For many years, the Requiem Mass was banned in Boston (among other dioceses) but in October 1998 Cardinal Law issued a letter to the Traditional Community at Holy Trinity Church in Boston in which he approved once again the use of the Requiem Mass. There have been a number of funerals since then which have used the centuries old Requiem Mass, but this year was the first time Holy Trinity used the Requiem Mass for All Souls Day in many years. The following account is from Christine Quagan who attended:
A High Requiem Mass for the souls of members of or others close to the Latin Mass Community who had died during the past year was offered by Father Harold Johnson of Regina Cleri at Holy Trinity on All Souls Day, Tuesday, November 2. About 120 people attended. The Holy Trinity Latin Schola, directed by George Krim, and the Schola Amicorum, directed by John Salisbury, provided the music, including all the sung propers. Dr. Michael Foley of Boston College prepared special program notes explaining the service, which, on All Souls Day is nearly identical to the Requiem Mass said at the time of a person's death. Dr. Foley explained:
"The Requiem Mass, which is said for funerals and on All Souls Day, reflects a host of sometimes conflicting emotions, from sorrow and a sense of loss to comfort in the Resurrection to anxiety at the thought of one's own mortality. Thus, the Requiem Mass does not ignore a single facet of Christian mourning but captures all of the ambivalence which the average believer experiences when confronted with the humiliation of dying and the glorious possibility of rising again. . . . Yet the Requiem Mass does not allow us to sink to despair or to remain unmoved in our grief. Rather, it is precisely by starting where we are that it can gently direct our hearts to a new understanding of death. The proper prayers . . . remind us of our rebirth through baptism, while the readings preach the definitive victory of new life over mortal frailty. Finally, the Introit brings us back full circle to the original purpose for remembering the dead at Mass. The verse from Psalm 64, "A vow shall be paid to Thee in Jerusalem," alludes to the fact that Christ has paid the debt for mankind's sins once and for all and that this remission is "re-presenced" at every Mass for our participation and salvation. This is the ultimate ground of our hope, not only for our dead, but for ourselves."
What better explains the mystery of salvation than this passage translated from the sequence Dies Irae? "When the Judge His seat attaineth, And each hidden deed arraigneth, Nothing unavenged remaineth. What shall I, frail man, be pleading? Who for me be interceding when the just are mercy needing? King of majesty tremendous, Who dost free salvation send us, Fount of pity, then befriend us."
Let us pray for all the Holy Souls in Purgatory, who have experienced the reality which we will face some day.