On Saturday 27th of last month, a meeting was held at St.John Fisher Catholic Church , in Lynwood Pretoria with the aim of organising a group who wish to restore the Extraodinary Form in their own archdiocese. It was a great comfort to see that there are still those who desire to regain their lost liturgical heritage, and most importantly that there are still priests who would be willing to provide for their needs.
As of yet, not much can be said about any substantial gains with regard to actualy having the TLM celebrated once again in an official capacity, however, the effort is still in its infancy and has to "crawl before it can walk". Nonetheless, one can be at least greatful for the fact that their specific cause has not been met with the usual hostility that many are indeed faced with when presenting such a request, that their specific spiritual needs be met.
It was quite dissapointing when we found out that Monsigneur no longer wished to be a part of this great initiative, however in my own personal capacity, I do not wish to force any member of the clergy to do something that would be against his own will.
In his own words, he stated repeatedly that he did not see a "felt need" which would promt him to provide the extraordinary form of the Mass for those who so desired it.
As of yet and as can be expected, those who have been exposed to the traditional liturgy and are now fighting for its reintroduction are quite small. Those who have not been exposed to the TLM, are even smaller in number.
Nevertheless, in uniting ourselves with our fellow Catholics we must continue to turn to God in prayer in the hope that our spiritual heritage might one day be restored herein South Africa, in its official diocesan capacity.
I must state however, that the Traditinal Mass and Sacraments have been provided here in South Africa for quite some time, even going as far back just after the time of the changes of 1969. I am here refering to the Priests of and those who worked closely with the Society of St. Pius X.
In going back to what I mentioned previously, we need to firstly consolidate ourselves as traditional Catholics here in South Africa under one banner, and with the help of God we need to expose the great benefits and graces contained within the traditional liturgy to those who have had no contact with it or have not been in contact with it for a number of years.
It was suggested that, in order to gain futher exposure for this specific initiative, anouncements would be made at the Mass notices as well as included into the parish bulletins of those Priests who were obliging to the effort.
Summorum Pontificum Johannesburg will continue to promote and support this effort, when possible. Updates will be posted concerning this specific initiative.
Calvin James Montgomery
President
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