Priests from Nebraska lead rite's resurgence of Latin Mass

Priests from Nebraska lead rite's resurgence of Latin Mass
Christopher BurbachOmaha World-Herald, Neb.
Released : Saturday, May 31, 2008 4:00 AM

May 31--LINCOLN -- A cardinal from the Vatican, surrounded by 50 priests.

Gregorian chants floating through clouds of incense.

A 3 1/2 -hour Mass, sung in Latin mostly by priests facing the altar.

A cathedral packed to standing-room-only with lots of families with lots of children, women and girls in veils, men in suits, boys in neckties and close-cropped haircuts.

Catholics kneeling to take communion.

The ordination at Lincoln's Cathedral of the Risen Christ on Friday seemed oh-so-retro. But it was hardly an exercise in nostalgia. It was more like back to the future for a small but growing minority that seeks a louder voice in the Roman Catholic Church -- those devoted to the old Latin liturgy known as the Tridentine Mass.

It's a big deal for Catholics because many equate bringing back the Tridentine Mass, which dates to the 16th century, with rejecting the 1960s reforms of Vatican II. Proponents see it as finally bringing back sacredness, God-oriented reverence and tradition that had been left behind.

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I had looked forward to seeing and recording this the other day, but I forgot to record it so I missed most it, but I saw some of a replay later in the night. Such reverence, its beautiful.

Clarification on Motu Proprio

Ecclesia Dei president offers clarification on motu proprio

In an interview with the Vatican newspaper, the head of the Ecclesia Dei commission has indicated that priests do not require permission from their bishops in order to celebrate the extraordinary form of the Latin liturgy.

I Love Mass

This is one of the reasons why I don't really show my friends my blog, they'd think I was nuts. They probably do already, but that would really confuse them. How could she possibly like going to church? One of my coworkers once said to me, 'You like going to church? What do you like stale crackers and wine?', and another one of my friends can barely get through a discussion about the Catholic Church without some sort of pedophile comment or some dastardly thing the church has done to people (did you know the Catholic Church completely made up the whole no sex before marriage thing?). What can you say to that sort of thing? I can never come up with anything good so I usually just try to ignore it.

But the last few weeks at mass I sit there multiple times and think 'oh I love this part'. Then I realized I just love the mass. I like the Latin Mass too, and wish it was more widely available, but the modern mass done reverently can really be beautiful and moving too.

I usually like going to mass after my CCD class so the kids don't see me just leaving, but going Saturday evening is maybe better. I seem to have a hard time concentrating on mass right after class. I'm usually thinking about how things went, and what I could have done better. I try to pay better attention, but I have noticed that my mind is wandering so Saturday night is better.

St. John Cantius

Wednesday night Mom and I went to St. John Cantius. We had wanted to go to mass there on Christmas Eve, but Dad didn't want to drive out there on Christmas Eve so we just went to our normal church (I'll write about Christmas eve mass there tomorrow). We really wanted to see how it looked for Christmas. It was just beautiful. Ma Beck is lucky to belong to such a wonderful parish.

Young Catholics Show Interest in Latin Mass

Catholics show fresh interest in Latin mass

By JACQUELINE SALMON
THE WASHINGTON POST
December 7, 2007 - 9:15PM

WASHINGTON - Parts of it are 1,500 years old, it’s difficult to understand, and it’s even more challenging to watch. And it’s catching on among young Catholics.

It’s the traditional Latin Mass, a formal worship service making a comeback after more than 40 years of moldering in the Vatican basement.

In September, Pope Benedict XVI relaxed restrictions on celebrating Latin Mass, frequently called the Tridentine Mass, citing “a new and renewed” interest in the ancient Latin liturgy, especially among younger Catholics.

Spoken or sung entirely in Latin by priests who face the altar instead of the congregation, it is a radical departure for most Catholics, who grew up attending a more informal Mass celebrated in their native tongue.

And it is a hit with younger priests and their parishioners.

Here's the one that stood out with me because thats how I feel...

For some, the popularity of the service represents the gap between older Catholics, who grew up in the more liberal, post-Vatican II era, and their younger counterparts, who say they feel as if they missed out on a tradition jettisoned in the move to modernize.

FSSP to Celebrate a Rorate Mass, Televised on EWTN

FSSP to Celebrate a Rorate Mass in Hanceville, Alabama, Will be Televised by EWTN
11/13/2007 - PST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
MEDIA ADVISORY
Catholic PRWire

DENTON, NE (NOVEMBER 13, 2007) – The Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter (FSSP) will celebrate a Solemn High Tridentine Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama on Saturday, December 15, 2007 at 8:00AM EST. The "Rorate" Mass will be televised live by the EWTN Global Catholic Network.

