Posted on 05/04/2006 6:26:10 AM PDT by NYer
Last weekend the first of the weekly Tridentine Masses was celebrated at St. Lawrence Church in Alexandria. In March, Arlington Bishop Paul S. Loverde granted permission to two parishes to celebrate the pre-Vatican II form of Mass. The Mass was offered on the feast of Pope St. Pius V.
The Tridentine form is celebrated in accordance with the 1570 Roman Missal promulgated by Pope Pius V for the Latin West and revised in 1962. Ancient rites, those older than 200 years, were able to retain their traditions. Following the Council of Trent, Pope Pius wanted to standardize worship in order to “unite us all together in one common profession of faith — one common worship,” Father Paul deLadurantaye, diocesan director of sacred liturgy, said in his homily at the Mass.
In celebrating the Tridentine form, he said, “we unite ourselves with those who for centuries celebrated this Mass, particularly the saints.”
Nearly 600 Catholics, young and old, from around the Washington Metropolitan area attended the 12:30 p.m. Mass at St. Lawrence Church.
“We were getting a lot of phone calls so I was expecting a large crowd,” said Father Christopher Mould, pastor of St. Lawrence.
While some came for nostalgic reasons, others who had never experienced a Tridentine service came out of curiosity.
“I love the beauty and the awesomeness of the prayers,” said Gigi Strube, a Catholic from Centreville who had been attending Tridentine Masses in Washington. “They’re God-centered, not people-centered. They lift our hearts up to God.”
John Stinson, a parishioner of Blessed Sacrament Parish in Washington, attended the Mass with a few friends. He hadn’t been to a Tridentine Mass since before Vatican II and while he didn’t remember all the rubrics of the Mass, he remembered parts of the Latin.
“There are a lot more ups and downs, ringing bells and all the old stuff,” he said, comparing the Tridentine Mass to the current vernacular celebration. “It was interesting explaining things to my daughter. She’s 18 and has never seen anything like this.”
Also among the attendees that hadn’t experienced a Tridentine Mass was Casey McEnelly, a member of St. Anthony of Padua Parish in Falls Church.
“It was much different than any Mass I’ve experienced before and from what I expected,” he said. “It seemed much more prayerful because there was more silence. I hope as I attend more I’ll become more aware of when to participate and when to be silent.”
McEnelly said he had been curious about the Tridentine Mass but had never made it to the Archdiocese of Washington to attend one.
“I won’t be coming every week, but definitely will make it back,” he said.
He also said he was surprised at the number of young people at the Mass. Being an older form of the Mass, he expected the congregation to be mostly people who remember celebrating the rite before Vatican II.
For the first Tridentine Mass at St. Lawrence, Father Mould said they wanted it to be more festive, so instead of a low Mass, recited entirely by the priest, a Missa Cantata, or “sung Mass,” was celebrated. The Schola of Greater Washington, which also sings at the Tridentine Masses in the Archdiocese of Washington, served as the choir. Father Mould is looking for volunteers, both altar servers and adult men, to assist during future Tridentine Masses. For the first Mass, seminarian Rob Martin rounded up young men to volunteer to serve at the altar.
St. John the Baptist Church in Front Royal will begin celebrating weekly Tridentine Masses on Aug. 6.
Dear bornacatholic,
I prefer the new rite to the old. However, as a wise someone once said, "The Mass is the Mass is the Mass."
If some folks have an attachment to the old rite, and the bishop in Arlington provides two venues for the old rite, and the churches are full, then I think that's grand.
sitetest
Respectfully submitted for your approval, a thought for consideration.
Having grown up in the old days, you can come to the Novus Ordo with a background in TLM. You obviously remember the worst of the old Mass, and no doubt you also retain some memory of the best of it.
I would ask you though, to imagine yourself being born in 1971 as I was, and--all throughout childhood even--feeling like the music and the liturgy of Mass (not touching upon the Holy Sacrifice itself), well, it just was sort of blah. I had no previous experience with TLM, so I had nothing to compare it to.
To many in our generation, TLM is something...dare I say..exotic. We don't have--you'll pardon the expression--as much "baggage" associated with it. And many of us find that it restores something we always kinda thought was missing in the New Rite, but never could put our finger on. *I* certainly feel, and perhaps many agree with me here, that regardless of the validity of the New Rite (which again, we were raised in exclusively), there was a de-emphasis on the sacrificial act and looming, omnipresent, and almost suffocating insistence on the communal meal aspect.
