 | Preserving an ancient tradition |
 Imprimer |
| Auteur : TradNews |
| Sujet : Preserving an ancient tradition |
| Date : 2003-07-01 23:24:26 |
Source: http://www.world-spectator.com/archives.43.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Preserving an ancient tradition By Kevin Weedmark The small building is filled with worshippers kneeling in silence. The silence is broken as the mass begins and the ancient words of the service fill the church with an ancient language. The Latin tridentine mass is chanted by the bishop, two priests and the congregation. The words are the same ones you would have heard in a typical Catholic parish 500 years ago, or 50 years ago, before Vatican II and the Catholic Church's historic move toward celebrating mass in the vernacular. The chanting, the candles, the sound of bells and the aroma of incense fill the space as the elaborate ceremonial of the mass continues. The occasion is the a major milestone in the life of the congregation of Our Lady of Fatima Church at Welwyn. Last Monday, Bishop Tissier de Malleries was in Welwyn to preside at the blessing of the congregation's new church. The service also included confirmation and first communion for some members of the congregation. After years of meeting in living rooms and family rooms, members of the small congregation have a church to call their own. The 25 or 30 people who make up the congregation of Our Lady of Fatima Church are proud of the work that went into their church building, and they say all the hard work paid off when the bishop blessed their church. "It was a reward for everything we've done to build this church," said Darren Green, one member of the congregation. "It's hard to express how much of ourselves has gone into that building. It's been our lives for the last three years - not going on holidays, spending days off working on the church. But it's all worthwhile." After years of meeting in homes, members of the local congregation decided they needed a church building. They purchased the former Odd Fellows Hall in Welwyn in 1993, moved it onto a new basement in July, 1995, built an addition to the building, and have been working on the building, inside and out, since then. Almost all of the work was carried out by volunteers. Fr. James Dolan is one of the priests from Winnipeg who travels to Welwyn twice a month to celebrate mass. He said the blessing of the new church was an important step in the small congregation's life. "It's a very special occasion, because it means the spiritual transformation of the building as it stands into an official church. It receives a solemn blessing from the bishop. Compare it to a young man and a young woman who solemnize their relationship in a marriage before God." The church building is also an important point of focus for the congregation, he said. "For those who have no chapel but want the real sacraments of the church, mass has been offered in barns, in people's houses, in all sorts of places. But some people may feel better worshipping God in a church." While Dolan says the traditionalist movement is growing, its adherents are spread thinly. From Winnipeg, Dolan and one other priest serve missions from Regina in the west to Dryden, Ont. in the east. Welwyn is by far the smallest centre the priests travel to, but Dolan says that, in proportion to population, the movement is stronger in rural areas like Welwyn than in the cities. The people who belong to this small church believe they are preserving true Catholic worship. They point out that, in 1570, Pope Pius V declared that the Latin mass should remain the eternal and unchanging liturgy of the Catholic Church. They're part of a worldwide movement, the Society of Pope Pius X, founded by Archbishop Marcel Lefebvre in 1970. After consecrating four bishops, including Bishop de Malleries, Lefebvre was excommunicated by Pope John Paul II in 1988. Lefebvre formed his traditionalist movement over objections to changes in the Catholic liturgy and in the church's moral teaching. The local group of traditionalist Catholics has been meeting since 1977, when traditionalist priests began travelling to the Rocanville-Welwyn area to celebrate the historical Latin mass in people's homes. "There were enough of us here who understood what the society is trying to do that the congregation came together, and it's grown over the years," says Green. He said he and other members of Our Lady of Fatima Church believe the new Catholic mass has changed too much from the traditional Latin mass. "Some people ask, 'why Latin?' For one thing, it's an eternal and unchanging language, and it allows us to set aside the worship of God in a language different than the vernacular. If I go to another country, where another language is spoken, I can follow the mass entirely." In his sermon on Monday, the bishop emphasized the significance of the occasion. "It is a great pleasure for me to be with you to bless this church," Bishop de Malleries told the congregation. "What a grace to possess a true church. We have converted (this building) into a Catholic Church. This is a victory for the Catholic Church. "This is a magnificent building for the Catholic Church. Let us thank God and thank the people who have done this beautiful work. Pray to God that many blessings come through this church. Let us rejoice in this beautiful church." The bishop also called on his followers to continue their fight against modernism in all its forms. "We don't believe in this modernism," he told the congregation. "Let us fight on. Let us fight for the faith. Do not be led by the new religion. "We must be prepared to be persecuted for our true Catholic faith. Let us be strong, courageous in this fight." Fr. Dolan sees a lot of potential for the little church in Welwyn to grow. "I can definitely see it growing," he said. The families are young and there are many children here. "I hope that more people who want to worship God according according to the eternal and ancient rites of the Catholic Church will join us. "I see in the newspaper that there are a number of churches in the area that are closing, and this one in just opening. I think that's an indication that God is blessing us." |
