Una Voce San Bernardino

Dear Mr. Gonzaga,
I personally spoke to Fr. William Young this morning who informed me (when I asked) that he says the TLM daily at the 9:30am Mass in San Francisco at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in the Castro district.
Please publish this on your website so that others may attend.

K.S.

An email I received on Apil 10, 2009 re the Latin Mass:

Hello Mr. Gonzaga,

My name is [Name withheld to protect privacy]. I am 15 years old, from San Bernardino, and I attend [San Bernardino] parish. Recently I have been going to the Latin Mass at San Secondo d’Asti. It is the only place nearby [edit] which offers the Extroardinary Form on Sundays and Holy Days. The problem is that my mother isn’t always willing to take me on Sundays (let alone Holy Days), I can’t drive myself yet, and it is hard to keep up with parish activities all the way over there.

[The San Bernardino parish] is a 15 minute walk for me, and it is very easy for me to get there. It is also the place where I received my baptism, my religious education, my first confession, my First Communion, etc. But now as I have grown older and matured, the new Mass doesn’t feel the best way for me. I’m not saying there is anything wrong with it or that is worse or something. It’s just that it is harder for me to concentrate with loud guitars, drums, people talking, etc. The Latin Mass simply makes it much easier for me to pray and appreciate the Holy Eucharist. I truly feel closer to our Lord at this form of the Mass.

I also think that if the EF were offered, it would bring the parish closer together because we would all be praying in the same language, rather than some people having to go to some other parish for Vietnamese, or some going to the Spanish, others going to the English, etc. Also, when I go to San Secondo d’Asti, I notice a much larger amount of people going there on Sundays. It is much quieter, more reverent and solemn before/during/after Mass, and that parish is in the middle of nowhere!

Anyways, I wanted to know if somehow you and the San Bernardino Una Voce chapter could help me to get the EF of the Mass prayed at my parish. I am going to ask the parish priest soon if he would learn how to pray the Latin Mass, but I’m not really sure how to approach him on it? And let’s be honest, how likely is he to say yes to some 15-year old, who is asking all by himself? I’m not really sure what else I can do after this point if he says no. If there is anything you can do to help, I would really appreciate it. This is my personal e-mail, and if you could call me, my cell phone number is [edit]. I really appreciate any help you can give me! Thank you!

Sincerely,

[Name withheld to protect privacy]

My response:

Dear Alfredo,

After this very exhausting day, your letter has certainly been a cherry on top of a pretty good day already. You will be pleased to know that I have already approached Father [edit] about the EF Mass, 6 months ago in fact. I have met with him, and as far as I know, he has already received some training in it from Fr. [edit]. I also ordered for him a DVD of how to celebrate the Latin Mass. Una Voce will do what we can to help support this work with catechesis and materials and resources… We do not have much funds, but we have some advertising and technological skills. What we need from the local parish, is energetic and bright young people like yourself who can honestly say they love the ancient form. Just like you, I stumbled upon the old Mass by accident. I learned about it pretty much by myself. I then introduced it to 15-20 of my young friends. Most of them absolutely love it. If it were closer, at say, [parish], they would go to the EF more than the OF. If you are interested in learning more about the Latin Mass, we can start a study group… but what I would need your help in is for you to gather up some interest among your friends. Then you can introduce them to Guasti, then we can help catechize them in the theology of the EF. I have videos to introduce the Latin Mass to them. With Father’s approval we can hold a study session there for the EF Mass.

I already know Father… so, don’t feel shy to ask him. He actually WANTS to say the old Mass… But, he needs some grassroots support from your parish. Just 5 of you would suffice to get some attention. You have an ally there already, his name is [edit]. That is his home parish, and he was one of my friends I introduced to Tradition and the EF Mass.

Let’s chat some more… But, I must go to dreamland now…

Pax tecum.

Laurence Gonzaga

CC: Una Voce Officers and Supp

His response:

Dear Mr. Gonzaga,

Thank you very much for your reply. I’m glad that you have approached Fr. [edit] already, and I didn’t know he was even considering saying the EF. If the EF were offered at [parish], it would be a huge blessing! I’m going to talk to Fr. [edit] after Easter. Also, please tell Mr. [edit] to contact me. I’ve given you my e-mail and my phone number, so feel free to pass any of that on to him. I haven’t met him, so I don’t know which Masses he typically goes to. If you could tell him about it as soon as possible, I’d probably be able to catch him after the vigil on Holy Saturday or one of the Easter Sunday Masses. I’m going to talk to some of the other people from the parish and ask if they would be able to help me. I would also be glad to start a study group. I already know the Ordinary of the Latin Mass and most of the important prayers by heart. I’m willing to offer as much time, money, and effort as I can.

Feel free to post any of my letter that you’d like! It would probably be good for people to know that it isn’t just [older people] who prefer the traditional Mass! Thanks again and I really appreciate all your help.

Pax domini sit semper tecum.

Alfredo

Perhaps you might consider listing this on your blog.

Your readership may be happy to learn of more priests learning the TLM

Here is a new story…