Going to my first EF Mass this coming Sunday

  • Thread starter Thread starter datritle
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
Bartolome_Casas said:
  1. Be prepared to, forever after this, be disappointed in the ordinary form of the mass, given the nonchalant, casual manner it is celebrated in most parishes.
Click to expand...
Preference is one thing, which should be made clear.

Making a giant umbrella general statement about a valid form of the Mass as done here is way too confusing for the audience of a website such as this, where the main audience is non-registered searching brothers and sisters.

Both forms and High and low are all great and all equate to the same sacrament. It is the physical reality Jesus left for His world to deliver His Grace.

Any frustration coming at Mass should be reviewed internally to help better focus on what is happening, and provide less focus on how it is happening.
 
** To me, as long as you are extra careful not to say Amen when the priest is giving you the Holy Eucharist, everything should go smoothly**

Yeah, wouldn’t THAT be uncomfortable! For example, as St. Augustine wrote: “For you hear: The Body of Christ!' and you answer: Amen!’ Be a member of Christ’s Body, so that your `Amen’ may be the truth.” Wait, what?
 
anp1215 said:
Many people have attended and loved the EF (myself included) while also maintaining love and appreciation for the OF. I don’t think you should be telling the OP to prepare him/herself for a future of disappointment in a valid form of the Mass.

OP, do you know if you’re going to a high or low Mass? I’ve been to a low Mass, and it’s super easy, easier than the OF. The altar server actually made all the responses on the people’s behalf, so I didn’t have to worry about what to respond.
Click to expand...
I am really not sure , high or low, but thank you for your advice 🙂
 
datritle said:
I am really not sure , high or low, but thank you for your advice 🙂
Click to expand...
Either way, I suggest just watching the priest’s actions closely, and aiming to unite yourself to Christ’s Sacrifice through prayer. Remember, the Mass is the same Sacrifice as Calvary; its the best paradigm through which to pray and meditate while you’re there.

Also, as an aside, in the traditional Mass it is not mandatory for the people to make the responses, like it is in the OF Mass, so don’t feel that you’re praying badly if you don’t say them the first time. You may pray better this time if you don’t.

I look forward to reading your impressions later. God bless!
 
TimSpalding said:
** To me, as long as you are extra careful not to say Amen when the priest is giving you the Holy Eucharist, everything should go smoothly**

Yeah, wouldn’t THAT be uncomfortable! For example, as St. Augustine wrote: “For you hear: The Body of Christ!' and you answer: Amen!’ Be a member of Christ’s Body, so that your `Amen’ may be the truth.” Wait, what?
Click to expand...
Come now, no need to be sarcastic.

In the old mass, the priest makes a mini-benediction, making the sign of the cross with the host as he says, (roughly) translated, “May the body of Jesus Christ bless you into life eternal, amen.” the communicant just tilts his or her head back and opens their mouth.
 
TimSpalding said:
** To me, as long as you are extra careful not to say Amen when the priest is giving you the Holy Eucharist, everything should go smoothly**

Yeah, wouldn’t THAT be uncomfortable! For example, as St. Augustine wrote: “For you hear: The Body of Christ!' and you answer: Amen!’ Be a member of Christ’s Body, so that your `Amen’ may be the truth.” Wait, what?
Click to expand...
The priest doesn’t say that in the EF. He says, “Corpus Domini nostri Jesu Christi custodiat animam tuam in vitam aeternam, amen.”

(The Body of our Lord Jesus Christ preserve thy soul until life everlasting. Amen.)

There is no need to say Amen, he says it for you.

EDIT: It appears that someone beat me to it. 😛
 
TimSpalding said:
** To me, as long as you are extra careful not to say Amen when the priest is giving you the Holy Eucharist, everything should go smoothly**

Yeah, wouldn’t THAT be uncomfortable! For example, as St. Augustine wrote: “For you hear: The Body of Christ!' and you answer: Amen!’ Be a member of Christ’s Body, so that your `Amen’ may be the truth.” Wait, what?
Click to expand...
In the last Spanish Mass I attended, the priest sang as he gave out communion.

