Sometimes I hear people say that we've grown tired and a bit lazy after the exciting days of the 1990s and 2000s, when there were so many people in so many places laboring and fighting to establish the traditional Latin Mass. The more optimistic believe it is due to the remarkable success of Summorum Pontificum and the ever more widespread availability of the usus antiquior, which makes it less necessary to be vocal and active about introducing it. The more pessimistic believe it is due to weariness and discouragement: after having had doors slammed in their faces too many times, or unreturned phone calls, Catholics have given up. The more realistic would say the situation is more complicated, and that both sides are pointing to phenomena one can see and verify. This much seems true: the implementation of Summorum Pontificum is exceedingly inconsistent, variable, evolving. It makes all the difference in the world what diocese you live in and whether your local clergy are sympathetic or not. The motu proprio continues to make inroads wherever youth and orthodoxy combine.
I am reminded of all this because of how inspiring it has been to me personally to see the enthusiasm, joy, and hopefulness that have gone into the recent establishment of Una Voce Wyoming (UVW). Wyoming is a gigantic state, the seventh largest in the USA, with a small population (our entire state of 100,000 square miles has about the same population as Harrisburg, PA), and an even smaller Catholic population. Nevertheless, there are a substantial number of Catholics in Wyoming hungering and thirsting for reverent, beautiful, and solemn liturgy, and this new UV chapter has been organized to assist them and the clergy in moving forward with the compelling program of Pope Benedict XVI to restore the sacred and to reconnect with our holy inheritance. Catholics from all over the state have joined and we are peacefully and patiently pursuing short-term and long-term goals, in support of liturgical tradition, the sacred arts, education, and the pursuit of holiness.
One beautiful custom we have adopted from the Vancouver Traditional Mass Society is to have a priest offer at least one Requiem Mass each month for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, for as long as UVW shall exist. We have entrusted to the Holy Souls our very special intentions for UVW, and we know from experience that they are powerful intercessors.
Of special interest to Rorate readers will be the Resources section of the UVW blog, which has been carefully compiled and organized to be of maximum use to any and all Catholics who are looking for solid information and distributable materials on the traditional Mass and related topics. For example, UVW's site makes available a nice pre-formatted booklet containing Summorum Pontificum, the Letter to Bishops, and Universae Ecclesiae (in a more accurate translation than the standard one). The brochures section offers ten trifold brochures on "hot topics." And so forth. Here are the categories, with live links:
Church Documents
Timely Brochures
Helpful Links
Missals & Liturgical Resources
Training for Clergy
Traditional Religious Orders
Books on Catholic Tradition
Magazines & Newspapers
Music
Prayers
Online Shops
One last thing worth mentioning is that membership in Una Voce Wyoming is not limited to residents of the state. Anyone who agrees with our aims and wishes to support our work may join by filling out the application and sending in the dues (either by mail or by PayPal). All dues go to support clergy training, the promotion of authentic sacred music, and other particular works that directly pertain to UVW's aims. And please, in your charity, say a Hail Mary for us! Our Lady of Victories, pray for us!
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| An Advent Mass in Powell, WY |
