MEMORIES LIKE THE CORNERS OF MY MIND, 1966-70

 My sister’s wedding at my parish church in July 1966 which shows a bit of the new altar using the 1965 missal. 

Praytell has a post on memories from the 1960’s HERE. The comments are better than the article unlike on my blog. 

These are my memories from the corners of my mind rounded off:

The first change that I was extremely excited to see and anticipated with great excitement was the turning of the altar to face the priest. It was a “faux” altar place on the three steps to the original altar, thus the legs on the front of the altar were longer than the legs on the top predella of the altar. But at least the old altar remained with its configuration and tabernacle. 

It was still the Tridentine Mass and I thought it was great! And of course the priest’s many rituals were in full view. The only thing my mother did not like and complained about was watching the priest consume and drink the Holocaust. She thought it rude for the priest to eat and drink in front of the watching congregation. I agreed. 

Then in a few weeks we had the 1965 missal with a goodly amount of English but basically still the Tridentine Mass with its lectionary in the vernacular. I still remember the first Sunday the congregation could participate in English and I still have the professional card that was given to us with our responses. I thought it was great. I still remember a good friend our family, after that first Mass, complaining that she did not like it and it was too Protestant. I had never been to a Protestant Church, thus I did not understand what she meant and I told it, “I liked it!’

Then I remember new vernacular hymns, many Protestant ones, like Amazing Grace, being sung. To me, hymns like Amazing Grace and How Great Thou Art, while beautiful and singable, dripped with a Protestant piety ethos to say the least. 

Then I remember the first attempt at folk music but done in a teaching fashion. Three Franciscan nuns and a couple of other lay people were placed by the side of the altar, all sitting on bar stools and the lead nun explained to us why Vatican II wanted the choir in the sanctuary, and wanted newer forms of music. I was jarred as a 15 year old by this experience and I hated it although it was amusing. Today I cringe just thinking about it and the folk music I heard in my parish and elsewhere. 

What I did like as a young teenager, was what my pastor called the “shortening” of the Mass. I was fine with that when the PATFOTA were shortened and then eliminated and the penitential act was established. I liked the shorter Eucharistic Prayers, the shorter offertory and the elimination of the Lionine Prayers after low Mass. I love the Last Gospel being removed as that shortened the Mass and the re-ordering of the Ite Missa Est and blessing. Although I always thought it would have been better to combine it, “Go in peace and May Almighty God bless you...”

Shorter in my mind was better. I liked that. 

But then I grew up...and you know the rest of the story. This is I basically from 2007 to present: