Are Traditionalists too Legalistic?

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I have a booklet entitled The Challenge of Atheism to the World and a Call for Unity in the Church by the Very Reverend Alphonsus M. Duran. Here is a relevant passage:
What about the isolated practice of truth, the ā€œconservativeā€ or ā€œtraditionalistā€ side of the coin? There are many who work long and hard at promoting and preaching orthodoxy. But they get so bent and narrow minded in their zeal the the orthodoxy they preach becomes ā€œMYā€ orthodoxy, a self-righteous kind of thing in which they get caught up in their own prestige more than in humble fidelity to the Church. There is no one more orthodox than Satan. He is an angel with alot of experience. He is a better theologian than any of us can ever be, but he is in hell because he has no love. Let us practice orthodoxy, but with humility and charity.
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I would agree that there have been abuses in the church that need to be corrected, but the problem I see with the traditionalists is that they risk becoming the Pharisees that Jesus condemned for picking over the smallest things while ignoring the big picture.
 
Just what do YOU mean by the label ā€œtraditionalist?ā€
Please define it further. Thank you.
 
I love the reverence of the Tridentine Mass. Yesterday I went to a N.O. Mass with my son. There was absolutely no quiet time to pray. Before Mass it was so noisy I could barely stand it. Nobody stopped talking before or throughout Mass. When I go to the Tridentine Mass I never hear a peep out of anyone.
 
Iā€™m not a big fan of labels. I just believe that the Mass should be offered consistently and according to the rubrics, without a lot of individualized adaptations. Is that so bad?

So I guess that makes me a traditionalist.

Try not to hate me. šŸ˜‰
 
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WhiteDove:
What do you think? Are Traditionalists too legalistic??? šŸ™‚
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I am a trditionalist pretty much. I donā€™t always go to the latin mass but I find that the latin mass is much better than the NO mass. I hope the traditional movement grows, because the traditionalists are very faithful to the church.
 
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moira:
I love the reverence of the Tridentine Mass. Yesterday I went to a N.O. Mass with my son. There was absolutely no quiet time to pray. Before Mass it was so noisy I could barely stand it. Nobody stopped talking before or throughout Mass. When I go to the Tridentine Mass I never hear a peep out of anyone.
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I know what your saying. It seems like most of the people that go to church at an NO mass do not want to be there. At the tridentine, people are so reverent.
 
Since I have been reading different posters here I have read some traditionalists that are out of balance and intolerant of other legitimate Catholic practices. They seem to be the exception though, rather the rule.
 
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moira:
I love the reverence of the Tridentine Mass. Yesterday I went to a N.O. Mass with my son. There was absolutely no quiet time to pray. Before Mass it was so noisy I could barely stand it. Nobody stopped talking before or throughout Mass. When I go to the Tridentine Mass I never hear a peep out of anyone.
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Wellā€¦yesterday I went to a N.O mass and there was plenty of time to pray. It was very quiet and reverent beforehandā€¦no noise, no people talking or anything. I didnā€™t hear a peep out of anyone.

Iā€™m just saying that to make the point that you canā€™t make general statements like that.

dream wanderer
 
dream wanderer:
Iā€™m just saying that to make the point that you canā€™t make general statements like that.

dream wanderer
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The poll question itself is a rather general statement!šŸ™‚
 
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pnewton:
Since I have been reading different posters here I have read some traditionalists that are out of balance and intolerant of other legitimate Catholic practices. They seem to be the exception though, rather the rule.
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I for one am wary of so-called traditionalists of that stripe, who talk as though there is absolutely nothing good with regards the Novus Ordo Mass and Vatican II. These people somehow often mistake the accidents(or externals) for the substance, which would certainly account for their over-critical attitudes. I agree though that they are exceptions.

Gerry šŸ™‚
 
Perhaps by ā€œtraditionalistā€ you mean somebody who is unhappy with how Mass is celebrated at the Roman Catholic Church today.

