Sumptuous altar linens cloaking a crowded, battered-up table: a large crucifix, symmetrically flanked by precisely arranged candlesticks and candelabra; a Sacramentary poised on an ornate stand; an array of framed, Latin-imprinted altar cards; candlesnuffers tucked discreetly behind the whole. Windows on either side of the makeshift altar display small statues of Our Lady of Guadalupe and our Holy Father Dominic. The “nave” of the temporary chapel is meticulously clean. Chairs are arranged in rows and columns with mathematical precision. A line of prie-dieu at the front serves as a portable altar rail. No one minds the draped black screen off to the right (behind which a mountain of much-used furniture and multifarious mismatched knick-knacks has been stowed—the bongo drums are in the kitchen next-door, along with the foosball table). A solemn-faced acolyte rings a bell and Mass begins.

This is the room allotted to the Catholic Student Ministry (CSM) at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Charlottesville, Virginia, temporarily appropriated and dramatically redecorated for the Dominican Rite Missa Cantata. Over the last ten years, St. Thomas Aquinas has been blessed with the presence of Father Augustine Thompson, O.P., S.T.M. His work as a Professor of Religious Studies and History at the University of Virginia has borne much fruit, of which the celebration of the Dominican Rite Mass is but a single example.

In recent years, the Dominican Rite Mass (Missa Cantata) has appeared several times at the parish—including on the Feast of the Assumption, the Solemnity of the Feast of St. Joseph—and, in the present academic semester, has been instituted as a monthly occurrence. Our final Missa Cantata for the school year will take place on May 17th. This will also be the last time that Fr. Augustine celebrates Mass and preaches at St. Thomas before he leaves permanently to take up a new teaching post at his Province’s seminary in Oakland, California.

For those who wish to learn more about this exquisite ancient Liturgy, Father Augustine and his colleagues provide many resources, including the New Liturgical Movement blog and its specialized Dominican offshoot.

Mass will begin promptly at 10:15am. Come early!