I guess Amen was out of the question.
 
Come now, no need to be sarcastic.
Click to expand...
In the old mass, the priest makes a mini-benediction, making the sign of the cross with the host as he says, (roughly) translated, “May the body of Jesus Christ bless you into life eternal, amen.” the communicant just tilts his or her head back and opens their mouth.
Click to expand...
My point is simple. If you think the mass is something you have to get right in trivial ways–whether you remember to NOT say amen–I put it forward that you are getting it wrong. Such details are not without their purpose, but fretting about them is antithetical to the deep interior participation the mass requires.

In this case we have the extra irony that, as is often the case, the “modern” practice is actually the ancient practice. The ancient practice was for the priest to say “the body of Christ,” for the communicant to receive it in the hand and to say “amen”—what 99% of Catholics do today. Traditionalists are not always aware that what they question as dubious modernizations, such as saying mass in the language of regular people, saying it facing the people, receiving communion in the hand, etc.—are drawn straight from most ancient church’s practice. That is, the contemporary is the authentically “traditional,” and the “traditional” is holding on tight to what is–in church terms–just last week.
 
TimSpalding said:
My point is simple. If you think the mass is something you have to get right in trivial ways–whether you remember to NOT say amen–I put it forward that you are getting it wrong. Such details are not without their purpose, but fretting about them is antithetical to the deep interior participation the mass requires.

In this case we have the extra irony that, as is often the case, the “modern” practice is actually the ancient practice. The ancient practice was for the priest to say “the body of Christ,” for the communicant to receive it in the hand and to say “amen”—what 99% of Catholics do today. Traditionalists are not always aware that what they question as dubious modernizations, such as saying mass in the language of regular people, saying it facing the people, receiving communion in the hand, etc.—are drawn straight from most ancient church’s practice. That is, the contemporary is the authentically “traditional,” and the “traditional” is holding on tight to what is–in church terms–just last week.
Click to expand...
I think its reasonable to assume that there was a tone of light-heartedness when one poster mentioned (and I’m paraphrasing) “As long as you don’t say amen for communion, you’ll be alright!”

In fact, one could say that this poster was telling the person that for the most part to NOT worry about the details, that participating on an interior level is what they should worry about, as they will understand the mass by virtue of its similarly universal structure and familiarity with the Ordinary Form.

If we are going to quibble and bemoan about ‘traditionalists’ wanting things back a certain way when there is an even older method, I’d love to point out that sure, let’s have the priest say, “The body of Christ.” Let’s have the faithful receive the blessed sacrament in the right palm. Let’s have the faithful bend from their waist down to meet their palm and lick up any particles. Let’s have the faithful not use their fingers to touch the blessed sacrament at all. Let’s place a corporal/white sheet over women’s hands and place the blessed sacrament on the sheet. Let’s make women lick particles off the corporal.

That’s what happened when priests said, “The body of Christ” in St. Augustine’s day. If we’re gonna return to that, then let’s return to that-not fake it.

I for one never mentioned ad orientem at all in my previous post. However, if we want to look at ‘ancient’ practices, maybe we should consider why the liturgy of St. James, from the first century onward, is ad orientem with a wall and door obscuring the people from viewing the priest. Seems mean that the priest went to a separate room, eh?

