Hartford- A Small but growing group of Catholics in Connecticut are refusing to turn their backs on the Latin Mass.
The Mass-celebrated in Latin and widely known for it's style of having the Mass celebrant face the altar (With his back to the congregation) - is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of every month, at 4 pm, at Our Lady of Sorrows Parish in Hartford.
Last Sunday, the gathering celebrated it's 10th anniversary with a special program that featured guest speaker William Mara, a retired professor of philosophy at Fordham University in New York.
He said the enthusiasts of the "Latin Mass," an inaccurate term commonly used to refer to what is officially known as the Tridentine Mass, have been unfairly criticized as stubborn and nostalgic for their devotion to the rite. Many critics have charged that, in the Tridentine Mass, the priest, "Turns his back" on his congregation.
"He does not turn his back on us; he leads us," Mara retorted.
Council of Trent
The Tridentine Rite is the celebration of the Mass in accord with the pre-Vatican II Roman Missal and the official directive of the council of Trent from 1563, according to "The New Concise Catholic Dictionary," published by Twenty Third Publications in Mystic, Conn.
In 1963, the Catholic Church began an oficial revision of the rite to renew more active participation of those gathered for eucharistic worship. The result was the Roman Missal that is used today.
In 1984, however, Pope John Paul II authorized the use of the Tridentine Mass in certain situations by those communities that still care deeply for it, according to the Catholic Dictionary.
About 200 to 300 Catholics have faithfully attended the Tridentine mass each month at Our Lady of Sorrows Church.
"The [Tridentine Rite], in a unique way employs majestic language, gestures, silences, fragrances, and sacred hymns," said mara. "Everyone of those things is calculated to lift our hearts up to God."
Robert Phillips, 56, of Hartford, a professor of philosophy at the University of Connecticut. said he has been attending the monthly Mass at Our Lady of Sorrows' for the past six years.
"I like that the priest and people face the altar together. There's a kind of God-centeredness about it," he said.
He further stated that the monthly Mass has attracted a broad cross section of people, including teenagers, the elderly and parents and their babies.
Phillips said that many of his students at Uconn have attended the Mass, and after enjoying the ceremony the first time, they have com back again and again.
"They're amazed by the beauty and reverence of the Mass. So it's even those who didn't have any exposure to the Mass in their childhood, who seem to love it and continue to come. It's gaining in popularity," he added.
LaSalette Father Jeffrey L'Arche, pastor of Immaculate Conception Parish and St. Anne Parish, both in Hartford, serves as the main celebrant of the Mass. He first became involved when the late Hartford Archbishop John F. Whealon, in 1985, searched for a priest who could celebrate the Tridentine Mass for Catholics in the archdiocese.
"I was enthused, so I contacted him," the priest recalled. "As a LaSalette priest, one of my missions is to help reconcile people to the church - people who feel separated, marginalized or distanced from the church.And I think a lot of people wanted this Mass, and felt bad that they weren't able to have one until that point."
Phillips thanked the late Archbishop Whealon for allowing the Mass in the archdiocese 10 years ago.
"I think even he was somewhat skeptical about it at first," Phillips remembered. "But then he came to a Mass at Sacred Heart Church in New Haven, and there were 1,000 people there. I think that, after he saw so much interest, he was really moved by it, and he gave an enthusiastic homily."
Sacred Heart Parish celebrates its Tridentine Mass every Sunday at 2 p.m.
