TLM and Ordinary Form

[OraLabora]

Careful, OL, that sounded like a Modernist slip-up.

I’m neither a modernist nor a traditionalist. I am a Catholic and Benedictine with a very deep appreciation of the Church’s 2000-year old traditions.

But by the same token I don’t believe in a static Church. For example, I love Gregorian chant but even today, in light of research, some of the melodies are being adjusted, changed, etc. Sometimes the changes bug me, some times they’re for the better.

 

[ProVobis]

Vatican III anyone?

Call a council to instill more strictness/discipline into the Church? Like requiring fasting and abstinence as was done prior to Vatican II? Like requiring everyone to pass two years of Latin in high school? Like requiring everyone to go to confession more frequently? Like requiring everyone to abide by Humanae Vitae, else they’re excommunicated? Good luck with that.

But it won’t hurt to ask.

 

[xixxvmcm85]

Nearly all the other rites have been growing so your premise does not seem to be correct.

The Armenian Catholic Church +224248
The Coptic Catholic Church +100206
The Ethiopian/Eritrean Catholic Church +106674
The Syro-Malankara Catholic Church +120834
The Maronite Catholic Church +931192
The Syro-Malabar Catholic Church +812092
The Ruthenian Byzantine Catholic Church +328924

Pointing out that the total number of adherents has increased doesn’t negate the OP’s (cited) statistic that the percentage of those who frequently attend Mass has decreased.

The entire world-wide membership of the Latin Rite Catholic Church has of course increased, but its percentage has stayed about stagnant, and that of course doesn’t even address the central issue of this thread: Mass attendance, and other measures of fidelity and practice. If I were to say “Hey, look! The total number of Catholics is more today than last year. This shows that there is in fact no spiritual decline whatsoever in the Catholic Church and the OF is actually strengthening spirituality” you’d, rightfully, point out that my conclusion does not follow from the evidence.

 

[Student09]

IMO, it’s not all that puzzling. As I’ve said in other threads in this forum, one major problem I find are the various “options” in the OF (and I daresay the most insidious of them is versus populum).

I didn’t even know that was an option! You mean any priest saying the OF could say it ad orientem if he wants to???

 

[floresco]

I didn’t even know that was an option! You mean any priest saying the OF could say it ad orientem if he wants to???

Yes and I have often seen it done. The Oratorian Fathers in Toronto always do the OF this way. They also have an altar rail at their church and most people there receive Communion on the tongue, kneeling. They do not have lay people being lectors or EMOCs. All of the altar servers are male. Most of the things I find irritating about the OF are options that can be left out.

 

[OraLabora]

Yes and I have often seen it done. The Oratorian Fathers in Toronto always do the OF this way. They also have an altar rail at their church and most people there receive Communion on the tongue, kneeling. They do not have lay people being lectors or EMOCs. All of the altar servers are male. Most of the things I find irritating about the OF are options that can be left out.

I’ve seen the OF done ad orientem at Monte Cassino in Italy as well.