REPORT: Christ the King Solemn Latin Mass on Sunday Oct 25th, 2015 at Loretto Abbey Chapel.

Hello Everyone,

The St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir (SPGC) once again organized another beautiful and sacred Solemn Latin Mass in our Archdiocese of Toronto.

On this the Feast of Christ the King in the Extraordinary Form/Latin Mass calendar, and co-incidentally the 9th anniversary of the formation of the SPGC, we were blessed by the hospitality and generosity of the sisters of the Incarnate Word of Blessed Virgin Mary (IBVM) to have usage of their chapel, attached to Loretto Abbey Catholic Secondary School. Our Mass was 330pm in the afternoon this past Sunday, October 25th, 2015.

In preparation for this Mass, our servers met at St. Lawrence Martyr Catholic Church on the Friday evening prior, to go over their roles for the Mass. Practice went well, and all save our crucifer (due to work) were accounted for. With 7 servers in tow, including myself as First Acolyte and our Master of Ceremonies, we were organized and motivated to have a great Solemn Mass, fit with even torchbearers!!! In addition, some of these servers have had prior experience, be it assisting at St. Joseph Streetsville, St. Lawrence the Martyr, or other Latin Mass initiatives in Toronto.

As usual, the SPGC choir practiced after their 5:00pm Mass downtown at St. Patrick's Catholic Church, the Redemptorist Parish and the National Shrine Church of Canada for Our Lady of Perpetual Help. The 5pm vigil is their regular Mass, by the way, where they provide hymns for the liturgy, and chant or sing in Latin the major response parts of the Novus Ordo Mass.

As for the day of, we arrived at 2pm to prepare the chapel for Mass, and to go over roles for the liturgy. We had some interesting issues to contend with:

• Some liturgical equipment was not provided for us (e.g. a "triple chain" thurible, acolyte candles ...) or was more "modern" (a processional cross with a resurrected Jesus/"Resurrefix")  but thankfully, most equipment that was lacking, was supplied by the choir, as well as a few editions of my own I've payed personally for, to be able to assist the choir and anyone else I do the Latin Mass with. Whatever was not of usual, we used the chapel equipment just the same. Regardless, here's the setup of the liturgical equipment:

The acolyte candles, gracefully provided by St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir. There were none readily available at the chapel! 

The lavabo bowl, washing cruets, and towel (yes, a real towel) from the chapel. As for those fancy cruets and the communion paten, those are from my personal liturgical stockpile. 

This little incense boat was part of my liturgical collection to be used for Masses. It has a little gold-coloured spoon inside too. 

A side view of the sediliae, as well as bells, aspergillum and aspergillus, with single chain censer and stand, lavabo bowl and jug with a towel (that's all there was), provided by the chapel. 

This, my friends, is a beautiful wooden tabernacle, made by one of the choir members. Turns out they do not just sing you know. They bear many a talent to glorify the Lord. Best part is that it is light weight, and can be used for the Latin Masses, when needed to replace one, if the main tabernacle is off to the side, or if we cannot use one, regardless of reason. Also present is one of three altar cards, of the set owned by the choir. 

Voila! The complete credence table complete with additions of chalice with veil, the humeral veil, and the Epistolarium, either from the Choir or from our clergy who celebrated the Mass. 

The completed front altar, set up for the Latin Mass. Unfortunately we were not allowed to use the high altar, as this has been set up by the media company for the daily mass recordings. 

A final view of the sanctuary from afar, and the lovely stained glass window and sanctuary of the chapel. This chapel was built in 1950 prior to Vatican II, and despite small changes that were standard at that time of the Council (e.g removal of altar rails), much of this is untouched! Just looked at the wooden crucifix and the reredos in the back! 

• Space. Wow ... well this is a chapel, not a full size church, so processing was somewhat of a challenge. The side rows were maximum two normal people's width, making maneuvering a little challenging. This also was a smaller sanctuary than normal, and I personally found this a challenge. There was barely any space between me, my chair, and the sediliae in front of me, so much so getting up and down to kneel, meant hitting the wood of my chair. Ugh.  

• A new caveat: Since last year, the Archdiocese of Toronto's daily Mass recordings have moved from St. Basil's in University of Toronto, to the chapel of Loretto Abbey for Monday to Saturday (daytime) Mass. You can view it here online at https://www.youtube.com/ user/dailymass. However, for us, we were told NOT to move any major items. If we moved something minor, it was put back in place. Because of this, we had to opt NOT to use their still intact high altar, and instead use the Novus Ordo Altar for the Mass. Usually most churches do not have high altars anymore, or renovated to make them non-usable, so we were not bothered by this fact. 

The Mass


Prior to the Mass, laity were provided with booklets, which contained the Propers and liturgical readings for the Mass in Latin and English, along with a copy of the hymn, "Sweet Sacrament Divine," to encourage vocal participation in the Latin Mass. Here's some pictures of the booklet:

These booklets also contained commentary on the feast day, from a famous traditional book, The Liturgical Year, by Dom Prosper Gueranger. 

With all the preparation and last minute directions for the servers, now in their location of the Mass, we proceeded ahead with the sacred liturgy. For the Mass, our clergy, all priests experienced with carrying out the Extraordinary Form in our Diocese were:

1. Fr. Jean- Pierre Pilon, formally trained by Fraternal Society of St. Peter; pastor of the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary parish in Peterborough - Subdeacon (also, please see my January posting on his initiative, begun this year.)
2. Fr. Steven Szakaczki, Latin Mass Chaplain of the Archdiocese of Toronto, residing at St. Lawrence the Martyr - Deacon
3. Fr. Russell Ashe, Associate Latin Mass Chaplain working with Fr. Steven, assisting @ St. Lawrence the Martyr - Celebrant (Priest).

As for the Homily, this was said by our celebrant, Fr. Ashe. Between the echo-ey acoustics, being at the side vs. in front of Father, the good Father's accent (British?), and my poor sleeping habits, I'll admit that I do not remember the majority of the homily, but here's the small tidbits I remember, with links/additions where needed from sources, such as papal documents:

• Father began the Homily with a quote from Scripture, when Christ is being magnified in the Transfiguration on Mount Tabor, and God speak of him as in Luke 9:35: "....  “This is my Son, my Chosen; listen to him!” God clearly indicates the authority of His Divine Son in this passage. 
• Father than continued on to explain the origins of the feast day of Christ the King, in how it was established by Pope Pius XI in 1929, in the encyclical Quas Primas. 

