Interestingly, I just finished reading that one! Perhaps the American Presbyterian scene is different to ours? More fragmented, I imagine. They use the Book of Common Order here, with lots of thees and thous somewhat like Common Prayer.
But you see, it was common practise and belief amongst the laity in anti-Protestant sentiment to believe that entering a non-Catholic church was a sin however it never was particularly enshrined in any apologetic or catechetical way. My great-grandparents had two weddings, in fact, and that was in the late 1930’s - my great grandfather was an Anglican and a member of a parish deeply rooted in the Oxford Tradition of High Church, Anglo-Catholicism, yet they married at my great grandmothers parish - Roman Catholic, and the next day with the blessing of her parish priest, went to the Anglican Church with her new husband and the Anglican priest prayed for and blessed their marriage.
But then my great grandfather converted to Catholicism, because he became mystified by the tradition and deep reverence in the true Mass, as well as the authority of the Pope which his own sect had fallen away from.
But you say I think the Church today is in heresy? Absolutely, vehemently, not. I think we are suffering the cross of the age - heterodoxy. The old translation did not accurately represent the words of the Latin, and it can not ever truly do so - which is why I always prefer the Latin to the vernacular, since it is ‘set apart’ for divine purposes. But now we have a translation of the sacred liturgy where Our Lord himself becomes our food, and under the veil of bread and wine we receive Him. At the words of consecration: transubstantiation. As an act of praise a prayer, worship, and sacrifice, I would only want the best of our human expression - an expression our Creator deigned us to have, to be used in addressing her. He loves us, and we ought to love him and use the gifts of His grace to offer up the best of our might.
When we utilize a liturgy devoid of much beauty, eloquence, and clear expression of our theological belief, it confuses the laity and we can see this is obvious through Church attendance these days. We pray what we believe, which is why we use “consubstantial” and “only say the word and my soul shall be healed” because the reality of the reception of the Eucharist is such a greatly humbling act, and such a mysterious expression of God’s love; that he might allow us to participate in Him, and become one in Him. The Church, as the mystical body of Christ, must at all times show due reverence to Christ, the High Priest.
Our Church can never fall into heresy: its priests, bishops, laity, popes, and religious can. Lately we have a crisis in this regard, as we reach out to Protestants we must be clear not to become like them, but to show how they ought to fully be blessed by the fulness of true in the love of the Saviour of mankind, the eternal God.
Interestingly, the translation became more poetic and accurate but the structure did not change. This is important for a Church with over a 2000 year history, because the accuracy in language for the highest form of prayer on Earth must be handled with great care, and if we do, we will be showered with grace and blessings. The more carefully and reverently we treat the Mass, more numerously will souls return with open hearts. And to conclude, I don’t disagree with the vernacular Mass - I go every weekend, but I also attend the Latin Mass and recognise that Latin ought to have a sort of primacy as the documents of VII indicated.
