As a long time member of STA parish, I attended the 9:00 am Novus Ordo Mass this past Sunday. It was so exciting to attend a Sunday Mass again at STA after four long years! I saw many familiar faces in the congregation. There was great joy in seeing the beauty of the Church once again. I am so grateful to be able to receive Communion again kneeling at the Communion rail….a true gift! As much as the Church and people were all so familiar to me, there was something new in the air. This is a new community, familiar but different, different in a good way! The traditional liturgy that was faithfully maintained by STA parishioners and their pastors over the years has become the seed of a new beginning that will grow and be stronger than the original STA parish. We are all thankful to Bishop Matano for creating this opportunity for the Latin Mass Community to grow and spread its goodness throughout the diocese. I truly believe this new model of a Latin Mass Community will not be unique to just our diocese but will be a model for other dioceses through the country to emulate.

Here are a few photos from the Novus Ordo Mass.

I was so pleasantly surprised today that I just have to share my experience. I attended St Jerome’s Church, East Rochester, today for the first time. Fr. Leone presided over a very reverent Mass. The pleasant surprise was at the end of Mass. After Fr. Leone left the altar and after the last hymn, the entire congregation knelt together in prayerful silence for a minute or two before leaving the Church. It reminded me of the many reverant actions and gestures associated with the Mass that have been lost over the years. God Bless the parishioners of St. Jerome’s for preserving this wonderful tradition.

The Rochester NY Chesterton Society is hosting its 8th annual conference this Saturday Oct. 1st at St. John Fisher College (Murphy Hall – Coleman Chapel) 9:00 am to 3:00 pm. The following speakers will present:
Joseph Pearce, noted author
Dale Ahlquist, Am. Chesterton Society
Dr. Tom Martin, Philosophy, Univ. Nebraska
Kevin O’Brien, Theater of the Word, Inc.

Donation is $10 (Students free). Lunch is available.
This event is enlightening, entertaining, and sure to refresh your spirits! Come for part or all of the
day.
Questions? rochesterton@hotmail.com

Chesterton Conference - Sat Oct 1st

I suppose many readers of this blog have visited or at least heard of the Basilica of Our Lady of Victory in Lackawana (Buffalo), NY. It was built by Father Nelson Baker. The Basilica is the crowning jewel of the “City of Charity” that Father Baker established in Lackawana. Father Baker has recently been declared a Servant of God by Pope Benedict, the first step towards sainthood. I recently visited Our Lady of Victory. The Basilica is beautiful to say the least. It speaks of God and the heavenly kingdom. If you have never visited, do so! There is also a small museum dedicated to Father Baker’s life in the basement of the Basilica. I saw something there that left a huge impression on me, even more, I believe, than the beautiful Basilica. It was the simple prayer notebooks that Father Baker always carried with him whereby he would write the names of whomever he was asked to pray for by the people he met during the day. Father Baker would write the name of the person in his notebook and later that evening, he would check-off each name after he had prayed for that person. This practice is a great example of the importance, obligation, and seriousness of praying for each other. It made me aware of how lacking my own prayers are for my fellow man, for our Bishop, priests, family, friends, the sick, the lonely, our enemies, the list can go on and fill a few notebooks for sure!  Dear God, may your priestly servant, Father Baker, one day be declared a Saint of your Church. Father Baker, please pray for us!  To learn more about Father Baker click Here

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Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha parish in Irondequoit is “celebrating” its one year anniversary with a “birthday party” on Pentecost Sunday. Father Tanck wants the parish to worship together, so he has spent thousands of dollars renting a huge 1000 seat tent on the grounds of Christ the King Church complete with tables and chairs for a one-time Mass tomorrow. This is despite the fact that the parish has a 1000 seat St. Thomas the Apostle church that sits empty simply because Fr. Tanck doesn’t want to use it! STA also has a vast convenient parking lot as compared to the deplorable parking situation at CTK. I guess the old adage is true that it is easy to spend other people’s money! Is Father Tanck celebrating the destruction of five viable parishes? Is he celebrating two unused but “open” churches? Is he celebrating the fiscal “crisis” of the parish as described in his letter to parishioners? Or maybe he is celebrating the 1500 + parishioners that have disappeared in less than a year? In a few weeks the parish will lose two of its priests, Fr. Leone and Fr. Horan with no announced replacements. The parish is over $100,000 short of its CMA goal. Regarding Pentecost, Fr. Tanck stated in the parish bulletin “It is the same Spirit that fell upon us and formed us into a new community of disciples a year ago when we became Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha Parish.” A “spirit” sure fell upon Irondequoit a year ago but I am not sure it was the Holy one!