You’re quick to label many things as ‘problems’ with traditionalists, but you have not defended the practices you mention. Why is it worse for the priest to make the mini-benediction instead of recite the phrase, “Corpus Christi/The body of Christ?”
 
well i am reporting back. I went to the Mass in the EF, and it was a High Mass!!! It was said by Augustinian Canons and it was the most amazing, and beautiful thing i have ever witnessed!!! I am going back next week, and the week after that, etc!
 
datritle said:
well i am reporting back. I went to the Mass in the EF, and it was a High Mass!!! It was said by Augustinian Canons and it was the most amazing, and beautiful thing i have ever witnessed!!! I am going back next week, and the week after that, etc!
Click to expand...
Thank you for letting us know. I am glad it went so well for you. God bless you.
 
datritle said:
I am going to be attending my first EF Mass this coming sunday, and I am a little nervous. Is there some resource out there I can use to help prepare me for the Mass? Thanks in advance!
Click to expand...
if you have a wife tell her about veiling in a way that wont offend her
 
datritle said:
well i am reporting back. I went to the Mass in the EF, and it was a High Mass!!! It was said by Augustinian Canons and it was the most amazing, and beautiful thing i have ever witnessed!!! I am going back next week, and the week after that, etc!
Click to expand...
Nice. 🙂
 
datritle said:
well i am reporting back. I went to the Mass in the EF, and it was a High Mass!!! It was said by Augustinian Canons and it was the most amazing, and beautiful thing i have ever witnessed!!! I am going back next week, and the week after that, etc!
Click to expand...
I’m so glad for you! I hope it helps you well in your spiritual journey.
 
Esrb99 said:
Come now, no need to be sarcastic.
Click to expand...
TimSpalding said:
My point is simple. If you think the mass is something you have to get right in trivial ways–whether you remember to NOT say amen–I put it forward that you are getting it wrong. Such details are not without their purpose, but fretting about them is antithetical to the deep interior participation the mass requires.
Click to expand...
When I recommend extra care in not saying Amen for those who are attending the Extraordinary Form for the first time, I do it simply out of reverence for the Holy Eucharist.

The priest expects you - like everyone - to receive the host after the blessing, not to open and close your mouth suddenly, risking the Most Sacred Body of Christ to fall on the floor - even though in the EF we do still have such things as communion plates held by the altar servers under the chin of the kneeling communicant, a precaution worthy of much praise.
TimSpalding said:
In this case we have the extra irony that, as is often the case, the “modern” practice is actually the ancient practice. The ancient practice was for the priest to say “the body of Christ,” for the communicant to receive it in the hand and to say “amen”—what 99% of Catholics do today.
Click to expand...
The extra irony, if anything, is that this “ancient practice” did exist in the first centuries, but reception on the mouth was quickly adopted as the preferred form of communion, until the year 878 AD in which reception on the hand for lay faithful was officially forbidden.

There is, of course, nothing wrong with the new way of acknowledging the Real Presence by responding Amen to “The Body of Christ” - as long as both the priest and the communicant know what each other is doing and act accordingly to offer utmost respect to that most sacred Body.
TimSpalding said:
Traditionalists are not always aware that what they question as dubious modernizations, such as saying mass in the language of regular people, saying it facing the people, receiving communion in the hand, etc.—are drawn straight from most ancient church’s practice. That is, the contemporary is the authentically “traditional,” and the “traditional” is holding on tight to what is–in church terms–just last week.
Click to expand...
Many if not most are quite often unaware of the meaning of the many things that used to be found in the traditional liturgy and are no longer present, as well as of the fact that all meaning of the new liturgy is to be understood only by looking at what was done in the previous 19 centuries and what each thing meant - in short, many are unaware of the fact that the Liturgy of Holy Church is not “the work of human hands”, but a patient reflection of the heavenly mysteries that has been perfected by the light of the Holy Spirit throughout the centuries.

Many don’t understand why a traditionalist prefers the priest to face ad orientem…why a traditionalist who sees the priest keep his thumb and index finger joined from the Elevation until the purification to avoid fragments of the Eucharist from falling does not enjoy the idea of everyone simply receiving the Eucharist on their hands…why a traditionalists who knows the history of Holy Church and understands what it meant for her to have one strong language in a world that was falling prey of chaos does appreciate the beauty of a most precise and ancient language which was elevated from the worldly to the sacred realm.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top