On the 4th of June 2021, Una Voce Scotland hosted a Missa Cantata at Scotland’s National Marian Shrine. The Sung Votive Mass of the Sacred Heart was offered by Fr Liam O’Connor who offers the Extraordinary Form in his parish, St Mary’s Cleland and was assisted by servers from St Mary’s, St Brigid’s Toryglen and the FSSP in Edinburgh. The MC was Tommy Thomson and the music was provided by our own Schola Una Voce, directed by our chairman and director of music, Fraser Pearce.
Our prayers for good weather were answered, allowing the Mass to be held outdoors. This resulted in no restrictions on numbers. Holy Mass was preceded by the Sorrowful Mysteries of the rosary led by a member of the congregation at Cleland, author and teacher, Mike Hughes. Mike will be providing a fuller article on the evening in our next newsletter. During the rosary, five priests heard confessions and although confessions continued during the liturgy, Mass was delayed a little in order to facilitate the great numbers who queued for the sacrament.
The Mass was attended by around 300 people and while there were familiar faces, the vast majority were experiencing the beauty and depth of the Extraordinary Form for the first time. The event was live-streamed by Sancta Familia Media but this didn’t put off those who travelled from all over – from as far as Eriskay and Stranraer! Many local people too, came along to experience the liturgy and to make First Friday devotions. The notably high proportion of young people who were present adds to our claim that the Extraordinary Form has an important role to play in the New Evangelisation-drawing all people to the unchanging truth and goodness of the Catholic Faith which is presented in a particularly clear way in the Usus Antiqior.
The outdoor altar at the Massabielle Grotto was the perfect setting and the altar was bedecked with first class relics of St Pius X, St Jean Vianney, St Francis Xavier and St Maria Goretti from Carfin’s extensive collection of relics- the largest outside of the Vatican!
Sancta Familia Media live-streamed the Mass for those who live too far away to be there in person (you can watch the FULL VIDEO here) and were on hand to speak with the congregation afterwards. The feedback online and in person has been extremely positive with many asking for the Extraordinary Form to be offered more often.
Our thanks go to Fr Grant and the team at Carfin who, through the planning process and on the evening, gave us a very warm welcome. It is clear that they are passionate about making the National Shrine a home to all.
We look forward to sharing more about this Mass and hope that regaining the momentum that we built up before Covid will enable us to continue to evangelise through the sacred liturgy.
If you would like to find an Extraordinary Form Mass near you, view our Latin Mass Map here.
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