Saint Francis and the Liturgy

[GloriousOrder]

Br., the “Imitation of Christ” tells us not to compete for our favourite saints. Don’t worry, I know!

Excellent reply, by the way… no man is so evil that he cannot be forgiven by even one drop of Grace.

 

[gtrenewed]

I don’t know what you’re saying here. It has nothing to do with my point: the outer, glorious worship, that the Roman Church used to have, is now a rarity. See if you can find a sung, Latin Eastern Triduum locally.

What you feel, the rest of us can’t see. It’s a public rite.

Minimalism in a Mass is odd; ‘let’s take things out, for the greater glory of God’? Especially in a diocesan Church, where the laity have money.

What I am saying is that God looks on the heart. Is the inner worship of a simple liturgy less glorious to God, if it comes from the heart?

Worship in the first century certainly was not less glorious to God. St. Paul used the example of a non-believer entering a proper liturgy and being convicted, falling on his face and saying that God is surely in this place.

If one can only say that liturgy is glorious and appropiate because of external amenities, the ascetic would say they are missing the point.

With that said, a case could be made that in a medieval-renessaince world where the Church took on a political role; a grander visible building and liturgy reflecting the awe inspiring nature of God was appropiate.

However, for the Christian, nothing should be more awe inspiring than the passion of Christ and receiving Jesus in the Eucharist. While we can marvel at the art and architecture of a culture, that enhances us not God. I personally can live with a grand Vatican or diocesan cathedral or more ascetically.

Following the example of the first Church, diocese that had more money, provided for diocese that had less, that there might be equality. That shows the glory of God in mercy. The cathedral where the Bishop resides could take on a more external awe inspiring form for it would be by the effort of the entire diocese, reflect their prosperity, and be common to all.

We should live everyday in the footsteps of Christ where He worshipped the Father simply among the disciples but could worship at the granduer of the temple.

In summation, the glory of God and the glory to God happens internally where it overflows externally. While that expression reflects the personality of the worshipper, it is not due to the simplicity nor the granduer of the liturgy or the architecture.

 

[Warrenton]

The only thing that I own is my sins.

Christ now owns them, too, if I understand aright.

But moving on…As (perhaps) one of the people who has prompted this thread, I make the following “confession.”

We laymen lead such fragmented lives. We go to work, and that is a thing apart from those we love, and from our faith.

We go home at night, and that is a thing apart from our work.

We pray together on Sunday, and that is a thing apart from our work and our families’ daily life.

If we have a belief, we cannot state it plainly at work, or on Sunday, or (for some of us) at home.

I will not even mention that chimera, our “political life.” It is a but a dream, albeit a sweet one. Our faith can cast but a dim shadow on that screen.

Are we alone? Am I the last who believes this way? Am I even the last; did anyone believe this way, ever, as they tell me? Did I go mad?

And then: there are these forums. This is the place where the “cri de cour” can be vented. Too much so? No question. Counterproductive? Sometimes, maybe often. Crude? Who, in faith, would deny it.

But it is a kind of love, for all this. Love of the faith as our parents, and their parents, all the way back to your order’s saintly founder, or before, passed as it has been to us. The love of Christ, and His Church. We fear for it. Why? Because we are so weak, we do not even understand this faith that we ourselves swore to uphold when we were but boys and girls.

“O spare me a little while, that I may recover my strength.”

The rest of the psalm says it better than I ever could.

God bless you, Brother.

 

[malphono]

I ran across an item on Franciscans and liturgy, which some here may find of interest. Here’s the link:

vultus.stblogs.org/2010/11/saint-francis-and-the-liturgy.html

 

[JReducation]

I ran across an item on Franciscans and liturgy, which some here may find of interest. Here’s the link:

vultus.stblogs.org/2010/11/saint-francis-and-the-liturgy.html

Father’s blog certainly reinforces the fact that the Franciscan movement has played an important role in the liturgical life of the Church. That being said, there are some historical facts that he does not include in his blog, probably to keep the article short.