You had the lucky benefit of having the sacrificial part of the Mass drummed into your head from childhood. We did not, and that is why many of us cling so tightly to the old liturgy.
A whole heartedly agree with Claud's assessment. I too am part of the post-V2 generation (born in 1979), and I would add one more food for thought to Bornacatholic:
I am well aware of the what was "bad" about the old Mass via the plethora of stories from my grandfather. That being said, I can honestly attest to the fact that many (not all unfortunately, but a majority) of the currently celebrated TLM's have learned from past mistakes and have employed the proper kind of lay participation and restoration of chant et al. that Popes Pius X and XII, among others, clamored for. Today's TLM environment is remarkedly different from the average parish pre-V2 in terms of liturgical participation and community and this is for the better.
P.S. I recently relocated from Maryland to New Jersey in order to go from a TLM which Bornacatholic would rightfully loather to a TLM that is characterized by all the good things I have reported above.
In fact, Father once said in a homily that one person once told him "Well, if you're going to say the old Mass, then say it the way it's supposed to said: 15 minutes and out".
Obviously, Father doesn't say it that way. :)
I love that photo. I have it saved in my archives. (Come to think of it, I might just drag it out and post it on my website...)
It's the mass of the past. It's the mass of the future.
Still, what you say has a lot of merit. A lot of Parishes have poor Liturgies.
There has never been a time in the church when Liturgical catechesis was all that it outght be but that is the not only the fault of the Clergy. It is also the fault of parents who have the initial duty, as the domestic church, to catechize their children.
I'll bet you'll do a smashing job of catechizing your own kids.
I do have a lot of "baggage" when it comes to the Liturgy. I spend so much time in polemics and argumentation that I don't always listen to the ideas and thoughts of others. I apologize. That is only one of many faults I have.
As I have said many times before, I am thankful those who love the old Ordo Missae have the Indult. There are many real Christians whose longanimity and faithfulness is being rewarded via the Indult. It is a great grace for many and it wasn't my intention to rain on anyone's parade.
I don't loather any Mass :)
I recall you posting a vanity about TLM and I remember congratulating you. Any Liturgy approved by the Church is of incomparable value; and, any Liturgy approved by the church can be perfomed rightly or wrongly. I think the existence of the Pauline Rite has contributed positively to the celebration of the old liturgy and vice versa
Thank goodness we trads are TOTALLY immune to that! ;)
But there's no need to apologize, my friend. Unity in essentials, diversity in non-essentials, and in all things charity, which you have shown a great deal in your post.
God bless.
Dear bornacatholic and Claud,
I was born a bit ahead of Claud (but not TOO much), and thus have dim memories of something other than the new rite. However, frankly, I appear to have received First Holy Communion in a transitional rite, I guess a vernacular dialogue Mass version of the old rite.
I vividly remember when our prayers changed. I wasn't crazy about all the changes, but I didn't get really worked up over them. I much prefer the old, "Lord I am not worthy that You should come under my roof, only say the word and my soul shall be healed," but am not losing my faith over "Lord I am not worthy to receive You, only say the word and I shall be healed."
From the perspective of the actual liturgy, I just don't see enough difference between the two rites, at least when both rendered in the vernacular, to get bent out of shape about one or the other. I prefer how the English language was used in the vernacular version of the old rite (and in fact, of the first vernacular versions we had of the new rite, too), but have been to many new rite Masses that were celebrated well.
My one beef is with the music. If it were up to me (and it's not), we'd go back to Gregorian chant, exclusively, for a century, so that the memory of the dreck with which we currently must put up would fade into oblivion.
sitetest
Funny. You seem so haughty about the living gospel. On one side you deride me for my primitivism, and on the other you attack those who believe the liturgical development reached its pinnacle in the West around 1570.
The Pauline rite is an innovation that has NO connections with any prior incarnation of the Roman rite. It was the fruit of the same sort of iconoclasm that Pius XII condemned in Mediator Dei.
It also has little in common with the ancient rites of the Eastern Churches.
The Mass was always divided into the Mass of the Faithful and the Mass of the Catechumens.
If you are of the boomer generation, great.
A lot of whipper-snappers love the old rite, and when you are gone the Old rite will rise from the ashes. Or at least the Novus Ordo will be reforme and brought back into lines with the 1965 Missal.
