Oldie But Goodie...

Several Years Ago, I became dismayed by the almost pathological fixation that the traditionalist community had with the externals of the Mass. I wrote a post about it, Clowns to the Left of Me, Kooks to the Right wherein I vented my spleen on such pettiness and the perpetrators thereof.

Of course, over the years, little has changed in that regard, at least on the part of the "old hands". Interestingly enough, the newbies, those who only recently (often post Summorum Pontificum) began to experience the Extraordinary Form don't seem nearly as obsessive about vestments, or who the music arrangement was by, etc. They are more than happy to appreciate the holiness and beauty just as it is - to take it as it comes and thank God for it.

That is a GOOD thing. Yes, the externals matter - look at a gothic cathedral - but they are only useful to expand on the beauty of the truth of The Mass. When the externals become THE important part, you have lost the meaning - period.

This all comes to mind because of the comments on a post by The Great Father Z. wherein he asked about the presence or absence of music in a Low Mass. In my opinion, it has no place at all, but I accept that other opinions vary, and I respect that. What galls is the implication by so many that a Mass without Music is somehow lacking.

GOD HIMSELF IS PRESENT ON THE ALTAR!!!

If anyone thinks that is somehow inadequate because there is no singing, then maybe they have an understanding of the Church, and of Catholicism, that needs serious help.

Extraordinary Mass Number Five

Several Months ago, I blogged about the beauty of the Low Mass, based on my experience at that time. Well, Sunday Last (9 January) I was able to again experience the EF in is High Mass form.

For Days thereafter, one word kept going through my head:

Glorious...

I have been around for many years, and seen many things in this world, but I can honestly say that Mass was the first thing I have seen that truly rated that adjective.

Glorious...

Now I understand the meaning of the phrase "The most beautiful thing this side of heaven".

Glorious...

Now I understand why Catholic churches evolved into the form they traditionally assume - the magnificent High Altar, the stained glass, the pipe organ, the choir in the loft, the inspired architecture. They evolved that way because it's the only earthly venue worthy of The Mass.

Glorious...

And, sadly, now I understand why the modernists and the reformers were so committed to emasculating The Mass as it was meant to be. How on earth could they otherwise convince people to rebel and wander off? How do you keep them focused on earthly things when they have peeked through the door and seen a bit of heaven??? They HAD to make it less moving - less heavenly - otherwise there would be no way to lead the faithful to believe that The Church was "just another denomination" and therefore not all that special, and therefore able to be rejected or at the very least ignored.

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE

This article is, entitled Called to Serve featured in the latest issue of our dioscean paper, the Catholic News & Herald. It's hard, I believe to overstate the importance of the content - or the importance of it being published so prominently (teaser on the front page) in the paper!

Called to Serve

CHARLOTTE — Have you noticed more young people wearing

albs, cassocks and surplices serving at Mass? It’s not just a fluke – it’s a trend that priests around the Diocese of Charlotte are encouraging. More and more young people in the

diocese are expressing willingness to serve their parishes through

the privilege of altar serving.

St. Michael Church in Gastonia particularly has been graced with a growing number of altar servers over the past several years. It is not uncommon for the church to have more than 10

boys every Sunday at the 10 a.m. Mass. Father Roger K. Arnsparger, who is St. Michael’s pastor as well as vicar of education for the diocese, welcomes the growing popularity of altar servers and said he hopes to encourage vocations.

“We have had a great interest from young men wanting to serve at Holy Mass,” Father Arnsparger said. “The young men are filled with a humble appreciation of the opportunity and the privilege

of serving Holy Mass. The fraternal bond between them has been a great help to them in their spiritual lives and in their growing love of the Mass and the Church.

“They show great responsibility, leadership and loyalty. They encourage each other, teach each other, learn from each other and enjoy the process. They are a small faith group leading each other in excellence in Catholic worship and in their Catholic lives.”

