I thoroughly enjoyed this cornucopia of tradcathscopy. I always suspected there was something weird about me, and now I know! I'm just an in the closet, undiagnosed autistic, Q-Anon. Leaving aside "raca" and being in danger of the council, this could also explain why I don't care for Bono's music, even if the Pope does. Non sum dignus, but I think that many of the commentators are overthinking the trad thing. In the spirit of divine simplicity, let's agree that there is a view of religion that isn't hard to understand and apply: Just do what the neanderthal before you did. This "user friendly" theory has been too much to take in for several generations of bishops. I'm not saying they weren't well intentioned, or that all the angels and saints didn't come down from heaven and tell them to dance the tango in the middle of the church. It's just that it isn't recognizable to those of us whose first language happens to be Latin. Even it's a Tom Stoppard play, we're just asking the actors to stick to the script.
Like Peter Hansen, I read the article above with appreciation and agreed with many of the points raised. It is certainly true, for example, that cult of "Americanism" has leached out many of the distinctive practices formerly present in Catholicism as practiced here in the United States, to the great detriment of the Faith and Faithful. It is also undoubtedly true the attendance at a Latin Mass may be the spiritual equivalent of a band-aid being placed over the open wound of a deep lack of faith. Yet for all its merits, the diagnosis in the article seems to me to be beside the point. Can it really be true that Trads as a group, or even the majority of Trads, are the only Christians or Catholics capable of behaving self-righteously? Are they the only Pharisees concerned with their modern day tassels and phylacteries? Is it not more likely that some Trads, like all of us, are broken, sinful human beings, for whom, to paraphrase Solzhenitsyn, the line between good and evil passes right through their all too human hearts? Yes, it is almost certainly true that Trads, like all of us, can be self-righteous, but is that unique to them, and is it a reason to hurl the Mass of the ages onto the dust heap of history?
Beautiful points made about the TLM and concerns about how SOME of the culture surrounding this can lead to a greater divide in our church as well as some of the culture around NO. If only more folks were able to hold both traditions in their hands and hearts. It’s so sad to see our church start to mirror our countries politics in terms of divide. We should all just be clinging to the Rosary and the Eucharist
There are theological reasons for attending the traditional liturgy. For instance, one could argue it better expresses the sacrificial aspect of the Mass. It emphasizes a transcendent vertical dimension over a horizontal dimension of the people of God.
I thoroughly enjoyed this cornucopia of tradcathscopy. I always suspected there was something weird about me, and now I know! I'm just an in the closet, undiagnosed autistic, Q-Anon. Leaving aside "raca" and being in danger of the council, this could also explain why I don't care for Bono's music, even if the Pope does. Non sum dignus, but I think that many of the commentators are overthinking the trad thing. In the spirit of divine simplicity, let's agree that there is a view of religion that isn't hard to understand and apply: Just do what the neanderthal before you did. This "user friendly" theory has been too much to take in for several generations of bishops. I'm not saying they weren't well intentioned, or that all the angels and saints didn't come down from heaven and tell them to dance the tango in the middle of the church. It's just that it isn't recognizable to those of us whose first language happens to be Latin. Even it's a Tom Stoppard play, we're just asking the actors to stick to the script.
Like Peter Hansen, I read the article above with appreciation and agreed with many of the points raised. It is certainly true, for example, that cult of "Americanism" has leached out many of the distinctive practices formerly present in Catholicism as practiced here in the United States, to the great detriment of the Faith and Faithful. It is also undoubtedly true the attendance at a Latin Mass may be the spiritual equivalent of a band-aid being placed over the open wound of a deep lack of faith. Yet for all its merits, the diagnosis in the article seems to me to be beside the point. Can it really be true that Trads as a group, or even the majority of Trads, are the only Christians or Catholics capable of behaving self-righteously? Are they the only Pharisees concerned with their modern day tassels and phylacteries? Is it not more likely that some Trads, like all of us, are broken, sinful human beings, for whom, to paraphrase Solzhenitsyn, the line between good and evil passes right through their all too human hearts? Yes, it is almost certainly true that Trads, like all of us, can be self-righteous, but is that unique to them, and is it a reason to hurl the Mass of the ages onto the dust heap of history?
Beautiful points made about the TLM and concerns about how SOME of the culture surrounding this can lead to a greater divide in our church as well as some of the culture around NO. If only more folks were able to hold both traditions in their hands and hearts. It’s so sad to see our church start to mirror our countries politics in terms of divide. We should all just be clinging to the Rosary and the Eucharist
There are theological reasons for attending the traditional liturgy. For instance, one could argue it better expresses the sacrificial aspect of the Mass. It emphasizes a transcendent vertical dimension over a horizontal dimension of the people of God.