Posted on 02/23/2007 8:20:35 PM PST by Salvation
My son just came home with the worksheets/study guide on how to be an altar server. Apparently, he was the only one in his class to volunteer for this.
I believe people should have the option of attending either version as they see fit.
I saw "shotgun" Tridentine Masses as a kid as an altar boy. However, they were done at 6:30 AM for the crowd going to work who had fasted the night before from midnight and who wanted to grab some donuts and coffee before taking the bus or trolley to work. No sermons on weekdays either. Futhermore, the noon Mass didn't exist. Nobody could fast for 12 hours and then go to Mass. So, you are right, but for what I saw as a valid reason.
Look, any priest can "hammer out" a fast Mass anytime. I have been to 16 minutes Masses on the way to work as recently as last month. I daresay Masses in al Anbar in Iraq for the Marines don't last more than 12 minutes or so.
F
http://web2.airmail.net/carlsch/MaterDei/churches.htm
List of Tridentine Masses as of 2006.
That is sad. Maybe he can talk some of his friends into it.
I read your bio on your page and saw where you were stationed - I was born in '53 when my father was stationed at Scott AFB. And then he retired in '64 at Norton AFB, which is near March AFB(AKA March Field). All before your time, I'm sure, but still kinda cool...anyway, thank you for your service!
Very interesting read.
In my parish the hand holding goes to extremes. The people form hand holding chains that cross the aisles and go front to back. It seems more appropriate to a kindergarten class than a religious service.
I call that the daisy chain. They literally turn around in the pews and turn their backs on the altar to get to someone behind them. Or the more respectful folks will stick their hands over their own shoulders and kind of lean back.
But it's not their fault because they really don't know any better. It's the pastor's fault, and sometimes even the bishop's fault.
We have had two pastors and five or six associate pastors since I joined the church in 2002. None of them seem to have a problem with the hand holding. We just got a new Bishop - Richard J. Garcia, formerly Auxiliary of Sacramento. I don't know if anything will change though. The culture in the Diocese of Monterey is pretty liberal.
You are right on Joe - We tend to complain for ourselves and overlook these poor priests that are not offered an option in most seminaries. These priests have been emasculated as a result of the "spirit of V2" and its wrong.
I submit that the Novus Ordo mass, any one of the 30,000 versions, is just the outward ceremony of the new philosophy, new religion, new ideas all rooted in modernism. Thus it has weak roots, new traditions and changes with the wind. It emulates the new Catholic church which seems also to have an identity and confidence crisis. I understand and agree this didn't happen overnight. Most experts point to the beginning of the 20th century as the introduction of modernistic thinking, however it gave birth in the 1960's during and after v2.
As the old saying goes, a little lipstick is not going to make this pig look any prettier. It goes much deeper than the cosmetic. A little nip tuck on the NO mass won't change the underlying problem which is foundational and cultural. Pope Benedict knows this better than I ever will and he knows how to fix it. I just hope and pray he has the wisdom and fortitude to complete the mission as much as he can during his pontificate.
I look forward to the turn of the Tridentine Mass along with all the culture it carries for 1500 years.
I have been where you were. I started Tridentine Mass attendance almost two years ago. I was distracted since I was not watching the wonderful ceremony and was always looking down at the book. So I went home, opened the missal and read it for an hour or two trying to determine the stages so I could follow the Mass without knowing Latin and not reading either.
The Tridentine Mass has a plan of two parts of the Mass which contains 3 or 4 stages each. The plan is located in the missal. Read the missal translation and try to understand the overall concept of each stage and what is occuring. If you understand it intellectually before you walk into Church it will provide you great value. You can go well beyond the limitations of language and not be frustrated.
I started learning higher level concepts. Eventually I will just memorize the missal and be able to understand Latin.
Hope this helps.
Every single Catholic should be forced to reckon with the truth in your post.
Bravo!
Whatever the Holy Father decides is fine with me.
Amen.
I knew what was happening at each stage of the Mass and what the priest was doing, e.g. the Introit, the readings, the offertory, the Canon, etc. But not knowing the Latin and not being able to respond was still frustrating.
I think there is something to be said for the vernacular. If some of the prayers of the Mass were in Latin and some in the vernacular, that would best and it would also comply with what Vatican II ordered.
I go to both types of Masses, and I am not sure that I prefer the Latin Mass....it seems a little "colder".....I WISH THEY COULD TAKE THE GREAT PARTS OF BOTH OF THEM!
So true....what younger priests even KNOW how to speak Latin? Maybe they could do a more solemn Mass with tradional music.
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