Still from 'Mass of the Ages – Guardians of Tradition'
Posted on 03/20/2024 4:38:54 PM PDT by ebb tide
Still from 'Mass of the Ages – Guardians of Tradition'
The third part of the “Mass of the Ages” trilogy tells the story of families affected by the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) restrictions by Pope Francis and how the TLM is flourishing worldwide despite that.
“Mass of the Ages – Guardians of Tradition” was published on YouTube on March 19. The movie lays out the timeline of the rules put forth by the Holy See regarding the TLM, from the so-called “Agatha Christie indult” in 1971, shortly after the promulgation of the New Mass (Novus Ordo Missae), to the recent restrictions imposed by Pope Francis through his motu proprio Traditionis Custodes (Guardians of Tradition).
READ: Pope Francis abrogates Pope Benedict’s universal permission for Old Mass
A letter by a group of intellectuals, many of them non-Catholics, led Paul VI to sign the so-called “Agatha Christie indult” in 1971, named after the appeal’s most famous signatory, granting permission to celebrate the old form of the Mass in England and Wales.
The movie scenes cut between interviews of Catholic scholars such as Drs. Peter Kwasniewski and Scott Hahn, who explain the timeline of indults and restrictions of the TLM after the Second Vatican Council, and stories from families around the world who have been affected by the restrictions on the Old Mass. The film also shows examples of families and congregations where the Latin Mass flourishes.
One of the main storylines follows a group of French mothers who organized a pilgrimage from Paris to Rome to meet Pope Francis. The mothers, whose sons are priests who celebrate the TLM, called their pilgrimage La Voie Romaine – the Roman Road. The group walked 1,100 kilometers (680 miles) in eight weeks to reach Rome and deliver over 2,500 letters by faithful Catholics who love the TLM to Pope Francis, who had previously restricted the use of the ancient rite.
When one of the group’s leaders finally met the Pope during an audience, she told him: “Holy Father, we are mothers of priests; we walked from Paris to Rome, to you, for eight weeks, on foot.”
“We ask you: let our sons, who are also your sons, celebrate the Traditional Mass.”
A young Frenchman, Jacques Corbellini, said that he was born into an atheist family but was converted by experiencing the TLM.
“Coming to this Latin Mass the first time, when I heard the Gregorian chants, the way the Mass was followed, it touched something in me, and since then, well, I was totally hooked. So that’s why I decided to become Christian,” Corbellini said.
READ: Jewish podcaster Eric Weinstein says ‘Vatican 2 may have been a big mistake’ in discussion about Latin Mass
The film introduces several pious Catholic families from the U.S. and South America whose faith has been deepened by the Old Mass.
“We cannot have all the sacraments,” a woman from Mexico lamented regarding the restrictions on the traditional form of the sacraments. “I have a son preparing for confirmation, and we do not have an answer yet if we have the Sacrament of Confirmation.”
“Please, Pope Francis, Holy Father, meet directly with these good, young, Catholic families who love the Traditional Mass, and they will give you a convincing witness,” Bishop Athanasius Schneider of the Archdiocese of Astana in Kazakhstan said in an interview.
The film shows a thriving Catholic community in Tanzania that has been introduced to the Latin Mass.
Father Antonius Mamsery, Superior General of the Missionaries of the Holy Cross in Tanzania, explained that because the TLM is in Latin, all Catholics who celebrate it worldwide pray with the same voice in the same language.
At a former time, when we had the Gregorian Chants, it was the same voice – una voce dicents.
Yesterday, it was the Feast of the Assumption of Our Lady. All churches in the world were singing [in] the same voice… All! In China, in Argentina, in Germany, in South Africa. One Church, one voice, one prayer.
In an encouraging message of hope towards the end of the film, Bishop Schneider said: “Our mother, the Church, is suffering. We are tempted to be angry; we are tempted to want to say: ‘Descend from the cross!’”
“No, this is not a means. Christ, Our Lord alone, will determine the time when He will lead His bride, our mother the Church, again to luminous days through the sufferings and atonements and through the unshakeable fidelity of the little ones in the Church. This is the method of God.”
All three parts of the “Mass of the Ages” trilogy can be viewed for free on the Mass of the Ages YouTube channel.
When one of the group’s leaders finally met the Pope during an audience, she told him: “Holy Father, we are mothers of priests; we walked from Paris to Rome, to you, for eight weeks, on foot.”
“We ask you: let our sons, who are also your sons, celebrate the Traditional Mass.”
Ping
For us all—
Dear FRiends, Our fundraiser is way behind. Chris-
Let us finish this.
This was a great movie about the Mass. Martin Sheen is in the film. You can watch the entire film at the link I’m going to post. Just scroll down.
Yes, “The Conflict” aka “Catholics” was a masterpiece, and it’s truly amazing how the author on the novel on which it was based so completely “got it” immediately with respect to what happened to the Catholic Church. And the film’s cast? Has there ever been such a low-budget movie with such a cast of heavy hitter?? Seriously... Martin Sheen, Trevor Howard, Cyril Cusack, Michael Gambon.
Proud to have contributed a few bucks to the production of this trilogy (and made it on to the long list of contributing producers in the credits)
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