Father Z har bedt folk skrive inn til ham (og gjerne legge litt arbeid i det de skriver, og si hvor gamle de er) og fortelle om hvordan de vurderer den tradisjonelle latinske messen i forhold til den moderne. Disse brevene kan leses HER, HER og HER – til sammen ca 75 stk, mest fra nokså unge mennesker.
Det virker som Father Z her har klart å få en hel del ferske inntrykk publisert, for dette er ikke typiske blogkommentarer. Dessuten virker det som brevene i hovedsak støtter den nye messen feiret på en verdig måte; absolutt versus Deum og gjerne med mye latin. Men i USA feires få messer særlig verdig (det er en alvorlig påstand, men det er faktisk mitt inntrykk), så ofte vil den tradisjonelle messen være folks førstevalg. Under tar jeg meg noen få utdrag, som jeg selv syns er representative:
I have attended a number of “old Masses” since then (from Low to Solemn High) and have always enjoyed the experience, especially when the music is well done and the parts of the Mass are in Gregorian Chant. As for which Mass I prefer, I suppose, if I had to make a choice, I would prefer the Novus Ordo ad orientem in Latin (with the readings and Prayers of the Faithful in the vernacular) over Mass in the Extraordinary Form, probably because it is the form I am more familiar with. …. ….
I have come to find that I prefer the Ordinary Form of Mass, when done reverently and carefully, to an equally well done Extraordinary Form Mass. That said, I am glad to have the EF Mass around and available. …. ….
At first, it t took about a month or two to get used to it because it seemed so strange and different to me. But little by little I came to love it very much. I like that the priest is leading us, facing God, at the head of the congregation and not looking at us. At Novus Ordo Masses I find that I often have to close my eyes not to look at the priest and what is going on up in the sanctuary. I love the prayers of the TLM, I can focus more deeply on joining my prayers with the priests at the TLM. I am much more distracted at the Novus Ordo. I love the silence at the TLM, especially after Communion. …. ….
I was only exposed to the Ordinary Form at first, but it was not long before I realized that the “older form” of the Mass was still used but, it seemed to me, only by small numbers of “fringe elements” in the Church. This, I still believe, is the view of the Extraordinary Form among most Catholics in the U.S., a view that will have to be overcome if we are ever to see much traction and gravitation towards a more organic connection between the two forms. ….
I am a convert, female, and will be 38 in two days. I had never experienced the EF until ~ 4 years ago and knew next to nothing about it, but was very interested in seeing it. I eventually planned a road trip to the nearest one (approx. 1.5 hours away), but it took me some time to get used to it all. I knew there was a treasure there, but it was shrouded in mystery and not easily grasped at first encounter. Now I unambiguously prefer the EF. …. ….
I always grew up thinking there must be something wrong with my spirituality, in that I found the Mass somewhat lacking. I now realise that at least part of the problem was the multiple banal, casual, irreverent, social, charismatic, pop/rock, etc… styles in which Mass was celebrated, and what served to put me off and repelled me, despite the best, although misguided efforts of those who were trying to appeal to the youth. The mass is about our worship of God in a fitting way, not warm fuzzies for ourselves. …. ….
I did have the opportunity to attend an OF Mass said in Latin, ad orientem, with chant, last September. I was blown away by it, and to be honest, if this was the experience in my parish each Sunday, I’d be more than happy. …. ….
At first I didn’t like the EF because I could not follow along, but by reading the English translation of the prayers, I have come to appreciate the beauty of it. The chant, the incense, the bells and even the Latin make the Mass something ‘different’, something mysterious and something that draws my attention to God, and not to me or my pew-mates. So, I have to say I prefer the EF, but a reverent OF can be just as beautiful and holy. …. ….
I think we can learn a lot from the Extraordinary Form, and I think it’s a shame that many elements of that Mass have been almost demonized in the Spirit of Vatican II (incense during Mass, prayer after Mass, genuflecting in front of the tabernacle, etc), even though they are still a part of the current liturgy. …. ….
I prefer solemn/reverent OF (which is almost a contradiction these days). But, I prefer the OF over the EF (I’ve attended the EF a few times). I feel that if more priests and parishes celebrated the OF more reverently and solemnly, there would be less need and less attention drawn to the TLM. I have NO PROBLEM at all with people attending TLM, but I feel that most people migrate to it because of all the goofy stuff that goes on in most parish liturgies in the OF. …. ….