of the Roman Rite) offered at St. Joseph’s
Church at the request of Bishop Hubbard. We are pleased to have you join us in this ancient form of worship and invite you
to come back often. You are about to participate in a mode of worship that, until 1970, was in universal usage throughout
the Roman Catholic Church for nearly 500 years.
This form of the liturgy conforms to the 1962 Missal, Ritual and liturgical calendar.
It is being offered as part of the living tradition of the Church in accordance with Pope Benedict
XVI’s 2007 Motu Proprio, “Summorum Pontificum.”
Throughout the history of the Church, diverse rites (Byzantine, Ambrosian, Dominican, Carmelite,
Maronite, and Roman) have been used to express the Sacred Mysteries of our Faith. Today's Mass, called Tridentine because
it was codified shortly after the Council of Trent, exists now as an additional expression of the one Roman Rite. Scholars
have traced its roots to the very foundation of the Church in Rome!
For those Catholics who have never before seen a traditional Mass—this is going to be a radically
different experience from that to which you have become accustomed. We ask you not to judge this form of the Mass by the more
contemporary liturgical principles—external participation, or vocal dialogue. Participation will be more interior, but
no less real; a turning of the mind and heart to Our Eucharistic Lord. You will notice the priest, together with the people,
reverently facing in the same direction; toward Christ on the High Altar. The sacred prayers will be said in timeless Latin;
people will be able to follow the English translation in their missals. The music too may be foreign to your ears. Let it
speak to you as a form of prayer. Holy Communion is received at the Sanctuary Rail while kneeling (unless you are unable to
do so).
Thank you for coming. You are welcome here.
Experience has shown us that a newcomer needs to return for several consecutive
Sundays before all the richness of this Rite becomes apparent. May Our Lord bless you abundantly for your devotion
to the Holy Mass.
