Point of information

Does anyone know how I can contact Iosephus about getting an invitation to Salus Animarum Suprema Lex?

The Visitation

Concelebrated Pontifical High Mass and Outdoor Procession today. The principal celebrant and homilist was the Lord Bishop of Jamaica. The rector of the Church of St Mary Magdalene was deacon and a female member of the Society of Mary was subdeacon. Three priests from St Thomas's, Huron Street, concelebrated, the interim superior of the SOM Ward of Our Lady of Hope, the chaplain of Royal St George's College, and another priest whom I could not identify who was one of the inductees into the Society.

Three Marian motets by Willan were sung by the Gallery Choir before Mass. The music of the Mass was listed as Missa Quarta by Palestrina, but as it was set to the Prayer Book words, I imagine it was in fact a Willan setting. The Gloria was sung antiphonally to the Missa Kyrie Deus Sempiterne and the Credo was denoted "Authentic Tone." A new statue of Our Lady of Viggiano, commissioned by a parishioner from Viggiano, Italy, and executed by the sexton, was blessed by the bishop.

The white and blue High Mass set was worn, minus maniples, and splendid gold copes were donned at the end for the procession down Bathurst street. The bishop shouted the Ecce Agnus Dei over the singing of the Agnus Dei, and sang the final blessing (after the reciting of the Regina Coeli). Over lunch, I got to kiss the bishop's ring, of course.

"It's a penis, but you can eat it."

The sequel to this post. Sorry for my absence. School is out as of today, and tomorrow I'll report back on the Lord Bishop of Jamaica's Solemn High Mass of the Visitation and the Outdoor Procession at the Church of St Mary Magdalene.

And then what happened?

Did you know that Holy Trinity, Trinity Square was originally a product of the Tractarian movement? I sure didn't. It may be one of the most (ahem) cutting-edge parishes in the diocese now, but at its inception it was the only parish in the diocese with weekly Holy Communion, free pews, and a surpliced choir.

(The first full-blown Ritualist parish in the diocese was, of course, St Matthias, Bellwoods, which itself has seen a great deal of change).

There have been other casualties. When my own parish priest celebrated her first Mass as a newly ordained priest in the 1980s at St Aidan's in the Beaches, it was a Solemn High Mass ad orientem. Much has changed.

A creepily funny treat to make up for my absence

Induction

Today I was inducted as a member of the Society of Mary at the second Saturday of the May Festival of Our Lady. St Thomas's, Huron Street hosted the Solemn High Mass and Procession, followed by a luncheon and ending with Rosary and Benediction.

The Mass was a setting by Giles Bryant, and was sung by the choir of Royal St George's College (the choir school of the Cathedral Church of St James), which was quite a treat. It ended with a congregational procession to "The happy birds Te Deum sing," and the May Crowning.

The rosary was chanted antiphonally by gender, and I regret to say that the hymn tunes at Benediction were not the proper plainsong ones.

At the offertory, I submitted my new parishioner form for St Thomas's. My first Sunday there will be the Patronal Festival in July.

Marian hymnody AND dancing boys?

I'm off to the second installment of the May Festival today, so in honour thereof, here's a true foretaste of the banquet. Tip of the biretta (erm, sorry, coif) to Michael at Synaxis.

An Eastertide resurrection

The former Sarisburium is back as Synaxis, for commentary from an Orthodox perspective.