The hardest thing about my last 20 years as a priest

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I don’t necessarily agree with the article, or disagree for that matter. It is one persons take on what might have happened as a result of changes made on the altar or during the celebration of the Mass.

Without knowing what the Church would look like today had the changes not been made, it is impossible to know if this is correct and caused by the changes or simply a correlation after the changes were made.

A lot has gone on within and outside the Church in the past 50 years that have caused people’s attitudes or beliefs to change, or for them to question their faith in general. I would not place it solely on where the altar is placed, or which way it faces, etc.

One thing that sticks out from the article is the portion where he mention’s, that we should be unable to approach God as Moses was unable to approach the burning bush. There was a fundamental transformation in God’s relationship with man once Jesus was on the earth. He himself made God approachable by anyone willing to accept Him and His Grace. One reason we are not all Jewish today.

I am not saying that God/Jesus is in any way simply one of us, or that proper reverence should not be shown at all times towards God, the Eucharist or anything like that. But there are many, many factors that have contributed to changes which have affected the Church.
 
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I appreciate that he’s speaking from his own experience but at the same time, that’s all he can do and so his comments about “the way our liturgy is celebrated in most places” is a clear hasty generalisation.
farronwolf said:
Without knowing what the Church would look like today had the changes not been made, it is impossible to know if this is correct and caused by the changes or simply a correlation after the changes were made.
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There’s always a tension between the immanent (down here) and the transcendent (up there) - prior to VII the balance was too far towards the transcendent, immediately following (so in the 70’s and 80’s) it swung too far in the opposite direction (admittedly a simplification but still…). Liturgy should help us to ascend to the realm of the transcendent rather than doing the opposite (after all, God became man that man might become God) but in order to do that it must be accessible so that the people can participate not simply as spectators but instead by being involved in the action (hence the call and response of the mass texts).
 
I think he is simply reflecting on the lack of reverence he sees. From the article:

“This is not nostalgia. It is a pastor’s reaction to seeing the terrifying collapse of faith in the West. These liturgical gestures are important not because they are old, but because they express an attitude towards the majesty of God which has been lost.”
 
A question I was just asking myself, “How would I act if I truly believed my God is truly present under the guise of bread & wine.”

Don’t get me wrong. I know the teaching. I understand. I can follow the connected dots.

But if I truly believed…
 
The Eucharist is Jesus Christ, body, blood, soul and divinity, but Jesus meant for the Eucharist to be consumed, not worshipped. It is holy, but not so holy that we can not approach our Lord. People spoke to Jesus, touched him, and walked with him, while yet in sin. There should be no barrier between the Shepherd and his sheep.
 
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Jesus in the Eucharist is both consumed and worshipped. I doubt that leaving him in the missalette or in the pew or in one’s pocket or on the floor constitutes worship.
 
I agree with this article. I see in the parish most people asking for the Holy Host in the hand, with only a few giving reverence.

I would also have no issue with a return of the Mass celebration ad orientem.

I was very surprised that watching Don Bosco movie, when he celebrated Mass, he did it ad orientem and gave Holy Communion to the faithful who were kneeled and directly to the tongue. They even had kneelers near the altar for those who wished to receive the Holy Communion.

I think we need to fully restore the Holy Mass and Holy Communion.

Jesus once lamented to St. Faustina how so many people don’t seem to understand the Sacrament of Holy Communion and His Real Presence in the Eucharist.

“When I come to a human heart in Holy Communion,” He said, “My hands are full of all kinds of graces which I want to give to the soul. But souls do not even pay attention to Me; they leave Me to Myself and busy themselves with other things. … They treat Me as a dead object” (Diary of St. Faustina, 1385)
 
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I recall when the indult for communion in the hand was first presented to us at my parish. Up to then we all received kneeling at the altar rail. After three Sundays of homilies explaining the indult, we were given the option to receive either on the tongue or in the hand, but there seemed to be some pressure to receive in the hand. We still received kneeling at the altar though, until that was also changed.
 
Just after the Consecration, Christ is present in the species on the Altar, so he isn’t facing him back the entire time, and Christ is still the physical centre of the Mass.
 
Yes but he is supposed to be facing the Lord during the consecration. Not humans. I feel like it comes off as a dialogue with people and not God.
Whose idea was versus populum anyways, it isn’t prescribed anywhere in Vatican 2 documents or the Missal for that matter.
 
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My favourite part of the article was in the introduction, where he quoted from the old Protestant billboards:
“If it were illegal to be a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?”
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That made me stop and think!
 
I approach with respect. I receive in my hand while standing. I love the Novus Ordo Mass.
 
AlbMagno said:
Just after the Consecration, Christ is present in the species on the Altar, so he isn’t facing him back the entire time, and Christ is still the physical centre of the Mass.
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And the entire time before that he is present inside the tabernacle to which the priest has his back turned.
 
Jesus is also present in the Word and in the priest himself.
 
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It’s great that you do. When I do attend the OF Mass, I hardly see anyone bow before approaching for Communion, yet we are supposed to make that gesture.

I love the MASS.

My personal preference is for the EF Mass, but I’ve been sacristan for both forms. Both forms can and are celebrated reverently around the world. I prefer there to be no liturgical abuses occur, but if they do I just pray for that person.
 
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