Father Christopher Roux also has been stoking the fires of service among young men since his arrival as rector of St. Patrick Cathedral in 2008. “It is my firm hope that by keeping the boys closely associated to the altar throughout their early years, if they have a vocation to

the priesthood, the call will be awakened and encouraged,” Father Roux said.

At St. Ann Church in Charlotte, Father Timothy Reid has the same intention.

“The Church has looked upon altar serving as a means of generating vocations to the priesthood for many generations precisely because it introduces boys and young men to the most important aspect of priesthood: offering the holy sacrifice of the Mass. So the more often our altar servers

have a chance to serve, the more exposure they are given,” he said.

Canon law and Church teaching also allow girls to serve at the altar, because altar servers assist at Mass in much the same way that readers and extraordinary ministers of holy Communion do. Even if vocations are not the primary aim, for both boys and girls serving at Mass can be a way of

becoming involved as lay people, particularly in smaller churches or where there is a pastoral need.

Altar servers act as cross bearers, acolytes, incense bearers and torch or candle bearers. Some servers also assist the priest by holding the sacramentary at Mass as the various prayers are read. When serving Mass for a bishop, even more servers (called “vimps”) are assigned to hold his crozier and his miter.

In most parishes, altar server training is overseen by a deacon. If you know of a young person interested in becoming an altar server, contact your parish’s office for details.

More thoughts on Music

Having witness so so much mediocre to just plain awful music at mass, I have to wonder...

Wouldn't NO music at all be preferable to BAD music barely (it at all) sung???

And I have to wonder also if the book "Why Catholics Can't Sing" isn't dealing
with the wrong question...

Why catholics DON'T sing is a better question.

Or better yet...

Why are we constantly TRYING to make people sing who just want to sit (or stand or kneel) and QUIETLY PRAY TO THEIR CREATOR??????

What's wrong with quiet devotion? Why must going to Mass be like Sing along with Mitch?

INSANITY

"Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and ezpecting different results." So goes the famous quote, attributed to Albert Einstein. Last night, at Mass, I witnessed that insanity.

A stunningly beautiful Church with two hundred or more people, with a beautiful pipe organ being played. The makings of something magnificent! But makings is all you got. Because, as the organ wailed away, playing a series of tired old leisure-suit era ditties, virtually the entire congregation simply sat there in silence - or softly mumbled along with the lyrics at best.

And witnessing - yet again - this sad phenomonon makes me wonder. How on earth can you explain it??? Perhaps they simply CAN NOT SEE just how dismal the situation is with the mass and the accompaniment??? But since they have eyes and ears, I tend to dismiss this out of hand. Or perhaps they see it and just don't care? Nope. If they didn't care, they'd be at home.

It can only be that they see it, but are so absolutely rooted in their belief in doing it the way they have been taught to do it since 1970 that the possibility that they are wrong simply - in their world - does not exist. Their music MUST be just right, because THEY have decided that it is!!!

This is simply a microcosm of the mass exodus / decimation of the Church we have seen since we poor souls had the Wisdom and Enlightenment of Vatican II foisted upon us some four decades ago. And both the instigators of and the "true believers" in that "renewal", being know-it-alls by definition, have the same blind spot of all of their ilk. That is they ALL believe - or rather know - that they are absolutely right, so they need not even bother to consider otherwise!!!

And it saddens me to sit and wonder....

How long this insanity???
How long must we suffer???

BI-RITUAL - sort of.....

Well, the decision is in, and after much consideration, we are now an unofficially bi-ritual family.

It all started about a year ago, when, due to a shecdule conflict, my wife attended a Sunday evening Mass at St. Paul's. I was deeeeply suspicious, because I had heard many stories about the place, and how it was one step to the left of liberal - both liturgically and doctrinally. But, she came home from that Mass happier than I had seen her in years. She began to go every Sunday evening, each time with true joy and enthusiasm. Not so much from the liturgy per se, but from the attitude of the people there. It was with further trepidation that I went there for the first time last year - as I reported here. But I too sensed both the enthusiasm and sincerity of the people and the place. Admittedly there were a few liturgical practices that were not "per spec", but it really was quite conservative compared to many of the places and things I have seen and heard.