Our Holy Father founded three orders: Friars Minor, Poor Sisters (later known as Poor Clares), and Brothers and Sisters of Penances (later known as the Secular Franciscans and the Third Order Regular Franciscan Friars). When Francis went on mission to Egypt, Brother Elias of Cortona, a priest, was the Vicar General. He was left in charge. Br. Elias was afraid that the growing order would grow out of control. He built large houses in Assisi and other towns during Francis’ absence. They were not as large as monasteries and priories, but large enough to have chapels with a choir. These houses came to be known as “convents” so as not to give the false impression that the brothers were monks. Those friars who lived in them came to be known as the Order of Friars Minor Conventual or Conventual Franciscans (OFM, Conv.). The other friars who did not live in them came to be known as the Order of Friars Minor Observant or simply, the Franciscans (OFM). The Conventual friars adopted many of the practices of the monastic life, including the Divine Office in choir, while the Observant friars continued with the same system of reciting the Divine Office that St. Francis has written into the rule and the admonitions.

When Francis returned from Egypt and found the friars living in convents, he became very upset. There is a famous story of how St. Francis climbed on the roof of the motherhouse in Assisi and tore it off. At the request of the friars, Francis backed down and allowed those who lived in the convents to remain. However, Francis had Brother Elias excommunicated for disobeying him. A parenthetical remark is important here. [Brother Elias recanted his position and was received into the Church again.] After Francis died, he was elected as the General Minister of the Order and died a holy death. However, the new community (Conventuals) was well established. There were two obediences within the same order, the Conventuals and the Observants. The former lived in convents and had choral office, the latter did not. Later, those convents came to be called monasteries. However, canonically they are not monasteries. They are friaries, convents or simply community houses. People called them thus because of their size and because they had a choir.

In the 1500s, two Conventual friars and two Observant friars came together to start a new house where prayer, austerity and poverty would be more strictly observed. Because of their large cowl, the local children nicknamed them the Capuccini (Capuchins). Thus, the third obedience of the Friars Minor came into existence, the Order of Friars Minor Capuchin (OFM, Cap). Part of the renewal included returning to the original manner of celebrating the Divine Office, which was read not chanted. The same applied to the mass. The Observants sometimes used a form of chant that was not strictly Gregorian. It was part of a musical genre known as Plainsong.

In all three obediences, the use of any chant in the Divine Office and mass was always optional, at the discretion of the local Guardian. Superiors could not legally demand the chanting of the Divine Office and the mass, because it was contraindicated by the admonitions of St. Francis and the original tradition starting in 1209. All three branches of the Friars Minor used a missal and breviary that was different from the rest of the Catholic Church. It later came to be known as the Seraphic Missal and the Seraphic Breviary. This was based on the early missal that they friars received from Pope Innocent and which they revised to simplify it. It was this missal and breviary that they carried through Europe and their other missions. This missal would later be revised again and adopted by the Universal Church and become the form of the mass that was formulated by the Council of Trent, revised by Pope Pius V and later revised by Pope Pius X, Pius XII, Pope John XXIII and finally by Pope Paul VI. Pope Benedict XVI would “baptize” the latest revisions of this missal as the Extraordinary Form and the Ordinary Form.

When Father says in his article that the friars used that “tired line ‘we’re not monks’.” He is correct. This has always been the case. I’m not sure how tiring it is. Maybe to a monk it may sound as a rejection of the monastic life. However, it’s not meant that way . . . not by most friars and secular Franciscans. It is a fact. The Franciscans are neither an order of monks nor an order of priests. The Franciscans are a family of brothers and sisters: some are consecrated religious (men and women) and the largest group is secular men and women (clergy and lay). Among the religious, some of the brothers respond to a call within a call. They are brother-priests. They do not cease to be religious brothers when they are ordained. That’s why their ordination is slightly different from that of other priests. They do not make a promise of celibacy or a promise of obedience to the bishop. For a friar to be ordained, he must have made solemn vows of obedience to the rule, St. Francis and to his brothers. To be ordained he must have made a solemn vow of chastity by which he binds himself to live within a brotherhood as a celibate man and a solemn vow of poverty, obedience being the primary call of all Franciscans.

