Partisan Spirit

[floresco]

I have been following discussions in several threads that have led me to think about the division and hostility that often seem to exist here between people who prefer the different forms of the Mass. This has been much on my mind and I had been debating with myself whether I should post about it when I saw such a good analysis by thewanderer that I decided to go ahead.

I also do sometimes overreact to people like floresco because I associate certain phrases and thoughts with people who actually do put down the OF, this is all part of the reason why it is so difficult for those who prefer the different forms to have a civil conversation about this topic because there are people who put down the OF its easy to associate all those who prefer the EF with them, and then those who prefer the EF but don’t put down the OF get super defensive because they are constantly having people incorrectly assume all sorts of things about their opinions. It’s a vicious cycle and we all need to change if we are ever going to be able to break out of it.

A major factor in what is going in this “vicious cycle.” dynamic. A person who prefers one form offends a person who prefers the other who then feels justified in attacking the other ”side.” And so on. We end up with a lot of people feeling put upon and blaming the other ”side” for starting it.

I noticed the quote from St. Francis de Sale that Rich C. uses while I was thinking about this and I think it holds a key to breaking out.

“Since it is impossible for us to go through life without causing annoyance to one another, it is necessary to have a great supply of meekness from which to draw to check sudden bursts of anger and preserve peace of soul.”

I have noticed myself on several occasions reacting to a post with an impulse to respond in hurt or anger. I had to stop myself from acting on that impulse and just let it go. While I can not do much about the overall situation, I can resolve that I personally will do nothing to feed the cycle. That is within my control, with the help of God.

 

[Zekariya]

I have been following discussions in several threads that have led me to think about the division and hostility that often seem to exist here between people who prefer the different forms of the Mass.

I highly prefer the Divine Liturgy of St Cyril of Alexandria (Coptic Catholic Mass) and the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom (Melkite Catholic Mass). This does not make me a partisan. Do to being disabled, I generally attend the Saturday evening Mass of Pope Paul VI.

The only hostility about approved forms the Mass should be the likelihood of liturgical abuses occurring. The less structured that a Mass is, the more easily it is that liturgical abuses occur. Litugical abuses can happen at any form of the Mass (Eastern or Western), however, they are most commonly found (at least publicly) in the Mass of Pope Paul VI.