How Good It Is....

I had the priveledge of attending mass at my home parish this morning, and what a beautiful thing it was. After spending so many hours seeing and reading all about the horrific masses that so many have to put up with, seeing mass celebrated so well just served as a wellspring of grace for me.

Rarely do I get to attend mass at this hour (8:00AM) and alone. Doing so allowed me to concentrate, pray, and sit right up front where I could easily see every detail of the mass. Because of my seat, it struck me right away that our Priest, Father Duong, celebrates the mass with an amazing level of care and precision. It is a true pleasure to watch. Every movement is "just right" and wonderfully executed.

And to make it all even better, our 8:00AM Sunday mass is celebrated in "low mass" style - no singing at all. What that means is there is time for prayer and reflection, time to digest and internalize what is happening on the altar. Don't get me wrong, I love to sing, and I sing all the time (ask my wife). But I have always thought that the singing of hymns in the middle of mass was a distraction at best - intrusion is more like it. All made worse by the fact that virtually all of the hymns found in Catholic churches nowadays suck, both musically and theologically. I know that he who sings prays twice, but I'll settle for praying once, well. To paraphrase an old movie line "When I sing, I sing - and when I pray, I pray". Chant is a tertium quid, and truly does count as prayer, doubled.

Sure it would be better to get Father to "turn towards the lord" and lose the table altar. Or maybe to celebrate in Latin. But, even as it is, this mass is as good as the "new mass" gets. We are truly truly blessed.

So for all my friends out there who feel that they are stuck in a liturgical wasteland, if you want to see a reverent mass in a reverent parish, with a reverent priest and congregation, come to St. Benedict's in Greensboro for the 8:00AM Sunday mass. I hope to see you there.

I never knew I had it so good

Well, actually, I had a pretty good idea. But now I know, REALLY KNOW, just how good I have it.

I read a blog post some months ago from the Carolina Cannonball about the futility and counter-productive results of whining about liturgical abuses. I realized at that time, that I had fallen into that trap of negativism. I swore off such bitching unless I saw the abuses myself, in person. Fortunately for me, both of the churches I attend have pretty good, reverent masses. About as good as the novus ordo gets, for the most part. So I have not had opportunity to bitch at all.

Until Now.

I attended mass on the Vigil of the Assumption, featuring a stand-in priest, who shall remain nameless. The whole mass was the perfect example of why the priest should NEVER face the congregation. Father _______ was constantly using the most overtly theatrical expressions and choreography. It was extreme and right out of acting school, or so it appeared. That made the whole thing just plain cheesy. But then, to make it even more about himself, and to show how "post conciliar" he was, the priest took to CHANGING THE WORDS OF THE MASS!!! So the agnus dei became "This is Christ, our brother and friend, who takes away our sins...", and it went on that way through the whole mass. I actually started to walk out when he began the mass with "Sisters and Brothers" instead of "Brothers and Sisters", a change which told me, correctly it turns out, that this mass would be an exercise in inclusiveness. And it turned out that this whole mass was a distillation of all that happened in the "spirit of the council" that has caused the church to go through hell for these past decades.

Then, having stayed through a mass, not even knowing if it counts as the mass, I stayed in my pew to pray for a few minutes ( I am going through a bit of a personal crisis, and I NEEDED to pray). Well, two rows behind me, there congealed a crowd of about 15 people, who proceeded to start their reunion right there, LOUDLY. They were in fact so loud that when I finally got fed up, I turned to them and said in a loud voice "CAN YOU TAKE THE REUNION OUTSIDE!!!", and they didn't even hear me!!!! And as the ultimate in cake icing the priest came walking back up the aisle, and JOINED IN!!!

I swear I'd drive to the SSPX in Charlotte if I had to endure that every week. Thank God, I don't. But I'm keeping my options open.

A Highly Impressive Statement

Father Z, on his blog, has a report on the statement of His Eminence, Cardinal Egan of New York on the motu proprio Summorum Pontificum. This is merely the latest in Father Z's running account of Bishop's statements accompanied by his thoughtful (and helpful) commentary. Of all of the statements I have read, I must admit that Cardinal Egan's statement is by far the most thoughtful and moving. Not just because it is so well presented, though it is, but because it comes from a powerful Cardinal Archbishop of what is arguably the most visible see in the US.