 

[JReducation]

Today, with the movement to return to the original charism, vision and mission of the founder, Franciscans, like every other religious movement in the Church, try very hard to recapture the way of life, prayer and ministry of the founder. The EF, the priesthood, the sacraments play an important part in the life of the Franciscan family without those specific details and qualities that are more appropriate to the monastic life. This also means that the celebration of the Divine Office and the mass is very simple, as it was in 1209. However, those Franciscans that use the Extraordinary Form no longer celebrate the form of the mass that they sculpted in 1209, but the form that was sculpted in 1962, because that’s what the Church allows. The same applies to the Divine Office. The respect and love for all priests, especially bishops, remains in place, while the declericalization of the order is also taking place, bringing back the unity between the entire Franciscan family as a family of equals. Anything that sets the ordained apart, which is not doctrinal or mandated by Canon Law is set aside, leaving only the essentials. The ordained friar (brother-priest) or the ordained Secular Franciscan (Secular Franciscan priest) retains his place during the celebration of the sacraments and liturgy, but the accidentals that distinguish him from the rest of the community are not included. For example, it is not mandated that a priest preside over the celebration of the Liturgy of the Hours, even when one is present. This duty falls on the Minister of the fraternity, be he a priest, layman, sister or nun. The priest participates in the LOTH as any other member of the community, in anonymity. During the mass, if there is more than one priest in the house, they may concelebrate using the Ordinary Form or only one priest presides, using the Extraordinary Form and any other priest participates in the mass as a member of the congregation. He does not celebrate a “private” mass . . . except when there are mass intentions that have been promised. In that case, the Guardian may give permission for such celebrations to fulfill a moral duty that has been promised. Church law requires that all mass intentions promised must be fulfilled. Because the first and foremost vow of any Franciscan, secular or religious is to obey, we comply with the law of the Church with joyful hearts.

One final difference between the Benedictine tradition and the Franciscan tradition is that of lay brothers. In the Benedictine tradition there is an allowance for lay brothers. Often, they are not choir monks. Therefore, they do not pray the LOTH with the choir. They gather together to pray it separately and pray less hours so as to be free to do the manual work and other tasks that are required to keep the monastery running. This is not the case with the Franciscan family. We’ve never had this kind of lay brother and choir brother system. All Franciscans pray the LOTH as one brotherhood. The number of hours will depend on the house chapter to decide. At a minimum, the fraternity will pray the major hours in common.

Another situation that developed, that Father does not mention, because it was not the Benedictine experience, is that the Franciscans of the different obediences were asked to cover parishes, because of a shortage of parish priests. This did great harm to the order. To help the bishops, superiors allowed an excess number of men to be ordained. These men were often farmed out to parishes and other institutions on their own. They did not live in community. Gradually, they became very clericalized. They were no different from a diocesan priest. We often refer to them as diocesan priests in habits. They had no common life of prayer, owned their own car, lived alone in a rectory or residence near their place of work, had their own money and had little contact with the community. This introduced deviations in the life of prayer and the celebration of the LOTH suffered as well as the vocation of the individuals.

When we began the recovery process, many of these men left the order. They could not adjust to living in a community with a common schedule, no car, obedient to a superior who may not be a priest, and placing community prayer and other community functions before priestly ministry. They saw themselves more as priests and less as brothers. These men suffered a great deal when they had to leave and close down parishes in order to return to community living. These years of renewal and recovery of the roots have been painful for all involved. We must pray for these men.

The laity who comes in contact with a Franciscan friar, be it in a parish, hospital, school, soup kitchen or other can help by taking up some of the ministerial slack to allow the friars to spend more time in community. The laity can also help by avoiding clericalization. If you are assigned a non-ordained friar to be a spiritual director, parish administrator, theology professor, retreat master or an ordained friar who is the house maintenance man, the cook, the hermit, work with him. Accept his gifts and trust in the wisdom of the superiors. The only way that these men can return to the original spirit of obedience, prayer and brotherhood is by giving up some of what they had taken upon themselves, which did not rightfully belong to them, because they were neither Diocesan priests nor monks.

I hope this helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[catharina]

Conclusion:

