Tridentine Mass Attractions

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One reason, the priests are almost always of superior quality in their sermons and spiritual insight. Coincidence? Maybe.
 
Slartibartfast said:
Did you take a look at Latin Mass on you tube before you went out?

No. I wanted to experience it first- hand.
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Fair enough I guess. But I’ve always thought one of the great things about the internet is that you can peek first- make sure you’re interested- before committing to travel and an event.
 
Slartibartfast said:
Having heard people speak so fondly about it, I went to one. I was really looking forward to what I thought would be a special occasion. What a disappointment! I shan’t bother again. I felt that there was a complete lack of connection ; I felt that I might just as well not have been there. Maybe I was unlucky with the particular church. For me the result was that I was immensely grateful that things had changed and, in my opinion at least, for the better.
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I had kind of a similar experience the first time I went. I was expecting to love and “get it”, and I didn’t. Now that I have been a few more times, I like it and appreciate it more every time.
As to the original question, I have to say, it’s not so much what I love about EF Mass, it’s that there are about 10 things that I find sub-standard about most OF Masses. Especially the music - - which is sometimes in such a jarring pop style as to be unintentionally comical. So, when I go to EF Mass, I don’t have to experience the aggravations of the OF Mass.
 
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There were a lot of people (even saints) who didn’t/don’t understand Latin, including myself. But the benefits are still there.
 
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There’s active participation and there’s passive participation. One can still definitely be participating even if they aren’t even saying anything, or understanding the words.

It only matters to God. If someone is just saying the words, but not meaning it in their heart or meditating over them, then that ought not be considered prayer. But if someone says nothing and hears nothing, but nonetheless goes into their little interior oratory, contemplating Him in His presence, then that is more advantageous to the soul.

“By their fruits you shall know them.” Is the active participation, vernacular mass providing vocations, making saints? Or is the passive participation, mysterious and quiet Latin mass? That ought to determine the future direction of the church.

I’ve heard it said that the absence of sacredness in music and language at mass makes it seem as though God is being brought down to the level of man. Men won’t go out in search of God because they think they know Him already. The supernatural, ritualistic, sacred parts of the mass leave something to be desired. Which is good. If we don’t see that, then it makes it harder to believe.
 
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I agree with the person upthread who suggested that the OP visit a Latin Mass before writing their article. There is no substitute for first hand experience.

As for me, what attracts me to Latin Mass is not the language, and not solely the Mass itself, though it’s part of it. It’s the combination of solid priests, liturgy with no innovations or abuses, silince in church, confession available before each Mass, good spiritual counseling from the before-mentioned priests, vertical rather than horizontal emphasis, in a sense of focus on God and not so much each other. Our priests tell it like it is, they don’t sugarcoat sin, they actually talk about sin from the pulpit. I learned so much about the faith since switching to TLM, and all the teachings and theology just seem to click and make sense now.

Is the form of the Mass itself responsible for all of this? No. I do love the actual form of Mass of course, especially the silent canon, the way Communion is distributed, the wording of the prayers, overall reverence, greater focus on our unworthiness before God. But it’s really more that just that, it’s the overall experience that attracts me.

God bless the men who run the FSSP seminary in Nebraska. Our parish seems to always be the one to get brand new priests from there, and the formation these men receive is outstanding. You wouldn’t know they were just ordained, they are ready to serve like experienced priests.
 
LisaB said:
God bless the men who run the FSSP seminary in Nebraska. Our parish seems to always be the one to get brand new priests from there, and the formation these men receive is outstanding. You wouldn’t know they were just ordained, they are ready to serve like experienced priests.
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I go to mass at an FSSP parish in Nebraska and I definitely agree with you here.
 
Nebraska in general is absolutely killing it… The USCCB needs to take every single hint they can from the Diocese of Lincoln
 
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Too bad the other bishops in America hate the Latin Mass to actually give it a try
 
I wouldn’t say all of them

There are at least half a dozen who regularly celebrate Pontifical Masses, and, IMO, most bishops lean neutral, if not for, the TLM
 
JimR-OCDS said:
The NO is actually closer to the original Mass of early Christians, than the TLM
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I read Jennifer Fulwiler’s book Something Other Than God. When she and her husband finally went to a Mass, he had downloaded a bunch of documents from the Internet - translations of descriptions of early services from the third century.

According to the book, it was eerily close to what you hear today. I found that fascinating.

It was even more fascinating when I myself finally went…and heard what they had heard. Though I had been with my dad as a kid several times, I of course had no idea (and that would’ve been as long as 30 years ago, so it was indeed different back then). It literally took my breath away and gave me chills as I sat there and realized the magnitude of it all.

I’ve never been to a full Latin Mass. That’s the Mass my father heard, of course, and served. Does anyone in my area (Seattle-Tacoma) know where one is near me? I’ve looked but can’t find one.
 
It feels ancient and holy to me. It makes me feel connected to my ancestors. I like the universality, that it can be used by people who speak different languages on different continents in different cultures, and it is the same Latin Mass. I like how it doesn’t feel like a Protestant compromise.
 
Our diocese has one Latin mass a week at one parish. Other parishes have occasional ones but thete is not the demand.
 
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