Rorate Mass in Kinkora!

In the pre-dawn hours of Saturday, December 17, 2011, a Rorate Mass will be held at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Kinkora, Ontario. Kinkora is about 20km northwest of Stratford in the Diocese of London. The Mass will beging at 5:30AM and end just before dawn. Following this holy liturgy a "pot-luck" breakfast will be held.

The "Rorate Mass," so called because it begins with the words "Rorate caeli desuper, et nubes pluant iustum..." (Drop down dew, ye heavens, from above, and let the clouds rain the Just One...), is a votive Mass offered within the season of Advent in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Celebrated by candlelight, and traditionally held before dawn, this beautiful liturgy is esteemed particularly as part of the patrimony of the German and Polish-speaking peoples. Diane M. Korzeniewski, OCDS, publisher of the blog Te Deum Laudamus, has an informative article on her blog about the Rorate Mass celebrated at Assumption Grotto in Detroit.