Novelty was not a dirty word for the Franciscans. They did things that no one else had ever done. They placed the tabernacle behind the main altar of their chapels, because there was no other place to put it since the chapels were too small for a second space. They invented the living Christmas pageant or nativity. They believed in the Immaculate Conception of Mary, even though Aquinas said otherwise. They loved and respected Aquinas, but they never hung on every word that he said or wrote. Bonaventure mandated the First Saturday of the month in honor of Mary. They developed over 100 versions of the Stations of the Cross. They subdivided their order into over 100 branches with the same rule, but different religious habits, customs, ministries according to the needs of time and place. They founded the first order for secular men and women (clergy and married). They were the first religious order of brothers to include ordained brothers, when there were only orders with monks and lay brothers, orders with only priests, orders with priests and coadjutor brothers, but always a two-tier system. They created a religious family of equals, where a man could be a priest and the cook at the same time, while another was a theologian, the superior and not a priest. They asked the Holy Father to simplify the missal for them so that they did not have to own so many books. They banned Gregorian chant from the Divine Office so that everyone could pray the Office, even if they did not have a good singing voice. They eliminated the monastic choir and prayed the Divine Office while walking from one town to another, while other religious prayed in a choir or chapel. They celebrated mass on a board that they placed over a stone or a tree trunk, not always in a church, as early as the 13th century.

They were quite aware of priests living in sin with men or women, priests who abused children, men and women who cheated on their spouses, monarchs who exploited their people, fallen away Catholics and they quietly addressed these issues without letting anyone else know what they were doing. They made use of the media (letters, magazines, radio and later TV) to bring the Gospel to people. Yet, they shy away from public condemnation of anyone, especially the hierarchy. Their goal is to preach the Gospel, not to bring others down.

Their greatest priority is to live as brothers and sisters with each other, and then they worry about the rest of the world. To live the apostolic life is to live with each other as the Apostles did. They see the apostolic not about activity, but about living the way that Christ and the Apostles lived in intimate union with each other. Whatever good flows out of this closely-knit relationship with each other is the fruit of their love for Christ and each other. They go from the inside out, not from the outside in. They saw Catholic tradition as larger than life. To quote St. Clare, “adapt to the circumstance, culture and whatever is practical in living the spiritual life.” If it does not help the spiritual life, put it aside. If it helps, use it.

When Catholic tradition is viewed this way, it is very rich. It leads to inner peace. It draws many men and women to God with few conflicts. It preaches the Gospel to non-Christians without having to say a word to them. Those who see them are awe-struck by the fact that their apparent chaotic way of doing things actually brings great peace and joy and produces great acts of charity and heroic virtue. Maybe Francis and his spiritual family can enlighten how we go about finding and preserving Catholic tradition. Maybe Traditional Catholicism is about personal conversion, then the rest follows without all of the controversy and arguing.

As I said, maybe I live in a bubble. But I don’t know good Franciscans, friars, nuns, sisters or secular who are engaged in debates, arguments or defense of this and condemnation of that. I know millions of them who are struggling to be saints, pure and simple. The secret is an intense life of prayer and obedience to Francis’ way of living the Gospel.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

Bless you, Brither, and thank you.

 

[ClayPots47]

Am I going mad or do I just live in a bubble?

Neither. But I could be wrong; in that case, I’m equally mad. :whacky: Is there room in that bubble for a fellow Francisan? :console: BTW, I’ve enjoyed reading many of your posts on Franciscan Spirituality and Liturgy. But I feel your frustration, reading some posts on here makes me wanna :banghead:

 

[JReducation]

I received a wonderful e-mail from a CAF poster. She shared how they have a Franciscan Friar, from the Observants (OFM) covering for their pastor. Anyway, she was very excited to see that what we’ve been saying here about St. Francis, the Franciscan family and the liturgy is truly plays out. Her comment was something like, “I can see, with my own eyes, what you have said about the relationship between Franciscans and liturgy.”

She went on to give one or two examples that pointed out how St. Francis went from life to liturgy and liturgy to life. He did not see the liturgy in a bubble to be protected nor did he see life as a reality that is parallel to liturgy, but there is a dynamic flow between the two so that the liturgy responds to our daily life experience and our spiritual life, by which we live, is guided by the liturgy. The mysteries of the cross and the incarnation are very much alive in the Liturgy of the Word and the Liturgy of the Eucharist.

I want to thank her and share with you guys.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[bkovacs]

I’ve been visiting TC Forum for a while now and it is still one of the most somber parts of my day. It saddens me to see how we treat each other, how we speak about our Church, the liturgy, the clergy and religious and how many people miss the point. Am I going mad or do I just live in a bubble?

