New to the older Mass? Your experiences.

What Does The Prayer Really Say? ^ | August 21, 2007 | Fr. Zuhlsdorf (and blog readers)

[GOPmember]

I have a favor to ask those of you who did NOT grow up with the older form of Mass. 

If sometime along the way you decided to check out the older form of Mass, the "Tridentine" Mass, I am interested in your experience and reactions.

• Were you "hooked"?
• Are you hooked now but it took a while?
• Were you indifferent ("What’s the big deal?")
• Were you put off and don’t want to go back?
• What was it that captured you?
• What repelled you?
• Do you go now?  Often?  Exclusively?  Rarely? back? * What was it that captured you? * What repelled you? * Do you go now? Often? Exclusively? Rarely?

[GOPmember]

For those who haven't read the comments on this posting yet, I'd recommend doing so. Not only are there a ton of them, but most are quite illuminating.

[maryz]

I’ve read them all (at least as of about 10 minutes ago — LOL!). Many of them were strikingly beautiful and moving — people really recounted their journeys of faith!

[230FMJ]

Bump for later

[Pyro7480]

Catholic ping!

[GOPmember]

I saw it as an opportunity for me to respond to all the nay-sayers' cliché criticisms of the TLM and to give a personal account of how very wrong they are.

It was a chance to vent, if you will.

[maryz]

I didn't know you were one of them . . . one of the truly eloquent ones? ;-)

I found it fascinating -- I had it up in one tab last night, and checked back and refreshed every now and then to catch the new ones. I did the same this morning. When I just refreshed, I noted that there were 2 fewer than last time -- but looking closer, I guess Fr. Z deleted the duplicate posts, and a few of the early ones have sentences in red that weren't before -- I guess Fr. Z's work, and a work in progress.

[GOPmember]

He's highlighting (in red) especially pertinent sentences in the posts right now. He hasn't made it down to mine yet, but he's getting close.

If he highlights part of my posting, then I'll consider myself eloquent.

If not....oh well.

[maryz]

I don’t think it’s eloquence he’s highlighting — more things that are examples of points he always tries to hammer home!

[GOPmember]

Darn.   Until I read your last post, I was feeling so proud of the highlighted proof of my eloquence.   ; )

[maryz]

LOL! You mean you got highlighted? Congratulations! Well, maybe some of the time he was highlighting eloquence! :)

[JustMytwocents70]

I found it by accident. I always heard about it from my Dad.
I went to another parish that had mass said all morning up to 1pm. They never advertised it as the latin mass.
anyway I went to the 1pm mass because I missed it at my parish. Before we went in, one of the altar servers said it was done in latin and that automatically made me curious.
That week was low mass. Another person mentioned that the next week was a sung mass and that made me come back to see it. Once I experienced the sung mass I hooked. I could not believe the difference betweent the novous ordo and the old rite. Because at the time, it was offered at 1pm I only went to the sung mass that was offered once a month. Now the mass has moved to another church close by and its offered at 11:30am each sunday with a sung mass once or twice a month. I go each week to altar serve or sing in the schola. I now cringe when I go to my usual parish and hear “on eagles wings” which they make a point to sing each wing using the piano.

[GOPmember]

Just for clarification, I might not have made it terribly clear that my post was in reference to the comments on Fr. Z's blog.   It appears, per his own posting, that he is considering sharing those comments with certain bishops and priests.

[maryz]

The bishops who would welcome them or the ones who need to see them??? No, I'm not bitter -- I'm just from Boston, where -- according to our Cardinal -- there's no interest in the TLM, indeed there's no interest in all of North America.

[roamer]

Have you considered writing a letter?

I found these 2 links:
Requesting the Extraordinary Form of the Holy Mass: Three Sample Letters
http://www.lumengentleman.com/content.asp?id=361

Suggestions and sample letter for requesting the traditional Latin Mass following the Motu Proprio Summorum Pontificum
http://www.unavoce.org/articles/2007/SP_Advice.html

 

from Fr. Zuhlsdorf's blog:

• [...] citation of His Holiness’ Summorum Pontificum:
  

  Art. 5, § 1.  In parishes, where there is continuously present a group of the faithful attached to the previous liturgical tradition, let the pastor willingly receive their petitions that Mass be celebrated according to the Rite of the Missale Romanum issued in 1962.  Let him see to it that the good of these faithful be harmoniously brought into accord with the ordinary pastoral care of the parish, under the governance of the Bishop according to canon 392, by avoiding discord and by fostering the unity of the whole Church. (copied)

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Were you "hooked"?

Immediately. I never went to another N.O. Mass again.

What was it that captured you?

It was like being transported to another place spiritually. The sense of the sacred was palpable in the air. The newness of it all can be disorienting at first but the sense of being home is strong enough to overcome any minor concerns.

[maryz]

I might if I had a printer (my handwriting is pretty awful!)

And if I didn't feel intimidated by the fact that my parish completed its "renovation" of the lower church just a week or two before the motu proprio (which was rumored for a good two years before its issuance) came out -- they got rid of the old altar, the communion rail and the pews, attempting to salve the more traditional among us by keeping the old altar stone and getting a few traditional-looking windows from two churches that had been closed. Also, the new wainscoting was made of the wood from the old pews. As the Dems say, the timing of this is suspicious.

I feel like I got a "No!" (more than that -- a smackdown) before I even asked, a slap in the face.

[Dajjal]

bumpus ad summum

[onedoug]

I remember the Latin Mass while my Mom was singing in choir. I was probably 12.

Having been Judaized (or, at least Noachized) since, I'd still like to go for the Latin if the Catholic Church up the street ever gets its act together.

[Patriotic1]

Bump for a later read.

[magdalen]

I have not had an opportunity recently to attend the extraordinary form of the Mass and have only been to two in my adult life. But I would LOVE to have the opportunity. My pastor has already said he will NOT learn that Mass so locally it will not happen any time soon. And we are on the ‘cutting edge of the (so called) american catholic church’ so the idea of the Latin mass is not too big here.

HOwever I am visiting right now where there is an Anglican Use Mass and I am enjoying it very much. It is what should have happened when the vernacular was introduced intstead of giving the faithful a whole new (well not new as it was the Anglican liturgy) form of the Mass in the ‘novus ordo’

I look forward to attending the extraordinary form and already pray from an old missal and that gives me peace when there are shenanigans at Mass.