After writing my last post on Holy Week, it occurred to me that a brief explanation of the liturgy in general, as well as a history of the Institute, would be in order.
The mission's website (www.friendsofthemissions.com) gives a history as follows:
"In 1988 the late Monsignor Obamba, bishop of the Diocese of Mouila, gave his predecessor’s episcopal home and surrounding grounds to the then newly founded Institute of Christ the King Sovereign Priest. It became then the first canonically erected house of the Institute, under the name of: Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus Mission. Within a year or two however, Cardinal Piovannelli (Bishop of the Diocese of Florence, Italy) invited the Institute to establish its headquarters and seminary in Gricigliano, a beautiful Italian villa on the shores of the Arno river.
"From there, the Institute, being closer to Rome, expanded rapidly, taking the international dimensions it has today. Despite no longer being the headquarters of the Institute, the Saint Therese of the Infant Jesus Mission remained the founding place, the “crib” of said Institute. However, for reasons of sickness, financial and other difficulties, the lack of a Priest to “hold down the fort” caused the Mission to close at one point. It was in 2012, as the Institute prepared to celebrate its 25th anniversary, the Prior General Msgr. Wach sent Rev. Canon Fragelli to re-open and restore the Mission. Since, by the grace of God and the protection of the Blessed Mother, it has been one of the most flourishing missions in the African continent, bringing faith and education to countless children and families of the region."
This is given by way of explanation of the Institute:
"The Institute of Christ the King, Sovereign Priest is a Society of Apostolic Life of Pontifical Right whose goal is the honor of God and the sanctification of priests in the service of the Church and souls. Its specific aim is missionary: to spread the reign of our Lord Jesus Christ in all spheres of human life. Our work is carried out under the patronage of the Immaculate Conception, to Whom the Institute is consecrated.
"The Institute was founded in 1990 by Monsignor Gilles Wach and Father Philippe Mora in Gabon, Africa, where we still have missions. Today, the motherhouse and international seminary of the Institute is located in Gricigliano, in the Archdiocese of Florence, Italy.
"Recognizing the importance of a deep harmony between faith, liturgy, life, and the power of beauty in attracting the human senses to the things above, an integral part of the Institute's charism is the use of the traditional Latin Liturgy of 1962 for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the other sacraments. Great care for a solemn liturgy, complete fidelity to the doctrine of the Church and the Holy Father, and awareness of the central role of Grace, especially Charity — these are essential elements of the Institute's spirituality, which is drawn from its three co-patrons, St. Benedict, St. Thomas Aquinas, and St. Francis de Sales. Our motto, taken from St. Paul, is "Live the truth in charity." The Institute operates in more than fifty places in twelve countries, where our priests focus on the care of souls in many different ways. To assist our priests in their apostolic work, the Institute also has clerical oblates. In 2004, a community of religious sisters was canonically established to aid the priests in their mission through prayer and apostolic work."
"...a deep harmony between faith, liturgy, life, and the power of beauty in attracting the human senses to the things above..." That about sums up life at the mission.
The liturgy has an absolute primacy in our concerns. Life at the mission revolves around what time Mass is, Thursday Adoration, whatever liturgies we have in a given day.
I will note here that a commitment to the greatest possible beauty is the reason for the Institute's use of the Holy Week liturgies from before the reform of that part of the Roman Missal in 1955. That reform was the beginning of the liturgical reform that came after (not out of) Vatican II. The "pre-55" liturgies have a greater depth and beauty, and the Institute received permission to use them several years ago.
Like I said in my last post, I never took pictures of any of our liturgies. The Mass has been called "the most beautiful thing this side of Heaven"; taking pictures is too much of a distraction when the point of the liturgy is prayer.
There is one exception to that, and that was the exorcisms on the vigil of Pentecost. We had 12 "adult" baptisms on Pentecost (none of them were technically adults, but they were all above the age of reason, so it is considered an adult baptism), so the day before was the exorcisms. Since much of it is the same thing repeated for each catechumen, I had no problem with taking a couple pictures and videos of this fascinating ceremony.
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| The priest blows on each catechumen, representing the Holy Ghost. |
As I mentioned when I spoke about Holy Week, a lot of care and attention is given to the liturgies, that they be not only correct by the rubrics, but as beautiful as we can make them. Do we have half the resources the churches in the States have? No. Our flowers are usually silk instead of real (though not always), our choir isn't exactly professional, we have a keyboard instead of an organ. Sometimes the power goes out, you get hot and sweaty, there are geckos in the chapel. But there is effort and sincerity put into those liturgies, by priests who believe in what they're doing (which is found throughout the Institute). This is the love of their lives.
We couldn't afford flowers to make a path for the Blessed Sacrament on Corpus Christi, but we had woodchips we could dye. We can't afford to change the flowers on the altar every few days, but the silk ones are beautiful. The canons brought beautiful vestments with them when they came. Time is taken to train the altar boys properly, for choir practice, for catechism. In short, great care is taken with the liturgy, not for the sake of the liturgy itself, but because it is the highest praise we give Our Lord.
What comes out of it? Baptisms: more than a dozen while I was there, more than a dozen since I left a year ago. Devotion to the Eucharist that is great enough to sustain 40 uninterrupted hours of Eucharistic Adoration.
... a deep harmony between faith, liturgy, life, and the power of beauty in attracting the human senses to the things above...
The liturgy informs our lives. A ferial day or a more minor saint's feast means dinner in the refrectory, silence and a reading. Sundays and greater feasts see dinner on the terrace, maybe an extra aperitif (before lunch, besides before dinner). Ash Wednesday and Good Friday are of course fasts mandated by the Church, and Fridays are meatless, which is an example of how Holy Mother Church wants everyone to live by the liturgy.
How much healthier is the Faith at our mission in its little corner of Africa than in so many places in the West! The care and attention given to the liturgies in turn show us that "power of beauty" drawing us to the things above. The simplicity goes to further emphasize that it is not the exterior things in and of themselves that draw us to those "thing above", but the spirit in which they are used. Anything done truly with the glory of God as its last end cannot but end well.
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