Since that time the parish has come "under new management" being served by two really good dioscean priests (replacing the OSFS). I knew that changes were in order the first weekend when the new pastor explained that he was replacing the glass flagons, etc. with real chalices - AND he explained why in his homily! Then the next weeks bulletin featured a quote from Romano Guardini's Spirit of the Liturgy !!! And the celebration of the Mass is now Strictly "Say the Black - Do the Red". And yet, in spite of the changes (and there have been others) the place remains very joyous and beautiful. The Sunday evening Mass is LifeTeen (or so they say), but other than the music - which is VERY VERY well done - the Mass itself is very traditional, including the Priests SINGING most of the mass, beautiful vestments, and orthodox preaching. And while there are still EMHC's, they are now kept off the altar. And truth be known, the music is actually better and more meaningful lyrically than most of the drivel out there. Most of all the when-will-it-end attitude (which one sees so often) is seemingly absent from the congregation. In addition to all this, the priests' focus on, appreciation of, and outright support of our local Catholic Schools and stressing of the importance of Catholic education make the place so desirable.

Coincidentally, all of this has happened at a time when my previous home parish more or less has adopted a less than positive attitude about Catholic schools (they cost the Parish money, you see). While at the same time the Mass, preaching and music there have deteriorated somewhat. So much frittered away - it breaks my heart - after 18 years of faithful membership and support. I wanted - no NEEDED - a positive place for my children.

So as of last week, my "home" parish has changed. Of course, since we go to Mass in shifts, I won't be there all the time. But "for the record" thats were we belong - where we are appreciated.

SO THE MORAL OF THE STORY... Especially for all of the Traditional people and Priests out there is... ACT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!!! And treat people like you WANT them to be there! One smile or kind gesture will win you a "convert" - one scowl will lose you TEN......

What I Learned at Mass on Sunday

Since I had to blow out of Saturday vigil mass during the presentation of the gifts due to two squirmy children. I decided to go at 10:30 Sunday morning to make up for the missed time. At a different parish, one which my wife loves and attends regulary.

Here I learned a couple of things. First, it appears to be a rule that older women (say 65+) find it impossible to sit in church and quietly (let alone prayerfully) wait for mass to start. This is a BIG church, and there were perhaps a half-dozen LOUD group conversations going on for some time - not to mention a lot of semi-hushed ones. Almost without exception the conversants were old and female.

Funny that the YOUNGER women (<40 or so) seemed to come in, kneel and pray and wait in silence.

Counterintuitive, ain't it?

What I Learned at Mass on Saturday

I rerely attend Saturday vigil Mass. It just doesn't feel right, no matter what the Curch says. Legal perhaps, but just not quite right. But this week I did, due largely to time demands. And it was a very educational experience!

For instance, I learned from the Homily that the HOMILY is the most important part of the Mass - and the most important thing that a priest can do! I have this on good authority because the priest's homiletics professor told him so.

And all this time I thought the Eucharist was "the source and summit" and all that!

Silly Me!!!

Hey!!!! MY CHURCH IS BACK !!!

Some six months ago, I went on a blogrant about my home parish, and the degradation of the music there.

Well, things have improved markedly over the past few months. The choir has been getting better and better. Yes, there is still too many '70's style hymn selections, but the execution is getting better nearly every week. And the addition of a song, always very traditional, an often in LATIN, sung by the choir as the congregation takes communion and for a few moments after, has lent a tremendous amount of reverence to the mass. The transformation is quite remarkable, really.

But today, for Christ the King, they just outdid themselves. The selections were (save for one) VERY catholic and very traditional. And they were sung - not just by the choir, but the congregation - with amazing strength and gusto.

The sung like they meant it!

Thanks be to God!

