But I pondered, how did this traditionally celebrated Novus Ordo facilitate my coming to this conclusion
for myself.
A) Silence in Church was outright shocking to me and a contrast to the culture of all of my other contemporary N.O. parishes where conversations can be heard before, during (especially through the sign of peace, which in my parishes goes on a little too long and becomes an “occasion for conversation”), and after Mass. I now prefer silence before, during and after and find a far deeper and life-altering spirituality evolving just due to my ability to focus on God and not all that is going on around me at Mass.
B) I recognized the priest’s posture had much to do with it. He sat off to the side, not facing me. During the Eucharistic Prayer he was faced the other way and not looking around as if to offer something for us to eat. While some may find this helps them to stay alert, I discovered that it drove me to focus on the priest, and not the Body of Christ (a discernment that only one can make for themselves and one that I did find in myself upon reflection). I can focus so deeply when the priest hunches over and says the words into the Chalice for example. I can’t explain why this is, it just is.
C) There is no flambuoyance on the part of the celebrant in a traditionally celebrated Novus Ordo. Cardinal Arinze speaks of showmanship that some priests get involved with during the Mass and how it can be distracting when God should be at the center. So, the showmanship issue was not just my experience with many of the priests, but Cardinal Arinze has called it out. This says there must be enough of it going on for him to notice. Furthermore, I don’t blame priests for it as it is something I believe they are taught in the seminary by some “liturigical experts” of the day.
D) Devoutness unfound in any parish I previously went to made me reflect very quickly how I had put everything but God at the center of my life. I recognized and told the Lord I had lost my sense of reverence as I watched a young girl, all of nine years old, genuflect to the floor with such visible devotion, it put me to shame. I cannot know what was in her heart and whether it was true or not, but God used her as an instrument to drive home the point to me that I simply never had any reverence. People arrive at Grotto often 30+ minutes prior to Mass and most people are there with 15 minutes to go. Unlike my previous parshes where I, along with half the parish ran out the door tripping over everyone before the priest left, Grotto-goers have a habit of not only staying in place until celebrant is out of sight, but a good 25-30% remain kneeling or in the Church somewhere relfecting quietly or doing devotions for another 15-20 minutes.
E) Homilies and sermons with enough chutzpah to blow me right out of the pew - for weeks and weeks after I arrived. For the first time in my life I was not getting fluff but the real deal. Those words, the fullness of the faith taught from the pulpit, addressing everything from morality to what watch on TV, to ABC and NFP, abortion, you name it. Nothing was exempt and I didn’t have to wait for lent to get the fullness of my religion. Never in my life have I had any priest from the pulpit delve into self-mortification and the benefits with regards to training the will. I had never been challenged to train my will so I just let my will have its way much fo the time on matters small and big. Homilies at Grotto were shocking, but refreshing and making me think deep. I never once felt threatened or felt fear from them, but rather a need to use the Sacrament of Penance more regular to work on matters mortal and venial now that I was beginning to understand them more. I believe most people who attend traditionally celebrated Novus Ordos would say the homilies are content rich and don’t avoid any topic, especially the most controversial of the day.
This is just the tip of the iceberg of things that caused me to see that God should always be at the center of the Mass and that worship should be unconditional. NO OTHER parish that celebrates contemorary style masses, with contemporary music, and all the physical contact ever helped me to see this.
I can’t help but to provide my own testimonial about how the traditionally celebrated liturgy changed my views on the Mass and ultimately my entire life.
You may want to re-evaluate where the division is being created. Traditional Novus Ordo’s are rarely found these days and they are as valid, and as licit, as a contemporary Novus Ordo. Both traditional and contemporary Novus Ordo Masses can be orthodox, or true, but there are certain things that simply facilitate my ability to focus my attention on God and put him at the center of my Mass instead of on myself and the people around me.
Peace
