Well today this Novus Ordo Catholic who was born in 1973 went “Back to the Future” sacramentally. I did this by going to my first Extraordinary Mass said by a priest who is in union with a bishop who is in union with the Pope. Yes I had previously gone to a TLM twice before said by our obstinate SSPX Christian brethren, once for my brothers wedding and once with him for a daily Mass so afterwards we could discuss his participation as my best man in my own wedding at a Novus Ordo Mass. The whole thing is a story for another occasion.
I went to the noon Mass at Blessed Sacrament in Kansas City, KS. For someone from Johnson County, KS where I reside the neighborhood that Blessed Sacrament is in might also be deemed extraordinary. (really it’s fine, just pay attention to your directions) I got there a half hour before Mass started. I entered through the side door and made the mistake of turning left instead of right when I came in, if you go left you walk into the Sacristy so take a right. After opening the wrong door I did a u-turn and went through the sanctuary door, dipped my hand in the holy water, made my sign of the cross, headed to an open pew, genuflected, got situated, knelt down, and started to pray. There were only 5 people in the sanctuary when I came in all of them well past the age of 70.
The altars, plural, at Blessed Sacrament are awesome. Three ornate altars which serve as examples of what our newer churches should get back to, they are altars meant for God and the flowers that decorated them were everywhere. It was absolutely beautiful. After about 10 minutes the elderly gentleman 2 pews in front of me started to pray the rosary so I got out my rosary and joined in. He had a German accent, which actually was pretty cool because it made me think that good ole Pope Benedict was leading me in an English rosary. His Glory Bes were always said Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Which for this Vatican II baby is always difficult to hear. The Latin say’s Espiritu how does that translate into Ghost and not Spirit? But I digress.
The lights were off in the place so I wasn’t 100% sure Mass was going to happen with the lights off and 6 people in the pews but then people started rolling in and the lights came on. Women with their veils on, middle aged men, and lots of kids … lots of kids. Mostly little ones from babes to 5 years old and they all knew what to do. Holy water, sign of the cross, and genuflect. God bless them.
Then out came the altar servers who I would say ranged from age 7 to 12 to prepare for Mass and man, were they impressive! I cannot put into words how impressed I was with their service. I never was an altar boy in the Novus Ordo when I was younger because I never saw the point. They seemed to just stand there the whole time. In the TLM they do everything but stand. They kneel, bow, genuflect, move prayer books, lift vestments, fold altar linens, respond with prayers in Latin, and have a number of choreographed movements that seem akin to the guards at Buckingham Palace minus the leg kicks, military spins, and salutes. I think had I grown up in the TLM, I still wouldn’t have been an altar boy, I would have been too intimidated. I think any boy or girl who serves at the Novus Ordo should go watch these little guys in action. After watching the TLM there is no wonder why altar boys during Vatican I were the recruiting ground for future priests. So then the bell rang to start the Mass, which is just cool. I wish all daily Novus Ordo Masses would start out the same way.
Next a priest and four altar boys came out from the Sacristy and Mass started. Now I don’t have a Missal so I just listened for the Latin parts I knew like the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei and followed along with the rest of the congregation as when to sit, stand, and kneel. Everything was in Latin except the readings and the homily. How any Protestant converted to Catholicism prior to the Novus Ordo Mass I’ll never know. I’m sure it was mostly marriage converts though.
As beautiful as the TLM is, it is also lacking. I’m sure that last comment just sent a few “traditional” Catholics through the roof, but I do mean what I say. I know that if I knew my Latin better I would get more out of the Latin Mass and that by learning the Latin I would learn more about my faith and I do plan to do that. But how does one preach the Gospel to Protestant Christians or Non-Christians if the Latin gets in the way? This is where I think Vatican II got it right by allowing the Mass in the vernacular and removing some of the ritual, but unfortunately the liberals within the church saw their opening and took it. As a side comment where did all these liberals within the Catholic Church at that time come from? Were they not a product of the TLM? Just something to think about…
The liberals within the Church took the Novus Ordo Mass and ran with it pretty much as far as they could, and they got pretty far, and some are still running with it. Thankfully the Holy Spirit has given us Pope Benedict to help us to restore the Novus Ordo to what I feel (feel=opinion) its original purpose was, which is to be a Mass for the common man, one that anyone could understand and think through without instruction. Benedict has done this by providing his flock free use of the TLM. While I don’t see the Novus Ordo changing the TLM, I do see the TLM changing the Novus Ordo. More Latin is being worked into it, greater reverence is being seen, better translations are coming, and the liberal hijackers are dying off.
I enjoyed my experience today, but I look forward to my Novus Ordo Mass tomorrow. In some ways my experience today was like going back in time and I highly recommend to all Catholics. To experience the Extraordinary Mass is to embrace being fully Catholic but Traditionals also need to embrace the Novus Ordo. Pope Benedict I think realized that in order for the Church to be prepared for the future it needed to go back and ensure its roots had room to function. The Catholic Church didn’t last 2000 years by chance and so in this Catholic’s head we have gone “back to the future”.
