How to prepare a parish for the Extraordinary Form?

[PhilotheaZ]

There is a local priest who wants to introduce the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in his parish. He would like to eventually take one of the existing Sunday Mass time slots and reserve it for the Latin Mass.

He wants to approach it in a way that is sensitive to the feelings and potential resistance of the parishioners. He knows that a time of preparation and catechesis will be needed, but is unsure exactly how to carry it out.

A couple of things that come to my mind are:

• Gradually indroducing the people’s Latin parts of the Mass — Gloria, Kyrie (Greek), Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, etc. — into the Ordinary Form of the Mass, adding one at a time rather than all at once;
• Having the choir learn and gradually introduce some traditional Latin hymns;
• Beginning to celebrate the Ordinary Form ad orientem, with an explanation during a homily of why he is doing this;
• Helping them understand that it is not necessary for the people to understand all the words the priest is saying, that the priest has his role and the people have theirs (they can have active participation without following every word).

My question is: For those of you whose parish has made a smooth transition, what was done that made it work? For those of you whose parish attempted it but it did not go over very well, what can we learn from your experience?

I think I have seen this addressed on some websites in the past, but I cannot locate them. So if you can point me toward any written resources in addition to your personal experience, that would be great.

Thanks!

 

[Eric_Olsen]

I think what you outlined is a good start. I would have father emphasize more on what actual participation really is and they way Pope Benedict explains it.

There is a local priest who wants to introduce the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in his parish. He would like to eventually take one of the existing Sunday Mass time slots and reserve it for the Latin Mass.

He wants to approach it in a way that is sensitive to the feelings and potential resistance of the parishioners. He knows that a time of preparation and catechesis will be needed, but is unsure exactly how to carry it out.

A couple of things that come to my mind are:

• Gradually indroducing the people’s Latin parts of the Mass — Gloria, Kyrie (Greek), Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, etc. — into the Ordinary Form of the Mass, adding one at a time rather than all at once;
• Having the choir learn and gradually introduce some traditional Latin hymns;
• Beginning to celebrate the Ordinary Form ad orientem, with an explanation during a homily of why he is doing this;
• Helping them understand that it is not necessary for the people to understand all the words the priest is saying, that the priest has his role and the people have theirs (they can have active participation without following every word).

My question is: For those of you whose parish has made a smooth transition, what was done that made it work? For those of you whose parish attempted it but it did not go over very well, what can we learn from your experience?

I think I have seen this addressed on some websites in the past, but I cannot locate them. So if you can point me toward any written resources in addition to your personal experience, that would be great.

Thanks!

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

There is a local priest who wants to introduce the Extraordinary Form of the Mass in his parish. He would like to eventually take one of the existing Sunday Mass time slots and reserve it for the Latin Mass.

He wants to approach it in a way that is sensitive to the feelings and potential resistance of the parishioners. He knows that a time of preparation and catechesis will be needed, but is unsure exactly how to carry it out.

A couple of things that come to my mind are:

• Gradually indroducing the people’s Latin parts of the Mass — Gloria, Kyrie (Greek), Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei, etc. — into the Ordinary Form of the Mass, adding one at a time rather than all at once;
• Having the choir learn and gradually introduce some traditional Latin hymns;
• Beginning to celebrate the Ordinary Form ad orientem, with an explanation during a homily of why he is doing this;
• Helping them understand that it is not necessary for the people to understand all the words the priest is saying, that the priest has his role and the people have theirs (they can have active participation without following every word).

My question is: For those of you whose parish has made a smooth transition, what was done that made it work? For those of you whose parish attempted it but it did not go over very well, what can we learn from your experience?

I think I have seen this addressed on some websites in the past, but I cannot locate them. So if you can point me toward any written resources in addition to your personal experience, that would be great.

Thanks!

Slowly introducing the Latin into the liturgy, HEAVY catechesis (sp?) during the HOMILIES, notifications in the bulletin, and a usage of ad orientam will lead a parish to the EF. Also, using the Roman Canon in the OF.

Most of all, the priest needs to hit it with homilies, bulletin-information, and maybe even fliers?

 

[Walden]

What about the architecture of the Church itself? Altar rails and other visible signs will help people get more comfortable with the Extraordinary Form (and it can’t hurt with the OF either).