My transition from Judaism to Catholicism was through the Franciscan tradition. In that tradition, I saw only kindness toward people, acceptance of people as they struggle along their journey to God. Even the great Franciscan, Leonard of Port Maurice, whose sermons were often Fire and Brimstone, was the most kind and patient of men with everyone. His preaching was more like a revivalist Pentecostal, but his interactions with people was that of a gentle soul. Both, his confreres and his audience remembered him for his gentleness in conversation and his politeness in dealing with others. He once said that he had never met any of the sinners of whom he preached in his sermons. In other words, he did not see sin in people, he saw people in sin. He spent his life doing penance for those who do not do penance, instead of bashing them. Reading his sermons one would think that he was hothead. Yet, reading his life, we find that the man was very different from the preacher.

Bonaventure, the great Franciscan General Minister, theologian, philosopher, cardinal, university professor, taught his sons to be kind to all people and to speak only of the good things in the Church, because as he said, “we already know too much about the bad things.” This was the man who said that he did not have time to be a cardinal, because he had to finish washing the dishes, then preparing the community meal, then he had to teach a class. He was the bishop who rarely spent time in his diocese, because his brothers ordered him (while he was the General Superior) to go off to write the definitive biography on St. Francis . . . so he did. He spend five-years writing the biography and 26-sermons on Francis, while he ran a diocese (God only knows on what time) and ran an order.

Finally, there is the Patriarch of the Franciscan family, our Holy Father who refused to see the sin in the Church, because “God is not blind,” he would say. The key to becoming like Christ was to embrace the suffering caused by sin. He had a wonderful sense of humor in the face of adversity. He was known as a charming young man whose whit, eccentricities, and simple call to love the Beloved has inspired millions of Christians and non-Christians for 800 years on every continent.

These men and others like them embody Catholic Tradition without criticism, never embracing or even speaking about conspiracies to ruin the Church, and never questioning the orthodoxy, fidelity or leadership of those in authority. They were not dumb. They did not live with their heads in the sand, nor did they pretend that there were no problems around them. They had a secret that if you paid close attention to their behavior you could learn. They mastered inner silence. They spent their lives working on developing recollection. The most important thing for them was to hear the voice of the Holy Spirit guiding them to the perfection of charity.

I’ve always been impressed by how they managed error. Francis was probably the best example of how to do this without losing one’s sense of peace or sense of humor. He simply shrugged his shoulders and answered the questions put before him. He did not make it a point to go out and find problems to solve. Instead, he always preached, but used words only when necessary, as Brother Illuminato would later write about him.

You seem to forget JREducation, that the Catholic Church you see today is far different than the Catholic Church of the Saints you mention. If you want to be part of what they experienced than traditional Catholicism is the only way to experience it. And yes I do mean “traditional” Catholicism. Not the mainstream stuff you experience now. And I am serious!. Pay attention to the Pope, he know best. Even more than your Franciscan superiors.

 

[JReducation]

You seem to forget JREducation, that the Catholic Church you see today is far different than the Catholic Church of the Saints you mention. If you want to be part of what they experienced than traditional Catholicism is the only way to experience it. And yes I do mean “traditional” Catholicism. Not the mainstream stuff you experience now. And I am serious!. Pay attention to the Pope, he know best. Even more than your Franciscan superiors.

I’m not sure how the superiors enter this picture . . . I have to admit that I’m a little perplexed by your response. That being said, one has to be very careful with this kind of advice. Whether one is a Franciscan, Dominican, Jesuit, Selesian, Redemptorist or other, one is bound to pay close attention to one’s superiors, because they are the voice of the Church within a community. They are the successors of the founder to whom each member of a community promises obedience until death. Obviously, one is not bound to obey when asked to sin; but that’s not what is being discussed here.

For example, if a religious superior were to decide that the EF is not to be celebrated by his subjects, he has the right to do so. The Church makes this very clear in Summorum Pontificum. If the superior were to place parameters on the celebration of the EF, as some superiors have done, that is also the right of the superior.

Summorum Pontificum was not written to trump the Major Superior or the Ordinary Law of any religious institute.

Outside of that, tradition is very broad. For a Franciscan, Dominican, etc, tradition must also include the spirit, vision and mission of the founder and it adaptations as the Church has approved them through the General Chapters and Constitutional revisions. The constitutions of religious orders, regigious congregations, secular orders and societies of apostolic life are not promulgated without the permission of the Holy See or if the community is diocesan, without the permission of the Diocesan Bishop in the home diocese of the community.