• Part of the reason for Pope Pius XI releasing the exhortation, and establishing the feast day, was to combat religious laicism in society and the Church: whereby people would not acknowledge the Kingship of Christ as lord, or any God for that matter. This Feast day was to make public pronouncement in the Church, of the Lord as our Saviour, but also our Divine King whose kingdom is in Heaven. 

• Father also mentioned St. Joseph in the capacity of Christ the King. We do not usually connect kingship with St. Joseph normally, as we usually acknowledge him as St. Joseph the Worker. However, a father in a family relationship is a "king" of sorts. He is the natural leader; he rebukes, chastises, but he also loves and serves those whom are in his servitude or under is governance. Christ's Kingship is exactly like that, as being God Made Flesh, whereby like God Jesus is not a tyrant ruler judging us, but He is the Divine Lord and Father, rebuking, chastising when necessary, but also loving and leading us so that way we are led to proper governance, and proper salvation to Him. 

• In a way, we all share in the kingship of the Lord. Father Ashe reminded us of a particular portion of Vatican II, from the decree APOSTOLICAM ACTUOSITATEM, that  "...  the laity likewise share in the priestly, prophetic, and royal office of Christ and therefore have their own share in the mission of the whole people of God in the Church and in the world." (AA, 2)

• I also think that Father touched upon a point I remember from one of years' past Masses on Christ the King, the concept of self-governing one and rebelling against the King. When one accepts the "kingship" of self or the Devil, he is accepting one of anarchy and non-authority, being the sole governor of one's life. 

• Father also, in reference to this rebellion, commented on the war of the Angels and devils. Satan bucked this Divine kingship of the Lord, saying to him "Non-Serviam," meanwhile St. Michael, dutifully acknowledges Christ's Kingship, and having the name Michael signifies "quis et deus" which means in Latin "who is like God." I am not sure if Fr. had this planned, or he took inspiration from a couple of depictions of the archangel commander (see pictures below.)

Despite everything (ugh that chair!), we came out with a sacred, Solemn Latin Mass, and we even had the addition of the Asperges Rite as well as torchbearers!!! Also, considering that the school chapel was a bit out of the way from major streets (closest station is York Mills and you have to go up the hill to get close to it), we still had a good turnout of about 50 laity in our pews, and a couple of sisters were around while the Mass was going on. Also, a master of ceremonies from other Latin Mass initiatives in the Archdiocese attended our Mass! It was great to see our brothers in serving support us.

Hopefully, the choir will consider doing as usual, their offering of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, Tuesday December 8th. I will definitely be reporting on this when I receive any official word from Surinder and the SPGC choir.

To conclude, some personal anecdotes and musings (and school spirit)
Occasionally, when these masses occur, some little interesting anecdotes or facets just happen, because of the site, or by the grace of the Lord. I would like to share a few of them with you.

To begin, my lovely fiancee finally made it out to a Solemn Latin Mass held by the choir!!! While I wished there had been a bigger crowd, regardless I was happy to see here there, and to know that she supports my endeavours, as I support hers (though I have to work on my temperance and stop being so critical of things and going "rah rah rah Latin Mass" too much.). In case you are curious about her, (e.g. a picture, a name) let`s just say that there`s a few things I hold close to the vest at the given moment. I decline from posting any information to her.

A second and third note, joined together. At one of my fiancee`s parishes she currently assists in Novus Ordo liturgies, as a ``jack of all trades`` (Server, MC, Sacristan, EMHC ...,) sometimes in multiple roles when short-handed, I have been blessed when she has been an EHMC to be able to receive communion from her. It`s a touching moment being served by the one you love, with the One Who LOVES TOTALLY, as she will best exemplify in this Sacrament of Marriage. Today, I had to do somewhat of a ``reverse role``, with me assisting the deacon (Fr. Pilon) in handing out communion to the lay faithful via holding the communion paten. My fiancee came up beside me, on the prie-deux to kneel and receive communion from Fr. Pilon as deacon. I of course was filled with glee seeing my beloved there, but then afterwards a thought occurred to me. Fr. Pilon and I (with of course Fr. Pilon as ordinary minister serving her the Sacred Body of Christ, so don`t misinterpret what I say.) ``served`` her, when normally I am the one being served Christ`s Body by her as an EMHC in the Novus Ordo Mass.

Then, it clicked to me. Here we are, both of us, having been served Christ`s Body, and are serving with Christ, in a literal and other sense, and also have assisted the other in being served. When I marry this golden gift of the Holy Family, my love of my life, we will be doing this in everything, with the sacrament of Marriage presenting ourselves to Christ. When a couple marries, this is their primary vocation, serving the Lord, and serving each other as He served us, and being his exemplar, as him with the Church to the world, for our salvation. In the Eucharist is his Love, served to us through the Church, HIS TOTALITY!!! Also, the couple is to help each other achieve salvation, and become saints through the Sacrament and lifetime of love. Wow, just wow. That was what, all of 2-3 seconds in the Latin Mass and I got that awesome insight??? The Latin Mass did that for me .... Deo Gratias.

Finally, as I was looking around the chapel of the Loretto sisters, I came across two poignant signs .....

 

The picture was outside of the Chapel. The statue is right above the entrance to the chapel, on the inside. 

Wow!!! These are magnificent depictions of St. Michael. What beauty! What strength!!! It turns out that in chatting with an IBVM sister who came by at the end of the Mass, she revealed that in the history of their order, their devotion or protection/patronage to St. Michael, goes as far back as England from when they came over.

In a related side note, (for any of you who are St. Michael's College School alumni/current SMCS students (BTW I'm an 2002 grad,)) the history of the "sister school" to St. Michael, is that St. Mike's TRUE sister school, was the Abbey. Holy Name of Mary College School in Mississauga changed that, but the Abbey was the sister school of St. Mikes for the longest time, with a history of social exchange (dances) as well as students applying to each other's dramatic productions, and even a cheer-leading squad for sports games, prior to the late 90's. They also have the "double blue" as part of their colour scheme for their kilts and uniforms, just like our school colours. To me ... the Abbey will always be the true sister school to St. Mike's.

So seeing these depictions of St. Michael, my devotion, this blog under St. Michael's patronage, and my alma mater's interesting history with the Abbey, one could say I had a lot of signage and connection with St. Michael that day. It was great to see his presence with us as we glorified the Lord, and made me ever more thankful for his patronage, and watch over us and the Abbey.

Finis

I hope you have enjoyed yet another report of the liturgical initiatives of the St. Patrick's Gregorian choir whom I serve with. If you attended the Mass of the 50 or so people, thank you for attending. May your souls have been uplifted to Heaven with the Saints and angels, and your soul nourished. Please stay tuned for the next offering from the choir. 

