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Great article, thanks for posting it.

And the obvious fact is that like Thomas Drolesky, the author cannot be pigeonholed as a "schismatic" fringe character. Catholics all across the spectrum are coming to recognize the superiority of the Latin Mass. Even the author's kids can see it. I've had the same experience in my family. I'd have a revolt on my hands if I ever tried to take my family back to the Novus Ordo.

Still, I'm inclined to think that eventually the majority of Catholics will come to recognize — and reinstate — the beauty and profundity of the "quiet Mass" of the Tridentine rite, which my 3-year-old son can see so clearly.

Many yearn for the beauty and glory and the quiet holiness and sacredness of that which has been lost.

I'm inclined to think not.

Most American Catholics like the Novus Ordo and would "vote" to keep it, saccharin anecdotal stories like this one notwithstanding.

It's great to be with the community and hear a nice homily, but the whole point of the Mass is something very different: that in the sacrifice on the altar, the bread and wine are transformed into the Body and Blood of Our Lord. In the multitude of readings, greetings, and songs in our parish church, that point tends to fade into the distance.

I grew up in the post-Vatican II Church. I've never even been to a latin mass, so I cannot comment on that form of celebration. I do, however, love and cherish a "modern mass" when it is reverent and focuses on the Eucharist. It can be a very powerful and moving mass.

I can't speak for the rest of the country, but if you visit central and southern Arizona you can find some very, very "progressive" masses. The music and musicians yield the spotlight only for the homily. It can be very difficult for me to focus on the Sacrifice. The music dominates the liturgy. It often even accompanies the readings. The congregation claps with the music, waives their hands in the air and many of the songs have their own "hand gestures" (apparently based on ASL).

I know this version of the Liturgy is very popular with teens, but as my faith grows deeper I long for the quiet and find more conservative Liturgy more difficult to find.

Maybe I'm just getting old, or maybe I have some ingrained prejudice against anything that appears "too protestant"?

Great article! Thanks for posting it!

In fact, most of the people there seem to be under 40 and over 65, with the generation that came of age during Vatican II conspicuously underrepresented. Many, like us, travel long distances to attend.

That would be me!

Lord knows I've tried, by attending the bishop sanctioned Tridentine rite near me. It was like stepping out of a time machine, transported back to the early 1960's. Women dressed in the long skirts so popular then and wearing mantillas on their heads. It was fascinating to watch the altar boys skillfully trained in Latin as they offered the responses on behalf of the congregation. My old missal was new again. The communion rail was stiff, cold marble but the host was soft as a cloud, just as I remembered it. The choir, comprised mostly of young adults, sang "on behalf of the congregation". I felt, as I always had, like a bystander.

The Novus Ordo mass has much to offer for those of us who wish to participate in the mass. Watching the priest consecrate the hosts sends shivers down my spine. In my ideal world, though, it would combine the best of both formats. Altar boys, three readings instead of two, responses in Latin and songs sung by the congregants. And, oh yes, those cloudlike hosts offered up at the Tridentine mass.

Actually, while I love the Latin Mass (Tridentine Rite), I'm not that big a fan of the "silent Mass." Before Vat II, there were many parishes where liturgical renewal consisted of saying (or chanting) the Mass audibly, which I found to be a truly wonderful thing.

Some parishes did it only in Latin, while other parishes would do it in English from time to time, using an approved translation (but only certain parishes, and only on an occasional basis).

In other words, liturgical renewal - that is, a Mass that was not whispered to an altar boy or roared through in fragmentary Latin - was already underway.

I have always felt that if the Tridentine rite had simply been revitalized by being made audible and by occasional celebrations in REAL translations into the local language for folks who might have been missal-phobic, everything would be fine right now.

The "reform" was already happening: the question is why the powers that be wanted to change the whole thing.

Actually, there's no question. Lex orandi, lex credendi. And that's what many of the not so good players in Vat II wanted to change.