For those Catholics described in the title the Liturgy is not merely a collection of sacred ceremonies governed by rubrics which have been subject to change at various stages of the Church’s history , but an immersion in the presence and ethos of the worship of Our Saviour Who, in and through the sacred mysteries, continues to make intercession for us.
It is indeed the Mass that matters and this in essence means Low Mass as attendance at High Mass has always been a rarity for the average Catholic. Given the devastated state of the Liturgy today this is likely to remain so for a very long time to come. However, this situation is by no means entirely unfortunate as Low Mass is something of wonderously simple yet profound beauty which raises the soul to God its own special manner. Indeed for the overwhelming majority of Catholic this was –and is – THE MASS.
At Low Mass the silent recollected soul communes with its Divine Redeemer on Calvary and with all the members of His Mystical Body. That this contemplative union ( or the soul’s striving for such) should be threatened by the misplaced zeal of certain Catholics who, while claiming to abide by the traditional liturgical practices of the Church, seek to bring into the Holy Temple of God the noise and bustle which is the hallmark of the secular and profane world, is a matter of some considerable concern. The fact that an appeal is made to the liturgical practices of the first half of the twentieth century, during the years which preceded the Second Vatican Council, in order to justify this attempt to introduce and extend the use of Dialogue Mass serves merely to confirm the fear that such a course of action is greatly mistaken.
This site will demonstrate that the profound change of ethos in the Church’s Liturgy during that time was surely the harbinger of the disaster to come and that “silent” Low Mass is one of the Church’s greatest treasures which should be lovingly cherished and courageously preserved.
from grand fellow 19th august