Pope's Brother Attends Latin Mass

Pope's Brother Attends Latin Mass

Cool.

Rumor mill is saying the Pope himself might celebrate the traditional mass sometime in December. Cool things are afoot.

Latin Mass Woot

As per Wikipedia's entry for September 14...

2007 - The traditional Latin Mass is officially restored in the Roman Catholic Church as Pope Benedict XVI's motu proprio Summorum Pontificum takes effect.

Actually, there were a few other Catholic related entries of interest for the day...

1964 - The opening of the third period of the Second Vatican Council.

1965 - The opening of the fourth and final period of Second Vatican Council.

Anyway. I was sitting here watching the mass on EWTN, and it got me to thinking about a special person who isn't here today to see it. Our parish priest in Kenosha, Fr. Heuser, passed away February 12, 2006. I remember, some months before he passed away, in a homily him telling us things were going to start changing towards the traditional. I have little doubt that he would have been very pleased with the release and implementation of Summorum Pontificum. Our parish would be a lovely place to have had it as well. We still have the old altar, and still have the communion rail. Actually, there are more communion rails or partial rails and old altars in Kenosha than I would have expected. I'm not quite sure how they survived the time of Archbishop Weakland, but thats another story.



I guess today just made me sort of appreciate what has come, and also what and who we've lost.

Many thanks to Pope Benedict for giving us this gift.

EWTN To Broadcast Tridentine Mass Live

Woah-ho-ho (sorry folks, this is how I actually talk, I usually just try to write better) I came upon this little gem from the Summorum Pontificum blog. And I think the entry was correctly named A Cause for Great Joy!

For the first time in its 26 year history, Mother Angelica's Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) will be broadcasting a live Solemn High Mass at the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville, Alabama on September 14, 2007 at 8:00AM ES

The Tridentine Mass on EWTN? Sweet. Having the FSSP come to help? Awesome.

I'm not exactly an expert on EWTN, but I know previously Bishop Foley had forbid them from airing a Tridentine Mass. Earlier this week Birmingham received word of its new Bishop, news they had been two years waiting for.

This is indeed good news for Catholics around the country. The opportunity to see the old mass even if there is not one near will be wonderful. We have in the past attended the TLM at St. John Cantius and St. Thomas More in Chicago, but with traffic it is a lot of trouble getting there.

I hope many will tune in to see this event on EWTN in September and pray that EWTN will be able to continue to offer and televise the mass.

Motu Proprio

I haven't written much if anything about the Motu Proprio or to the equally controversial document coming from the Congregation of the Doctrine of Faith (thats the 'oh no the Pope doesn't think we're a church' document). I didn't really feel it was necessary. After all, I'm not a scholar, and figured commentary for the moment for those who are or those who have a greater understanding of those documents. I was generally pretty content with them.

The reporting in the press, not so much.

Still, I wasn't going to say anything. Others have already written on the topic, and they have done a much better job than I.

But I read this in the Chicago Tribune today and just thought it was so over the top in its language that I needed to say something. I saw the headline, "Pope's latest moves setting church apart" and made the mistake of thinking it might actually be something other than an over-the-top scare piece.

The first paragraph starts off nice enough.

The recent decision by Pope Benedict XVI to broaden permission for the old Latin mass in Catholic parishes may seem at first glance to be a harmless gesture of goodwill. After all, many Catholics have never felt comfortable with the new mass adopted in the 1960s; they prefer a more quiet, passive worship style.

But then the second paragraph hits like a ton of bricks.

But you don't have to be paranoid to see the return of the Latin mass as a powerful sign of what is to come: a full-bodied campaign by the Vatican to bolster the monarchical, authoritarian claims of the church.

I was actually sort of surprised to see this sort of language aimed at someone not President Bush. After all usually he's the one that you aren't paranoid about when you worry that he's establishing a monarchy.

But you can take a minute and read the rest yourself. Its mostly 'oh noes the Pope is removing the laity from the church' even though Summorum Pontificum does not change the new and still to be widely used mass.

The media seems to have missed the boat on realizing that Papa Ben has been quite liberal in releasing this Motu Proprio. But to do that you'd have to understand the meaning of liberal as increasing greater freedom.

Oh well. Secular reporting on religion in general and the Catholic Church and Vatican in particular is quite bad, so what can we really expect.