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Sunday 4 October 2015

The Tridentine Low Mass as a "Sane and Solemn Tonic" to Liturgical Shenanigans

Kevin Di Camillo has a lovely piece at NCRegister about his discovery of the Extraordinary Form.

I am, of course, disposed to give a friendly hearing to the ideas of anyone who flat out says,
"I had no 'reaction' to the 'new Mass', no axe to grind, no animosity— only a vague curiosity as to why Pope Benedict (who, if nothing else, was obviously a bona fide genius......) would 'bring back the Latin Mass.'" [emphasis supplied]
And although our experiences were very different, he shared this question with me - what is this strange thing that so many find "so appalling"?

It was the irrational virulence of that ... hatred is not too strong a word... that demanded of me to experience something so apparently frightening and powerful.
It is, of course, easy to throw the new Mass under the bus, and that is (a) wrong, and (b) not my point. My point is simply that in a world where we each have more email, voicemail, texts, meetings, and Skype-chats than we could possibly digest in a lifetime, the Tridentine Mass offers a complete contemplative oasis. You have the right to be silent when you pray. True, on Sunday at the Novus Ordo, we SHOULD sing "loud-and-proud"— but at Low Mass you can be, you MUST be, silent before your God.
This I found (and find) wonderfully fulfilling — and terrifying. “Fulfilling” in the sense of theosis: as the Mass culminates in Holy Communion, one is literally filled with the Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. This is, of course, absolutely true in the Novus Ordo as well— but this is “terrifying” in that the quieter it is the more one is AWARE that this is happening. Christ becomes present again, and we are about to receive him in perfect silence— not even an "Amen" after communicating.
I'll just add, I myself prefer a diffident dialogue Mass, but different strokes...

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