I have not read it yet, thank you
God bless.I loved the article, nicely done.
I am sad that Father Fishwick will be retiring, good thing is that he has a replacement. The article is inspiring
God bless. Pax.
Many of my peers do not like the old liturgy (what a pity!). Or they are uninterested in liturgy. Almost all don’t know the existence of EF…Much of this is personal opinion. You are certainly entitled to your personal opinion, and thankfully, Holy Mother Church is working to make both forms of the Mass available to more people.…and I belong to one of them!
I do not deride the OF, but EF certainly suits me more.
Why can the EF Mass establish a unique sense of solemnity while the OF cannot even if it is done in a very reverent way?
My answer is simple: serenity. Chants are quiet in nature. Chants instill sacred silence into the Liturgy. Latin polyphonic music creates ‘a sense of silence’ within our hearts. We may hardly memorize the melodies of Palestrina’s compositions and chants, but they calm our souls down. Magic!
Modern composers usually focus very much on the creation of short and easily memorized melodies. Melody comes first. That’s why interior silence disappears.
In the EF the Roman Canon is silently recited. Even with some background music by the organ after the Consecration, the entire Mass is established upon sacred silence. Humans do not speak; God speak through music, chants and silence.
I hold no any grudge against vernacular hymns. I recognize efforts of vernacular composers. But given the rubrics of OF, the relatively smaller proportion of sacred silence is probably why youngsters like me are attracted to traditional liturgy.
I find myself slightly incompatible with the generally reverent Sunday OF Masses in my parish after my few EF Mass experiences. Yet, since the church offering EF Mass is far away from home and I’m afraid I will be detached from my original parish, OF is still my first option. Usually I attend EF Masses for half of the Sundays in a month. A compromise.
And there is still widespread anti-EF sentiments or ignorance about EF in my diocese.
‘What? Latin? Isn’t it forbidden?’ said one of my friends who is an altar boy.
‘Wow! Latin… so dull…’
‘Well I seldom go to church, don’t even bother me to try Latin…’
Sigh
Thanks for sharing this, it’s awesome news.
I’m sure you’re right. There are several languages for Mass used in my small city (Spanish, Polish, Italian, Filipino).Might as well get used to it. I doubt if English will be the only “vernacular” allowed by the Church, much less the planet.
IMO the use of both Forms of the same Rite for Mass is really an epitome of the diversity within our universal Catholic Church. Yes it is normal that some people prefer one Form to the other, but this is a matter of choice.Much of this is personal opinion. You are certainly entitled to your personal opinion, and thankfully, Holy Mother Church is working to make both forms of the Mass available to more people.
Here is my personal opinion: I personally find chant grating, and polyphony frantic and jarring.
I enjoy strong, beautiful melodies because for me, they are calming and restorative to my soul. The random notes in chant are disturbing to my soul; I find myself trying desperately to fit them together into a pattern, and they don’t fit, and this distracts me from worship.
The foreign language is also distracting to me. I can’t help but seek out the translation because without it, the words are gibberish. This “brain-work” of having to translate foreign phrases is an immense distraction to me. It’s not just Latin, it’s any language other than my own. Some people enjoy foreign languages and feel enlarged in their soul when they hear them. I feel confused and lost.
As for silence, yes, I love silence, and we have plenty of it in our OF Masses. The OF Mass offers plenty of opportunities for silence. I play piano for Mass, and I don’t “improvise”. I just stop playing when the hymn (or the cantor) is done, and I allow the people to worship in silence. But my priests encourage this; others do not. Some priests tell the musicians to play background music, and they have to obey. Keep in mind that the priest is the shepherd, and he knows what his sheep need. Some sheep don’t do well in silence. Again, it’s just personal preference and opinion.
And the only reason I’m harping on this is because sometimes, people think that they way they think and feel is absolute truth. “I prefer silence, therefore it must be better than noisy speaking or music.” This is not truth. It’s an opinion.
There are plenty of Bible verses that mention silence and worship. But there are also plenty of Bible verses that mention music and even shouting and worship.
As for the old form of Mass attracting new generations, that has sadly not been my experience in our city with the Latin Mass. There are young families, yes. But there are very few teens or young people who come without their families. It could just be our city, since we are not really a university city (although we have a university). And it could just be ennui. Our Latin Mass has been around for over a decade, and perhaps the novelty/experiential aspect has worn off for the young people. Or it could be the people at the parish; it’s not the friendliest crowd in the city, although I have found them enjoyable to be with. Or it could be the priest; no matter what people say, many people attend a Mass that has a priest that they personally like to listen to.
IMO, what’s important is not how many of the new generation are attracted to the Latin Mass. What’s important is how many of the new generation stick with the Latin Mass, and even more importantly, how they live out their lives outside of the Mass. That’s important for all of us Christians, no matter which Mass we attend.
Yes, I agree. It’s a shame when traditions are allowed to disappear, and this is an old tradition that shouldn’t be lost.
Probably some people attached to the OF Mass deliberately come here to look for alternative opinion? I don’t know.Would you expect any other opinion in the “Traditional Catholicism” area ?