Sunday Mass

As per my new routine, I attended Mass this morning at Our Lady of Grace Church. It has been a bit of a tough adaptation to change from a routine of some 16 years or so, but I have begun to appreciate the change. The whole process being helped especially by the semi regular celebration of the mass by one Msgr. Joseph Showfety, my retired former Pastor and something of an institution in our Diocese. And without a doubt, the BEST homilist I have ever heard. INCREDIBLE depth of knowledge, ALWAYS on point, ALWAYS with enough background explanation that one can really appreciate the meaning of the readings, and ALWAYS engaging.

As much as it breaks my heart to have "lost" my old church, I have really come to enjoy the new. Maybe I am being silly to have been chased away by something as superficial as musical accompaniment, but I really don't know. Right or Wrong, at least now I leave mass feeling full of Grace and God's love, instead of angry and with a knot in my gut. It reminds me, as I think of it, of something I read some time ago on Father Z's blog to the effect of Good music may not always draw people to the Church, but BAD music NEVER does.

HEY!!! WHERE'D MY CHURCH GO???

After attending the MEF (see previous posts) on Easter of this year, and then attending a different local parish (for schedule and logistical reasons) in the intervening weeks, I returned to my home parish for mass the past two Sundays. And what did I discover???

SOMEONE STOLE MY PARISH!!!

What was once the most dependably conservative and musically unpretentious Catholic parish in my city has been replaced by a "new and improved" version. Thanks to these reforms 11:00 AM Sunday mass now includes "canned" music and a Cantor-cum-semaphore operator up on the altar!!! Now I get to hear pre-recorded orchestral accompaniment to not only the hymns, but other parts too.
So this 100+ year old church, small and beautiful, and now featuring 101 strings style accompaniment for our singing!!!

I have been stewing over this for over a week, and the though that keeps coming to mind is WHO THE HELL THOUGH THIS WAS A GOOD IDEA?

And aesthetics aside, isn't there a rule against prerecorded music in the mass?

The whole liturgical world is changing, reconnecting with the good aour ancestors lived and died for, but apparently there are some who havent noticed the writing on the wall - or simply ignore it.

Ordinary and Extraordinary reflections

Now a week and a day has passed since my second exposure to the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Time, and the experience yesterday of the Ordinary Form again has given me a bit more to reflect on, and the difference is even more striking.

Casting aside the obvious differences between the forms, such as language and posture, the MOST striking difference is one of continuity. Not continuity with the past, but continuity within the rite itself. With the Novus Ordo, there is a great deal of fussing about and going from one "step" to another. It isn't one celebration of the mass so much as a sequential compilation of parts. And no matter how hard I try, I often cannot get past the "when will this end" feeling of experiencing a seemigly endless torrent of disjointed and unrelated prayers. The trasition - in fact and in spirit - from one step to another is gone completely.

With the Old Mass, the experience is one of a continuum that leads slowly and inexorably to the sacrifice itself. Leaving one hearing the bells of the Consecration and trembling at the thought. It is a moving and beautiful experience that one can FEEL without actually being personally outwardly involved at all, but inwardly and on a level that defies description. In a very real sense, I felt that I didn't attend mass, but my SOUL did. It was as if my body carried my soul into the church and my chest opened up like a tabernacle, exposing my soul so it could participate in the sacrifice, only to close back securely at the end and say, in effect "you can go now". Leaving me to step out of that church filled with God's Grace.

It is the difference between a breathtakingly beautiful cathedral and the materials of the same cathedral, stacked up, crated and shrink-wrapped, ready to assemble. Imagine this: Could you take apart St. Peters, neatly stack all of the countless stones, glass pieces, tiles, frescoes, woodwork, and all of the other bits and pieces, look at those neat stacks and honestly - HONESTLY - say it was the same thing????

