Vox Cantoris
On June 7 of 2014 a glorious event occurred in Toronto which many, your writer included, will never forget. Early in December of 2013 I was approached to put some organisational muscle into getting it rolling and to develop the music program and choir for an exceptional event - the 75th anniversary of a priestly ordination, yes you read that correctly -- 75 years a priest.
Msgr. Vincent Foy
Within a day, I found the man who would be the first Master of Ceremonies and shortly thereafter the Second Master of Ceremonies. You see, this Mass would be according to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite - the Roman Missal of 1962 and the Cardinal Archbishop of Toronto, Thomas Collins, knowing this, had graciously accepted to attend and Preside. If you know the details of the traditional liturgy this would be no easy task. There were two options for His Eminence he either would Celebrate a Pontifical Mass or he would Preside from the Throne in what is technically known as a "Mass in the Presence of a Greater Prelate." All you liturgical geeks out there will ooh and ah in understanding. What this means is that the Ordinary "presides" but does not "celebrate." He says the Prayers at the Foot of the Altar, blesses the incense and water, kneels at the faldstool during the Canon, gives the final blessing amongst other details but he does not perform the Sacrifice of the Holy Mass. Cardinal Collins did a splendid job considering he was ordained in the early 1970's; though he had been amongst the very last Subdeacons for the Diocese of London, he had never celebrated the Mass of all ages.
It was a glorious day, the Vigil of Pentecost, not a cloud in the sky and the Church, St. Lawrence the Martyr in Scarborough was resplendent and the Schola and choir well rehearsed. Mass began with a glorious procession toVaughan Williams' Come Down O Love Divine as a processional which included over 50 priests. Then came the Sacred Ministers - Priest, Deacon and Subdeacon all Toronto diocesan priests one under 50 one under 40 and the other under 30 - does that tell us anything? They were not even born when Paul VI celebrated that mass on a table facing the people at All Saints in Rome fifty years ago this past weekend in what was known when I was a boy as the New Mass. Little did we know that we were to get the New New Mass in 1969 and when they made me shake hands and thought they could play guitars better than Jimi Hendrix, I promptly left and didn't return for decades!
In came the Cardinal lead by a Subdeacon carrying the new Metropolitan Cross used for the first time outside the Cathedral. He wore a glorious cope which the MC and I found in a museum in a glass case. You have no idea how hard it was to put together red vestments for a Solemn Mass with all the copes and of fine enough quality for the event. We actually borrowed from museums and High Anglicans. What does that tell you!
So what is the point of this little story?
Well the priest in question was the wonderful pro-life hero Monsignor Vincent Foy. Msgr. Foy was born in Toronto on the Vigil of the Assumption in 1915. He was the youngest priest ordained in the history of Toronto and he is loved and admired by all.
Well, not quite all.
Monsignor was a great opponent of the schismatic Winnipeg Statement of Canada's bishops and suffered for it.
He also wrote a scathing assessment of Gregory Baum a notorious Canadian heretic born of a Jewish mother who became an Augustinian monk and a peritus at Vatican II. Later he dissented from the faith. Commonweal on February 15 1974 published an article where the heretic priest Baum declared that Catholic teaching on homosexuality would change and embrace homosexuality in a few years and he openly advocated so-called same sex "marriage." Baum later left the priesthood and married (a woman) and is greatly admired by the world with numerous degrees, honourary degrees and even the Order of Canada which is something he shares with notorious baby-killer Henry Morgentaler and water-bottle opponent Archbishop Weisgerber Emeritus of the non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Winnipeg.
Mr. Gregory Baum, dissenter from the Catholic faith, one time speaker at Toronto's Newman Centre, (more on that another time), Canada's Vatican II heretic, I mean peritus was lionised in this glowing video at Salt + Light Television "Canada's Catholic Channel of Hope."
Which leads me to a question.
When the oldest living priest in the Archdiocese of Toronto, a Monsignor for that matter and made one by Venerable Pius XII; a man who knew and paid the price, celebrates the 75th anniversary of his priestly ordination and the only one in Canada to ever attain such a milestone; whilst at the same time a Mass in the Presence of a Greater Prelate is held for the first time in over 50 years, is that not news that you might think might be featured on Salt + Light, "Canada's Catholic Channel of Hope?"
Nevermind, nothing to see here.
In came the Cardinal lead by a Subdeacon carrying the new Metropolitan Cross used for the first time outside the Cathedral. He wore a glorious cope which the MC and I found in a museum in a glass case. You have no idea how hard it was to put together red vestments for a Solemn Mass with all the copes and of fine enough quality for the event. We actually borrowed from museums and High Anglicans. What does that tell you!
So what is the point of this little story?
Well the priest in question was the wonderful pro-life hero Monsignor Vincent Foy. Msgr. Foy was born in Toronto on the Vigil of the Assumption in 1915. He was the youngest priest ordained in the history of Toronto and he is loved and admired by all.
Well, not quite all.
Monsignor was a great opponent of the schismatic Winnipeg Statement of Canada's bishops and suffered for it.
He also wrote a scathing assessment of Gregory Baum a notorious Canadian heretic born of a Jewish mother who became an Augustinian monk and a peritus at Vatican II. Later he dissented from the faith. Commonweal on February 15 1974 published an article where the heretic priest Baum declared that Catholic teaching on homosexuality would change and embrace homosexuality in a few years and he openly advocated so-called same sex "marriage." Baum later left the priesthood and married (a woman) and is greatly admired by the world with numerous degrees, honourary degrees and even the Order of Canada which is something he shares with notorious baby-killer Henry Morgentaler and water-bottle opponent Archbishop Weisgerber Emeritus of the non-Metropolitan Archdiocese of Winnipeg.
Mr. Gregory Baum, dissenter from the Catholic faith, one time speaker at Toronto's Newman Centre, (more on that another time), Canada's Vatican II heretic, I mean peritus was lionised in this glowing video at Salt + Light Television "Canada's Catholic Channel of Hope."
Which leads me to a question.
When the oldest living priest in the Archdiocese of Toronto, a Monsignor for that matter and made one by Venerable Pius XII; a man who knew and paid the price, celebrates the 75th anniversary of his priestly ordination and the only one in Canada to ever attain such a milestone; whilst at the same time a Mass in the Presence of a Greater Prelate is held for the first time in over 50 years, is that not news that you might think might be featured on Salt + Light, "Canada's Catholic Channel of Hope?"
Nevermind, nothing to see here.
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