TLM - What do you love about it?

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Maximian said:
the Asperges
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That’s one of my favorite parts of High Mass. In the Byzantine Tradition, we only get sprinkled with holy water on the vigil of Theophany & the Feast of Theophany.

Here’s a little prayer I found when taking Holy Water (maybe you can pray it when you’re being sprinkled?):

“By this Holy Water and by Thy Precious Blood, wash away all my sins, O Lord.”

Just a suggestion.
 
Traditional Latin Mass (you may be more familiar with the abbreviation EF for Extraordinary Form).
 
(Full discretion I am an Eastern Rite Orthodox Christian–not big “C” catholic, but my sympathies lie with Rome.)

I have never been to TLM, but have watched one online served by the FSSP in Sacramento. Afterwards I found myself saying, “This is the Mass that converted nations, brought sinners to compunction, uplifted the faithful into the heights of Divine Vision and is the true patrimony of the Christian West.” After that one Mass I could no longer believe the polemics of some of my Eastern brethren who cook up contentions about deficient rites in the Latin Church. To say it simply, the Latin Mass reconverted me to my former love of all things Western and snatched me out my narrow, self-imposed, Eastern captivity.

Don’t get me wrong, I still love the Divine Liturgy—but the Mass of St. Gregory the Great is ( in the eyes of my heart) the true counterpart to the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom.

To answer the OP–I love all of it.

PAX.
 
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I have never been to a Traditional Latin Mass - reading this thread makes me want to experience one. Thank you!
 
PilgrimMichelangelo said:
I still love the Divine Liturgy—but the Mass of St. Gregory the Great is ( in the eyes of my heart) the true counterpart to the Liturgy of St John Chrysostom.

To answer the OP–I love all of it.

PAX.
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My sentiments exactly. I have an original edition of Blessed Be God (1925) that once belonged to my late father’s former pastor. He was a Ukrainian Greek Catholic priest but had this missal. (He probably had RC confreres.) I used it when on retreat and at the TLM.

In the TLM, one of the prayers before Holy Communion is similar to the prayer before Holy Communion in the Divine Liturgy. In fact, the footnote in Blessed Be God states that it is a prayer of St. John Chrysostom! And the verse the priest prays before receiving from the chalice is Ps. 115: “I will take the chalice of salvation and I will call upon the name of the Lord.” I always have to force myself not to sing at that point because in the Divine Liturgy, we sing the verse and add the triple Alleluia. (And as you know, that verse is for almost all the feasts of the Theotokos and almost every Wednesday of the year (Great Wednesday and a few others excluded).

The more I learn about the TLM, the more I appreciate the Divine Liturgy.
 
Margaret_Ann said:
The more I learn about the TLM, the more I appreciate the Divine Liturgy.
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Agreed 100%. I am currently about half way through Michael Fiedrowicz’s “The Traditional Mass: History, Form and Theology of the Classical Roman Rite” which gives a wonderful, spiritual-historical background to the TLM. I am continually surprised and overjoyed as I read and find the connections between texts in the Byzantine Rite and the traditional Latin Rite especially with very similar, if not identical chants for the Great Feasts. The two traditions, East and West, illumine each other and are clearly the work of the Holy Spirit inspiring the Church in the development of her worship.
 
I’ve only been to one Latin mass, and the music was awe inspiring. They had a full choir doing a Gregorian chant. I didn’t know what they were saying, but it was amazing.
 
Suggestions for attending the TLM:
  1. See if they have the little red Latin-English TLM booklets. If not, invest in a good Missal. TAN Books (800-437-5876) has a nice selection of missals.
  2. Find out if there’s a dress code. Every TLM I’ve attended has a dress code posted near the door. Men: no shorts, tank tops or tight pants. Long-sleeve shirt and nice slacks. Women: No short or mini-skirts and modest (i.e. no see-through) blouses. Ladies generally wear some type of head covering (hat, veil, chapel cap).
The first TLM I ever attended, the lady in front of me turned to me and said: “Oh sweetheart, you must have your head covered!” and promptly pinned a Kleenex on top of my head with a bobby pin. Today, I generally wear a veil in spring /summer and a hat for fall/winter.

Depending on where you go, the general rule is that you dress your best for Our Lord. If you were invited to the Vatican to meet the Pope, you’d definitely wear the best outfit possible. (N.B. The Vatican does have a dress code.) Our Lord is the King of Kings and He deserves our best.
  1. If you want to go to confession, get there at least an hour earlier than Mass and get in the confession line as soon as possible. And if you’re the first one, use the time to prepare yourself for confession because as soon as the priest shows up he will start hearing confessions. Otherwise, you may not be able to go to confession.
N.B. In some places, the altar boy(s) serving that day get priority so even if you’re first in line the priest will hear his/their confession(s) first and then yours.
 
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I’ve only been twice.

But I loved that the tabernacle was behind the altar instead of off to the side.

I loved that the priest and others spoke and faced towards the tabernacle, which just seemed appropriate and resolved cognitive dissonance about who they were speaking to at different times.