 

[3Sanctus]

I heard you can’t add an altar rail to a church that doesn’t have one or that had it removed (although the building of the local FSSP chapel obviously proves that wrong). Is this so? Could any priest, by his choosing, add/re-add an altar rail? Would he need persmission from his bishop to do so? What about push the altar backing and/or celebrating ad orientalis? Or can priests pretty much be as traditional as they like, especiall since the Holy Father’s motu proprio on the subject?

In Christ.
Stephen

 

[BayernAnhaenger]

I heard you can’t add an altar rail to a church that doesn’t have one or that had it removed (although the building of the local FSSP chapel obviously proves that wrong). Is this so? Could any priest, by his choosing, add/re-add an altar rail? Would he need persmission from his bishop to do so? What about push the altar backing and/or celebrating ad orientalis? Or can priests pretty much be as traditional as they like, especiall since the Holy Father’s motu proprio on the subject?

In Christ.
Stephen

That sounds wrong (the can’t add an altar rail). I think the addition of the altar rail would need the pastor’s permission.

To “push the altar back”, all the priest would need is… an altar. He can say ad orientam (for the NO), because the NO PRESUMES the priest is ad orientam. Versus populum was merely an innovation imposed by the Spirit of Vatican II.

A priest can really be as traditional as he likes, especially if he is a pastor (because pastor’s are king in their parish, for the most part).

 

[Lainey63]

What about the architecture of the Church itself? Altar rails and other visible signs will help people get more comfortable with the Extraordinary Form (and it can’t hurt with the OF either).

Perhaps the op should give you the name of the church and the address…along with the quote of the costs and you can make a donation for the costs of materials, supplies & labor…

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Perhaps the op should give you the name of the church and the address…along with the quote of the costs and you can make a donation for the costs of materials, supplies & labor…

Thanks for the generous suggestion , but Father already has some environmental changes in mind that should help considerably.

 

[John_Higgins]

Just curious, does anyone in the parish want the EF? If they don’t how does this serve the needs of the faithful?

John

 

[palmas85]

Just curious, does anyone in the parish want the EF? If they don’t how does this serve the needs of the faithful?

John

Well I guess you could look at it in another way. How did the introduction of the Pauline Rite serve the needs of the faithful?

The answer is more than likely the same,

 

[PhilotheaZ]

Just curious, does anyone in the parish want the EF? If they don’t how does this serve the needs of the faithful?

A few families in that parish do, and it will serve the needs of the larger community, drawing families from miles around who desire the EF (it won’t be available in every parish). But it would be nice if people from that parish could at least experience it and understand why it is being offered.

 

[m134e5]

Just curious, does anyone in the parish want the EF? If they don’t how does this serve the needs of the faithful?

It may help the priest… Celebrating the Mass isn’t just something he does for the benefit of the congregation- he does it for his own benefit as well.

The needs of the faithful should, of course, be a priority- but needs are not always desires- that’s why we have bishops who appoint pastors, as opposed to many protestant denominations where the congregation votes on whether or not to hire a new one.

That being said, I have seen the bad side of what can happen when the extraordinary form of the Mass is introduced to a parish that is not really ready for it- and it has nearly destroyed the interest and enthusiasm for it that I once had (I am definitely no modernist- I once was totally in love with the Traditional Latin Mass, I wanted to attend it exclusively- I even wanted to be a priest in an order that celebrated it exclusively).

 

[Dauphin]

Just curious, does anyone in the parish want the EF? If they don’t how does this serve the needs of the faithful?

The Church’s tradition is the inheritance of every Catholic. Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos has made it absolutely clear that the Motu Proprio is a gift for the whole Church. He’s called on all seminaries to offer formation in the Traditional Latin Mass.

The faith can’t be centred on man, but must be centred on God. We can’t worry about the “tastes” of the faithful. They must be catechised and conformed to the mind of the Church and the true spirit of the liturgy.

 

[John_Higgins]

m134e5:

That being said, I have seen the bad side of what can happen when the extraordinary form of the Mass is introduced to a parish that is not really ready for it- and it has nearly destroyed the interest and enthusiasm for it that I once had

That’s my point. The paternalistic attitude “The TLM is good for you” isn’t really going to cut it. But since, as the OP said, there are a few families that want it, it’s worth a try.

Admittedly, I’m a member of a large parish that is said to be quite liberal. That being said, our excellent music ministry has led us in song for the Sanctus and Agnus Dei in Latin and the Kyrie in Greek. We are a mile and a half from a church that does EF (High and Low) and OF (Latin and English). There is no great hue and cry in our parish for the EF. If anyone wants it, we know where to go.

John

 

[PhilotheaZ]

But since, as the OP said, there are a few families that want it, it’s worth a try.

There are a few families in the **parish **who want it. There are **lots **of families in the **region **who want it. This is likely to be a regional thing.

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

There is no great hue and cry in our parish for the EF. If anyone wants it, we know where to go.

The EF need not be foisted upon every congregation that is vehemently opposed to it (it’s not so much about meeting people’s desires, though, as meeting them where they are and pushing them to grow from there), but neither ought anyone to assume that the Holy Father’s intentions with the motu proprio were that the ghetto status of the EF ought to be maintained so that everyone desiring to experience or frequent it could “know where to go.” Towards the pope’s long-term wish that the EF should be an integrated part of most or even all parishes (that wish having been communicated to us by Cdl. Castrillon), all pastors ought to be studying how best to balance popular attachment to and demand for the OF with the ideal of exposing every parish to the EF. Pope Benedict does not intent that the EF fully supplant the OF, but he certainly expects it to be more widespread and normalized than simply letting people travel to it if they wish.

Long response aside, then, I think the OP’s proposal should serve just fine as a good introduction of the EF, with the caveat that I would do more to introduce ad orientem than using a single homily. I believe it was Fr. Jay Scott Newman from South Carolina that Fr. Z featured during his own transition to liturgical east, and he catechized through homily and bulletin for a month before making the change - a similar or longer time could then be used to get people used to the idea of the switch of a particular Mass to the EF, all the while continuing with homiletics and catechetics.

 

[malphono]

The EF need not be foisted upon every congregation that is vehemently opposed to it (it’s not so much about meeting people’s desires, though, as meeting them where they are and pushing them to grow from there), but neither ought anyone to assume that the Holy Father’s intentions with the motu proprio were that the ghetto status of the EF ought to be maintained so that everyone desiring to experience or frequent it could “know where to go.” Towards the pope’s long-term wish that the EF should be an integrated part of most or even all parishes (that wish having been communicated to us by Cdl. Castrillon), all pastors ought to be studying how best to balance popular attachment to and demand for the OF with the ideal of exposing every parish to the EF. Pope Benedict does not intent that the EF fully supplant the OF, but he certainly expects it to be more widespread and normalized than simply letting people travel to it if they wish.

Long response aside, then, I think the OP’s proposal should serve just fine as a good introduction of the EF, with the caveat that I would do more to introduce ad orientem than using a single homily. I believe it was Fr. Jay Scott Newman from South Carolina that Fr. Z featured during his own transition to liturgical east, and he catechized through homily and bulletin for a month before making the change - a similar or longer time could then be used to get people used to the idea of the switch of a particular Mass to the EF, all the while continuing with homiletics and catechetics.

Very good!!! :clapping: :clapping:

 

[muffinmojo]

Just curious, does anyone in the parish want the EF? If they don’t how does this serve the needs of the faithful?

John

Why are you assuming that the priest is violating the terms of the Motu Proprio(which does require a request of the faithful)?

If you don’t like the traditional Mass, don’t go to one. Many people do. I am 17, the young Catholics I know almost universally prefer the old Mass. And no, I don’t go to a rad-trad church, I go to a diocesan parish that doesn’t even offer the EF. And I live in a very liberal city.

 

[bkovacs]

Good series on learning
Traditional Latin Mass by Reverend Father Daniel Cooper.

traditionalcatholicmedia.com/flash/

 

[Andreas_Hofer]

Why are you assuming that the priest is violating the terms of the Motu Proprio(which does require a request of the faithful)?

The motu proprio contains no such provision - the priest is free to celebrate the EF without any prompting from the lay faithful.