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Confirmed! Sunday October 25th Feast of Christ the King Solemn Latin Mass Organized by St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir!

It is finally confirmed!

Once again, the St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir will be organizing a Solemn Latin Mass for the annual Feast of Christ the King in the Extraordinary Form. The Choir annually holds a Latin Mass on this feast day, as this is the anniversary that the choir was formed, with 2015 being the 9th anniversary of the choir`s formation.

The information for the next Latin Mass of the SPGC is as follows:

Source: http://www.catholic.org/photos/photo.php?news=53291

• When: Sunday October 25th, 2015
• Location? Loretto Abbey Catholic School Chapel
• Address?  101 Mason Boulevard, Toronto, ON
• Start time? 3:30 pm
• Level of Mass: Solemn 
• Organizer: St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir under Surinder S. Mundra
• Primary Contact/Inquiries for Choir & Serving: 416 731 4485.  
• School Website:  https://www.tcdsb.org/schools/lorettoabbey/Pages/default.aspx
• Facebook event page:  https://www.facebook.com/events/875936455789124/
• Poster: 

In addition, if you are a male that is interested in assisting at this event by altar serving, or if any young or adult male you know would be interested in serving, please contact me at torontotlmservers@gmail.com. I will put you in contact with the master of ceremonies of the choir for this Mass and you will receive contact information as well as printed serving materials, and in future, information as to a practice prior to the Latin Mass. Also, having served with them for a long time, I might be able to handle initial inquiries/contact in the interim, until the MC notifies you. 

Finally, for a sampling of prior organized events, involving the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in the EF, of the Choir (with my assistance as an altar server), please see the following links:

My report for the Feast of the Sacred Heart 2015 Mass: http://torontotlmserving.blogspot.ca/2015/06/
report-solemn-latin-mass-for-feast-of.html

Photopost for the Sacred Heart 2015 Mass, featured on world renowned Traditional liturgy website, New Liturgical Movement: http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2015/06/photopost-follow-up.html#.VYTR5vlVhBc


Please pass word onto your family and friends about this upcoming event. If there are any changes, I will post them and the choir will update their Facebook page as well. 

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Update to St. Patrick`s Sacred Heart Mass 2015: SPGC Featured on New Liturgical Movement Blog! Deo Gratias!!!

Hello Everyone,

Just an update to the SPGC Sacred Heart Mass from last Friday, June 12, 2015.

I, and likely many other Traditional Catholics or Latin Mass lovers, follow a popular liturgical blog on the internet with various contributors (including some prominent lay people in liturgical academia,) called the New Liturgical Movement. Seeing their awesome photo montages called `photoposts` constantly, I had a wild idea to see if maybe they would feature the work of the layperson who took our photos, Emad Alfred, from our last Mass.

After contacting the two laypeople on staff who do this frequently, Ben Yanke (who gave an auto-return message of absence) and Gregory Dipippo, I was truly blessed to receive a reply this past morning from Gregory, and THIS:

http://www.newliturgicalmovement.org/2015/06/photopost-follow-up.html#.VYTR5vlVhBc

I couldn`t believe it! The Mass with SPGC was featured in their latest photopost! Deo Gratias!!! Thank you, Gregory, for doing this for a great group of devoted siblings of Christ that I am with and have the pleasure to serve in their organized masses for.

The NLM photopost also provides a link to the album on Facebook, with the full complement of pictures of the sacred liturgy that took place last week. Enjoy!

Pax tibi Christi, Julian Barkin.

REPORT: Solemn Latin Mass for Feast of the Sacred Heart, Fri June 12, 2015 @ St. Paul's Basilica, Toronto

Hello Everyone,

After a good length of time since Immaculate Conception 2014, for St. Francis of Assisi's centenary celebrations, the esteemed St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir, (SPGC) operating within the Archdiocese Toronto, began it's 2015 season of organizing higher level Latin Masses for the lay faithful of the Archdiocese. Of course, yours truly once again served alongside this awesome choir in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

For SPGC's first Mass in 2015, to commemorate the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the choir was welcomed back to St. Paul's Basilica in Toronto, a real treasure of a parish/worship site. The last Solemn Mass that the choir held at this site was for the Feast of Divine Mercy/Low Sunday, back in 2012.

Having had artistic renovations in the last decade, the basilica is what I like to describe as, a "mini Sistine Chapel." Let the pictures below tell the tale, even though this is only a sampling of this gorgeous site:

The exterior, in classic church design with a functional bell tower. 

A snapshot from the back of the Body of the Church. Look at all the painted frescoes on the ceiling! 

Close-up of some of those frescoes. I am not sure of the top and bottom, but the middle is a depiction of either Peter's thrice-fold denial, or the wagering of Christ's clothes by lots (dice). 

This must be the Holy Family, with the Holy Spirit in classic dove symbolism, atop a standard, classic style confessional. 

In addition to the lovely space for the Holy Mass, we were blessed to be in the presence once again, of the Archdiocese of Toronto's most experienced Latin Mass priests: Fr. Russell Asch, associate pastor of St. Joseph's ("Streetsville") Catholic Church in Mississauga, and Fr. Steven Szakaczki, who is responsible for St. Lawrence the Martyr Scarborough's Latin Mass program, and other Latin Mass inquiries in the archdiocese. Fr. Steven took over after Fr. Howard Venette of the FSSP left Toronto in 2010. Both priests have been veterans in the Latin Mass circuit for High/Solemn Latin Masses in our Archdiocese, and have been a blessing in assisting the needs of those seeking the Extraordinary Form without prejudice or bias.

Preparation for the Mass

After making arrangements to secure the necessary serving and clerical roles, a practice was arranged for servers and those needing additional practice work for their roles, on Tuesday, June 9. The practice was held at St. Lawrence the martyr, with Fr. Szakaczki generously allowing for the practice space. Unfortunately, the basilica was not able to be booked for a practice.

During the practice at St. Lawrence, our Master of Ceremonies (MC)/Instructor went over the necessary parts for all servers, and assigned roles accordingly, with your author being assigned Acolyte 1. In an additional blessing and bonus, a full contingent of 6 servers were acquired for this Mass, with the optional roles of crucifer and boat bearer being fulfilled too! In addition one new server joined us, who had not assisted with the choir's Masses previously.

With this new server, and new attendees partaking in the choir's offerings, I've come to discover, that positive word is being spread about efforts in the Latin Mass via St. Patrick's Gregorian choir! I am sure my blog has played a portion in this on social media, and I am glad to serve the Lord in this way, by promoting those efforts whose modus operandi aligns with the Mind of the Church, and true obedience to its Magisterium and its Holy Fathers, past and present.

