Back in 2007 when, with permission of Pope Benedict and my then bishop, I was preparing to celebrate my first TLM as a priest at St. Joseph Church in Macon. I felt very uncomfortable with the “silent canon” and in fact with so many prayers of the TLM silently prayed or prayed in a low voice.
I believe I was around 14 or 15 in 1966 when the gradual transition to the 1970 Missal occurred, meaning that the older Missal was adjusted with time, prior to the 1970 Missal. The Roman Canon was allowed to be prayed out loud in Latin and then it transitioned to English and then three other Eucharistic Prayers were added and rubrics dumbed down. But I forgot about the silent Roman Canon.
Technically, though, the Roman Canon in the 1962 Roman Missal should be prayed out loud but in a low voice. And if there is microphone amplification, the laity with good hearing, can hear the words of the Canon especially the words of consecration.
But there is a mystical aspect of the low voice canon making it an experience of mysticism and entering into the holy of holy with the hushed tone of the prayer. It creates mystery and contemplation (mystery as in sacrament, entering into the action of what is happening not trying to solve how it happens).
This is the last TLM Roman Canon at our Cathedral. Unfortunately it is blurred, but the blurriness creates even more mysticism and acts as a sort of digital incense, no?
3 comments:
The last for now. Things change. This is only your Mount Pisgah moment. It ain’t over.
Our tiny parish held the annual choir annual dinner. The schola director gave a speech full of interesting numbers:
- the choir gained 11 members for a total of 32 this year
- they sang 132 different pieces at 69 high masses, not counting propers or parts of the mass separately, 32 of those pieces were new this year, + 4 weddings, 3 funerals
- the 45 or so people present played a little game where they were given a roster and tried to guess the average age of our choir, it is 26.1
What is old will be new again.
Anthony Esolen has a powerful new article in The Catholic Thing entitled "Latin and God's Holy People" and here's the money quote: "It’s been observed that most people attending a Novus Ordo Mass do not believe it is valid: they do not believe that the Mass has the power to make Christ present in the sacrament, body, blood, soul, and divinity." Go read the rest of it over there!
Father McDonald,
No, this will not be the last. When the intellectually bankrupt, uncharitable crew in Rome is gone, the TLM will return. The branch managers aka careerists will be eager to please the new boss!
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