The EO Form of the Mass Revisited

[Seven77]

Back in 2004 or something, I went to the TLM for the first time... it was a Low Mass on Sunday, everyone was quiet, there was no singing, the priest basically said all the words, hardly audible, from what I remember. We had to follow along in a missal. I was like, "what is this?" I felt as if I  didn't actually fulfill the Sunday obligation to attend Mass.

Then, after Pope Benedict normalized it under the term Extraordinary Form, there was a Pontifical Solemn High Mass at the National Shrine...   

Another time, I went to a High Mass. There was a lot of polyphony and it was one of those composer Masses. It was on Corpus Christi, on Thursday...  it seemed like a beautiful way to honor Our Lord, with great reverence… At the same time, it felt like a performance, with the priests making all these gestures.  Just a show, window-dressing,  missing the essence, and lacking in love when it comes to actually loving  God and neighbor… Maybe it was just me.

Fast fwd to last Sat., there was another Pontifical Solemn High Mass at the  National Shrine (2nd time since the late 1960s)...  I completely slept on it… I knew that it was coming up but I was more concerned about watching it on TV than being there (which was very possible to do).

I watched it and was completely blown away. The commentary really helped too.  Man, it was so majestic, powerful. A beautiful Mass that took my mind and heart up towards heaven. There was more Gregorian chant this time too.  In the homily, the Archbishop of Portland, Oregon spoke powerfully  about the hermeneutic of continuity, that Vatican II should not be seen as a break, and told a little bit about his own discovery of the Latin Mass. there were so many young people – – he pointed out that those who are asking why young people are so attracted to it are asking the right questionn.

 you can see it here:

 At the end, Msgr. Charles Pope, who was giving commentary along with an Oratorian priest that it was not a performance but giving the best for God, something along those lines. I felt so bad that I wasn't there to experience it in person!

 

Edited May 2, 2018 by Seven77

[dUSt]

amesome!