June
01
A lot of attention has been focused on Pope Benedict XVI’s granting wider priveleges to those who wish to celebrate the traditional Latin Mass (often called the Tridentine Rite) that held pride of place until the promulgation of the Novus Ordo by Pope Paul VI in 1969. The latter, although orthodox in its orginal form, allowed a great deal more avenues for experimentation and in many ways cut the Catholic Church off from its musical patrimony that has developed over centuries. Church’s that had once been filled with the strains of Gregorian chant and Pallestrina would now succumb to nuns with folk guitars and songs that were banal even by praise song standards.Well, the Latin Mass movement within the Catholic Church is now growing more robust and many who have become discontented with the loss of reverence in the Catholic liturgy are finding it in the Mass of their forefathers. For many with whom the unity with the Bishop of Rome is essential, there had in the past been only the choices of driving long distances to find a Latin Mass, joining an Eastern Rite Catholic Church where there was reverence but some culture shock, or suffering through bland masses as a cross to bear. Now this gives those faithful Catholics hope that they will soon be able to once again worship God with complete reverence.
A lot of this doesn’t sit well with revisionist Catholics. Time magazine recently published an article on the dying Catholic left. The papacy of Joh Paul II (and now Benedict XVI), the revival of traditional Catholic piety, the influence of conservative Catholic cable channel EWTN, and the growing number of high profile Protestant converts has moved the focus away from political and social activism and back to the Word of God and the Sacraments. Even the sex-abuse scandal has only reinforced this view for more traditional Catholics as it confirmed their suspicions that something was amiss in the Church.
One of the places where this revival is most evident is in Nebraska - a bastion of conservative Catholicism. The Omaha World Herald has published a fascinating article on the strength of the revival locally that highlights the reasons it is drawing not just old diehards of the old rite but young families with children.
Personally, I beliive that the rites of the Church should be allowed in the languages of the people. However, I think the Tridentine Rite is in many aspects superior to the Novus Ordo. It is the traditional liturgy of the Western Church and wholesale changes such as occurred in 1969 have led to many unwise developments. Even worse, the translation of the Novus Ordo approved by ICEL for use in English speaking countries was so incredibly bland as to reduce the liturgy to a tedious exercise. That said, I see signs of true liturgical revival taking place in the Catholic Church and for this I see much hope. Whatever my disagreements with Rome, a healthy Catholicism is important for all of Christendom.
For those curious about the Latin Mass and why it has such a hold on many, I think the video above is quite helpful. It is an Easter Mass that took place in 1941 and is representative of the Tridentine Rite at its most reverent. The commentary by Bishop Fulton J. Sheen is informative for those who have never experienced it in their lifetime.
Now compare the sublime reverence above with this video below - crass silliness. These liturgical lowlights are from the closing liturgy at a Call to Action conference (Call to Action is a radical group of Catholic leftists that lobbies for women’ ordination, acceptance of abortion rights and homosexuality within the Catholic Church, and other typically revisionist causes). It is not an Easter Mass but it could perhaps be called an “Easter Island Mass”.
Comments
Mike Spreng on 1 June, 2008 at 5:58 pm #
Great article, Albert!
Mike Spreng on 1 June, 2008 at 6:16 pm #
Dear Lord! I just watched that feminist video…That is almost worse than the Rick Warren nonsense witht the rap bands and disco dancers. And that brings me to a point;) Just because our liturgy has roots in the Anglo Saxon culture does not mean that we must now give in to third-world cultures that are prone to idolatry and sexual misconduct.
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