Posted on 02/23/2007 8:20:35 PM PST by Salvation
I submit that the Novus Ordo Mass is afflicted with a "horizontal" aspect or perspective that mimics Protestantism. Yes, it can be reverent and Latin can be used in it more. Sacred music can be added as well. The abuses are there, however, and they are in the person of a "presider" mentality that forces focus on us.
One need only read the text of the Tridentine Mass to see that the people are present at the Sacrifice of the Mass, that there is only one High Priest, Christ, and that the priest is serving only "in persona Christi" to confect the Body and Blood of Christ. He constantly speaks of his unworthiness and the point of adoration is re-emphasized over and over again. Even the "Last Gospel" was meant to leave us with the mystery of an enormous grace of God--the Incarnation. I would submit that I have never heard anyone refer to the Tridentine Mass as a liturgy and precious few refer to the N.O. Mass as a "sacrifice."
I know many abuses were wrought in the name of "The Spirit of Vatican II." I think this Holy Father recognizes the serious flaws in the N.O. Mass and this is why Archbishop Ranjith is being so forthright. He surely must reflect the view of the Holy Father if one has read the liturgical views of the Pope. Even John Paul II allowed for an indult and thought it would be more widely permitted. Now, it seems the quiet-spoken "Panzer-Cardinal" made Pope will have to see it through.
The changes needed for the N.O. include things like architecture which refocuses on the vertical dimension, on the return of the tabernacle to the center of our focus, the curtailment of Sacred wine at every Mass when it was intended as an occasional thing and probably by intinction only. I could go on and on. The changeover will not happen in our lifetimes. I am fascinated, however, by the comment that a 9-year-old child loves the Tridentine Mass which agrees with things I have heard. Children are open to Mystery; at one time, we all were. I feel the N.O. lacks that very essence, sad to say--Mystery! How can we explain what is happening at the Mass? How many can imagine the saints, angels and heavenly chorus present at the moment of consecration? It is there, however. We have become to inured to the focus being on us.
It's true. The original intent of the N.O. was shown on EWTN for years before it was changed. Much of the Latin was maintained and the priest was ad orientam.
**The changes needed for the N.O. include things like architecture which refocuses on the vertical dimension, on the return of the tabernacle to the center of our focus, the curtailment of Sacred wine at every Mass when it was intended as an occasional thing and probably by intinction only. I could go on and on.**
I could agree with these. How about the music. I would like to have that be more sacred.
http://thenewliturgicalmovement.blogspot.com/
You'll love this site. I have given it out to a number of musicians who are tired of the Oregon music in Gather and so on and their hearts all skip a beat. There is a growing force in "musica sacra" and Schola Cantora are being formed all around the country in what mimics the "home school movement."
Check the Adoremus hymnal, Salvation. It is beautiful and samples of the music are displayed. One can find it on the Adoremus website.
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What a wonderful story.
Great article, Salvation. Thanks for the ping!
Thanks for those links. Very interesting blog.
I will get a perusal copy of Adoremus Hymnal and give it to my priest. Our music minister is keyboardist, bass guitarist and would not be open to it at this time.
Another item -- I would slowly like to get rid of the altar girl servers and make them all altar boy servers. It used to be an honor for a fourth grader to be asked to become an altar boy.
It also fostered vocations, Salvation. My boyhood neighbor became a priest for that reason.
**It also fostered vocations, Salvation. My boyhood neighbor became a priest for that reason.**
BTTT! If priests were smart they would start this practice IMMEDIATELY!
My wife told me that she once spoke to the priest in the confessional about how upset she was at the loss of the Latin Mass. The priest's response was, how about me?
Priests who want to say the Latin Mass deserve our sympathy and prayers, even more than do the lay people who miss the reverance and transcendence of the old Mass.
I don't understand why it has to be either the Novus Ordo or the Old Mass. Why can't it be both? After all, that is what the universal indult would do: it would permit both forms of the rite to co-exist.
Of course, when I attended an indult Mass for three years, most of the time I couldn't even hear what the priest was saying, so I did not learn most of the prayers. I had a missal and read the translation and if I was lucky, the priest and I were on the same page, but often we were not. And, of course, you can't "read" the Mass and watch what is going on at the altar at the same time. I finally stopped going to the Tridentine Mass because I was disappointed at not being able to do anything more than to watch and listen.
Much about the old Mass is beautiful and it has a certain mystery. But I think people's attachment to it is a matter of taste more than anything.
This is very true. My sister, who is a church organist and choir director, made a very interesting observation based on comments she has heard in recent years. Many people, she said, seem to think that the most important part of the Mass is saying the Our Father. She has actually heard them say things to this effect, and they all seem to think that the most central thing is some kind of warm, fuzzy glow they seem to get from this. That's why there's all that handholding and the wave at the end when the Protestant tag is said.
I think the effect of the NO is that many people have absolutely no idea of what is going on at Mass. They think it's a prayer service and they think it's neat that they're all "together" there saying the Our Father, because "togetherness" is what they come for.
I agree with you completely but I doubt that the traditionalists on this forum will be able to grasp such a nuanced argument.
Sacrosanctum Concilium, n. 54: "In Masses that are celebrated with the people, a suitable place may be allotted to their mother tongue. This provision is to apply in the first place to the readings and to 'the common prayer,' but also, as local conditions may warrant, to those parts which pertain to the people, according to the norm laid down in Article 36 of this Constitution.
"Nevertheless, steps should also be taken so that the faithful may also be able to say or sing together in Latin those parts of the Ordinary of the Mass which pertain to them.
"And whenever a more extended use of the mother tongue within the Mass appears desirable, the regulation laid down in Article 40 of this Constitution is to be observed."
I don't see how people who haven't read the documents of the Second Vatican Council, especially Sacrosanctum Concilium, can possibly comment at all on the changes to the liturgy which the Council decreed.
No one is arguing for an either or. What is being stated is that the Mass of St. Thomas Aquinas--the Pian Mass--was never decreed null and void. Therefore, there is no reason why an "indult" was needed to say it to begin with.
The Church has had many rites for centuries with the Ambrosian Rite and others among those being featured.
The Tridentine Mass has places where the priest says certain phrases more loudly than others. This was the signal we used to use to make sure we were "in sync" with the priest. In time, this became second nature. I think that if this had been shown to you, you would have picked it up easily.
I am looking at the names posting here and I don't recognize any who are traditionalists!
I, for one, attend a Tridentine Mass perhaps 6 times per year! I try to attend morning Mass at least 5 times per week. So, this is not a matter of "ours" is better than "yours!" My comments are statements based on comparing what I have witnessed at a great many parishes depending on work schedule, etc.
I've learned how to deal with the handholding. I bow my head, close my eyes, and fold my hands in prayer, often wrapping my rosary around my hands. Works every time.
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