WHY THE EF MASS SHOWS THE WAY TO AUTHENTIC CATHOLIC RENEWAL EVEN AS THE DESTROYING FIRES RAGE IN THE CHURCH MILITANT

Last night I attended our annual Chrism Mass at our Cathedral. I noticed that there were far fewer laity in attendance this year compared to last year and a markedly older laity in attendance. This was sad as the liturgy was magnificent. The cathedral has a new choirmaster/organist and he understands Catholic Liturgy and included for the first time in a very long time the propers. We sang with gusto the Jubilatio Deo Gloria. Unfortunately this wasn’t carried through with the Sanctus, Pater Noster and Agnus Dei, but the English choices by Proulx we’re fine and singable. My only suggestion to the new director is to slow things down only slightly and to soften the organ so as not to overpower both the choir and congregation.

The theme of the homily was about renewal during this time of raging fire in our institutional Church.
Ordained priesthood and the non ordained priesthood of the laity are interrelated and configured to service, not power and authority.

I personally think there is a redeemed usage of power and authority based upon the ordained priest's humility with are necessary for our recovering Church and it is a masculine form of it used for the good of the Church. It has to be based upon the crucified and risen Lord’s use of power and authority for the love of and good of His spotless bride, the Church. The complimentary of fully male and female must be recovered and not made gender neutral.

But renewal can’t be based on laicizing and feminizing the ordained priesthood and clericalizing and masculizing the “animi” (souls in Latin feminine, anima) of the laity.

Nor can this recovery be based upon what we do alone, i.e. ministries, but who we are, God’s adopted, priestly people sanctified in the Blood and Water flowing from the right side of Christ which is the font of sacramental life in the Churh.

This entails a contemplative and mystical experience of the Liturgy where we encounter the crucified and Risen Lord especially during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. The recovery of the dogma of offering the One Sacrifice of Christ by the ordained priest and the priesthood of the laity cannot be underestimated.

I celebrated for the first time as a priest the EF Palm Sunday Mass at our Cathedral. I celebrated the OF earlier in the morning in my parish.

By far the EF is more contemplative and mystical and enables all the priestly people including the ordained one to enter into the holy of holies not focused on understanding every word or gesture of the Mass or even hearing them. What is important is being swept up into the very experience of heaven on earth in the mystical liturgy.

Lay Catholics who live this mysticism and contemplation at home, work and recreation are the firemen to douse the flames of a burning Church!