Got Dial-up?
Face the facts. The majority of NO Masses, are not done the same way that Pope Benedict XVI or EWTN carries them out. And the majority of priests and Bishops have yet to promote the reform of the reform in the Western Church. It will take a decade if not more if ever to see the fruits of Pope Benedict’s call for liturgical changes. To much politics and lack of interest. Look at the SSPX debacle. It is all because they want to promote the traditions to the modern day Catholic church. And it is those very traditions that the majority of current clerics and those liberal laity who actually have a say don’t want. The Williamson affair was just another weapon they can use to do completely away with the past traditions of the Catholic church. One reason I feel the new Patriarch of Moscow will not meet with Benedict XVI. He sees the battle now taking place with the Pope and his flock. He wants no part of it!. But I feel he does stand for the cause of the traditional Catholics. I am starting to really believe that the Pope is loosing the power that the previous Popes once had. Today it’s all about what the people want. The people with power and influence I mean!. And right now it’s the liberals and progressivists in the church.When I was growing up (in the 1930’s) the Mass was called “the Mass”; it was not called the TLM.
I know that some people like to think of going to Mass pre-V2 and hearing the Gregorian Chant and all this reverence and mystery. It has almost become a fantasy.
I remember no Gregorian Chants, the reverence was no more than it is now at a properly celebrated Pauline Mass. If you watch the Daily Mass on EWTN you will see what I mean. That is a Pauline Mass and it is so beautiful and reverent with beautiful music.
But churches in my youth had bad choirs and good choirs, exactly like today. And, some Priests rushed through the Mass just to get it over, exactly as some Priests do to this day.
The Priest faced away from the people and said the prayers in Latin but we followed in our Missal and I’ll bet, 90% of the people read the prayers in English.
Women did wear head coverings and I always have, and still do.
And we did receive Holy Communion from the hands of a Priest while kneeling at an altar rail. But there is a church just around the block from my parish church that still does it that way. They have one TLM Mass on Sunday but the rest of the time the Pauline Mass is celebrated. But Holy Communion is always received at the altar rail while kneeling.
I have not noticed if anyone receives in the hand, though I would think most people receive on the tongue. I can’t even imagine taking the Host in my hand.
Altar servers were always male, generally young boys, and I wish they still were all male.
I make it a point when attending Mass to sit on the side of the church where I know the Priest distributes Holy Communion. I do not want to receive the Holy Eucarist from the hands of a lay person (male or female).
So, I think of myself as a "traditional Catholic who does not object to the Pauline Mass. Have you seen a Mass celebrated by Pope Benedict. It is still the Pauline Mass but it is beautiful (of course they have the benefit of an excellent choir).
I suffered no great trauma when the Mass changed and the Priest turned around and I don’t understand why some people did.
That is how it was (at least it was my experience).
:twocents:
At the last RCIA meeting I asked about the traditional Mass and the views of Pope Benedict and was given very short shrift. According to my priest, Pope Benedict is too old and as a result his thinking is confused…not exactly the response I was expecting…
So have you been to every Church in the world to determine that it is “IMPOSSIBLE for ANYBODY to be quiet at ANY time for ANY reason?” I invite you to attend Mass with me because before, during and after Mass you can hear a pin drop.
You are being pedantic – OF COURSE nobody has been to every church in th world for every Mass, even the Pope. I have, however, during my 61 years of life, been to a wide representative group of churches world-wide and I think my response is adequate based on that information. My current congregation (St. Vincent de Paul Oratory) is also very quiet which is one reason I chose it. There are almost no children in that parish and the Mass is Sung English Mass but a good deal of it is in Latin, which means it attracts an older crowd. The past five congregations I have attended here in Toronto have been almost Protestant in their folksy, talkative, rackety Masses.
Although the atmosphere in the Church where I attend daily Mass is relatively quiet and reverent before and after Mass, I sure know what you mean, Appleby. More or less open conversation before and after Mass is very common. And the NO/OF Mass itself really doesn’t have much silence in it. A terrible loss.