Liturgical Update - Perspective

Any reader of this blog will know my preferences for a traditional, reverent Catholic Mass. But any Catholic who doesn't live in a bubble of and FSSP parish, or SSPX Chapel (and a few others) knows that such a thing is as rare as hens' teeth. Most Catholic masses are a mish mash of prayers recited blandly and bland music played even more blandly. I LIVED through the '70's and I know form personal memory that the "pseudo folk-rock" music of that era - liturgical AND secular - was with few exceptions lame drivel even back then. Usually preformed by lame wannabe troubadours with soft beards and hair. People who really would like to be hippies, but weren't up to the commitment and earthiness that would require.

I have tried and tried to get one of my regular parishes to introduce the Extraordinary Form of the Mass - but to no avail.
And I will continue to do so - albeit quietly. I feel that the survival of Catholicism and Christianity is dependent WHOLLY on the development of a strong identity. One more strong than the "soft rock" mentality and attitude can EVER provide.

Well, sometimes life gives you surprises. ESPECIALLY life with three small children. Last Sunday, I was served up one such surprise. Due to "logistical issues" I wound up attending a Sunday evening Mass at the newest, allegedly most "liberal" church in town. It was Mass in the Round, with music provided by and electric bass, three or four guitars, a few other instruments and a group of young and old men and women. I was deeeeeply suspicious of the whole affair. But was I wrong!!! Because what I leraned was that 1) the group was HIGHLY talented. 2) they sang and prayed like they BELIEVED. 3) The congregation prayed and sang like they BELEIVED as well. Now the forms of the music were a bit wrong, they were at least performed like they were MEANT.

Of course, the priest "winged" the prayers for the most part - which disturbed me deeply. But it was SO refreshing to be in a church where people seemed to mean what they were praying - rather than "going through the motions". And the music was while definitely NOT from the Parish Book of Chant, it was not the usual Haugen-Haas-Schutte drivel either. And I'd rather have that than the same old junk that I have been forced to endure for the past 75% of my life.

One of my favorite bible verses is Ecclesiastes 9:10, which says (KJV): "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do [it] with thy might; for [there is] no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest." And those folks at that mass last Sunday did just that. I may disagree with their choices or tastes, but at least they cared. And how many parishes can say that???

Fragmentation = Oblivion

The intrepid and amazing Father Z. has a report on his blog about an interview wit Cardinal Arinze about the new typical edition of the Roman Missal. In the interview the cardinal makes this comment (Fr. Z's translation):

Effectively, it was preferred that these two Eucharistic prayers not be considered obligatory for the whole Church. Perhaps it is not then so necessary to have Eucharistic prayers just for children. This said, if there are conferences of bishops who want to maintain them, they can do so in national missals.

So this begs the point (as I commented over at Father Z's that if the Bishops' conferences can include prayers on their own, why even bother with a "Typical Edition of the Roman Missal"??? It would be a LOT more efficient to simply let the Bishops' conferences each make up their own missals!! That would eliminate any problems with translation, since these would, naturally, be in the vernacular from the get-go. And it would also eliminate all the ongoing angst over "inculturation". The inculturation would be built right in to the "Local Missal"!!!! If west African worship tradition includes drums and dancing, then so be it! Or Mauri warriors in New Zealand, if they so desire. And of course in northern Europe, they wouldn't need a missal at all, since no one goes to church in the first place - think of all the trees that alone would save!!! Everyone is Happy!!!! We can all revel in our catholic diversity!!!!!

But.... what about differences WITHIN each Bishops' conference? Using the United States as an example, I dare say that the "local mass" in southern California needs to be different than the "local mass" here in North Carolina (proud part of The Bible Belt). Bishop Mahony may want liturgical dance at all Sunday masses, whereas Bishop Jugis (my Bishop here in the Charlotte Diocese) has forbidden it. And what is considered reverent, appropriate speech in SoCal would no doubt be drastically different from that here in The South, where people still address each other as "Sir", and "Ma'am". So in order to be properly incultured, EACH DIOCESE would really need there own re-write of the "local missal" and its rubrics.

But Wait! There's More.... As we all know, WITHIN each Diocese there is often a drastic difference in tradition and praxis. Even now, within my own diocese, the "typical practice" ranges from very "relaxed" to very much by-the-book Novus Ordo often with a little Latin mixed. So essentially each PARISH should have their own Re-Write of their dioscean missal.