Each religious family brings with it a tradition within a tradition. We can’t forget that. Whether one is a member of the religious family or a layperson who participates in the parsih life or school life, etc where the religious family serves, we are part of that tradition. The difference between a parishioner or student at a sparish or school operated by a religious family and the professed members of that family is that the former can move to another parish or school. The member of that family can’t just jump ship, because he or she wants something that the family does not provide or that is contraindicated for that family.

Sometimes there are things that are contraindicated for a specific situation or time and other times they are contraindicated permanently. For example, I would not expect a Cathusian to be involved in our concerns over liturgical reformed and I would be very surprised if he were even interested. Interest in such matters is not part of his/her tradition, because Carthusian tradition is very clear that they are detached from the outside world. While they offer their lives for the world, they are not involved in our issues. To say to them to listen to the pope and ignore their abbot is not helpful, because their link to the Church is through their abbot.

In the Franciscan tradition (regular and secular) our link to the Church is through our Ministers, not around them. Francis was very clear on this matter. He promised obedience to the pope. The brothers and sisters who followed were bound to obey him and his successors. They were not to look past their canonically elected superiors tot he pope. That’s the role of the General Minister and the General Chapter.

That’s why I say, be very careful with this piece of advice, because it can be contrary to the wishes and guidelines established by the founder and approved by the Church. We don’t go to our local bishops and our local ministers and demand this or that because the pope said so. As long as we are n ot asked to sin, we are bound to obey the local minister of the fraternity and the local bishop of the diocese, even when we disagree or even if we believe him to be wrong. Francis was very clear on this. You must obey and you must maintain peaceful relationships, even when you beleive that the other person is wrong. He is very clear and strong on this issue in his admonitions. We must be careful not to go over the head of a person in authority or sidestep them. To do so would be contrary to tradition. Such an action is justified only when the person in authority is asking you to sin.

We msut always love. Love means doing small things that are not always agreeable to us. It sometimes means obeying even when we believe that we’re right.

I hope this helps.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF

 

[bkovacs]

And the Pope’s voice is the voice of the entire Church. Since he is Christ’s vicar here on Earth. And it is always best to follow his example. St. Francis would do the same.

 

[bkovacs]

JREducation. You seem to be falling into the trap that places your orders decisions higher than the Pope’s. Your superiors are bound to obedience to the Holy Father, they are not excluded. As for Summorum Pontificum. Any superior, of any order, who is restrictive of placing the EF of the Mass on equal status with the OF of the Mass is a dissdent. The Dominicans offer both the OF Mass as well as the EF Mass via the pre-concileur Dominican Rite. They enrich themselves with the richness of both Forms. And that is a gem to the lay faithful who celebrate with them.

 

[bkovacs]

Here is a great article on St Francis and the Liturgy. From Vultus Christi.
vultus.stblogs.org/2010/11/saint-francis-and-the-liturgy.html

 

[Marauder]

JREducation. You seem to be falling into the trap that places your orders decisions higher than the Pope’s. Your superiors are bound to obedience to the Holy Father, they are not excluded.

I think you are missing Brother’s point. The superiors are bound to follow to Pope. That is Franciscan tradition set down by the founder. But the Pope doesn’t rule on EVERY matter that comes up in a community. Brother JR was trying to say that it isn’t the role of a Franciscan to be “complaining” to the higher authorities about decisions made by their superiors except in cases of sin. A minister is well within their right to say that only one version of the Mass should be offered in their community. There is no ruling from the Pope that says he can’t do this. By obedience the members of that community must obey.

 

[JReducation]

I think you are missing Brother’s point. The superiors are bound to follow to Pope. That is Franciscan tradition set down by the founder. But the Pope doesn’t rule on EVERY matter that comes up in a community. Brother JR was trying to say that it isn’t the role of a Franciscan to be “complaining” to the higher authorities about decisions made by their superiors except in cases of sin. A minister is well within their right to say that only one version of the Mass should be offered in their community. There is no ruling from the Pope that says he can’t do this. By obedience the members of that community must obey.

Thank you. That’s my point. There is a chain of command.

Summorum Pontificum is very clear that priests who belong to religious institutes must submit to their Major Superiors and their Ordinary Law. They do not have the freedom to celebrate the EF as a Diocesan priest has.

If being traditional means to be able to celebrate the EF while you thumb your nose at your superior, then there is something wrong with the defintion of tradionalist.

Fraternally,

Br. JR, OSF