I think I need to comment further about my TLM is lacking comment in the previous post. Let me first say that my first TLM was my brother’s wedding in a SSPX chapel. It was the first time that I saw and experienced the TLM and I could see by only going once that it was where heaven touched earth. I believe that those who want the TLM should have it and I think that Vatican II made a big mistake by making such a change from the TLM to the Novus Ordo so quickly. The Catholic Church never does anything fast and the history of this event is a prime example of why the Church is prudent when it implements changes slowly and with care.
So how can I say the TLM is lacking? Let me suggest what probably will end up being a poor analogy. As a football fan I can watch any two teams play and enjoy it. As a Nebraska fan its has been engrained in my head since birth that the 1971 Nebraska – Oklahoma game was the “Game of the Century”. It was a great game but as great as it was it was still lacking a few things. Shouldn’t the greatest game ever encompass every type of scoring play? The NU-OU game lacked a safety, it lacked a two-point conversion, it lacked a drop kick (I always wanted to see one of those). There was a punt return but no kickoff return. There were 66 points scored that day so you could say it lacked great defense. So the “Game of the Century” lacked many things. If your not a Nebraska fan you might say it lacked your own team playing in it. If you’re an Oklahoma fan you might say the game lacked a clipping call on that punt return and that it lacked an Oklahoma win.
Yes I know the logical response would be to say that my “lacking” comment comes down to a matter of opinion and yes it probably does. But when I say the TLM is lacking I mean it from a sense that the common man (Non-Catholic) cannot understand the TLM if they just walked in off the street to attend Mass. The common man could view the TLM as ritualistic or cultish, which could be considered scandal. I have seen this viewpoint by my elderly Protestant grandfather-in-law, which I believe saw the TLM at some point in his life without explanation. What he saw matched up with every lie he had ever heard about the Catholic Church. The TLM is lacking in its participation of the congregation and appears only to focus on the Priest’s actions and prayers. There is more I could say but that’s not the point.
I know there are many good responses to all my criticisms and I know that the Novus Ordo is lacking in many things as well. In short our worship of our Lord Jesus Christ can always be viewed as lacking on this earth until the day he perfects us in Heaven.
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