Given the above scenario, it would take but a few years before a Catholic church in Los Angeles, California would be unrecognizable to a Catholic from North Carolina. And who could imagine the difference between a Congolese mass and one in New York, NY, USA!!!! God Knows things are bad enough even now, where there is at least the intention of using a universal missal. With that intention no longer present, things will fly apart pretty quickly.

Folks, this is madness. Either we are a universal church, or we are not. If we ARE, then we need to act like it, and eliminate ALL differences between the missals. There should be ONE UNIVERSAL MISSAL for the ONE UNIVERSAL CHURCH. These are trying times, and are going to get far far more trying. We need to have more in common and less diversity because we are going to need the bonding and the internal support and strength that only that universal bonding can provide.

A Little Latin

Sunday past, at my "home church" we were treated to a beautiful, reverent mass - as always. But this time, it included a sung Kyrie, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei - in latin.

Amazing how that can affect the tone of the mass. How I wish there would be more of the same. Perhaps a sung Pater Noster in latin for starters. Who knows, it might discourage hand-holding!

Sadly, it will all probably disappear after Advent and until Lent...

Mass, Vacation, Etc...

I had the RARE pleasure of going on "vacation" last month. Vacation being 4 days at the beach, but it was (literally) the nicest four days of my life. The weather was perfect, the place was perfect, the kids were perfect... Absolutely amazing that it all worked out. Made all the sweeter by the fact that we had not had a break AT ALL in about four years. Every waking moment of every day since August of 2004 was either at work or taking care of the kids/house. My wife and I hired a babysitter once to go to the MEF Mass at Our Lady of Grace (3 hours), and once for dinner (3 hours).

From Friday morning until the following Wednesday morning, I didn't read the paper, or see or hear the news at all. A self-imposed news blackout which made for a blessedly peaceful weekend. Call it blissful ignorance if you'd like, but it worked.
In spite of all of the stress and economic doomsaying that has happened since, it hasn't gotten me down like it did before. I watch with interest and fascination, but with no personal anxiety whatsoever. Amazing what the human brain can cope with once you give it a chance to recover !!!

Mass was fascinating, though! As you see, I don't travel much and rarely if ever get to see mass outside of my home church and the aforementioned OLG. So Saturday evening, my wife, mother-in-law, myself, and the powerpuff girls attended a "bi-lingual" mass, at Holy Trinity Catholic Chapel. Needless to say "bi-lingual" meant it was nearly all in Spanish, but with an obviously non-spanish speaking priest, there were some oddities. The opening prayer was in English, but virtually everything else was in Spanish save for a few words here and there. The Gospel was read in Spanish, by a nun. Something I had never seen before. The homlily was in English, but interpreted real-time. The eucharistic prayer was English, but everything else from that point on was spanish, and led either by the same nun or another lay person.

All that said, the mass was WONDERFUL. There were altar boys, reverent and precise. And even all of the lay participants were reverent, precise and well practiced. The congregation was so young, so passionate and reverent and there were kids EVERYWHERE. I was more comfortable there than at my home church. The ushers gave out a very detailed spanish-english handout of all of the prayers and hymns, in order, which was very easy to follow. Allowing me to sing and pray along in spanish* with no trouble at all, though I know little spanish beyond what one hears on Dora the Explorer.

I want to go back....

* At the risk of sounding conceited, I have a gift of being able, with very little practice, to pronounce a foreign language for the most part as a native speaker. Naturally, "sight reading" in a foreign language has its limitations, but for the purpose of participating in mass, it works great.

Coming Soon (maybe) to a Parish Near You!!!!

Fathers' day weekend, combined with two birthday parties, kept me off line for the better part of three days. And what happenings is such a short time! First I saw on Sancte Pater blog a post that said, to my amazement that Card. Castrillon Hoyos had said that the Extrarodinary Form of the Mass, which he referred to as "The Gregorian Rite", should be offered in ALL parishes. He unmistakably said "not many - all." I nearly jumped out of my chair. Wow.
I re-read it again and again, just to be sure what I had seen. Then the amazing Father Z. posted it on his blog, and so it spread.