Our practice was successful, and smaller arrangements for Friday were taken care of.

Setup for St. Paul's Basilica
Arriving in considerable time, the choir and servers set about in preparing the altar for the Solemn Latin Mass. Latin to English translation booklets, with the order of the Mass and appropriate cues for the laity, were provided, though we will need to increase the quantity that we produce in future!

Anything last minute to go over was re-freshed and dealt with, and the altar was promptly set up for Holy Mass. Pictures below, as usual, display how the altar and credence table were set up for this Mass:

Alb, supplementary notes, and the Evangelarium opened, last minute things for our Sub-deacon to chant his reading properly.

Credence table, rear view, setup for Mass. The cruet set pictured here is NOT property of the basilica. This is actually an addition to my serving hauls that I splurged some of my earnings on, as a gift for whomever I have the pleasure to serve with. Let's just say they don't make cruets like these anymore, with a serving dish to house them. 

Frontal view of the credence table.. 

The Altar set up prior to the start of the entrance procession. Beautiful. 

The censer was primed with burning charcoal, acolyte candles were lit, and after some preparatory prayer from our Celebrant, Fr. Steven, our party went out in procession to go unto the altar of the Lord.

The Mass, Including Homiletic Notes From my Memory.

Save some minor difficulties of navigation of the sanctuary space, due to not having the basilica for practice earlier in the week, the Mass was done in a beautiful and solemn manner. The servers carried out all their roles in holy reverence to our Lord, from our newest servers as crucifer, to our stalwart MC, who ensured the liturgy was carried out with dignity and order. This was accomplished from the very start of the procession and prayers at the Foot of the Altar .....

Thurifer and boat bearer in sync, followed by crucifer, flanked by acolytes 1 (me) and 2.

Our clergy, sub-deacon, deacon, and celebrant. 

``Introibo ad altare Dei. Ad Deum qui laetificat juventutem meam ....``  

..... to the end of the Holy Mass. Our choir, sang quite beautifully, pulsating their sacred music throughout the echoes of the basilica.

Surinder S. Mundra, leading the St. Patrick`s Gregorian choir in chanting the music for the Sacred Liturgy. 

Their effect was so powerful, that as one attending lay member described to me, that the moment the choir began to sing it's beautiful Gregorian chant, his whole self became filled with calm, and a euphoria at being elevated to the Holy Mass thorough our choir's prayerful music. I have no doubt that this happened to the majority of those in attendance as well. The effect a well-carried out Latin Mass can have on a person`s soul is magnanimous.

As always, the preaching contained in the Latin Mass never ceases to disappoint, nor fail to teach those in attendance something new and true of our Faith, while addressing the needs of the faithful.
Fr. Steven Szakaczki, delivered quite a homily that spoke to our "hearts: as it were, about Christ's Sacred Heart. That is, the Love of His heart, and even, our love, or reason for lack thereof, for Him.

Of the points (that I could remember,) Fr. Steven spoke about these topics as such:

- When we speak about the Heart, we often speak about love. What were Christ's two greatest commandments? To love the Lord your God above one another, and to love your neighbour as God loves you.
- Often when I give homilies, I ask those in the congregation, "On a scale of 1 to 10, how much do you love God, though our Lord?"

- God is loved above all other things, because what God provides is necessary to our salvation, to our being, to our locution .... 

- Now, on a scale of one to 10, how much do you love others, including our Lord?

- One reason that we find it so hard and challenging to love the Lord, is due to justice.

• We must emphasize that both Justice and Mercy go hand and hand. You cannot be merciful if you are not also just.
• When we see depictions of Christ`s Sacred Heart, such as the Divine Mercy, there are two rays radiating from His heart. These rays represent Christ as being both infinitely Merciful, but also infinitely Just. 
• When it comes to justice, we want to punish one who transgresses or causes an injustice. For humanity, when we want to resolve the injustice, we have ourselves or the person commit some form of action in reparation, either equivalent to the harm caused by the injustice, or beyond. 
• With us, we feel that when we sin, we feel that God loves us less, that we are insufficient, and not worthy of God's love because of guilt and our sense of justice [editor: that is, that we have committed an injustice against Him.] 
• Now, Christ, the Word of God Made Flesh, came down from Heaven, for us in the human state, and in our injustice, he suffered through such depravity and torture in His Passion. They beat Him, bruised Him, slashed Him already though He was badly bruised, mocked Him, crowned Him with thorns, all ending up with Him being crucified in agony on the Cross at Calvary. 
• The Roman soldiers, being experts at what they do .... their "job," as the Roman Empire's military force, ensured that those men who were on the Cross, including Christ, were truly dead. They purposely aimed with their spears at the crucified men, piercing their lungs and heart to ensure that they would be truly dead in their entirety. 
• Christ, suffering all He did, gave himself in the ultimate sacrifice of Love from God, for all men, for all time, regardless of one's sins they have and would commit. Christ's redeeming act, truly shows that God loves us that much to have done so. [Editorial note: again I'm paraphrasing. Yes, you need confession for mortal sin. Fr. Steven OBVIOUSLY knows that, but his point is that he is countering this reason that people, including numerous Catholics, hold erroneously, via what lies within Christ's Passion and Death on Calvary.] 
• When we attend the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, we participate in his ultimate act of Love for us, represented by the Sacred Heart of Jesus. 
• ..... We also see example in St. Margaret Mary, when she was presented with the vision of Christ for the Sacred Heart, He was present holding his most Sacred Heart in His hand, extending his heart in hand out to St. Mary....

- Another reason that we find it difficult to the love the Lord is because of a lack of that which allows us to Love.

