The Recovering Choir Director

Just a comment on the one priest in the Times article- if those who are interested are as tiny in numbers as he says, why not make the Tridentine Mass more widely available ? Surely something with such little support would wither away on its own ?

I am speaking as someone who has never attended such a Mass, and who appreciates the Mass in the vernacular (though the current English translations leave a lot to be desired. ) I am blessed in that the priests here celebrate the Mass with reverence…

I recently attended a Tridentine Mass for the first time and took my kids too. Our diocese has one indult Mass/wk about 45 min from us in a gorgeous church filled with images of the saints. It was a bit hard to follow (but so is the current rite if you’ve never been there before) but very prayerful. I felt very relaxed knowing that, even though I didn’t understand everything, nothing goofy was going to happen. (Sometimes Mass at my parish makes me very tense. I know it shouldn’t but…)

I was expecting to see a lot of old folks but the church was filled with all sorts: some religious, some seniors and MANY families with young children.

When I asked my 8 year old what he thought he said, ‘It was a bit confusing but I liked it. When I didn’t know what else to do, I looked at the saints.’ He said the things he liked best were the music (a 4 man schola) and kneeling for communion. What a kid! We hope to go back at regular intervals.

My family is experiencing a bit of what Mrs. Altham described as her experience at the Novus Ordo Mass. We are not in the habit of attening Tridentine Masses, but our parish has become progressively more liberal in the past two years. I’m more conservative than my parents. But coming back after a year of college and seeing how things have deteriorated at our church and observing my parents at Mass, they visibly stiffen at some of the things that occur.

Quite the opposite of distracting to me, though; it warms my heart that they are becoming more like me.

Hi Jane,

I think that a sense of true (dare I say “classical?”) reverence might contribute to the children’s behavior described in the article. It’d be interesting to compare the children’s behavior at a novus Ordo Mass comparable in “packaging” to the Tridentine they attend (architecture, art, music and posture) such as St. Agnes in Minnesota, Brompton Oratory in London or even Fr. Fessio’s Masses at Ave Maria U. in Florida.

True reverence in this case is defined by an ardent desire by all those present to worship God as well as possibly out of charity, not obligation.

Or, a musical analog: we play the right note or improvise not merely for the sake of playing a right note or improvisation, but because we believe that playing well pleases God and will help others experience God, whether or not it’s in a liturgical setting.