From Catholic World Report:
Why isn’t pre-pandemic “Sunday normal” the norm to which we should aspire? Because too few Catholics take the Sunday Eucharist seriously enough to participate in it weekly. And because too few Catholics understand just what the Eucharist is.
Read the rest:
Rediscovering the reality of the Eucharist
My astute comments:
This apologetic for the post Vatican II Mass by a young, articulate Franciscan priest in the video below, uses the document of Vatican II, Sacrosanctum Concilium to show how Vatican II’s reformed Mass is so much better than the pre-Vatican II “unreformed” Mass. The quotes he chooses, in fact, shows why SC opened the door to what has happened to the Liturgy. It lost its beauty, reverence, spirituality, universality and became a method of teaching, helping people to understand and needed little mental capacity to either participate in an actual way or comprehend.
While this is true, it did not capture the imagination of a dragnet of Catholics of all persuasions who came to Mass whether they truly understood it or not, prayed the rosary or not during Mass, or simply zoned out or not. And the priests of parishes weren’t concerned about marginalizing those who while not good Catholics came to Mass anyway whether or not they seemed engaged in its celebration or were simply going through the motions. And most priests did not bitterly complain if someone came to Mass in time for the Gospel and left at Communion time, which, by the way, continues today with the so called “reformed” Mass.
And by the late 1950’s if not before, most Catholics brought their hand missal to Mass to follow the English translation of the changing parts of the Mass. Apart from that, most knew the structure of the one Eucharistic Prayer used, The Roman Canon, and thus they did not need to follow the English with eyes glued to their missal. I can remember looking at my St. Joseph Missal before Mass began to read the propers and the Scriptures, so I didn’t have to have it in hand during the Mass. And a lifetime of hearing the Mass in Latin meant most people knew what the unchanging Latin words were.
There is a reason why only 12% of Catholics attended Mass prior to the pandemic and fewer when all restrictions are finally removed. The “reformed” Mass, its altar, its surroundings, its ministers to include the priest, are blah, go through the motions and insert their own personality or lack there of to either enhance or diminish the Mass. The church’s sanctuary is blah and so is the manner in which the Ordinary Form Mass is celebrated, blah, casual, no choreography and little attention to detail and miserable music.
What could go wrong with all of that? Plenty!
The good Franciscan Friar unwittingly shows the schizophrenia of the various documents of Vatican II and their later non infallible norms for implementation. The first part of the video is betrayed by the Friars last part of the video and thus makes his presentation as schizophrenic as the Church is today in its post Vatican II debacle:
Rediscovering the reality of the Eucharist
Thinking out loud about a return to “Sunday normal,” a veteran pastor recently told me that he thought it would take one year for each [...]
8 comments:
Until this past June, Fr. Casey Cole, who did the video, worked at the Catholic Center at UGA in Athens. Because of drastically declining numbers, his province pulled the friars out of there after many decades and many parishes and other apostolates on the East Coast. Sad.
The diminishing numbers of Franciscan vocations only reinforces the unsustainability of the Novus Ordo Establishment. The leaders of this failed mission are on a sinking ship and they refuse to even admit there is even a leak.
The same Fr Casey has a video on the Sacrament of Penance in which he says that the formula 'Bless me Father' is wrong and was invented by Hollywood. He has no knowledge of the Sacrament before 1973 whereas those who still go to Confession were most likely raised on the old form. The 1973 version was so horrible that no-one actually instructed the faithful in its use.
Speaking of bowing, Augusta National I guess did so to the inevitable this morning by announcing no spectators (or "patrons" in the local lexicon) at the Masters this November. What a rotten year this is turning out to be---could we ask the Lord to fast track us into 2021 and hopefully a better future?
I thought they wanted to change the name from "The Masters"??? Biden will do that when he comes out from his "basement" in Delaware which by the way he touted with glee years ago that it was a border state and slave state! Yes he said it!
So where does the good Friar stand I'm not sure? Yes clown masses, altar girls, lay lectors, communion in the hand while standing, guitars, drums, piano, hand waving female cantors who encourage the people to sing ghastly songs which they don't, women dancing in leotards, giant puppet masses, hand holding, kiss of peace, improper attire for male and female, felt banners, dinner table instead of high altar of sacrifice, rock music, mariachi music, well the list of the Novus Ordo can go on and on but which of these did Vatican II say is wrong help me out someone???
Bee here:
This video is a perfect example of how later generations, not having lived through the time of upheaval, simplify the conflict. I expect our generation has done the same with many an analysis of the past. I guess if his intention is explain to the younger generations the difference between what the Council said and where we are now in the church, it's an okay piece. The question remains why the implementation was so radical, causing huge destruction of the faith lives of many, and how clergy, regardless of the protests of the laity, acted like adult children of still living elderly parents deciding it was time to to toss all (or almost all) of their parents belongings because THEY (the kids) didn't like them. Time to update, mom and dad...you're living in the past! Time to throw out your junk!
I know there were clergy who were horrified at the implementation, and these I expect were men of faith who carefully considered what Vatican II really said, and had the intention of using the documents to fulfill the direction of the Council. But the eager iconoclasts outnumbered and outranked them, and so from one week to the next we came to church and the altar, or the vestments, or the sanctuary arrangement had been changed, and, well, most of you reading here know how it went, and continued to go for the first 30 or so years.
Why does the young friar begin the video with a series of statements of things that were actually done, and then say none of them were directed by Vatican II? Because he knows those things are what the laity concluded from what they experienced and from what they were told by clergy (such as justifying destruction with the phrase "the Spirit of Vatican II"). And maybe what his generation is going to do is go back and say, well, THIS is how it really should have been implemented, But it's like closing the barn door after the horses have bolted.
Thanks for nothin'.
God bless.
Bee
I thought I had seen it all until I saw that clown behind the altar breaking the bread.
I CAN'T.
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