Msgr. Daniel J. Bourke had been hospitalized at St. Joseph's Hospital  Sept. 3, after a fall.  Doctors treated him for a subdural hematoma, or swelling of blood in the brain, and his physical condition had temporarily stabilized but  he died Sept. 17, at St. Joseph's  after an operation.  Msgr. Bourke would have been 89 on Sept. 28 The following day, on Sept. 18, Gregory Ross Jenkins Sr. died of heart failure at St. Joseph's Hospital.  Greg was 54 years of age.

Both of these men were patiently awaiting the day that our petition may be granted, and they could once again see the Tridentine Mass celebrated in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist. 

The passing of Monsignor Daniel J. Bourke, who earned the unofficial title of Savannah's best loved Irish Catholic, and of Greg Jenkins, one of the first to sign and support our petition,  brought an end to the lives of  remarkable men who touched and inspired people with their faith and love of Christ Jesus.

Greg was retired from the Army, was a member of the Ancient Order of Hibernians, the Knights of Columbus, was active in the Boy Scouts of America, and was one of  the initiators and representatives of the Savannah Coalition for the Support of the Tridentine Mass..

Greg, along with  Dr. Felix Maher, at the request of the bishop, attended the meeting of the Deanery of Priests to present our petition for the Tridentine Mass.  He had expressed his love for the Tridentine Mass, and felt it would unfair to let the next generation pass without ever experiencing the beauty of this Traditional Roman Rite.

Though we grieve their loss, their deaths are less a reason for sadness than it is a cause  for thankfulness and appreciation for the contributions they have made to our community and our Faith..  In these days, when good role models within our society are few and far between, it is men like these, that have shown us the way to goodness and truth of the Traditions handed down to us from the Apostles, Saints, and Doctors of the Church.  To many of us in Savannah, life just won't be the same  without them.  They will forever live in our hearts and minds.

Even  though, with his indult,  Ecclesia Dei,  John  Paul II encouraged  bishops to be generous in permitting the Latin Mass, Bill Wrobleski, speaking before Latin Mass supporters in Springfield, MA on December 4, spoke for many of us in saying "They are not being very generous."

After  describing the debate over how  unlawful it is  to suppress the Latin Mass, Wrobleski again  cited the 1988 moto proprio and noted where the Bishop is petitioned by the people, the Bishop should permit  the Latin Mass in his diocese.

Wrobleski noted that the Roman Rite can be traced to the time of St. Gregory the Great and his compilation of liturgical texts of the Latin West in the 6^th century.  "The Roman Rite  is the oldest,  most  venerable rite in the Catholic Church,"  he said,  Its Latin language has not changed in 1400 years!”

The Novus Ordo was  promulgated in 1969 by Pope Paul VI," noted Wrobleski.  He pointed out that the English version has changes that seem to reflect local  whims on a frequent basis. Wrobleski  recalled  that one of the purposes of the Tridentine Council's codification of the Latin Rite was to combat the heresy of Protestantism. 

His audience recognized the role of the Latin Rite to combat the heresy of Modernism in our own time.  He noted that Latin has been the official language of the Church from the third  century. "Meanings in Latin do not change," he said.  "The Latin retains the doctrinal integrity today,  just as it has in centuries past,  and  the ancient language is not subject to the manipulation that the present day vernacular suffers."

Wrobleski described the origins of the Mass and specific decisions during the Council of Trent.  He provided examples of reverence in the Tridentine Mass, for example the prayers at the foot of the altar.  These prayers provide the priest a special grace, he observed. "The priest will not ascend the altar until the prayers are said, which reminds the priest how unworthy he is."

Wrobleski provided examples of how sin, purgatory, hell and the world are presented in  more  realistic terms  in the Latin Mass.  "These are topics modem man finds unpleasant," noted Wrobleski.  He noted that our Faith addresses them realistically be restoring fear of the Lord and his just punishment for our sins, in the Latin Rite.

Wrobleski pointed out that the new Rite of Mass was drawn up by a  "panel of experts" appointed by Pope Paul VI. These same "experts" stated that  "the Roman Canon was very deficient". This same Canon has served the Church since the time of the Apostles. Longing  for  a  relationship with  the transcendent, which restores the humility in these irreverent times, many lay people are turning back  to the timeless teaching of our spiritual ancestors,  and choosing the liturgy of  St. Ambrose and Pope Leo VI, over the contemporary styles that seem to maintain no stability.
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Wrobleski researched an encyclical from Pope Paul VI, jubilate Deo,  and found that it urged  that the faithful be able to sing the Mass in Gregorian Chant.  Then he sadly noted, "Every bishop in the world ignored him."

As an exercise, Wrobleski recommended that the layperson compare the Novus Ordo prayers to those of  the traditional Latin Rite. He suggested that one will easily find that the transcendence and mystery that so many are now searching for, are firmly planted in the ancient Rite of Mass.