A question for my readers. How many of you attend the Latin Mass, how many of you attend the New Mass (for want of a better term), and how many of you attend both? And why? And what is your attitude towards each?
I'm surprised by how many of my readers are Latin Mass people.
If you're shy about commenting, feel free to email me at Maolsheachlann@gmail.com.
Usually here people call the Ordinary Form ' The Novus Ordo Mass ' but in today's world of constant rotation, the Ordinary Form is hardly Novus=new, being over 40 years old ( 50 years old if you include the transitional 1965 Mass which was very much a half way) I rarely attend the Novus ordo these days, but I'm fortunate to be living close to St Anne's, which is the Traditional chaplaincy chapel. And that's only as far as attending Mass as part of a planned routine goes-if I visit a church and the new Mass is going on,I stay and attend , at least for a while.
ReplyDeleteAnd why do I go to the Extraordinary Form?
It's not easy to explain.
To me the Traditional liturgy is more directed at what the Mass is supposed to be.
I certainly don't go for the people who attend. Some may be nice people but I wouldn't go to Mass at all concentrating on that. I wouldn't say I go for the priests themselves. They may have good qualities, but as an example, in Perth we have a RedemptorisMater seminary, and I don't think I admire the priests that I've come across from the neo-catecumenal way any less than 'conservatives', either traditional or what traditionals call 'neo-cons'.
I've no idea why you get such a following from Latin Mass parishioners. ANNALS always puts Irishpapist at the end of your articles, but I wouldn't have thought it's readers were particularly 62 missal people. From what I've heard the Traditional Mass and ' high church Catholicism' in general is relatively wider spread in Britain, but I've also heard that more diverse views exist amongst these people :ie in Australia and USA and,probably,Ireland Latin Mass goers will be against women's ordination, birth control and, definitely, abortion and euthanasia and probably don't attend school liturgies or ecumenical services, while in Britain the attendees are more likely have more diverse views
I think your last point is the biggest one! It really does seem that, amongst people who have orthodox Catholic views on social issues, a disproportionate number attend the Traditional Mass. Thanks for the response.
DeleteI go to both (Latin on Sundays as it is a bit of a distance from where I live. ) I love both. I am lucky to have many churches near me and most of them have orthodox priests and reverent Masses. I find the Latin Mass is (objectively) more worthy worship to God and (subjectively) has been of great spiritual benefit to me. On a personal level, I don't particularly like polyphony or beroque music which is usually very popular at Latin Masses. I find that I love chant, which is a surprise as I am not musical. It is more like praying than singing and feels, to me, very natural and appropriate. Leaving preferences aside, Mass is Mass and I feel very lucky that I have it so readily available and please God, this is continue.
ReplyDeleteI think it is interesting that your readers go to the Latin Mass as it not that readily available (unfortunately).
One reader, in a private mail, described attending the Ordinary Form (after having attended the Latin Mass for a while) as like eating food in the form of nutrition pills after having had a four-course meal every day. Or something like that.
DeleteThanks for your reply Michele. I actually agree with you about chant. I don't like music at Mass at all (doubtless a fault in me) but I do like chant. Or unaccompanied, choral singing.
I know. I wonder how all these people (not just readers of this blog, but other people I know) fit into the few Latin Masses there are!
I don't like music at Mass either - it is actually lovely to hear someone say that! Most people seem to love it so much. I am often embarrassed to admit it. Chant is a totally different matter. I should add that as well as being non musical, I am very poor at languages and yet, I have picked up a bit of Latin without any effort.
ReplyDeleteI think you know everyone who attends the Latin Masses! They aren't that packed! Do you know anyone going on the Chartres walk?
Three words:
ReplyDelete'shine Jesus shine'
I can beat that:
Delete"He rolled back the waters of the mighty Red Sea
And he said 'I'll never leave you-- put your trust in me."
I don't even know what the Chartres walk is!
I take your point about the Latin Mass not being that packed-- there was plenty of pew space in the two I attended, about a year ago.
There's much you can look up on the internet about the Paris - Chartes walk. A fair amount go from Australia. I've been told that a fair few Irish also, some seem to be British residents including a lady who was in Perth recently who had a very Irish name; I've now forgotten which. Our chaplain here mentioned that the French organizers actually give Irish priests a Union Jack badge to wear! It's to indicate what language they speak-actually I don't know how confession faculties work for this.
DeleteMyself,I don't find events like this of any interest.
As for attendance,
Bearing in mind that St Anne's is not very large, it probably gets more people now than it ever had when it was a parish. A lot of this is made up of very large families.
I suggested to my parents that they should attend there for Good Friday as there would be chairs outside which would be better,especially for my father who had been unwell, rather than inside a crowded cathedral, where they've always gone. My mother observed that she hadn't seen the amount of children in a congregation since growing up in CabraWest, attending the Precious Blood-she's now 81. And furthermore, that you see less children at the Cathedral, although it's probably only literally true taken per capita.
We're not the only area in the diocese that is so pro -family, the neo-Catecumenal way also has large families and there may be others.
Weekdays, of course has a lower attendance.... A lot don't live in the area and it's a bit hard to explain just how spread out Perth is compared to Dublin or to most other cities.
I attend the Novus Ordo mass. I've been doing so for about 86% of all my mass attendance. Hopefully within the near future, say three years from now, I'll be attending the Latin Mass on a monthly basis.
ReplyDeleteThis past Sunday the deacon made the congregation clap during the Gospel Acclamation. It was cringeworthy. I didn't clap, which the deacon saw, and said, "I noticed a few of you didn't clap. It's okay to clap. Christ has risen!" Might as well dance the macarena
A clap-along hymn broke out SPONTANEOUSLY at the end of our local Easter Vigil this year-- that is, it started out as an ordinary hymn, but people started clapping and soon almost everybody was clapping. It was like a Baptist service.
DeleteThat's the kind of thing that makes me think I should cross the....I don't know what river would apply here, but it makes me think I should go traddie.