S FAR AS I can tell, Dr. Jerry Galipeau is a sincere and caring person. However, I’m not a huge fan of his blog. You see, each Thursday, Dr. Galipeau attempts to prove that the new Roman Missal is too difficult for average Catholics to understand. I’ve never had any trouble understanding the new prayers (which are more accurate translations), so I don’t frequent his blog.
Some time ago, a CMAA forum member posted an article by Dr. Galipeau, who described his first time attending the Traditional Latin Mass. Here are some excerpts from his article:
I LEFT THAT MASS quite perplexed. It left me empty and full of questions. […] As I looked around that church yesterday, I wondered how the pre-conciliar rite had “become dear” to these people.
I have a Catholic voice; I have a Catholic heart; I have Catholic vocal chords ready to sing God’s praise. Unfortunately, yesterday’s experience of the extraordinary form of the Mass never engaged this Catholic. […] I am desperately trying to understand how what I experienced yesterday is not a separate rite, but instead, as Pope Benedict said, another version of the same rite.
I have fantastic news for Dr. Galipeau!
His questions will be answered if he obtains a copy of the Jogues Illuminated Missal. This book has full-color reproductions of ancient Catholic manuscripts, going all the way back to the 7th century, placed alongside the Ordinary Form of the Mass. 1 In other words, it clearly and powerfully demonstrates that the core of the Novus Ordo Missal goes back more than 1,000 years. As an added bonus, the various manuscripts—Agnus Dei, Canon of the Mass, and so forth—are fascinating to behold!
I WOULD ALSO LIKE to share with Dr. Galipeau something my father taught me: Don’t judge something after having experienced it for a brief period of time only.
The most wonderful things in life take years to begin to appreciate. Would it not be a tragedy for a young person to listen to 5 seconds of Chopin and declare his music boring? For that matter, what would we think of a man who walked into the Church and departed after 15 seconds, declaring that Christianity has little to offer?
The most magnificent composers—J.S. Bach, Morales, Victoria, and the rest—require years of careful listening before they begin to reveal their depth and greatness. The same is true of the Traditional Latin Mass, except that the sacred liturgy is infinitely more important than great music.
NOTES FROM THIS ARTICLE:
1 The Jogues Missal is also the first postconciliar book to contain the complete Propers in English and Latin for the Ordinary Form of the Mass.
