TLM - What do you love about it?

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Tis_Bearself said:
You may fall in love with the TLM. But if you don’t, that’s okay too.
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As a (Protestant!) teenager I used to play the organ at the local TLM, so I know what to expect… but I don’t think I’ve ever just prayed along at a TLM. Being there because I fulfill a function, and simply attending, often are two very different experiences for me.

So I’m not sure whether I’ll fall in love or not 😆
 
OddBird said:
So I’m not sure whether I’ll fall in love or not 😆
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When I was at my first EF, I was really looking forward to experience but in the end I did not know how to act, what to expect etc… all I knew was OF and Byzantine Liturgy and I came to conclusion that EF will be similar to Byzantine Liturgy. But I couldn’t have been more wrong when it comes to emphasis of each Liturgy.

That did quite surprise me and I was sure I was expecting something wrong, but luckily I went to EF more times and gradually started to understand prayers and following along my missal app in the phone (funnily enough, one older man was sitting near me with his own phone and read responses from it, so at least I did not feel so out of place). Then one Byzantine Priest explained to me how EF puts emphasis on silence and contemplation- something he quite misses in Byzantine Liturgy (on the other hand, I think Byzantine Liturgy puts more emphasis on congregation as a whole). I started to really appreciate silence and contemplation in EF. It’s beautiful and I always feel so great when I am receiving Eucharist there because Mass feels like it has been building up to that point from the start and that climax of the Mass itself is quite easy to feel and understand in EF… or at least for me it is 😃

I can’t say I prefer EF, OF or any other Liturgy because I have found that in my life there are times when silent contemplation of EF is what I need… sometimes OF helps me spiritually grow the most and sometimes Byzantine Liturgy just fills me up. It’s honestly beautiful how much variety is in the Church and I love all the Liturgies I’ve seen.
 
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High Mass vs Low Mass…what is the difference? Please, please explain…Thanks!
 
I think another person answered above, but here’s another good explanation. “Sung Mass” is another term for “High Mass”.


The reason I said to go to High Mass (aka Sung Mass) first is that at Low Mass, as the article explains, much of the Mass is almost inaudible to the attendees, so you will basically be kneeling in silence watching the priest say a Mass that you mostly cannot hear. Not a great first-time experience if you’ve never been.
 
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A lot of people already said some very great things that I agree with, so I won’t repeat them.

One thing that I didn’t see was that, especially when I was new to the Latin Mass, following along in the missal helped me to understand the Mass much better. Reading the Latin side-by-side with the English in a way forced me to “learn” the Mass again. Most Latin-English missals have helpful explanatory passages about why the priest is doing something, or why a certain passage is recited, etc. Also, some of the Missals have sumptuously illustrated pages explaining the Church, altar, etc.

The Latin language should not be a turn-off to anybody. For one, it is the language of the Church and connects us to our ancestors in the faith. For English speakers, it is not very difficult to catch onto it and learn the basic responses. English borrows from so many languages that you realize how indebted we are to Latin in many ways. After a few Masses, it’s pretty easy to know a few of the basic responses and to know where the priest is at in the Mass by his actions and words.

Approaching the altar and kneeling at the communion rail, waiting for the Eucharist is also a spiritual experience in itself.
 
Low Mass (at my FSSP church anyway) is almost silent. Quicker. Contemplative. Readings only in Latin. The server does almost all the responses. Creed not said. Little active participation for want of a better word.

High Mass - before corona, Asperges, insense, singing, drama, reading said 1st in Latin, then in German (local language), sermon, more ‘participation’ is saying also Gloria & usually singing creed. Very different. Beautiful, longer, obviously.

During the week there’s sometimes a sort of hybrid. Not sure what the official term is.

I love both. Think I prefer the Low Mass. I like quiet. But the high Mass is spectacular, breath taking. Ok. I can’t choose. I love them both in different ways.
 
As I previously posted, my first TLM was a Low Mass on All Saints Day (Nov. 1 on both TL & NO calendars). And it really was a LOW Mass. My friend & I were sitting in the first presidential on the right side (Epistle side - TL). I leaned forward because the priest’s voice was so low and probably looked like an idiot, straining to hear what he’s saying.
 
I love the smells and bells, I love the grandeur-ness of it, I love receiving Our Lord on the tongue kneeling at the rail, the vestments, the St Michael prayer at the end of a Low Mass.

Personally I find it hard to follow along with the Latin (not that I can’t, just that it requires your full attention which is for the most part a good thing), this definitely has a lot to do with dealing with our young kids during Mass (the oldest of which is autistic and can be quite loud at usually the absolute worst times lol).
My personal favorite liturgy in all of Catholicism is the Divine Liturgy of St John Chrysostom, my wife prefers liturgy in the Roman Rite (we both love traditional Catholic worship, smells and bells, etc.).

What my wife longs for is a direct translation of the TLM into the vernacular (to be used as the OF) and for her, the closest thing she has found is the Mass of the Ordinariate (although she, as do I, recognize that there are some strictly Anglican things in this liturgy) which is her favorite liturgy.
 
Tis_Bearself said:
Not a great first-time experience if you’ve never been.
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Yes, I know what you mean. However may I just say that, unlike the New Mass, it’s not about “your” experience? To appreciate the traditional mass one has to set aside the mentality that one is looking to be entertained.

On a different note, I appreciate your phrase “first time” because I suspect that like me you have come to appreciate the awe-filled silence of the low mass.
 
I go to some of everything.
On a weekday I am usually tired and have to work but I still want to go to Mass.
The last thing I want is some big elaborate loud Mass.
The Low Mass works well for a daily Mass.
 
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