We will get to the Old Testament Sacrifices on Wednesday. Today, I want to write a sentence or two about going to a Traditional Latin Mass yesterday.
I don’t think I’ve been to one in 40 years. My daughter born after 1969 had never had the experience. So we made the 45 minute “pilgrimage” to Mableton, GA from her house to attend the only church in all of North Georgia to offer the Extraordinary Rite. (I’m not going to get too snarky here; however, if this is what the Archbishop thinks is making this Mass readily available, I tend to disagree. But, I digress.)
From the minute we arrived to when we left, it was the palpable sense of the sacred and awe that overwhelmed us. Not seeing girls as altar servers; no Eucharistic Ministers scurrying all over the sanctuary; everyone kneeling at a rail to receive the Eucharist; all were priceless. The sense that everything pointed to Jesus in the Eucharist was amazing. No clapping. No choir in the front of the church singing bad songs during reception of communion accompanied by piano and guitar instead of an organ discreetly abiding in the back of church. No announcements. No talking before Mass as if we were in a social hall instead of the church. No holding hands during the Our Father. No flashing of the peace sign from the front of the church to the back. I had forgotten how saying things in Latin made them seem holier. And the priest. . .lifting high the Sacred Body and the Sacred Blood toward God for us. He was truly our priest entering the Holy of Holies for us and our sins and not a celebrant or, worse, our presider.
The women and the young ladies were dressed in modest clothing and everyone of them except two covered their heads with hats or veils. There were no flipflops that I could see on anyone and very few jeans. ( My daughter and I had a chuckle over the one young lady who approached communion in jeans, a shirt, and casual shoes who nonetheless had her head covered with a white veil.)
The other amazing thing was the age of most of the congregation. There was one elderly woman there with a walker and two elderly men with canes. The rest were all younger; some with large families.
I know that many, if not most, of you love the Novus Ordo. That’s fine. The Novus Ordo has left me feeling like I haven’t been to Mass many times over the years. I think I have grown in my love of the Eucharist and Jesus in spite of, not because of, the Novus Ordo. I wish St. Francis de Sales Catholic Church was closer. However, I will be making another “pilgrimage” in a few months! Hopefully my daughter will want to go with me again.
Cain and Abel
Next time: Genesis and Exodus Sacrifices
Meditation: How does the way we worship bring us closer to Jesus?
Dr. Linda L. Powell 