I just watched a great video where the speaker talked about the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) to five groups/individuals: little children, a young Catholic who attends both the Novus Ordo (NO) and the Traditional Latin Mass, an atheist raised Catholic, a diocesan pastor of an NO parish, and a lay theologian. Fascinating! Check it out! especially the final segment with the theologian. He makes a very interesting distinction between the holy and the sacred. Really, it's only about half an hour. The beginning with the little ones was charming and lovely. "Out of the mouths of babes."
What do you know about the TLM? Many think it only originated with Pope Pius V in the 16th century. But some elements about the Mass go back to the apostolic age. The TLM we attend today is fundamentally the same as the Mass celebrated by Pope St. Gregory the Great in the sixth century. Pope Pius V simply codified the Mass in the sixteenth century during the tempestuous age of the Protestant rebellion when the rebels were trying to undermine and introduce novelties into the Eucharistic sacrifice.
The TLM encompasses all of Church history according to the theologian describing Pope Benedict's statements. "It's not a cure-all...but it's such a marvelous source of grace." Amen to that. We love the silence, the reverence, the mystery and the clear focus of participating at the passion, death, and resurrection of the Lord.
You can watch The Mass of the Ages trilogy here and find a TLM near you here.
I have been blessed with a vivid imagination. Many times at Mass, small SSPX chapel, while praying the Mass I see the Priest but imagine him in different time epochs … imagine myself surrounded by Catholics of other times, all of us united in prayer, unified, one, time the only thing that separates us.
ReplyDeleteThe current conflicts that we might imagine are so important, really aren’t. The conflicts dissipate like smoke. The Mass of Ages and the Faithful who gather at the foot of the Holy Cross there, eternal.