Society of St. Gregory the Great |

Dr. Jay Boyd – 06.24.08

BEND – More than 80 worshipers attended a High Mass in the Gregorian Rite at St. Francis of Assisi Church here last weekend. The term “Gregorian Rite” refers to what was formerly called the Tridentine Mass, or Traditional Latin Mass, and more recently, the “extraordinary form” of the Mass.

Pope Benedict liberalized the celebration of the extraordinary form last September in his Apostolic Letter Summorum Pontificum, which lifted the restrictions on celebrations of Mass according to the Roman Missal of Blessed Pope John XXIII.

Mass in the Gregorian rite is offered monthly at St. Francis of Assisi, organized by the Society of St. Gregory the Great, a local organization of lay Catholics which aims to assist the Church in recovering an appropriate understanding of and appreciation for the sacred.

Cardinal Darío Castrillón Hoyos, president of the Pontifical Commission Ecclesia Dei in Rome, declared at a press conference in London on June 14 that Pope Benedict wishes this form of the Mass to be available in all parishes, calling it a gift of God and a treasure.

Many of those attached to the Gregorian Rite find that it enhances their sense of reverence for the Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist.

Before the Mass, a lecture and discussion on Summorum Pontificum was held at the St. Francis Catholic Center. It was the first in a series of catechetical presentations on the older form of Mass and the sacraments. These lectures will be presented before each of the upcoming monthly Sunday Masses. About 30 people attended Sunday’s presentation.

At Sunday’s Mass, first Communion went to Anna-Marie Daggett of La Pine, using the older rite for the sacrament. Following the older form, Anna Marie recited the Apostles’ Creed and the Lord’s Prayer to show her readiness for reception of the sacrament.

At the end of Mass, the Blessed Sacrament was exposed for a brief period of adoration, in keeping with Pope Benedict’s request of paying special honor to the Sacred Heart of Jesus during the month of June. The congregation chanted the Litany of the Sacred Heart, and made acts of reparation and consecration to the Sacred Heart. Benediction concluded the liturgy. The next Gregorian Rite Mass in Bend is scheduled for 4 p.m. on July 13.