• For some people, this could be exemplified in actions or circumstances which happen to them in one`s life. This can range in anything from one`s environment, being burdened more than other people, or some form of trauma or bad actions happening in the world, perhaps even bad actions that other people have inflicted onto you. Such actions are not inflicted because you are loved less than others by the Lord. 
• Also part of this reason is comparison to other people, such as the Saints. We often feel that God `made them special` or bestowed special graces onto them, making them more favored in God`s eyes, yet we are not. 
• This is actually not true in the sense that they were favored. In fact, the saints often times suffered quite harshly and were not ``favored`` this way, yet were highly capable of expressing such Love of Christ. 
• E.g. 1: St. Paul: Prolific in spreading the Church, Paul was jailed a number of times, not well received in every town he preached in, got abandoned or shipwrecked twice [Êditorial note: One of those times being shipwrecked on the isle of Malta], and he eventually was brought to final imprisonment, and then even martyred by [necessary edit 19/6/2015] beheading as Christian tradition holds. 
• E.g. 2: Highly important to Canada's patron sainthood, the primary saint is St. Joseph. Second most important, would be the North American Martyrs. St. Jean de Brebeuf is a prime example of Christ's Love, and being able to Love Christ, despite the most awful of circumstances and inflicted abuse and pain and suffering. 
• The Jesuits in doing mission work in North America, attempted to spread the Gospel to the Native Canadians. One group they were not received by was the Iriquois nation.
• The Iriquois was a war-nation. They detested the white man, and any associated allies. This included the Huron tribe of Native Canadians, who did assist and accept the company of the Jesuit missionaries. 
• The Iriquois attacked the Jesuits and Hurons, and took many of them captive. 
• With Jean de Brebeuf, they saw him as a "leader" of the group, and wanted to make an example out of him to instill fear in the Hurons and other white man followers.
• With St. Jean, they of course physically assaulted him. Of other tortures they inflicted upon him [warning .... extreme depravity and grotesque acts, but they were true and documented!!!!!! .....], they ripped out his finger nails and toe nails, forced him to walk back in the frigid cold with his fellow Hurons back to their village, made him run the gauntlet which is two rows of Iriquois at each side and you get beaten with clubs while running through the center, etc.
• After that they attached him to a post, and while he was there, they scalped him alive. They boiled water and poured this scalding water over the scalp-less part of his head. They even performed acts of cannibalism, eating parts of his flesh while he was alive. 
• Finally, to kill him, one or more of them, took an awl, and stabbed him repeatedly to finish the job. 
• Yet, even while experiencing these extreme torments, he pleaded and encouraged his tormentors to repent and believe in the Gospel and to believe in the Lord. Most of all, he forgave them and loved every single one of them, despite what they were doing to him and his Huron companions. 

- Therefore, on a scale of one to ten, now, how much does God truly love us? He loves us infinitely. It is this love, expressed in the Sacred Heart of Jesus Christ, that we focus on today for this Feast, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

After the homily, the Mass proceeded accordingly in the second part, the Mass of the Canons. Provided below are digital photographs from that portion:

Preparations of the Altar, at the Offertory. Boat bearer and thurifer assist in the preparations for the incensation of clergy and laity, while Acolyte 2 awaits to remove the missal, next to our Master of Ceremonies. 

Incensation of the celebrant by the deacon, with thurifer next to the deacon.

``HOC EST ENIM CORPUS MEUM`` - The consecration of the Sacred Host to His Body.

``HIC EST ENIM CALIX SANGUIS MEI ...`` - The Consecration of the Sacred Wine into His Blood.

``Ecce Agnus Dei, ecce qui tollit peccata mundi.`` - Behold the Lamb of God, behold Him who taketh away the sins of the world.

Myself as Acolyte 1, waiting for the return of the cruets, while the post-communion ablution takes place. 

With the cruets in my hands after the ablutions, I bow to the clergy. 

The Last Gospel. 

``Ita Missa Est. Deo Gratias.``

Concluding Notes

Once again, it was an honour and divine pleasure, to serve at the Lord's altar through the most holy and charitable works of the St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir. Each Mass involves much preparation and arrangements, not to mention dealing with other behind the scenes issues that pop up. Satan tries his best to throw curve blocks in our path of various forms, but every time, SPGC has over come these barriers, and the result is epic Masses that inspire the lay faithful, and the choir, clergy, and servers that partake in them.

Clearly, there was a good response from the Laity to our Mass. One prosperous sign, is that we only made 70 Latin-to-English booklets for the Mass. All were taken by those in attendance! We surpassed that number at least 2x fold! By my visual estimate, we had about 130-160 in attendance. This was quite a marvel considering the urban location for the basilica, cloudy/rainy weather, and a Friday evening after a long work-week!

In the crowd, I say a number of people of varying ages and cultural demographics. Aside from the usual baby boomers and seniors who would have been familiar with the EF Mass, there were other types of people of note. I saw a few young people in attendance on their own at the Mass. I saw a young couple or two as well. I am quite positive I even saw a home-schooled, traditionally Catholic family of 4 or 5 children from youth to teen to young adult in the pews! (I might be wrong on the homeschooling part, but usually their presence is quite obvious in dress, disposition, and family size. By the way, homeschooling or not, if you read this, thank you graciously for coming! Sorry I could not speak to you and introduce myself to you!). I think I might have even spotted a familiar face from when I used to attend and assist another Latin Mass group`s offerings. Overall, the mix of ages and attendees was a great sign! The Latin Mass is for all peoples, of all ages and backgrounds!

Every time these Masses are held, they contribute to the New Evangelization, and the liturgy is one of the most powerful means of the Church to (re-)educate its Body of members, renew their hearts and souls, and truly FEED them spiritually in its direct, visual, and powerful ethos and operation.

In addition, allow me to share a personal sentiment about St. Patrick`s. I have remained with the choir for the longest time, of 3.5 years, since October 2011. My first ever Latin Mass I served was a Missa Solemnis/Solemn Mass at St. Patrick`s Catholic Church Toronto, as a torch-bearer. I have remained with this choir, because all its members exude a true, fraternal love and charity, with boundless joy for Christ and His Church.

Intra-Church or Intra-liturgical politics, critical harshness thinly veiled as `fraternal correction`, or liturgical self-policing by chastising other priests and organizations publicly, are not present here with this fine group of men, women, and young adults. Rather, they express the very joy and love of Christ, qualities that our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is encouraging the Church to express, in order to show the world the Church`s beauty and life. Because SPGC does so, I remain with this group of loyal sons and daughters of the Lord, and will continue to do so until the Will of the Lord absolutely prevents me from doing so. What SPGC does, brings justice and truth to what the Latin Mass truly is all about ..... the Love of Christ that emanates from His Sacred Heart.

To all of you reading this report, if you attended the Solemn Latin Mass at the basilica, thank you dearly and honestly for supporting St. Patrick`s Gregorian Choir, but more importantly, for loving your Lord, Jesus Christ, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite.

For those of you who live in the Toronto area or close by, and did not attend, I hope that after reading this report, you will be intrigued about the Latin Mass, and will seek to attend a future offering of the High/Solemn level Latin Mass, offered by parishes and/or the St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir.

Should anyone wish to attend the next offering, SPGC annually organizes a Mass in October, for the Feast of Christ the King, which takes place in the EF calendar, during the last Sunday of October. Traditionally, this has been an afternoon Mass, which when at the higher levels, will include the Asperges (holy water) rite prior to the beginning of the actual Mass. This year's anticipated date is Sunday, October 25, 2015. The choir also holds this Mass annually in commemoration of their formation in 2006 on that feast day in the EF calendar. Please keep this specific Sunday in mind, by looking for the next offering on social media such as my blog (but also Facebook, and occasionally, other websites.)

