For me, it was a truly moving experience to participate in this form of the Mass as a cleric. I know how important devotion to the Five Holy Wounds has been to so many souls in the history of the church, and how this devotion was savagely removed from the lives of the English people by the Crown’s authority. To have this votive Mass celebrated again in the modern day is moving, because it is the recovery of a spiritual treasure that has been lost for so long, though beloved by so many.
It was an honor to participate in the first celebration of an Ordinariate Form of the liturgy which has been celebrated at Notre Dame Seminary. This is now part of the history of this venerable institution and I am grateful to have been part of it.
The Schola Cantorum of Notre Dame Seminary is committed to excellence in sacred music. Under the leadership of Max Tenney, the schola provided sacred music which comes from the English liturgical patrimony. The Kyrie was from William Byrd’s Mass for Three Voices. The remaining mass ordinary pieces were from the Missa de Sancta Maria Magdalena. The hymn at the offertory was “The Royal Banners Forward Go” from the 1940 Hymnal.
The sense of reverence you feel serving in this mass reflects the reality of the dignity of these sacred mysteries. Ad orientem liturgy is a part of the English Patrimony and the historic way of celebrating the Mass. I feel as if I enter more deeply into the sacred mysteries when I participate in the liturgy celebrated this way.
As a former Episcopalian, I am very comfortable with the sacred vernacular of “thees” and “thous” found in the Prayerbook tradition. It was easy to fall back into the familiar sacral language of prayer in the vernacular. This includes prayers such as the Prayer of Humble Access and the prayer of thanksgiving after communion.
I have missed the procession of the Book of the Gospels to the center of the nave. It is a meaningful tradition to me. It represents the Lord leaving the sanctuary of Heaven in his Incarnation to proclaim the Gospel to the people in their midst.
Many of the seminarians commented how reverent the liturgy was and how they noticed many elements that were similar to what is experienced in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, such as the option to proclaim the Last Gospel. It was also noticed how familiar many of the elements are from the Ordinary Form.
Benedict XVI’s apostolic constitution Anglicanorum Coetibus has left a lasting impression on me, particularly where it says in number III that the Catholic Church desires to “maintain the liturgical, spiritual and pastoral traditions of the Anglican Communion within the Catholic Church, as a precious gift nourishing the faith of the members of the Ordinariate and as a treasure to be shared.”
This is truly a treasure to be shared, and it was certainly shared with the seminarians of Notre Dame Seminary. I hope they will all carry the beauty of this liturgy forward, in their own ways, into their ars celebrandi in their future priestly ministry. I certainly intend to do this.
Benedict XVI also said in the motu proprio, Summorum Pontificum, which allowed for a wider celebration of what we now call the Extraordinary Form of the Mass, that “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too.” This is certainly true for all of us who now bring the sacredness of our heritage forward into the Catholic Church, in unity with the Chair of Saint Peter.
In closing, I want to ask for your prayers for me as I complete my theological studies and prepare for ordination as a priest of Jesus Christ. Pray that I will be a holy priest, become a saint, and embrace my participation in the sufferings of Christ that we experience in his Five Holy Wounds.
Our Lady of Walsingham, Pray For Us!
Saints Thomas Becket, Cuthbert, and John Henry Newman, Pray For Us!
About the author: Deacon Thomas Kennedy, 38, is a Transitional Deacon of the Diocese of Alexandria in Louisiana. He was born in West Monroe, Louisiana and studied history at Louisiana Tech University prior to entering seminary at Saint Joseph Seminary College in Covington, Louisiana. After graduating from Notre Dame Seminary with a Masters of Divinity, he will be ordained a priest on Saturday, May 22, 2021 at the Cathedral of Saint Francis Xavier in Alexandria, Louisiana and celebrate his First Solemn Mass of Thanksgiving at the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches, Louisiana.
More photos of the Mass of the Five Wounds can be found below. All photos are courtesy of Notre Dame Seminary and used with permission. Visit here for more information about Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans.