Liberal Priest celebrates the TLM

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A liberal priest celebrates his first TLM

(Very interesting observations by a liberal priest who celebrated his first TLM because parishioners had asked for it. In America Magazine, of all places.)

*"Having decided to offer the Tridentine Mass, I began the arduous project of recovering—and reinforcing—my Latin grammar and vocabulary so that I could celebrate the liturgy in a prayerful, intelligible way. As I studied the Latin texts and intricate rituals I had never noticed as a boy, I discovered that the old rite’s priestly spirituality and theology were exactly the opposite of what I had expected. Whereas I had looked for the “high priest/king of the parish” spirituality, I found instead a spirituality of “unworthy instrument for the sake of the people.”

"The old Missal’s rubrical micromanagement made me feel like a mere machine, devoid of personality; but, I wondered, is that really so bad? I actually felt liberated from a persistent need to perform, to engage, to be forever a friendly celebrant. When I saw a photo of the old Latin Mass in our local newspaper, I suddenly recognized the rite’s ingenious ability to shrink the priest. Shot from the choir loft, I was a mere speck of green, dwarfed by the high altar. The focal point was not the priest but the gathering of the people. And isn’t that a valid image of the church, the people of God?

“The act of praying the Roman Canon slowly and in low voice accented my own smallness and mere instrumentality more than anything else. Plodding through the first 50 or so words of the Canon, I felt intense loneliness. As I moved along, however, I also heard the absolute silence behind me, 450 people of all ages praying, all bound mysteriously to the words I uttered and to the ritual actions I haltingly and clumsily performed. Following the consecration, I fell into a paradoxical experience of intense solitude as I gazed at the Sacrament and an inexplicable feeling of solidarity with the multitude behind me.”*

The eclipse is passing.
 
Pax_et_Caritas said:
A liberal priest celebrates his first TLM

(Very interesting observations by a liberal priest who celebrated his first TLM because parishioners had asked for it. In America Magazine, of all places.)

*"Having decided to offer the Tridentine Mass, I began the arduous project of recovering—and reinforcing—my Latin grammar and vocabulary so that I could celebrate the liturgy in a prayerful, intelligible way. As I studied the Latin texts and intricate rituals I had never noticed as a boy, I discovered that the old rite’s priestly spirituality and theology were exactly the opposite of what I had expected. Whereas I had looked for the “high priest/king of the parish” spirituality, I found instead a spirituality of “unworthy instrument for the sake of the people.”

"The old Missal’s rubrical micromanagement made me feel like a mere machine, devoid of personality; but, I wondered, is that really so bad? I actually felt liberated from a persistent need to perform, to engage, to be forever a friendly celebrant. When I saw a photo of the old Latin Mass in our local newspaper, I suddenly recognized the rite’s ingenious ability to shrink the priest. Shot from the choir loft, I was a mere speck of green, dwarfed by the high altar. The focal point was not the priest but the gathering of the people. And isn’t that a valid image of the church, the people of God?

“The act of praying the Roman Canon slowly and in low voice accented my own smallness and mere instrumentality more than anything else. Plodding through the first 50 or so words of the Canon, I felt intense loneliness. As I moved along, however, I also heard the absolute silence behind me, 450 people of all ages praying, all bound mysteriously to the words I uttered and to the ritual actions I haltingly and clumsily performed. Following the consecration, I fell into a paradoxical experience of intense solitude as I gazed at the Sacrament and an inexplicable feeling of solidarity with the multitude behind me.”*

The eclipse is passing.
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That is great! 👍
 
I have tears in my eyes - that is so beautiful.

God truly is great and amazing. Thank you so much for posting this!

~Liza
 
Not to diminish the good priest’s experience, but what is a “liberal” priest? On what basis do you attach the label “liberal” to him? Because he celebrates the “Novus Ordo?” Is that all it takes to merit the perjorative “liberal?” Do you have any reason to believe his position on theological or moral issues is “liberal?”
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Not to diminish the good priest’s experience, but what is a “liberal” priest? On what basis do you attach the label “liberal” to him? Because he celebrates the “Novus Ordo?” Is that all it takes to merit the perjorative “liberal?” Do you have any reason to believe his position on theological or moral issues is “liberal?”
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No need for a knee jerk reaction. Take a deep breath and click on the link above. The priest described himself as liberal :cool:
 
At_Trent said:
No need for a knee jerk reaction. Take a deep breath and click on the link above. The priest described himself as liberal :cool:
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And this example is the proof that the ism-s (in this case the liberalism and traditionalism) are wrong.

We all are the children of God,

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.
 
I felt a wonderful content happiness reading the article and the responses. Its wonderful knowing that there are still those who remember and follow the ancient tradition in all its reverance, and even more that there are those priest rediscovering the beauty of the traditional forms, and all that it makes manifest within the self.
 
Tarpeian_Rock said:
Not to diminish the good priest’s experience, but what is a “liberal” priest? On what basis do you attach the label “liberal” to him? Because he celebrates the “Novus Ordo?” Is that all it takes to merit the perjorative “liberal?” Do you have any reason to believe his position on theological or moral issues is “liberal?”
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I don’t like the terms “conservative” or “liberal” either but in this case the OP seems to be justified in using that term (although it might have been better had he put the term in quotation marks)

From Father Z’s blog again:
“The Jesuit ultra-leftist weekly America Magazine had an article by a self-described liberal-minded priest who made a decision to celebrate the traditional form of Mass when a group asked fo [sic] it.”
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“The Jesuit ultra-leftist weekly America Magazine had an article by a self-described liberal-minded priest who made a decision to celebrate the traditional form of Mass when a group asked fo [sic] it.”

And that is what a good priest would do, assuming he felt competent in his Latin and felt he could pray the EF correctly. Hats off to him for caring about the needs of those who asked, no matter how small or large a group.
 
Another moving account - from the priest pictured in my signature. Please pray for his health. Fr is 94 now I believe.
I began serving the “old Mass” as an altar boy in 1927. I am now 88 years old, 62 years as a priest. As a lad, knowing the perfect recitations of all the Latin Mass responses, I dealt with priests of every age and devotion and I do not recall any who deliberately mumbled their prayers. The churches were not air-conditioned in those days and in the hot summer days it was not uncommon to omit the sermon; Low Mass might last for only 20 minutes, and Communions were much fewer in those days. Now with the Novus Ordo, I have attended Mass in 10 minutes. A possible scandal.
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The only scandal I can recall in the old days was people sleeping during the sermon. Nobody complained about the Eucharistic fast from midnight; nobody complained about Communion on the tongue or about the Latin. In fact, we were proud of the Latin we knew. Non-Catholics marveled at the piety and the reverence of the congregation and the head-coverings of the women. Those were the glory days of the Church when our Catholic faith was a family thing, a treasure we prized. Our faith was so much a part of our life that it colored our moods, shaped our social activities, influenced our style of dress, and flavored our conversation. How many families can make the same claim today?
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Last Sunday I experienced what perhaps was the greatest joy of my priesthood. I could scarcely contain myself. Indeed, my cup runneth over. I celebrated the Tridentine Latin Mass with a congregation of two hundred people. It was like a repetition of my First Holy Mass 56 years ago. It was a Missa Cantata — those sacred Gregorian melodies so fitting for worship: the solemn Trinity Preface, the solemn Pater Noster, the Holy Gospel, and the Orations.
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My daily vernacular Mass has been a joy in my life, but there was always something about this Tridentine Latin Mass that went beyond all telling. I’ve found something that I had lost some 35 years ago. All those years my heart ached for the Latin Mass that I had lost, always hoping that some day, please God, I would find it. Last Sunday I found it. And like the widow of the Gospel who found her lost coin and who called in her neighbors to rejoice with her, now I was the one who wanted to call in the whole world to share in my joy. It was like being away from home all these years and always hoping that some day the permission for me would arrive to return home and share again with my dear ones the joys of long ago. It was home sweet home again. My joy knows no bounds.
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My humble and ineffable thanks to our good Holy Father, Pope John Paul II, the Good Shepherd who went out looking for all those abandoned sheep to lead us back home again — to Rome, sweet home.
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newoxfordreview.org/letters.jsp?did=1004-letters
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laszlo said:
And this example is the proof that the ism-s (in this case the liberalism and traditionalism) are wrong.

We all are the children of God,

John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself.
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No one is calling the priest a liberal read the article! He (the priest who the article is about) is a self-described liberal. Liberal can have many different meanings and you are right as Catholics we can’t seperate ourselves with such terms in the Church.
 
At my parish’s OF Mass today…

The Priest stayed, with his back to the congregation, in front of the Tabernacle on the high alter for a much longer time than he normally does after Holy Communion.

It was a deliberate act of reverence and time seemed to stop even though it was probably only a couple of minutes.

I’ve never seen this before (I have not been to an EF mass)

It was extraordinary- it changed everything and was a remarkable moment. Suddenly we were all facing towards Our Lord, with the Priest leading us in reverence:- rather than the Priest doing things at us. It entirely changed the focus for a moment.

Seeing him up there, in his purple vestments, facing the alter with his back to us, kneeling before the alter, was very powerful.

I wish I were more articulate- I cant convey the effect it had on me, but it was very profound.

Then we were back in the OF as normally celebrated.

The contrast couldnt be greater, even though our Priest is exceptionally holy and reverant in the way he celebrates the OF.

It was just a categorically different experience, a radically different approach and it really brought home to me in microcosim for a moment what a full EF Mass must be like and what we have lost.

Its a tragedy.
 
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