Whether you are looking for more information for future offerings such as Christ the King, or be a young man, aspiring (as in seminarian), or ordained cleric (Deacon, priest, or higher) interested in assisting in the EF, via SPGC, please feel free to contact Surinder, choirmaster and head of the Choir. Contact information is in my Latin Mass offerings tab, or you can look at the opening picture above in this post for his phone number.

Finally, I would like to extend due credit and thanks to Emad Alfred, one of the attendees at our Mass, who offered out of kindness to share with the choir and I, the pictures he took at the Solemn Mass, which are posted here in this report. While the pictures prior to the start of the Mass are my personal property, all other pictures are those of Emad. Thank you!!!

We hope you have enjoyed this report of the St. Patrick's Gregorian choir's Sacred Heart 2015 Mass.

PAX TIBI CHRISTI! Julian Barkin.

Exciting! New Latin Mass Initiative Occruring in Campbellford, Ontario at St. Mary's Church! Please Read Further!

Hello Everyone,

As promised, I am going to highlight a brand new Latin Mass initiative that has occurred in the province of Ontario! For those of you who haven't caught my last few posts, I am expanding some of my coverage (regular offerings and on the most important feast days) to include other (arch)dioceses of Ontario. What I will speak about is now a regular listing.

Furthermore, the priest in charge of this listing has been a great, faithful Holy Priest who has frequently assisted the St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir in their offerings of the Latin Mass in the Archdiocese of Toronto, travelling much a distance to aid the choir. Telling you about the initiative he leads is the least someone like myself involved in the Latin Mass can do for such an Alter Christi. 

The Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish (a.k.a. St. Mary's), Campbellford, Ontario, CANADA

Taken from http://www.saintmaryschurch.info/

St. Mary's is a Catholic Church that is in the diocese of Peterborough, Ontario. The diocese covers the more northern regions of Ontario. 

As per its website, (http://www.saintmaryschurch.info/#!about/aboutPage): "It was founded in the late 1800's and the present building was erected in 1900 when the previous building underwent a fire during the night of Christmas Eve to Christmas Morning, in December 1899."

The parish is attached to the local school of same namesake, and has the basic ministries and organizations of most catholic parishes at the moment: e.g. Catholic Women's League, Knights of Columbus Chapter, Society of St. Vincent De Paul, Altar Serving, Lectoring ...

The parish contact information is here: 

Visitation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Parish 

21 Centre St. - P.O. Box 599

Campbellford, ON K0L 1L0

Canada

Tel: 705-653-1093

Fax: 705-653-1093

Email: visitation@eastlink.ca

Pastor of the Parish, Fr. Jean-Pierre Pilon

Fr. Jean-Pierre Pilon, has been the pastor of St. Mary's since 2010. He is especially well suited for the implementation and celebration of the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite/Latin Mass, due to his extensive background. 

Fr. Pilon was ordained by well-known traditionalist bishop, Bp.Fabian Bruskewitz, formerly of the archdiocese of Lincoln, Nebraska, in 2002, after his seminary training at Our Lady of Guadalupe seminary of the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter, although he is not currently a permanent member with the designate title, FSSP, of the fraternity. Instead he switched gears and became a Franciscan Friar. This was until his order dissolved and this resulted in his incardination into the diocese of Scranton, Pennsylvania, USA. Before coming to St. Mary's in 2010, he had also done some chaplaincy work in Europe in France and Ireland. 

Regardless of the twists and turns of his journey as a priest, Fr. Pilon's experience in the FSSP seminary in Nebraska gave him the capabilities to carry out the Latin Mass at its various levels. 

Establishment of the Latin Mass Initiative INCLUDING Sunday Obligation in the Diocese of Peterborough

While the Latin Mass had been said in private without permission, according to normal Church Laws, (e.g. Summorum Pontificum and Ecclesiae Unitatem) by Fr. Pilon, Toronto's former auxillary bishop, now Ordinary for the diocese of Peterborough, Bishop William McGrattan, formally gave permission to establish Sunday obligation Masses for the Extraordinary Form at St. Mary's. 

This permission was graciously given, as a number of parishioners in the archdiocese and neighboring townships (e.g. Keene) have expressed interested in the Latin Mass, wanting more than just random private offerings. 

The first regular Sunday Mass for the Extraordinary Form was December 14, 2014. This offering will be part of St. Mary's on the Second, Third, and in 5-week months, the 4th, Sundays of the Month, at 12:30pm. This offering complements an already existing offering at Our Lady of the Assumption (Mission - St. John the Evangelist) Catholic Church in Keene, Ontario, where they hold the Latin Mass at 12:30pm on the 1st and last Sundays of the month.  

Currently, the offerings for the Latin Mass at St. Mary's will be the Low Mass with Chant. Besides when the priest chants in the Mass, the organ and choir chant portions, such as propers, are being provided by a retired parishioner, a former music professor (Ph.D.) As for the serving portions, a couple of young men have willfully come forward to Fr. Pilon and have been sufficiently trained for serving the Mass. 

There are plans to develop both a schola and the serving program in the future, which could also lead to the ability to offer Masses of the higher levels in future. 

In addition to the already beautiful facade and interior of the church, there are plans underway to restore the parish bells to working condition. This project is not just a renewal of the physical aspects of the Church, but it also reflects the spiritual life of the parish and its parishioners. Should one want to find out more information about this project and donate by Internet via PayPal, then you can click on this link: http://www.saintmaryschurch.info/#!history/c8de

Therefore, I ask you, should your travels but out in Peterborough on a Sunday afternoon, may you consider and support this beautiful new offering in the Latin Mass at St. Mary's. This is an exciting new venture and there should be many more good things to come in future of it. 

Pax Tibi Christi, Julian Barkin. 

Report: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception Solemn Latin Mass at St. Francis of Assisi Parish, Toronto, 7pm Dec 8, 2014

"AVE MARIA, GRATIA PLENA, DOMINUS TECUM ....."

Hello Everyone,

What an Advent season miracle that has just happened this past day! The Archdiocese of Toronto, under the holy and considerate leadership of His Eminence, Thomas Cardinal Collins, was graced to have had not just one, or two, but FIVE Latin Masses on this Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Two of these offerings were part of the daily Missa Lectae (Low Masses) offered by St. Lawrence the Martyr, Scarborough, and Holy Family under the Oratorians (11am and 1130am respectively).