I even loved that the priests were often saying things so quietly I couldn’t hear, because it made it obvious that what they were saying wasn’t for me. They were talking to God.

I liked that.

(I think the times I went, it might’ve been a less elaborate version than what others are talking about? Eg I don’t recall Gregorian chant. I think it was pretty quiet.)
 
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Margaret_Ann said:
Ladies generally wear some type of head covering (hat, veil, chapel cap).

The first TLM I ever attended, the lady in front of me turned to me and said: “Oh sweetheart, you must have your head covered!” and promptly pinned a Kleenex on top of my head with a bobby pin.
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Either the lady was misinformed or it was a not an approved Mass. There is no requirement to cover your head, though most women do. I have seen this written as a requirement on the websites of chapels like the SSPX, but not in approved Masses.
 
In addition to everything others have said, what I love about the TLM is the spiritual growth I experienced over the last few years. I learned a lot from the sermons, and the priests challenge you to develop a deeper spiritual life and not be content merely with avoiding mortal sin. They don’t dismiss even venial sins in confession as not serious and give good counsel.

We used to have a pastor who said, on a scale of -5 to +5, avoiding mortal sin gets you to 0. This is not sufficient, we need to be on the positive side of the scale.

We used to have another priest who said, never allow yourself to think that you a good enough Catholic. This is what the TLM does for me - it pushes me further.

I realize all this is not inherent to the form of Mass, and not every TLM will yield these fruits. But overall it tends to bring together Catholics who desire more than just fulfilling their obligation, and priests who speak the truth without apology. It’s almost like a unique spirituality.
 
There are so many things just to consider. What I like at the Low Mass for example is the silence. In the last 50 years, as so well explained by Robert Cardinal Sarah, we have become a world infiltrated and overcome to a great extent by NOISE. Silence at Mass is restorative, refreshing, and conducive to contemplation in a way that outside of Mass is often difficult, if not impossible, to find.
 
The reverence… how everything is done according to rubrics. Fact this Form of Mass is done only by people who wish to celebrate it and who love it deeply is great. Altar Servers- small and older, all know responses and what to do… and if they don’t and make a mistake, you can see how older boys just help them around and Priest does not scold them. It is done with utmost reverence and emphasis on being celebrated precisely how it was meant to be… but with charitable love and understanding that we all make mistakes.

Sacrificial prayers… but also how there are prayers honoring not only Saints but “all who hold Catholic Faith” (or something like that, I don’t know exact translation). I really like emphasis on importance of Faith, unity of the Church and emphasis on communion with the Saints. I like use of Latin because it feels so precise when I translate it (and funnily enough it made me realize just how great and very precise Slovak translations in OF are).

I don’t really attend OF too often though, and I have never seen High Mass. I have been at Sung Mass (or so I think!). I still do love it .

But the most important and blessed thing is probably how validly ordained Priest in unity with Church of Christ, in persona Christi, makes Sacrifice and delivers to us greatest gift ever- living God, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

and I am not sure if this qualifies for the EF, but when I was at confession done according to Old Rite, I really liked how Priest removed indults and excommunications according to his power… I liked hearing those words and knowing what they meant because I read translations online upfront.
 
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Reverence was the first word that popped into my mind too. I’m very privileged that my church is a stunning baroque feast of heavenly beauty. I am very easily distracted, so better for it to be a paintinh of the Sacred Heart or a statue of Saint Michael, rather than some random person opposite (local church very modern, devoid of art and octagonal in shape so you end up looking at people opposite in front of you!)

I love the fact that theres a significant proportion of young men, gives me hope for a future, not just aged congregations. Even my son noticed this.

My first TLM was also a Low Mass. I love the soothing melodic murmuring of the priest it really helps anchor me to the Mass if that makes sense. But i also love the glorious Majesty of the High Mass, and the feast days are really taken seriously! So really celebrated.

I love wearing a mantilla, which I’ve never done before. I feel I am entering a new mind set with it on. And helps with my distraction problems, kind of like horse blinkers. 🙃

I’ve said it before, but the building! I have to pinch myself that i am able to attend Holy Mass there, it then leads me to contemplating the benevolent mercy of God, that I , such an unworthy sinner can even enter such a sacred space. But I am invited, welcomed, and not only into this amazing building, but into the Holy Sacrifice, even into His family, adopted by Him so Holy. It is beyond words.
 
I have been going through a Bible study re: the Old Testament & it has made me want to attend TLM. I went years ago (for a funeral) but didn’t appreciate the experience - I didn’t understand it. But as I read about the reverence cited in the Old Testament it has reminded me of that TLM experience and made me want to try again. This post makes me want to go back even more!!
 
Thank you! I didn’t know about the head covering. I appreciate the information.
 
I like the fact that I can walk into any TLM church anywhere in the world and can follow and participate in all the responses. That’s putting the true universality into Catholicism.

I also think Latin is the most beautiful language to pray in and that the chants are beautiful too.
 
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