Like Night and Day – Rio vs. Traverse City

God  has spared me the night of the long blogs.  We had no access to the internet during our stay in Michigan, and though available, I did not watch T.V.   It was only yesterday that I caught up with the news on the  recent buffoonery and scandals of World Youth Day.  Oh my.…  Did you see the dancing bishops?  How about that flooded field with the horned-altar “worship space”, or the hideous reptile backdrop for the ‘altar’?

While all that was going on, we were entirely in an other world where our Heavenly Father was preparing for us one of the most exciting and precious gifts of His love and mercy –  the unforeseen, public celebration of a Sunday TLM in the beautiful new chapel of of the Carmelites Sisters of Traverse City.   To set the stage, let me recount what happened on the previous day, Saturday, July 27.

It was shortly before 2:30 p.m. when by Divine Providence, I stumbled across a priest about to begin the celebration of his private Mass in the chapel.  (I had had no intention of entering the chapel at that time but how I came to do so, is only a tangent to our story, so we will not go there.) Upon entering and seeing the set-up of the altar, it seemed to me that the priest had prepared for the Tridentine Mass!  I did not immediately see him since he was still in the sacristy.  In my mind, I tossed to and fro the idea of running to go get my camera.  But, just as I had decided to go fetch it, Father walked out of the sacristy.  Not for the world would I miss a second of this Mass, so I stayed; but I did feel a little disappointed that I would not be able to share this grace with others in pictures.  Yes, he celebrated the TLM.

After his Mass, I had the strongest urge to meet him, so I went into the sacristy where I made the acquaintance, and kissed the hand, of Fr. Eduard Perrone from Assumption Grotto.

We exchanged bits of information by which I found out he would be celebrating the next morning’s Sunday Mass there at the chapel.  (By fortuitous timing, he was vacationing in the area at the time that the chapel’s regular chaplain had been called away.)   He asked me if I would be attending it.   I responded, “No, Father.  We will go Cedar for the TLM.  I do not wish to offend, but I try to stay away from the Novus Ordo.”

Notice that as of approximately 3 p.m. on Saturday, Father had in mind to celebrate the N.O. for the following Sunday’s scheduled public Mass.   At some point within the next 4 hours he would change his mind.

To be continued…..