But get this ... THE OTHER THREE WERE SOLEMN LATIN MASSES IN THE EVENING! THREE! We are talking three clergy, incense, acolytes with candles, perhaps even a boat bearer and torches at some of the offerings, and beautiful Gregorian Chant and hymns to celebrate this sacred mystery! One was the Oratorians at Holy Family for 6pm, and the other two at the same time, were: St. Joseph's in Mississauga, Ontario with the (likely direction) of the Toronto Traditional Mass Society, and the other, at St. Francis of Assisi for their centenary of the founding of the Parish with assistance from St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir! Both masses were 7pm!

This report will be detailing the efforts and what happened for the centenary Mass @ St. Francis of Assisi at 7pm, as I was involved in assisting the parish and St. Patrick's in the role of first acolyte for the Mass.

Primer: Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary
Just what were all these Masses, including those in the Ordinary Form/Novus Ordo about today? Today in the liturgical calendars of both forms of the Roman Rite, was the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary.

When we talk about the Immaculate Conception, this is NOT the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is easy to see where the confusion lies, as Jesus was "Immaculate" in the sense of being born without sin, and we refer to the moment the human gametes (semen/sperm and ovum/egg) in biology contact each other to begin becoming a new human life (a fetus) as "Conception," or just plainly that a newborn was "conceived" by giving birth. This is NOT the case here.

The Immaculate Conception actually refers to MARY's birth, in that she was born WITHOUT ORIGINAL SIN. Yes she was essential in Christ's birth, but this feast day celebrates her as the spotless virgin, sin-less, able to be the Theotokos (God-bearer), the perfect vessel for Christ.

This fact is of the utmost importance, that Holy Mother Church wielded her Divine Authority, Infallibly through Pope Pius IX, to declare that her Immaculate Conception is a matter of dogma, thus every Catholic MUST believe in this teaching, else they separate themselves from the Church. This was declared in the Apostolic Constitution Ineffabilis Deus, which can be viewed here entirely: http://www.papalencyclicals.net/Pius09/p9ineff.htm. The declaration is as follows:

"... by the authority of Jesus Christ our Lord, of the Blessed Apostles Peter and Paul, and by our own: "We declare, pronounce, and define that the doctrine which holds that the most Blessed Virgin Mary, in the first instance of her conception, by a singular grace and privilege granted by Almighty God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Savior of the human race, was preserved free from all stain of original sin, is a doctrine revealed by God and therefore to be believed firmly and constantly by all the faithful."^[29]

Hence, if anyone shall dare -- which God forbid! -- to think otherwise than as has been defined by us, let him know and understand that he is condemned by his own judgment; that he has suffered shipwreck in the faith; that he has separated from the unity of the Church; and that, furthermore, by his own action he incurs the penalties established by law if he should are to express in words or writing or by any other outward means the errors he think in his heart.

Now that you get what this solemnity in the Church is all about, allow me to report on the preparation and the actual Mass that took place

Preparation for the Mass
Within a month before the date of this mass, word was spread about this Mass via the parish bulletin, the Archdiocese website, the SPGC associated Facebook page, as well as this blog, and perhaps word of mouth. In promoting this mass, members from St. Lawrence the Martyr's Latin Mass program, St. Francis of Assisi's altar servers, and I as an independent not affiliated with a Latin Mass parish, volunteered to assist the Lord in service at the altar, as well as another young man who was our the subdeacon, having the appropriate qualifications under the guidelines that exist for the EF.

November 29th, both the choir, and the servers met at St. Francis on that cold Saturday evening to do training for the Mass, via a run through of all major serving roles, as well as training for the subdeacon role for the young man. This training was undertaken by our veteran Master of Ceremonies with the Choir, who also co-ordinates the serving portions of each Mass that SPGC organizes. I was assigned the role of first acolyte, while others were given the roles of 2nd acolyte and thurifer. The practice went smoothly, as all individuals involved have had some or great experience serving in the EF, and/or extensive experience in carrying out those roles or the equivalent of in the Novus Ordo, making the transition quicker and easier in learning the EF.

It was also found out that of all the Novus Ordo Churches (that do not have a Latin Mass or people who come in and do them that) I have been to in assisting the St. Patrick's Gregorian choir, St. Frances of Assisi has been the most heavily equipped with liturgical items appropriate for celebration in the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite!

The parish was equipped with: a gorgeous gold, "Gothic" style thurible (you might have seen this in one of my earlier posts) as well as a simpler silver one, both the complex three chain variety; a set of golden and ornate NEW altar candles which are gracious gifts from parishioners of the parish for the 100th anniversary, a Gothic style, framed set of EF altar cards, a complete set of liturgical clothing in white/gold for Solemn Latin Masses in all roles made by nuns from the 1930s (again, you've seen this in an earlier post), lantern-style torches for processions, patens with handles ... I could go on but this blew my mind to know this parish takes its liturgy with respectful seriousness and solemnity.

Save perhaps the 1962 Missal itself, little to no additional items would be needed to be brought in for this liturgy. In addition, the parish had set about to create the booklets for the Order of the Mass, in both Latin-English, and Latin-Italian.

The Solemn Latin Mass of the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
And thus came the day for the EF Mass for the parish's 100th anniversary this past Monday, December 8th, 2014. Present in the clergy roles were: Fr. Jean-Marie Pilon from the diocese of Peterborough (now headed by former auxillary bishop of Toronto, +McGrattan) as celebrant, Fr. Steven Szakaczki, Latin Mass chaplain for St. Lawrence the Martyr in the role of deacon (of whom was requested by the parish to assist for the fruition of this EF Mass), and Mr. Bradley Black in the role of subdeacon, having the appropriate qualifications under EF ``customs`` as it were, to be allowed to carry out the role.

Prior to the start of the Holy Mass, the Parish had been set up appropriately for the liturgy. The liturgical objects, both of cloth and metal, had been laid our accordingly. Interestingly enough, our clergy role members has quite a ``welcome`` as can be seen in the layout of their vestments with name cards. It is lovely to see a parish give such organization and attention to our conduct of this liturgy. These might be small details, but every little bit helps, and shows the respect given to our clergy:

The Subdeacon's Vestments, for Mr. Bradley Black

 The Deacon's Vestments, For Fr. Steven Szakaczki

The Celebrant's Vestments with vesting prayers and biretta, for Fr. Jean-Marie Pilon

Close up shot of Fr. Pilon's card. 

In addition, the parish decided to provide ALL of the servers with Solemn Mass surplices, that had a diamond pattern woven in at the sleeves and hems. Further, a multitude of beautiful liturgical items lay awaiting to be used in the liturgy, reflecting the Gothic styled architecture and environment of St. Francis` tradition (albeit with some minor adjustments) as seen here in a couple of pictures:

There it is ... the Gothic style golden thurible. These are also the two tallish acolyte candles that I and the 2nd acolyte used in the Mass. 