Bornacatholic, why do you hate Old Ritualist Roman Catholics so much?
One thing would help the new mass. Get rid of the music. I was attending a very modern church and they accidently had no one to sing--this was a SUNDAY MASS. Anyway, I was amazed by what a different it made. Everyone was quiet for a change. The rpiest was all apologetic, but I told him on the way out that I didn't miss a thing. He stared at me.
Keep 'em coming--The True MAss-comes back and 600 people attend??? Gee maybe the higher ups will figure out that churches across the globe don't have to close---just rip out the tables and put the altar and tabernacle back ! Let the LAtin Tridentine Masses BEGIN!
Pravnight: Bornacatholic, why do you hate Old Ritualist Roman Catholics so much?
Allow me to stick my neck out and interject some thoughts in defense of 'bornacatholic'. The TLM is the Mass of my childhood. It was the only Mass back then. As we grow older, our childhood memories remain crisp and so the following comments are drawn from that crystal clear pool of my youth.
1. For those who have only known the NO Mass but have now experienced and fallen in love with the TLM, it is difficult to comprehend the catholic culture in which I grew up. The catholic schools were splitting at the seams with baby boomers and the nuns ruled with great authority. They had no choice! At graduation from catholic elementary school, there were three 8th grade classes with no less than 55 students in each one. There was no departmentalization back then. Whichever teacher you were assigned, taught every subject in the same classroom, throughout the entire year. As puberty kicked in, so did Sister's pointer. Her clicker told us when to kneel in church and when to stand. We were herded like cattle back and forth between school and church for devotions or to attend Good Friday Mass. Attendance was taken at the 9am Mass on Sunday and parents were called on Monday if a child did not show up for the Children's Mass the previous day.
2. As for Sunday Mass, catholics showed up in large numbers out of abject fear. They were assured by priests that failure to attend Sunday Mass would result in an eternity in Hell. The churches were stuffy and hot with so many souls packed in (there was no air conditioning). The priest mumbled the liturgy in Latin (no microphones) and altar servers gave the responses. We did our best to follow along in the missals, while remaining silent. The choir sang and old ladies fingered their clacking rosary beads in the pews. Frankly, few 'actively participated' as the only participation was by the altar servers and choir members.
3. Then came Vatican Council II and everything changed .... too radically and quickly. In trying to 'restore' some authenticity to the Mass, the penduluum sung in the opposite direction. The organ was replaced by guitars and keyboards; the choir relocated behind the 'now turned around' altar. Altar servers now included girls and communion, once distributed only by the priest, was now being doled out by heavily perfumed women with painted nails. It didn't stop there. The novelties and innovations grew and continue to do so, in the most liberal parishes.
Summation: From a personal perspective, I lived through this dramatic transformation. At the time, I was still a youth and enjoyed some of the changes. However, deep inside, certain aspects of the new Mass were most disturbing. Like many other catholics, I went along, never questioning, until it grew out of contron in my parish and diocese. By then, more than 40 years had passed, Mother Angelica had taken to the air waves, and my fellow catholic freepers had supplied me with an education.
Five years ago, at the suggestion of another freeper, I sought out and attended the Indult TLM in my diocese. At the time, I was sick and tired of the 'novelties' introduced into the NO liturgy in this diocese and, grabbing my old missal, looked forward to attending the Mass of my childhood. How refreshing it was to see the priest emerge from the Sacristy, vested in the fiddleback vestment. I had already marked the pages in my missal in order to follow along. Much to my chagrin, nothing had changed. The priest mumbled the liturgy in Latin and I flipped through pages trying to follow along. Several pews in front of me were some 'traditionalist' families with their children all holding Children's Sunday Missals. Just as we did pre VCII, these children turned to their parents for assistance in following along with the priest. Surrounding me were older women, rosary beads clacking throughout the Mass. The altar boys delivered faithful Latin responses and the choir sang beautiful acapella chants. When it was all over, I felt as though I had not attended Mass at all. It was a tremendous let down.
