Many Grotto-goers know Fr. Andrew Bloomfield - son of Deacon Richard Bloomfield, and wife Debbie. Fr. Bloomfield celebrated his first TLM at St. Josaphat (just to clarify - it was his first in metro Detroit). The two are seen above.
Below are some pictures which are in a larger album online you can view. The Mass took place on October 7th. I've been very short on time and am just now posting them after Debbie sent to me over a week ago.
You also get a good glimpse inside of St. Josaphat with these pictures. Prior to Summorum Pontificum, while several parishes had petitioned the archdiocese, this was the only parish in Detroit granted the Indult, or permission to celebrate the Tridentine locally. If we move forward a year or two down the road when priests and servers are fully trained, I think we will find a dozen or more parishes in the AOD offering the Old Mass.
I myself experienced my first TLM at St. Josaphat on Ascension Thursday this year. Despite some apprehensions caused by common misperceptions, I dove headfirst into the unknown. That Mass opened my eyes widely as I followed along in the booklets provided. The depth of spirituality of the usus antiquior found in the words lifted that veil of apprehension and left me deeply attached to it in a single Mass. The beauty of chant by Music Director Wassim Sarweh lifted my thoughts to heaven. I had heard him for the first time at the Call to Holiness when he provided music and chant at Our Lady of Mt. Carmel in Wyandotte.
A sense of humility and sacrifice are found throughout the Tridentine Mass. With the 1960's revolution against any and all authority (the prideful opposite of humility), it is clear to me why so many loath it's return and have fought against it. This sense of sacrifice and humility are things unnecessarily missing in the celebration of many Novus Ordo Masses today. Some of that is due to poor translation of the New Mass which continues to be fine tuned over time.
It is taking time to learn how to follow in a regular missal and how to tell what is happening when since much is silent. However, this is a normal, minor, learning curve for anything that is new to us. I'll trade-off the inconveniences of having to follow along in reading vs. strictly listening as we do in the vernacular Novus Ordo. The depth of the prayers is a worthy trade-off.
In that last photo at the lower, right-hand corner you see a cloth draped over the altar rail. Fr. Perrone spoke about the altar rail cloth this in his column this weekend in the Grotto News, and provided some practical tips for reception of Holy Communion.
You can see more photos of Fr. Bloomfield's Mass (click here).
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