This month, there will be three Dominican Rite Masses celebrated by Fr. Bernard Confer, OP, at Our Lady of the Rosary Dominican Monastery located at 335 Doat Street in Buffalo. The first Low Mass in the Dominican Rite will be celebrated Friday, 10/20/17 in the Monastery Chapel at 3:00 P.M. On Friday, October 27, another Low Mass will be celebrated at the same time. On Sunday, October 29 (Feast of Christ the King), there will be a Missa Cantata, also celebrated at 3:00 P.M.
The Dominican Rite of Mass dates back to the middle of the twelfth century, having been ratified by the Dominican Order in 1256. It became an official liturgy of the Church in 1267 by Papal Bull of Pope Clement IV. The Dominican Rite of Mass, while rooted in the Traditional Latin Mass, contains significant differences, primarily in the preparatory prayers for Low Mass. Perhaps, the most distinctive feature of the Dominican Rite, and one it shares with Eastern Catholic liturgies, is the preparation of the chalice before Mass.
The Dominican Rite was maintained as an distinct liturgy until Vatican II, when the Novus Ordo Roman Rite was adopted. In 2011, Pope Benedict XVI, issued an instructional letter regarding the Motu Proprio, Summorum Pontificum, entitled Universae Ecclesiae, in which the Holy Father made clear that members of religious orders are permitted to use their own liturgical books in force in the year 1962.
We encourage everyone to support Fr. Bernard and the Dominican Nuns and to attend one of these Masses. More information about the Dominican Nuns of Our Lady of the Rosary can be found at https://opnuns.org/home/