What strikes me is the openness of Cardinal Egan's attitude. He seems to be saying that, while he believes that the liturgy as we have it now is good, it can be even better. And the older Mass deserves a very special place, and it is right to have it in place, and respected. It is nice that he did not bend over backwards to tell people that it would have no affect on them, but rather put its affect into perspective for those who may be wondering.

I don't live in New York, but I know enough about human nature to know that what Cardinal Egan says will be well noted around the country. And I also well know that one positive statement by His Eminince is worth a lot more than a dozen of those urinating-and-moaning "party line" type statements that have been coming from some of the chanceries out in the hinterlands.

As time passes it is becoming clearer and clearer just which way the wind is blowing. The pattern is getting harder and harder to miss. I just continue to pray that my Bishop, Bishop Jugis of Charlotte Diocese, enthusiastically supportes those of his Diocese who want to celebrate the older mass.

Summorum Pontificum Notes

It has now been nearly a month since the Pope issued his watershed motu proprio (and I do believe it will be a watershed document, both right now and in the future) Summorum Pontificum. A few interesting developments - trends if you will - seem to be developing among the faithful and the bishops that I have observed and are worth noting.

The first is (and this is something that I noticed both in myself and in a lot - maybe all - of the goings on online about this document) is the stark contrast between what the document really says and how people are reacting to it. Summorum Pontificum is above all else a power-to-the-people document. I takes decision making directly out of the hands of the Bishops and puts it into the hands of the priests and the people. To a large degree, the Bishops are taken "out of the loop". Why then is everyone so focused on the reaction of the Bishops?? Is it because we still subconciously look to them as the shepherds of their flocks, i.e. us? Or is it because we know that THEY are where the power lies and, no matter what the Pope says, they are not going to let go of any of their power?

This is, I think, a possible achilles heel to the implementation of Summorum Pontificum. If a Bishop lets the impression be made that he wants nothing to do with the Mass of John XXIII in his diocese, then it will simply not happen. Not without either a STRONG priest or an overwhelming number of requests from the faithful at a parish - probably at least as many as attend the least attended Mass on Sunday. Those kind of numbers would make it undeniable.

But mostly, what will happen is what I see personally around here, which is priests being willing, even happy, about the old mass, but not wanting to do it without the Bishops okay. Even though it is technically unnecessary, they want to know the Bishop supports them. Let's pray that that support is forthcoming soon, or that the Holy Spirit moves these priests to action one way or the other.

NOTHING will happen, though, if everyone who is interested in this EVERYONE. Doesn't get moving, get calling get emailing, get praying, and get ready to DO WHATEVER IS REQUIRED to make this happen.

Can't Get No Rest...

So goes the line to a 1970's hit song. But it more or less accurately describes my life right now. Work at work is pretty overwhelming. Business has picked up by about 150% in the past month, and we have lost three key people. At our current work load, my department needs 8 people minimum - six in the field and two in the office. I currently have 4. Which means lots of work for all partiues remaining, most especially myself who now has to run the department, work in the field a few days a week, and do almost all of the drafting and computations. Fortunately, I have purloined a CAD tech from another department to help out. I am NOT bellyaching, just putting it all in perspective.

Fortunately, summer session is almost over at school. I have exams to give and grades to compile, but that will all be over next week, thank God. Then I'll have three glorious weeks off before it all starts back up again.

Ahh, life is glorious. You see, I grew up on depression hard-times-no-work stories from my mother. I dare say they are a part of me. I never once go through a day that I am not thankful for the work I have. It sure beats the alternative.

A vacation would be nice, though! Someday maybe I'll take one.

Summorum Pontificum

Well, it has been a week since this watershed document was issued by Pope Benedict. And I have been watching, reading, calling, commenting since then. Now it's time to write.

