January 18, 2010

• Inaugural Post – responding to an Old Mass/New Mass question

  
  

  I am taking the opportunity, in this inaugural post here at MusicaFicta, to respond to a question posted by Fr. Z at “What does the Prayer REALLY say?”  partly because I have no idea at this point if Fr. Z will post my response – it is, after all, somewhat (!) longer than he requested – and partly because I have put off for too long getting this first blog entry up, and this sort of “raison d’etre” post is exactly the type of post with which I feel I need to “Kick things off”.  So here, without any further ado, is my response to the question of what role, if any, did the Mass, and particularly the *form* of the Mass (“Vernacular/Novus Ordo/Ordinary” or “Latin/Usus Antiquior/Extraordinary”) play in your spiritual journey?

  NOTE:  at some point, the reader will probably want to peruse the other responses which Fr. Z has posted (here, here, here, here, here, here, here & here) as the other comments are both fascinating and enlightening!

  ---

  I am 45 yrs old, and a convert received into the Church in 2009.  I was raised Evangelical, but my family and I, seeking a deeper and more historic form of worship, eventually migrated to the Episcopal Church (where we spent 9 yrs) and then a Continuing Anglican Church (for another 9 years).  As the increasing doctrinal and moral chaos in the Anglican world brought to the forefront the issue of Authority, I began examining seriously the claims of the Catholic Church.  However, in spite of being very impressed by the doctrinal and moral fidelity of the Catholic Church (at least in terms of Her official teachings), and especially the unique stability of the foundation provided by Thomistic philosophy and theology, it wasn’t until I became aware of the availability of the Extraordinary Form, and experienced it for myself, that I was able to recognize that the Historic Christian Church which I had been seeking still existed – and that the Roman Catholic Church was that Church.  I began attending Mass in Advent of 2008 at the wonderful FSSP work here in Phoenix and receiving instruction from the Deacon (a very joyful and holy man, himself a convert from Anglicanism and the following year ordained a Priest in the Fraternity) and eventually I was received on the Feast of St. Mark, in April of 2009.   

  What role did the EF play in my conversion? I can truly say that right from the first moment I heard the Schola intone the Asperges me, I was captivated – certainly on an emotional and aesthetic level, to be sure, but I believe it was something more than that as well.  There was a reverence and a focused intentionality on the part of the entire congregation (which included many of all ages and many different races, including many young families) which exceeded anything I had so far experienced anywhere else, be it Evangelical, Reformed, Lutheran, Anglican – even Eastern Orthodox.  Indeed even in other NO parishes – for though I had attended probably a hundred NO masses in various Catholic parishes over the years, the EF spoke to me on a deep level – it resonated with the Truth in a way which, while I’m sure it is also still present in the NO, I would say was much easier for me to *miss* in the NO Masses I had attended.  Indeed I would say that the EF reached me and communicated grace and truth to me as a seeker, even before I was able to recognize it and give the assent of faith on a conscious, intellectual level.  

  To be clear: I do not in any way doubt that the NO is a valid form of Mass – because that is what the Church teaches – but I have to say that if it had not been for the availability of the EF, I feel almost certain that I would most likely still be sitting on the fence trying to figure out if the Historic Christian Church which I was seeking still existed anywhere outside of my mind, and if so, whether the Roman Catholic Church could really be that Church.  I knew what the Church *taught* – anybody can read what is necessary to learn this online or in a library – but it is what the Church *does* on a daily and weekly basis in the Mass which “validates” that teaching.   For me at least, the EF does a better job, or at least a “clearer” job, of validating (both synchronically and diachronically) what the Church has always taught about itself and about the Mass, and therefore a better job of validating what She teaches about everything else as well. 

  I should also say that I am overwhelmed with gratitude by the Holy Father’s generosity in providing an easier way for former Anglicans to come Home to Rome – the Historic Christian Church, and I pray that the Holy Spirit will work through this to bring many of the “separated brethren” into union with his Church – specifically that many of my Anglican friends and relatives whom I have, in a sense “left behind” (temporarily, I hope!) will be able to see a path being lighted before them leading towards the unity for which our Saviour prayed.  However, in saying this, I do not in any way mean to imply that I somehow “wish that I had waited”.  Indeed, I do not think that I will ever exhaust the riches of the EF of the liturgy, nor that it will ever cease to have more to say to me on every level of my being: spiritually, physically, emotionally, aesthetically,  intellectually, etc.  Thus I pray that the Holy Father’s desires, expressed in his Moto Proprio, for the availability of the EF in every parish, will be brought to fruition over the years to come, both so that others may have the opportunity to experience what I have experienced: that the Historic Christian Church founded by Christ still exists, and still communicates grace and truth to seekers, and also so that the mutual enrichment for which the Holy Father has expressed his desire may have an opportunity to develop.

   

  • 1:05 am
  • 12 Comments