Now, as if to confirm, the CNS has posted this:

Pope would like Tridentine Mass in each Parish, Vatican official says.

Not that that was required to make it true, but to see it written so clearly in such a "progressive" but well accepted forum gives it all the more impact. The statement can no longer be discounted as a rumor in the rad-trad blogosphere. And once it gets out in the various dioscean papers, it will spark even more interest, and even more reaction, both positive and negative. Keeping in mind, of course, that the vast majority of Catholics have no idea that Summorum Pontificum exists, or even if the do, know little about what it means in terms of the future of Catholic Identity and the Catholic Church as a whole.

So, the die is cast, the gauntlet thrown, and the game afoot, etc, etc. We are on a journey now, the church that is! And nobody knows where it will end. Or, as the old song says, "nobody knows but Jesus".

The 1962 Missal - Hazard warning...

Recently, there have been some word from Rome (via the person on Card. Castrillon Hoyos) that the Holy Father wants to see the Mass in the Extraordinary Form (MEF) celebrated at least weekly in every parish in the Roman Catholic World. Needless to say I think that this is a WONDERFUL Idea!!! How to effect that change is another matter entirely. The MEF is supposed to be part of the "fabric of the church" . It cannot be, and will never be, such if it is limited to a few masses in a few churches, attended by MEF "enthusiasts" who travel to these masses exclusively. I understand how important the MEF is, and why one would want to abandon everyday parish life to experience the beauty and reverence it offers, and so I do not mean to disrespect those who are doing this very thing already. But if the MEF is to be the key to the restoration of the church, it simply MUST NOT be allowed to fall (in reality or perception) into the realm of a liturgical Grateful Dead Tour, complete with a following of chanting, latin-loving "deadheads".

This potential was noted quite eloquently by Fr. George William Rutler in an interview with the New Liturgical Movement:

" Unless the usus antiquior is more widely available, it could end up being the exotic indulgence of few for whom it can function as a symbol of other problems they have with the Church and with life in general. Quite simply if it is not centric it will be eccentric and will give the impression that it is for people who do not want to face the challenges of our age. When the usus antiquior is rare, it attracts the rara avis type of person who discourages others..." .

The entire interview is on the NLM blog, and I recommend it highly.

But the point is well taken. If the MEF is able to be pigeonholed into a special category - for Latin mass speciallist only, we are doomed. The traditional mass MUST be gotten into as many parishes as possible and quickly. Every week, or month of delay allows the perception to sink in that those who appreciate the older mass are simply cranks who hold desperately to the past. The opponents - no enemies - of the 1962 missal, and Summorum Pontificum are already using this tactic as the main thrust of their opposition, so it must be cut off quickly, or else the vast majority of Catholics worldwide will see the 1962 missal - and reverence - and Latin - and Catholic identity, as something that doesn't apply to them. And never will.

What the Church can (and should) Learn from Mickey D's

Prior to the 1950's, when traveling across these United States, there was no way of predicting the quality and level of service for food or accomodations. At the same time, innovators like Kemmons Wilson and Ray Croc founders of Holiday Inn and McDonalds respectively, built huge empires based on the simple principle of consistency of service and product.

The concept was simple. People had really just begun traveling by automobile all over the country around that time, and Croc, for example knew that those people wanted to know that no matter where they went, when the walked in to a McDonald's, the burger and fries would be exactly the same as the ones they would get at any other McDonalds, any where. Similarly, Wilson knew that people looking for a place to lay their heads in a strange town wanted to know that the facility would be just the same any where.

These men were right. They became wildly successful as a result. And their methodology has been copied successfully over and over. That is because the fundamental principle is dead-on right. People want, or better yet NEED, to know that they can count on things.

