I will be in Washington D.C. for the first Latin Mass offered at the National Basilica in over 45 years. You should plan on reading this blog on April 24th and April 25th, for photos, commentary, and other liturgical glimpses. Below is the announcement from the Paulus Institute.

The Paulus Institute invites you to participate in an historic liturgical event in honor of Pope Benedict XVI, under the theme of ?The Spirit of the Liturgy.? We have arranged to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Pope Benedict?s inauguration with a Pontifical Solemn Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine in Washington DC, April 24, 2010, at 1 pm. The Mass will be celebrated by a prince of the Church, the Vatican prelate Dar?o Cardinal Castrill?n Hoyos. His Eminence is President Emeritus of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei and served under both Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI. The Mass will be offered in the Extraordinary Firm (Traditional Latin Mass), as encouraged by Pope John Paul and Pope Benedict. It will be the first such Mass said at the High Altar of the Shrine in nearly half a century. The priests of the Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter will assist at the Mass. The National Shrine is the largest Catholic church in the Western Hemisphere and among the ten largest in the world. The Shrine seats 3,500, with a total capacity of 6,500. We will be announcing the Mass to Catholics not only regionally, but throughout the Eastern U.S. and beyond. To honor His Holiness Pope Benedict on this special day, we are especially encouraging those Catholics to come who may not already know this Mass. In particular, we are inviting young adults and university students, whom Pope Benedict has recognized are attracted to the Mass in the Extraordinary form. Consistent with the mission of The Paulus Institute, this Mass is an activity undertaken with our signature objective: to have broad impact in the Catholic Church, as our patron St. Paul inspires. The Mass is presented for all the Catholic Faithful. We strive to enhance the appreciation of the Mass as Holy Sacrifice, to build respect for the Holy Eucharist, and to solidify belief in the Real Presence. As Pope Benedict has written? ?The Church stands and falls with the Liturgy. When the adoration of the divine Trinity declines, when the faith no longer appears in its fullness on the Liturgy of the Church, when man?s words, his thoughts, his intentions are suffocating him, then faith will have lost the place where it is expressed and where it dwells. For that reason, the true celebration of the Sacred Liturgy is the centre of any renewal of the Church whatever.?

The Mass, as you read, will be offered by a Cardinal. So, yes, there is a definite possibility that I will receive a miter-nod, rather than bestow one. Will I be seeing any of you there?

Tags: Latin Mass, News and Media

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