Usus Antiquior

Holy Family Parish provides opportunities for the faithful to worship Almighty God in the Usus Antiquior of the Roman Rite.  This includes the celebration of Mass, weddings, baptisms, and the chanting of the Divine Office. 

 “What earlier generations held as sacred, remains sacred and great for us too, and it cannot be all of a sudden entirely forbidden or even considered harmful. It behooves all of us to preserve the riches which have developed in the Church’s faith and prayer, and to give them their proper place.”   
Pope Benedict XVI
 

Photo: Solemn High Mass in the Presence of the Ordinary - Historic St. Mary's, Albany - June 18, 2019

For a greater part of the Church's history the Extraordinary Form is the way Roman Catholics worshiped God.  Although not the mainstream way most Catholics worship, it remains a living part of our patrimony. 

People of all ages are tredding the spiritual pathways of our forefathers.  If you are interested in learning more about the Latin Mass or the Extraodinary Form there are a number of resources available.  Even if you find you prefer the new Mass, Pope Benedict XVI said that the ancent Mass helps us better understand the new Mass.  

Isn’t this Mass just for older Catholics? No. The traditional Latin Mass (aka the Traditional Latin Mass of the Roman Rite) continues to grow in popularity around the world: if the Mass were tied only to an elderly generation, it would be dying out instead. The overwhelming majority of Catholics who attend this form of the Mass have no personal memory of it before Vatican II. They come to the traditional Latin Mass as a choice and not out of nostalgia.
 

WHAT IS USUS ANTIQUIOR?

The Novus Ordo (new order) Mass uses the Roman Missal (the book containing the ceremonies and prayers for Mass) that was revised and published after the Second Vatican Council. The Usus Antiquior Mass (ancient usage) uses the Roman Missal published in 1962, before the revisions following Vatican II. In 2007, with his letter Summorum Pontificum, Pope Benedict XVI established the 1962 manner of celebrating mass as a form that all priests of the Latin rite may offer without any special permission and coined the terms “ordinary form” and “extraordinary form.” In 2021, Pope Francis placed great restrictions on the celebration of the Usus Antiquior Mass, but allowed for certain exceptions.  Bishop Scharfenberger has designated Holy Family Parish as a location where the ancient Mass can be celebrated.