I canā€™t say much about that. I am happy to go to Mass when I can. It works. I am not unhappy with Mass. I can understand it.

My 2nd RCIA class was last night.
 
There are plenty of Legalists on the NO side too. Think about all of the Spirit of Vatican II ā€œhaftasā€ we have endured. Weā€™ve been told we hafta receive Communion in the hand, we hafta receive Communion standing, we hafta hold hands for the Our Father, we hafta gather around the altar for the Consecration, we hafta have altar girls as well as boys, we hafta have plenty of EMHC in order to have lay participation (whether they are actually needed for distribution or not), we hafta include guitar music or we will lose the youth, we *hafta * sing Protestant songs in order to be ecumenical, we hafta let all of the children who come even sporadically to CCE receive the Sacraments even if unprepared, we hafta, we hafta, we haftaā€¦

At least the Traditionalists have better references for their legalism.
 
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kmktexas:
There are plenty of Legalists on the NO side too. Think about all of the Spirit of Vatican II ā€œhaftasā€ we have endured. Weā€™ve been told we hafta receive Communion in the hand, we hafta receive Communion standing, we hafta hold hands for the Our Father, we hafta gather around the altar for the Consecration, we hafta have altar girls as well as boys, we hafta have plenty of EMHC in order to have lay participation (whether they are actually needed for distribution or not), we hafta include guitar music or we will lose the youth, we *hafta *sing Protestant songs in order to be ecumenical, we hafta let all of the children who come even sporadically to CCE receive the Sacraments even if unprepared, we hafta, we hafta, we haftaā€¦

At least the Traditionalists have better references for their legalism.
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Kristine,
:amen: But, I still feel this should be kept in mind from the above question on the poll:
Some Traditionalists have an unhealthy preoccupation with rubrics, but many others are more grounded in Christā€™s message of love.
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God Bless, Annunciata
 
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kmktexas:
There are plenty of Legalists on the NO side too. Think about all of the Spirit of Vatican II ā€œhaftasā€ we have endured. Weā€™ve been told we hafta receive Communion in the hand, we hafta receive Communion standing, we hafta hold hands for the Our Father, we hafta gather around the altar for the Consecration, we hafta have altar girls as well as boys, we hafta have plenty of EMHC in order to have lay participation (whether they are actually needed for distribution or not), we hafta include guitar music or we will lose the youth, we *hafta *sing Protestant songs in order to be ecumenical, we hafta let all of the children who come even sporadically to CCE receive the Sacraments even if unprepared, we hafta, we hafta, we haftaā€¦

At least the Traditionalists have better references for their legalism.
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I second Annunciataā€™s ā€˜amenā€™

I would be happy with the N.O. in Latin, like it was at my college, but it doesnā€™t exist. And with the vernacular, there invariably comes the breaking of rubrics which I donā€™t want my children to experience.

As a friend of mine says, he attends the N.O. about once a year so as to remind himself why he drives his family 70 miles each way to the Fraternity of St. Peter parish in our city. We fortunately live a bit closer.
 
Sorry Annunciata,

I didnā€™t mean to sound uncharitable. I should have also referenced my choice from the poll.
The traditionalist movement is just another part of the diverse patchwork of the universal church. Itā€™s no more legalistic than any other, just a different emphasis
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Some Traditionalists have an unhealthy preoccupation with rubrics, but many others are more grounded in Christā€™s message of love.
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But let us not forget that one of the ways we can show our Love for Christ is to obey his rules and the rules of his Church.*
 
ā€œLiberals/Progressivesā€ are the most legalistic people I have ever met. You donā€™t dare to deviate from their many rules. The penalties are severe. Just tell a liberal nun liturgist that you are going to pray the canon in Latin. You will hear all kinds of talk about ā€œrulesā€.
 
Oh Father,

There are many of us that would have bought tickets to see that conversation. šŸ‘
 
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