Back to the Future
I went to the noon Mass at Blessed Sacrament in Kansas City, KS. For someone from Johnson County, KS where I reside the neighborhood that Blessed Sacrament is in might also be deemed extraordinary. (really it’s fine, just pay attention to your directions) I got there a half hour before Mass started. I entered through the side door and made the mistake of turning left instead of right when I came in, if you go left you walk into the Sacristy so take a right. After opening the wrong door I did a u-turn and went through the sanctuary door, dipped my hand in the holy water, made my sign of the cross, headed to an open pew, genuflected, got situated, knelt down, and started to pray. There were only 5 people in the sanctuary when I came in all of them well past the age of 70.
The altars, plural, at Blessed Sacrament are awesome. Three ornate altars which serve as examples of what our newer churches should get back to, they are altars meant for God and the flowers that decorated them were everywhere. It was absolutely beautiful. After about 10 minutes the elderly gentleman 2 pews in front of me started to pray the rosary so I got out my rosary and joined in. He had a German accent, which actually was pretty cool because it made me think that good ole Pope Benedict was leading me in an English rosary. His Glory Bes were always said Glory Be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost. Which for this Vatican II baby is always difficult to hear. The Latin say’s Espiritu how does that translate into Ghost and not Spirit? But I digress.
The lights were off in the place so I wasn’t 100% sure Mass was going to happen with the lights off and 6 people in the pews but then people started rolling in and the lights came on. Women with their veils on, middle aged men, and lots of kids … lots of kids. Mostly little ones from babes to 5 years old and they all knew what to do. Holy water, sign of the cross, and genuflect. God bless them.
Then out came the altar servers who I would say ranged from age 7 to 12 to prepare for Mass and man, were they impressive! I cannot put into words how impressed I was with their service. I never was an altar boy in the Novus Ordo when I was younger because I never saw the point. They seemed to just stand there the whole time. In the TLM they do everything but stand. They kneel, bow, genuflect, move prayer books, lift vestments, fold altar linens, respond with prayers in Latin, and have a number of choreographed movements that seem akin to the guards at Buckingham Palace minus the leg kicks, military spins, and salutes. I think had I grown up in the TLM, I still wouldn’t have been an altar boy, I would have been too intimidated. I think any boy or girl who serves at the Novus Ordo should go watch these little guys in action. After watching the TLM there is no wonder why altar boys during Vatican I were the recruiting ground for future priests. So then the bell rang to start the Mass, which is just cool. I wish all daily Novus Ordo Masses would start out the same way.
Next a priest and four altar boys came out from the Sacristy and Mass started. Now I don’t have a Missal so I just listened for the Latin parts I knew like the Kyrie and the Agnus Dei and followed along with the rest of the congregation as when to sit, stand, and kneel. Everything was in Latin except the readings and the homily. How any Protestant converted to Catholicism prior to the Novus Ordo Mass I’ll never know. I’m sure it was mostly marriage converts though.
As beautiful as the TLM is, it is also lacking. I’m sure that last comment just sent a few “traditional” Catholics through the roof, but I do mean what I say. I know that if I knew my Latin better I would get more out of the Latin Mass and that by learning the Latin I would learn more about my faith and I do plan to do that. But how does one preach the Gospel to Protestant Christians or Non-Christians if the Latin gets in the way? This is where I think Vatican II got it right by allowing the Mass in the vernacular and removing some of the ritual, but unfortunately the liberals within the church saw their opening and took it. As a side comment where did all these liberals within the Catholic Church at that time come from? Were they not a product of the TLM? Just something to think about…
The liberals within the Church took the Novus Ordo Mass and ran with it pretty much as far as they could, and they got pretty far, and some are still running with it. Thankfully the Holy Spirit has given us Pope Benedict to help us to restore the Novus Ordo to what I feel (feel=opinion) its original purpose was, which is to be a Mass for the common man, one that anyone could understand and think through without instruction. Benedict has done this by providing his flock free use of the TLM. While I don’t see the Novus Ordo changing the TLM, I do see the TLM changing the Novus Ordo. More Latin is being worked into it, greater reverence is being seen, better translations are coming, and the liberal hijackers are dying off.
I enjoyed my experience today, but I look forward to my Novus Ordo Mass tomorrow. In some ways my experience today was like going back in time and I highly recommend to all Catholics. To experience the Extraordinary Mass is to embrace being fully Catholic but Traditionals also need to embrace the Novus Ordo. Pope Benedict I think realized that in order for the Church to be prepared for the future it needed to go back and ensure its roots had room to function. The Catholic Church didn’t last 2000 years by chance and so in this Catholic’s head we have gone “back to the future”.