once in the days of Noah men ate and drank irregardless while the Ark was a-building, and the Flood came and drowned them all. Our Lord weeps over us for not recognizing the time of our visitation - at Holy Mass, let us make reparation by this greatest of all sacrifices, for our sins and those of all mankind, praying that the grace God rains ever upon all may not be bestowed in vain. Jesus, mercy, Mary, pray!
Brethren: We should not covet evil things as they also coveted. Neither become ye idolaters, as some of them, as it is written: The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play. Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed fornication, and there fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Neither let us tempt Christ: as some of them tempted, and perished by the serpents. Neither do you murmur: as some of them murmured, and were destroyed by the destroyer. Now all these things happened to them in figure: and they are written for our correction, upon whom the ends of the world are come. Wherefore he that thinketh himself to stand, let him take heed lest he fall. Let no temptation take hold on you, but such as is human. And God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that which you are able: but will make also with temptation issue, that you may be able to bear it.
At that time: When Jesus drew near to Jerusalem, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying: If thou also hadst known, and that in this thy day, the things that are to thy peace; but now they are hidden from thy eyes. For the days shall come upon thee, and thy enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and straiten thee on every side, and beat thee flat to the ground, and thy children who are in thee: and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone: because thou hast not known the time of thy visitation. And entering into the temple, he began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought, saying to them: It is written: My house is the house of prayer. But you have made it a den of thieves. And he was teaching daily in the temple.
(I had a distraction at the Epistle - for its opening phrase, Fratres: Non simus concupiscentes malorum, I mentally mistranslated as "Brethren: be not lovers of apples"! Then again, it was an apple that started all the trouble in the first place...)
After the Missa cantata (which lasted just over an hour, including the final hymn), Fr announced that henceforth he would arrive at 11 am to hear confessions - a great and welcome improvement, since till now he's arrived only shortly before the advertised start time for Mass, which has started ten minutes late given the line of penitents waiting for him...
It was nice to have lunch with my hosts (since I drove down yester-day and stayed overnight with friends), and other friends new and old, including the two priests. We were regaled with tales of how well Campion College is doing in Sydney, and jokes about how many seminarians His Lordship of Lismore (former priest of this Archdiocese) now has - as mentioned before, how curious he has a dozen, and His Grace of Hobart, none.
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