One fascinating thing that I have seen (and found myself doing) is waiting anxiously to see the reaction of the Bishops to this motu proprio. This is fascinating, and revealing in a way because, as I (and others) read it, Summorum Pontificum is all about power to the priests and people, and very little about Bishops. It would seem that this is a tacit acknowledgement of just how much, consciously or subconsciously, we look to the Bishops for spiritual guidance.

In that light, it is truly revealing the incredible range of reactions we have seen. Some have been VERY positive, sayng, basically, we welcome the opportunity to become better through the guidance of the Pope, where as others have said, in so many words "we'll take it under advisement, Pope, f*** you very much for your input" The most common reaction is one of "roaring silence", and that is one I simply do not understand. All of this leads to the question, how can we be a universal Church if say, Bishop Trautman's Church is so fundamentally different than, say Bishop Burke's???

What I would like to see more is what the Priests are saying. Has anyone spoken to their priest? What was his reaction? I spoke to the Pastors secretary at one church on Tuesday, and she had never even heard of the motu proprio - had no idea that such a movement was afoot. She asked a number of questions about it , and seemed curios. I offered to email it to her, but she said that she was looking it up even as we spoke from the USCCB website. She also said that she would print it out and give it to Father. IIRC, she said she was "sure he'd want to read it". Whether that's good or bad, I can only guess. I am anxiously waiting to see what, if anything, appears in this Sunday's bulletin, or is said at Sunday mass. Probably nothing, but we shall see. I am hoping for a comment and contact information in the bulletin. I'd love to see a sign-up sheet in the front of the church!

Either way, I intend to follow up, and make every effort to see this thing blossom into a full-fledged renewal.

Vocations Follow-Up

At the risk of (though surely not the intention of) sounding like I'm blowing my own horn, I would like to bring attention to something that was said in an interview with The Remnant by Father Berg, Superior General of the FSSP. Apparently the good Father read my earlier post on vocations, and worked it into his own interview ;)

Here is an excerpt from the interview (my emphases):

Q: During a time in the Church in Western Europe and the U.S., when there are entire dioceses that frequently have no priestly ordinations each year, there have been 153 men request applications to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter in the United States January through March 2007. Why do you think so many young men are attracted to vocations to the traditional priestly societies?

A: If one looks at the diocese and institutes where they are attracting a strong number of vocations, the young men are receiving a very strong priestly identity—one that really underlines the supernatural side of the priesthood. This is not true only of the Fraternity, but also of places like St. Gregory’s in Lincoln, Nebraska.

Sometimes I think we end up short-selling the youth and thinking what they really want, what is going to attract them, is this type of life or that—as if the priesthood is nothing more than being a social worker or a counselor. That is just not going to attract vocations. Men can go ahead and do that in other areas [without the sacrifices of the priesthood].

But in the end, it is the strong priestly identity that attracts them. Yes, they will end up doing a lot of natural things that are good—and they will end up needing to have a lot of natural virtues—but the priest’s job is about the supernatural life with the sacraments and everything else.

We’re fortunate enough to have a number of things [in the FSSP] that emphasize those elements, such as the priestly identify at the altar which is so stressed by the rite, and Thomistic theology which sees the priest’s fundamental act as offering sacrifice. It clearly underlines what the work of the priest is—what his essential work is. And that finally is the element which is most attractive about the priesthood: being able to deal with the things that are holy all the time; with the things that are most essential.

Having been a priest now for 10 years, I can’t imagine being a man and getting up every day and working 10 hours in a secular job on what is not most important. And I know there are men who have to do that according to their duty in state. But the priesthood is always dealing with the absolute essentials—with salvation.

That’s one thing that I think is fortunate about the way we form priests. It is centered around preaching and the sacraments: being dispensers of the mysteries of God as St. Paul says, is what is essential. Fortunately, the rite we use really emphasizes that role of the priest within the sanctuary, which a lot of men are looking for as well.

I would say that I couldn't have said it better myself, but in truth, I couldn't have said it nearly as good myself. I highly recommend that you read the whole interview. It is impressive in the extreme.