The following Sunday, I returned to my NO parish where I could verbally speak the responses and sing along with the choir (though I limited my attendance to the only Mass with an organ and choir that sang more recognizable hymns). I was more determined than ever to battle the 'novelties' and 'abuses' at the parish in order to ensure a more faithful deliverance of the NO liturgy. It was a lost battle. The pew catholics were unfamiliar with the GIRM and cared little about how the pastor was introducing illicitness into the liturgy. It pained and grieved me no end. After watching a EMHC drop a consecrated host on the floor of the Sanctuary, I pleaded with our Lord to guide me to a holy priest, and a reverent liturgy.
As most of you already know, two years, I dusted off my sandals and went searching for a new parish. Thanks to another freeper, I included two Eastern Catholic Churches on my list. After attending Mass at several other NO parishes, I found myself one Sunday, in the Maronite (Eastern) Catholic Church. Though totally disoriented by their liturgy and liturgical language of Aramaic and Syriac, I was overwhelmed by the intense spirituality and reverence in their liturgy. It bridged the gap between West and East. The Eastern Catholic liturgies require participation by the faithful who chant the responses, like a dialogue, back and forth with the celebrant. I will never forget the communion hymn - O Bread of Life - which moved me to tears. Here was the fullness of worship that I had so desperately been seeking.
Prior to the Liturgy of the Word, the priest prepares the faithful by incensing them. This was followed by the chanting of the 'Qadeeshat' - the thrice Holy Hymn that most Roman Catholics would now recognize from the Divine Mercy Chaplet. The prayer is ancient! Holy God; Holy Mighty One; Holy Immortal One! - Have Mercy on us! We all stood and faced the Tabernacle, as the priest led us through the prayer. Coming from a RC parish where there was no Crucifix, I was moved to tears seeing the priest and congregation all facing the Tabernacle. After each recitation, the priest made a profund bow towards the Tabernacle. Yes! There is my Lord!
As if that was not enough, during the Epiclesis, I watched in stunned amazement as the priest dropped to his knees behind the altar, hands elevated heavenward as he chanted in Aramaic - 'A neen mor yo' (Hear us O Lord!) - three times, to which the congregation responded in chant - Kyrie Eleison!
Though sated with so much reverence, NOTHING in my Latin Mass background ever compared to the moment when the priest held the host in his hands and chanted the words of Institution in Aramaic - the same language of our Lord at the Last Supper. And nothing ever will! There was dead silence in the Church, save for the priest's chant. Tears streamed down my cheeks. Even now, more than 2 years later, it is the penultimate moment of reverence in the Maronite Divine Liturgy.
Communion by intinction and only by the hands of the priest. No EMHCs! No communion in the hand!
We each are caught up in a faith journey to find the liturgy that draws us closer to our Lord, God and Savior. For some of you, that is now exemplified by the TLM. Those who attend it do so out of choice; hence the reverence is far greater and deeper, as it is a personal choice. For others, such as myself, the beauty and reverence is found in the 'east'. Many catholics forget that our Lord was born, died and resurrected in the Holy Land. He was a Jew and spoke Aramaic with His Mother and disciples. Still others find it in a more reverent form of the Novus Ordo liturgy, such as is celebrated on EWTN.
The most important aspect of Sunday worship for all of us, is to ask our Lord to guide us to where He wants us to be. No one knows our needs better than our Lord! For us to sit in judgement of others is absolutely wrong.
Frankly, I think permitting the Old Rite to be said in the vernacular and eliminating the Low Mass mentality could have gone a long way in a positive direction.
The Solemn High Mass should have been the basis of the reform or the Eastern rites experiences with popular participation, for that matter.
The Anglo-Catholics had been celebrating the Old Rite in English with popular participation for at least 80 to 100 years. Their experiences with the Old Rite should have been examined as a basis for liturgical reform instead of their Evangelical cousins.
The prayers of the Old Rite have a theological depth to them that the New Rite simply lacks in my opinion.
I would agree that some changes were needed, but not in the direction that Paul VI took. The pre-Tridentine rites had a bit more popular participation than the Tridentine rite from what I have read.
The reform should have been in continuity, not in revolution.
Did you attend a predominately Irish parish by any chance?
I ask because the Irish clergy were heavily influenced by Jansenism as a legacy from the years when they were forced to attend French seminaries where Jansenism was rife.
My Italian Greek Catholic priest told me the Italians were a bit more easy going.
Well stated, NYer.
Just made that point because you described a sort of fire and brimstone attitude from the clergy.
I'd like to see a nice Solemn High English Tridentine Mass.
You'll have mail in a moment.
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