Low Sunday
Young Adult Get-Together
This summer, we are hosting a young adult get-together. We hope to draw Traditional Catholics from across the country. Visit our event website for more information.
YAG Cincinnati Website
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Fr. McKenna chants the Exsultet during the Easter Vigil
Bp. Dolan Blesses the Baptismal Font
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The altar, as decorated for Laetare Sunday.
The altar, as on Passion Sunday
The altar, as on Palm Sunday
Our Altar of Repose
And Finally, Our Easter Altar
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Daily Sermons
April 11 – Bp. Dolan – Linen
April 13 – Bp. Dolan – The Sacrament of Mary
April 15 – Bp. Dolan – Holy Saturday
April 17 – Bp. Dolan – Easter Monday
April 18 – Bp. Dolan – Easter Tuesday
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✠ The Bishop’s Corner ✠
The Eastern Church calls the Easter Octave “Bright Week,” and I hope yours was indeed. It’s usually a good time for a little rest and relaxation after the exertions of Holy Week and Easter. Thank you for exerting yourself these wonderful days. The daily High Mass continued in church.
Easter week always carries with it much catch up work to be done, and this continues through Low Week. But the work of intercessory prayer and perpetual praise and the Holy Sacrifice is never done. Thank you for your participation in this. Tuesday, the Greater Litanies, we chant the Litany of the Saints in procession to avert the just wrath of God, which seems to hover more closely of late. Wednesday we honor the Mother of Good Counsel, who particularly provides for our temporal needs at St. Gertrude the Great. Pray with us?
Answered prayers include the health of Beckie Mat-tingly. She had the prayers for the dying two or three times lately, but Fr. McGuire found her on Thursday riding a bicycle at her rehab facility! Fr. Gerald Kasik was dying of cancer last Fall, but offered Easter Mass for his devoted flock in Montana. He sends his thanks for your prayers, and begs you to continue them.
I’m praying today is not so much of a “Low” Sunday as usual, given the very high attendance (best in many years!) we had for Good Friday and Easter Sun-day. It is the Mass that matters. May this conversion be the lasting fruit of Lent for many souls, many families. May they love Mary, and the Mass.
Thank you for your generous response to my appeal for Mass stipends. We now have a good amount for the coming weeks. We also receive with gratitude Mass-es from all over to be sent to the missions. Our poor priests depend on them. Last week we sent out about 150. The technical problems of sending money out of the country only increase, but we persevere in this act of charity.
Fr. Cekada happily passed Easter Week posting YouTube choir promos and clips of some of the beautiful Masses and music of the season. The response has been encouraging. Someone wrote to inquire about the semi-audible private prayers at the altar and Father responded: “It’s supposed to be like that—whispered prayers from the priest at the altar, authentic trad congregational noises from the pews: black lung-type hacking fits, babies tap dancing on pews and nuclear kneeler drops.” I love the “nuclear kneelers!” Not a Sunday goes by without an attack. Easter Sunday’s ambient noise was amplified by sugar crazed children at the later Masses. Noisy, but a wonderful sign of hope that there is a “next generation” at St. Gertrude.
Our up and coming young people were certainly in evidence during Holy Week, decorating altars and sanctuaries as well as serving, and learning to serve, and singing so expertly. Very encouraging! Now if only they’d all start cooking, too, we’d be in like Flynn!
Oh yes, we had one walking wounded on Easter. Fr. McKenna was kindly serving as acolyte for Vespers that evening, and somehow a bit of his candle spilled into his eye. There was some irritation and redness, but nothing more. Thank you St. Lucy! The bird did not fare so well. The Fathers were waiting for me Wednesday evening for dinner after the High Mass, when Puccini appeared with an Easter offering. He deposited the still live bird in the convento, and then flopped down on the floor, the very picture of detachment. The bird flew about a bit, but then met its end. Puccini is a remarkably quick cat on occasion. Ars Gratia Artis is ever his motto.
Fr. McKenna has gone on to his flock in North Dakota, Fr. McGuire to Milwaukee. Fr. Lehtoranta and the small fervent congregation at St. Hugh did everything for Holy Week, including the Maundy. The 13 Poor Men almost filled the one aisle of the chapel. Fr. Nkamuke made it to all three missions, and says that if he had a car he could do it more often. Some of you have kindly donated to this cause. He’s up to about six or seven mission stations in his indefatigable zeal, and hopes to visit us soon. Fr. Damin in Argentina lives from hand to mouth but has had a nibble from a young Pius X priest who would like to leave in order to be a logical Catholic, as some indeed have. Please pray for them all, and more.
Great St. George of Palestine pray for you, and protect the remaining Christians of the Middle East!
–Bp. Dolan