A petition for prayer and direction.
Dear Holy Father,
There are many in the world who support your cause of renewal of the Liturgy.
Those who are musicians, however, are being blocked from following you by priests who are more concerned about making people in the pews happy than they are renewing the liturgy. As a result secular music styles are all that most parishes hear when they attend weekend Mass.
Parishes that offer the Traditional Latin Mass appear to be forced to offer it at times that are not convenient by forces within the Diocese and Parishes. These faithful, who normally would be working for the renewal in their home parishes are now siphoned off to meet at these Sunday afternoon Masses at the few parishes that are willing to offer the Extraordinary Mass.
A large number of Catholics surveyed are willing to attend a Sunday Morning Traditional Latin Mass at 10:30, but are being denied this opportunity.
Priests who do attempt improvements in music are derided by their colleagues and many buckle under, frustrating the faithful who have joined together to sing Gregorian Chant and Polyphony.
One of your Bishops has banned Latin at Diocesan High School Mass, at a school that has such interest in Latin that they already employ two teachers.
He also has sanctioned the firing of a Cathedral Choir Director of 19 years standing, a faithful woman and replaced her with a new person who only three years ago told people that she was surprised to be named a parish music director since she could not read music. The Cathedral Choir has been informed that they, a choir that has sung for another Pope in Rome, will no longer sing the Ave Verum of Mozart since the Bishop has told the new director that he only wants "a little Latin".
Priests are discouraged in the Diocese from celebrating Holy Mass Ad Orientem.
We read magazines from 100 years ago where people separated by miles and miles write about the need to replace secular music style with chant and polyphony, change that never transpired.
Holy Father, the Internet is making possible change that was impossible for centuries. Today, we remain separated by miles and miles but can communicate in seconds. The number of people who wish to follow you and your leadership grows daily.
It is easy for us to blame the Bishops and the Cardinals for not communicating your message, and this is frequently heard. We remind ourselves that a Bishop and a Cardinal is only a humble parish priest who has been elevated to a higher office and that he retains all his human frailties.
So we turn to you, asking for your prayers and direction.
