Attachment
Posted by: tony on 07/08/2008 05:03 PM
Updated by: tony on 07/08/2008 05:03 PM
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Expires: 08/08/2008 12:00 AM
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Mrs Darwin wonders where is the attachment [to the Extraordinary form of the Latin Rite]:
Both Darwin and I are of a traditional bent of mind. We've read the 1962 Missal, and we appreciate the richness of the language and the clarity of the rubrics. We love Gregorian chant and own a Graduale. Both of us learned basic Latin responses such as "Et cum spiritu tuo" from our parents, who remembered saying them at Mass as children. So we're predisposed to like the Extraordinary Form. We want to like the Extraordinary Form. And yet every EF Mass we've ever been to has left us wondering, "Is this really what it's all about? Why is anyone attached to this?"
I blogged about this earlier. When you are out on the road and you're hungry, you many times decide to stop at McDonald's. Not because McDonald's food is particularly tasty or good for you, but because you know that wherever you go it will be pretty much the same. There won't be any wierd sauces or unusual spices, you'll get a bland, fast and cheap meal prepared the same way anywhere in the world you travel.
My wife and I attend first Friday mass at a local Franciscan hermitage. The Mass is the Extraordinary form. The priest, God bless him, sometimes trips over the latin words and has to go back. The young acolyte is excellent in his responses. My wife and I have our own missals and can follow along pretty well (we do get lost at the "secret prayers"). But I know that if we go to the Extraordinary Form, we're not going to see:
o Clowns.
o Pita bread consecrated for communion.
o Dancers in the sanctuary.
o Music that sounds like a bad lounge act and is possibly heretical.
o The one handed grab at communion time.
Also, my guess is that the Darwins (like my wife and me) are attending low Mass which is pretty basic. This sort of thing is one of the reasons that I believe the Holy Spirit was prompting the church fathers to convene the Second Vatican Council. There was real reform that needed to be done. Mrs. Darwin recounts her experience with the delicious fruits of that Council:
Conversely, the few times we've been to the Novus Ordo celebrated in Latin have been wondrously reverent and marvelously beautiful. Perhaps that's because we're attuned to the rhythms of the Novus Ordo and so can immerse ourselves in the richness of this form of worship. But also, the careful planning and preparation and clear love of the form and the language have shown through in the attitudes of the priest and the choir and the congregation. The worship aids have been clear and concise so that even someone who had never attended any mass, let alone a mass in Latin, could follow the prayers and respond appropriately. The same has been true of the few and various Byzantine Divine Liturgies we've attended -- even in a completely unfamiliar language, with an unknown structure, we didn't feel at sea because both the priest and the faithful were unambiguous about what they were doing, and what role each played.
This is what the Council envisioned. Not Fr. Comedy Act and the liturgical "Rockettes".
But I believe catechesis is required by those Extraordinary Form groups who would like to see their numbers grow. People want to know what they are supposed to do and when. It might behoove someone to have a little class, maybe with coffee and donuts, to go over the missal with folks who have an interest in getting it right.
It might even foster "community". And "community" is not a dirty word.
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