Once upon a time, the Catholic Church was that way, too. One could walk into a Sunday Mass anywhere in the world, and know with very reasonable certainty what they would see and experience. Whether it was Seoul Korea or Seattle Washington, Warsaw, Poland or Wausau, Wisconsin - the mass was the same. This fact provided comfort to millions over the years. The Mass was The Mass.

Now, however, in our "enlightened" post Vatican II world, the mass in not only never, ever the same, it is often doubtful if it qualifies as a Mass at all! Priests feel "empowered" to change the words, the rubrics, even the theology according to their own personal whims. The result is that even in a modest sized city, one can find masses ranging from wide open Liberal Kumbaya-fests to pretty orthodox, by the book Novus Ordo celebrations. Here in my home City of Greensboro, NC we range from pretty much by-the-book Masses (two parishes), pretty good but some clapping and hand-holding (one parish), to no kneeling wide open Jesus Loves Me Can't We all Get Along Roman Protestantism.

Even architecturally, the Church is a mish-mash at best. Again in my city we have two older churches, one with the still awesome High Altar, the other much plainer and smaller, but still with the altar rail (but sadly the High Altar is history). Then there is one that is newer, but still looks like a church (albeit a Southern Baptist one). Then there is the other which is "in the round" with the most awful 1970's "mod" design. Looks like a standing rib roast on the outside, FWIW.

I think that it is no accident that the liturgical practices at the churches more or less mimic their appearance. But that is a subject for another post.

The whole thing is so so sad. A Catholic should be able to go to mass anywhere and know what to expect and how to behave. A Church should feel like a church, the Priest should act like a priest, and the doctrine should be strictly by-the-book doctrine. If you are Catholic, be Catholic. If you don't want to be, don't be, but don't expect all of the others who DO want to be to change because you like to feel like they need to be inclusive or sensitive or "in touch" or "speak to your needs" or what the hell ever. That's why there are protestant churches. Shop around, find one that "fits" you. No hard feelings, they're good people too.

The point is, that if you don't stand up and provide a stable, proven product, that offers your "customers" something that they can believe in, then you are doomed to extinction. For this reason, without a doubt, Rome needs to issue forthwith a strict set of rubrics and standards to be used world wide, without exception, if a Bishop or Priest doesn't like that, they MUST BE shown the door. A ship can have may may engineers, boilermen, cooks, etc. but it can only have ONE navigator if its to ever get anywhere. And this particular ship is hauling a lot of souls to heaven. It would be the ultimate shame if they were to wind up instead at a ... less desirable destination.

Ad Orientem Revisited

A few months ago, I posted on the significance of posture in the liturgy. I have been thinking about this more and more and have come to this conclusion.

No Mass can ever be truly moving, truly focused, with a Priest facing the people across a table. Period.

Don't tell me about St. Peters. The table altar there, while having the same effect, is so big, so high, and masses there are such a production, that it doesn't count. That would be like comparing a bottle rocket to the space shuttle.

I have come to this conclusion by watching closely the masses I attend every week. Unlike the horrible liturgies I hear and read about, both of the churches I attend here in Greensboro, Saint Benedict's and Our Lady of Grace, have very traditional, by-the-book masses. No funny stuff, no clapping, dancing, etc. After watching the masses and the celebrants so closely, I conclude that these (novus ordo) masses are about as proper and reverent as you can get. The celebrants are VERY meticulous and caring and reverent and proper. I have never seen one be more so. As the old beer commercials said - it doesn't get any better than this.

Yet still, the sight of them looking at me across a table makes the whole process seem more like a cafeteria than a mass. It isn't them, it isn't the setting. In fact Saint Benedict's is strikingly beautiful and modest sized, and about 110 years old. And Our lady of Grace is, I sincerely believe, the most architecturally impressive church in the United States. It isn't the congregations, as they are both quiet and reverent.

The inescapable conclusion is that it is the altar. Turn the priest around the way he was for at least a thousand years, and EVERYTHING else will change.