Why would your reply carry a “warning to trads”? This is tradition—“Trads” always embrace tradition, why would you assume otherwise? Unless you possess a false caricature of what Trads are and hold perhaps. This kind of comment comes from people, usually, who hold that Trads believe that the Traditional Mass began intact after Pentecost. T
he Office is said the same way in the SSPX, FFSP, etc. These comments are hurtful and cannot lead to anything but false steroetypes and
negativity.
First of all, it is not my intention to hurt anyone’s feelings.
Second, when you’re around here long enough, you’ll find that I have a very good relationship with Traditionalists, but I’m also very cautious with radical traditionalists. They often reduce tradition to their point of view, which usually excludes the traditions of religious life. I believe that my treatment of tradition and traditionalists is very fair and respectful. I happen to be the superior of a very traditional community.
Third, if you notice the little
that I inserted into the post, it’s supposed to be a tease.
Why did I tease, is a much better question. The answer is simple. Many traditionalists are very critical of the mass and the LOTH being man focused. However, in monastic and mendicant tradition, they communal element plays an essential part of worship. There is no worship without the communal element. For that reason, most mendicant houses and monastic houses do not have private masses. There is only one mass.
In some communities, the rule is so strict, that if there are several ordained monks or brothers in the house, only one can celebrate the mass and the others form the congregation, regardless of the form, EF or OF. The reason has nothing to do with the Tridentine tradition. It is to place the focus on the communal life of the men.
There are traditionalists that object to the communal emphasis in liturgy and believe that it’s something that was introduced after Vatican II. In reality, it has been around since the time of St. Benedict. Before there were diocesan parishes, this was all that people knew.
It was after the birth of diocesan parishes that we saw the focus completely on the sanctuary and altar. However, that focus only existed in diocesan parishes, not in houses of monks and friars. We continued what some of us call the dialectic celebration of liturgy, where God and the community interact with each other. It’ s not God and Man, but God, man and man. If one were to graph it, it would look like a three point system.
It is from this tradition that the post Vatican II renewal pick up terms such as communal celebration, meal, Table of the Lord, participation of the faithful, declericalization of liturgy and Eucharistic Banquet. These are very common terms in the monastic and mendicant traditions along with sacrifice of the mass. The term liturgy was also more commonly used rather than “the mass”. Monks used liturgy, probably from Eastern influence. Mendicants used mass more frequently.
That’s why I was teasing. Because I know that some people honestly believe that the communal interaction is a 20th century innovation; but in reality it goes back to Benedict, long before we had a normative liturgical form.
I hope this clarifies any misunderstanding.
Fraternally,
Br. JR, FFV :christmastree1:
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