The following was sent to me by a friend, who serves on the Parish Council at a large Catholic church here in Los Angeles.
* * Fox News Article • (9 May 2016)
Some excerpts:
OMEN wearing veils, incense, Gregorian chants, kneeling, standing, kneeling again, long periods of silence; think all of this is a scene from a Catholic Mass in 1950? It was then, to be sure—but it’s now happening every Sunday (and in some places every day) in churches all over the United States. The Latin Mass of years gone by is becoming more popular again.
Alfonso DiGirolamo, a lifelong Catholic, started a website, GetTLM.org, to help parishioners bring the Traditional Latin Mass to their own parish. The website includes videos that explain what to expect when attending the Extraordinary Form of the Mass and shares resources. His wife, Brenda, also a lifelong practicing Catholic, started attending the TLM with her husband just two years ago. “To be honest, I wasn’t a fan at first, but now I love it,” she told LifeZette. “There is a reverence shown toward the Mass, but most especially toward the Holy Eucharist. Also, it helps me to remain focused and pay attention to the prayers so I don’t get lost.”
Jewels Green, a convert to the Catholic faith, says: “While it was a little confusing at first, I have learned how to follow along in the missal (which has Latin on one side and the English translation on the other). I have grown to love the beauty and reverence that I personally have only found during the celebration of the Mass in the Extraordinary Form. As both the Ordinary Form (in the local language) and the Extraordinary Form are valid, this choice comes down to personal preference and, in some cases, availability of the Mass one prefers.”
I hope you will read the entire article.
The article says that in the Ordinary Form, “the priest now faces the congregation rather than all present facing in the same direction.” That’s true—most OF parishes have the priest turning his back to the Tabernacle, facing the people. However, they probably should have pointed out that nowhere in any Vatican II document is “Mass facing the people” mentioned.