Prior to Mass, the Chalice is fully prepared, the ciboria, and the cruets from a distance. 

Here's the cruets close up. Wow! Just look at that stunning detail! This must be brass or gold! They do not make cruets like this anymore!!! Interesting note: There are pegs that you put the cruets on to hold them steady. They have holes in their bottom for the pegs. 

The credence table prior to Mass, with a veiled Chalice.

These beautiful framed Gothic altar cards adorned the altar. This is a full set! Only the center card is pictured here. 

Does this scream majestic? Again I do not think they make altar Missals like this anymore. Even those you can purchase from FSSP/St. John Cantius are not as ornate as this missal. I think this one even has gold clasps on them. 

The altar before Mass Begins. Notice the Marian blue "accented" antepedium. White, however is the bulk of the colour. 

Prior to the Mass, the parish pastor of St. Francis, dressed in his Franciscan habit with a lacy surplice over his robes, explained to the congregation the difference between the modern Mass and the Extraordinary Form, in both English and Italian (e.g. direction of the priest as ``Liturgical East``, receiving communion ...) Dressed and vested, we then proceeded to do the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite for the 100th anniversary celebration of the parish.

Since the tabernacle was off to the left side of the body of the Church (personally, not in favour of this), we had to make a slight modification, where we genuflected to the tabernacle once we got out of the sanctuary to the left of the body. Afterwards, it was business as usual. During the Mass, all clergy and servers performed their roles reverently and respectfully, showing experience and devotion to the Holy Mass.

It was clear in certain parts (e.g. the Offertory chants) that a sacredness and an ``energy`` or "spiritual uplifting," to use crude modern terms for description, was ever-present during the EF liturgy. For me personally, that was one moment. Another that hit me was in the exit procession, when we all sung the closing hymn ``Immaculate Mary``, whereby at the chorus, congregation and others sang in unison in joyous commemoration of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Mother. It was purely beautiful and I felt a sense of joy and encouragement, ready to go out into the world post-Mass.

As per my usual reporting, what great tidbits of wisdom was I able to glean from the sermon, given by the celebrant, Fr. Pilon? I will recount what I could from the sermon, albeit I am paraphrasing and missing important linking ideas as well.

• This EF liturgy has many things happening visually, though we might not understand everything. 
• To accept or embrace what we are experiencing in the sacred liturgy, implies Faith. 
• Last year, it was deemed by then Pope Benedict XVI, that the 2013-2014 liturgical year would be the "Year of Faith" 
• Faith, allows us to believe in that which is a mystery or beyond full comprehension. 
• ...... (some linking points I've forgotten )......
• In this Liturgy, we celebrate the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. We mistakenly might think it refers to the birth of Christ. It is actually the birth of Mary being conceived without sin. 
• Sin, while there is temptation, or influence, or our weaknesses, present, always involves our will to make a choice to do sin. 
• .... (some linking points) ...
• When we undertake studies in theology, one area of theology is that of "Speculative Theology." In this branch, we deal with items or concepts that are hard to prove with evidence, but we can use our existing knowledge of the faith or otherwise, to speculate on plausible parts of it. 
• We can look at then, Mary`s parents, St. Anne and St. Joachim. As parents of Mary, having such devout faith to our Lord, they would have desired that their daughter would be without sin or temptations in her life, imploring on the Will of God (or perhaps, for his graces???)
• In the throes of love in conceiving the Blessed Virgin Mary, their love would have been pure at the moment of conceiving, susceptible to God's graces and His Will. 
• As part of God's Will ... [here Fr. recounted a story of a sermon he gave to nuns in a crowd, habited traditional nuns ...] I uttered three latin words: potuit, voluit, fecit. When it came to Mary's Immaculate conception, He was able to, He wanted to, and He did it. This was referring to making Mary sinless as the Theotokos (God-bearer). 
• God so knew the value of Christ suffering for us on the Cross as the Word Made Flesh. Thus, he wanted the sinless woman's flesh, to be a part of his own, via Christ's birth. 
• .... (other linking points I forgot) ......
• We should follow, likewise in the obedience and devotion to our Lord, like that of our Blessed Mother, on this the Solemnity of her Immaculate Conception.

Once again, another beautiful Solemn Mass, alongside others held yesterday, was done in our Archdiocese of Toronto for this important Solemnity. 

Generally, while the congregation did have a fair share of more senior people, it was a age mosaic! I saw a number of families come for this mass, moms and dads with daughters/sons in tow, some teen, some children, others adult children. I also saw a few young adult men in the crowd on glance, plus old friends! Furthermore, it seemed that many in attendance were not the usual regulars, but St. Francis parishioners! Visually, I'd say that we had over 200 to close to 300 in attendance, maybe a little more. While the bodies were spread out a bit in the pews in the body of the Church, they reached back to the rear of the body of the Church!

The congregation also had the added aids of Latin-English and Latin-Italian translational booklets of the whole ordo of the Mass to help assist them in their prayer and worship. There were also brief descriptors of what was happening on the altar at parts, and cues for standing, sitting, and reverences. Here are snapshots of the beautiful booklet created by St. Francis of Assisi:

Afterwards, I got to speak to a few of those in attendance who were hanging around. They were joyful and happy, after coming away from what we experienced here this evening. One young couple with babe in tow, whose first EF this Mass was for them, described the event as "solemn," even saying it would be good to pass word of these Masses onto their Mother next time one happens! Hopefully they will scour the internet and find this blog, for future listings in our Archdiocese. 

Once again, another Mass, with the aid of St. Patrick's Gregorian Choir, was brought to fruition in the Archdiocese of Toronto. This ends their 2014 run of Masses. I was blessed and am thankful to have served in such a reverent liturgy, and look forward to the new year. I do hope we can return to St. Francis of Assisi. What a gem this parish is Little Italy (College St. Area)! Oh if only there was a parish with such beauty AND leadership in my area where I live. 

As a final note, I give a huge thank you to St. Francis of Assisi, its current pastor-ship, administration, and all those who helped to make this liturgy possible. I will never forget this, and hopefully, neither will all those who were able to experience this on a winter night. What a liturgically appropriate way to dive into the season of Advent, into the celebration of the Nativity of our Lord on Christmas Day. O Come, O Come, Emmanuel .....

Hope you have enjoyed this report. Due to the amount of photos I took, I will follow up and post the rest when I have time with a separate photo post. 

Pax Tibi Christi! Julian Barkin.