Do people make New Year resolutions any more?
Most people seem to start a diet or abstain from alcohol for the first week of January but that seems about it, really.
What, I wonder, would be your choice if you were able to choose a New Year resolution for Pope Francis?
Mine would have to be the switching of the two basic forms of Mass, giving the Extraordinary Form the special position that it deserves and that is held by the Ordinary Form at present.
Can you imagine the squawking and squealing that such a move would produce?
And, my guess is that it would not be the bishops and the priests who would object, but the laity, the men and women in the pews.
I heard of a Latin Midnight Mass that was cancelled this Christmas due, I believe, to opposition from members of the parish who feared, ignorantly, that the Dark Ages were about to descend upon them and that they might be challenged into taking part in a form of devout worship rather than the mindless banality they are used to.
Parish priests who desire to celebrate the old Mass are often scared off by their parishioners and that, I'm afraid, says much about the priests themselves.
I have sympathy for their situation but I also believe that the English and Welsh martyrs must be goggle eyed at their lack of backbone.
There is, of course, a neat comparison between today's clergy who conform to the whims of their parishioners and their 16th century counterparts who caved in to the demands of an intemperate Henry VIII and distanced themselves from the Latin Mass to perform what the Catholic peasants in the West Country described as a 'Christmas play', a pantomime, in other words.
Apart from St John Fisher and a few priests, most of the clergy of England and Wales fell in line with the new order and the people starved, both physically and spiritually as a result.
Of course, a reversal of the positions of the two Masses will not happen in 2014 - in fact, it seems further away than ever.
But, we are in God's hands and, just as a few fishermen in Galilee were afraid that a violent storm would be the end of them, so we too must remember that Christ is with us.
It is His Church. His Mystical Body.
He is not going to allow it to sink out of sight in 2014, or at any other time.
But, it would be very good if He could help us traditional Catholics out a bit in 2014.
A Holy and Happy New Year to you all - bloggers, followers, commentators, critics, readers and deacons!
Tonight at SS Peter and Paul's and Philomena in New Brighton, there is Mass at 7pm (EF) followed by Adoration until midnight. After that there is usually onion soup. Too late now but for the future if as many orthodox Catholics as possible tried to attend this or something like it, we can show the world how much this is yearned for. Easter here is also quite glorious. We're hoping to nave Tenebrae again. Come and see. You won't be sorry
ReplyDeleteChloe
Chloe, sounds terrific! Please give my best to Fr Ray. Might make it at Easter.
ReplyDeleteerr.....whatever the name of the priest is at St P & Ps....hear Brighton, think Fr Ray.
Deletein our parish we polled the faithful for who would like an EF Mass --1250 responses--not one in favor
ReplyDeleteThen I just don't get it. The E.F. Mass has such a strong following among younger people. I have only attended an OF Mass twice since the 'New Translation' came into being, and felt very uncomfortable. Having attended Protestant services for personal reasons have been more spiritual. I can understand that the old Mass was not inclusive but for me that one hour to pray and worship God far out ways being 'entertained' Let us thank God for priests like Father Jason and Father Ray, and for all our clergy who continue to celebrate the 'Latin Mass'
DeleteCanon Montjean. It's ok Richard, he'll forgive you! Hope you get here one day. Chloe xxxx
ReplyDeleteI don't get it, either anonymous. Perhaps the people voting against the EF simply have experience of this. If they did, how could they prefer table with the waiter supper? One of the worst things about the OF is the priest on show. I need to quiet space to contemplate My Lord not, have a conversation with the guy who was in sports shirt and slacks a few minutes before the mass started. Still in the trainers, however. Fact is there is nothing left sacred in the Mass except a couple of prayers and the fact that a miracle takes place, but who would guess?
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, nice post! Post really provice useful information!
ReplyDeleteCông ty vận chuyển hàng nước ngoài FadoExpress hàng đầu chuyên vận chuyển, chuyển phát nhanh siêu tốc đi khắp thế giới, nổi bật là dịch vụ gửi hàng đi mỹ, gửi hàng đi nhật và gửi hàng đi pháp và dịch vụ chuyển phát nhanh đi hàn quốc uy tín, giá rẻ