Fr. Tanck's Tent

St Thomas the Apostle Church (1000 seats) Fr. Tanck refuses to hold weekend Masses

Welcome to the new “vibrant” parish of Irondequoit! This Holy Week Fr Tanck invites parishioners to gas up their cars and travel around town to all the various services. To help parishioners find their way around town, a handy map and directions are provided in this week’s bulletin! The parish priests must have gotten tired of moving from church to church so now all the parishioners can have their turn at driving all around town too! The poor parishioners, however, will have to contend with driving in the dark, struggling to find a parking space, and a packed pew (if they are lucky). This is the wonderful change that Fr. Tanck promised them?

Irondequoit Driving Instructions

In just the first few months of operation, Fr. Tanck has declared a financial crisis with his newly created parish in Irondequoit (see his letter to parishioners below).
Irondequoit parishioners were promised a “strong, new, vibrant” parish but in reality they are left with a destabilized faith community that will continue to see more downsizing and decline (and lost souls) in the years to come. Fr. Tanck and the IPPG committee ignored their own finance committee recommendations. The IPPG finance committee had analyzed every parish combination scenario in terms of financial viability. The scenarios that included St. Thomas the Apostle were always determined to be the most financially sound. However, the DoR and their proxy Fr. Tanck were determined to dismantle the orthodox parish of STA because it didn’t go along with their liberal agenda. Fr. Tanck is facing a CMA shortfall of over $100,000 and declining weekly contributions. It is fair to say that there are many unhappy Catholics in Irondequoit! Unfortunately, they will have to continue to deal with the painful reality of these decisions for years to come.

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The Boston Herald is reporting today that the Vatican has ruled “that three western Massachusetts churches closed by the Springfield Diocese should remain open, parishioners learned today, including one that parishioners have occupied in protest for two years.” The article goes on to state, “With similar rulings on churches in the Allentown Diocese in Pennsylvania, the Massachusetts decisions could signal a new Vatican policy that makes it tougher for local bishops to close and sell church buildings, said Peter Borre of the Council of Parishes, a group formed to fight church closings….The principal item in the job description of the bishop is the salvation of souls,” Borre said. “And you do not achieve that by destroying the presence of the Catholic church in a diocese.”

Maybe there is hope for the DoR parishes under siege by our Bishop.

The full article can be read here:

This is just a reminder that Fr. Leone will be celebrating Mass at St. Thomas the Apostle tomorrow (Sat), January 22, at 4:30 PM. The Mass will fulfill your Sunday obligation. It is a Mass for Life hosted by the Knights of Columbus, Msgr Richard K. Burns chapter. If you can make it, please support this beleaguered parish with your attendance.

OK, folks the following are the Saints pictured in the mural posted previously. No one got them all correct but I am still going to enjoy a loaf of Monk’s raisin bread this week!

Bottom Row (l to r): St. John Neuman, St. Padre Pio, Blessed Jacinta Marto and Blessed Francisco Marto, Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, St. Theresa Benedicta

Middle Row (l to r): St. Katherine Drexel, Blessed Miguel Pro, St. Gemma Galgan, St. Maximillian Kolbe, Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha,

Top Row (l to r): St. Therese of Liseux, St. Charles Lwanga, St. Maria Faustina

Note: St. Charles Lwanga was one of the Uganda Martyrs. His relics are enshrined in the altar of St. Thomas the Apostle Church in Irondequoit.

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