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Views from the Choir Loft

Reverence: Feeling or Action?

Veronica Brandt · November 19, 2022

ON THURSDAY there was a funny case of secular media sympathising with Latin Mass goers which in turn provoked an attempt to take the wind out of their sails with a bold article commanding the reader to Stop saying the Latin Mass is ‘more reverent’.

Now, there are a whole lot of people who react badly to being told what they can and cannot say, so pretty soon the article was being reposted with many people boldly proclaiming the very thing the title forbade.

I read the article and watched through the little video at the end and came to the conclusion that the two sides are arguing from different premises. The word “reverence” means different things:

reverence, 1.
A feeling of profound awe and respect and often love. synonym: honor. 2. An act showing respect, especially a bow or curtsy.

The Jesuits at America Magazine used the word “reverent” to describe a feeling or emotion. Using that definition, it makes sense that comparing different liturgies by the feeling aroused in the individual is very subjective and prone to many confounding variables.

The fans of the Traditional Latin Mass, however, were using the word “reverent” to describe tangible, visible actions which are objectively more reverent. A chart of such actions has been compiled by Jacob Bauer and shared on Facebook by Dr Peter Kwasniewski. These include but are not limited to:

  • The faithful receiving kneeling and on the tongue.
  • The faithful receiving from the hands of a priest/deacon.
  • The minister of Communion making the sign of the cross with the host over the Communicant.
  • The priest keeping his thumb and forefinger joined from Consecration to ablutions.
  • The priest genuflecting before and after any handling of the Sacred Species.
  • The priest genuflecting before and after each consecration.
  • Laypeople forbidden from touching the Sacred Species.
  • Laypeople forbidden from touching the sacred vessels.
  • The priest not turning his back on the tabernacle for more than a passing moment.

All these are features of liturgical norms up in force up until about sixty years ago which have since become optional or even suppressed. All these are reverences according to the definition, “act showing respect”. We can definitely say that the Latin Mass has more reverences.

They are tangible, concrete, visible actions. They may produce feelings of reverence, which is good, but that’s not the point. It’s a way of praying with our bodies, employing our bodies to express the belief of the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist.

Maybe we can agree that the Latin Mass has more external signs of reverence. Maybe that will clarify our position.

Opinions by blog authors do not necessarily represent the views of Corpus Christi Watershed.

Filed Under: Articles Last Updated: November 19, 2022

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About Veronica Brandt

Veronica Brandt holds a Bachelor Degree in Electrical Engineering. She lives near Sydney, Australia, with her husband and six children.—(Read full biography).

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    Symposium Draft Schedule Released!
    Those who head over to the Symposium Website will notice the tentative schedule for 2023 has been released. This is all very exciting! Very soon, we will begin accepting applications, so please make sure you have subscribed to our mailing list. If you are subscribed, that means you'll hear announcements before anyone else. (It’s incredibly easy to subscribe to our mailing list; just scroll to the bottom of any blog article and enter your email address.)
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    Good Friday Polyphony by L. Senfl
    The editor of the Sacred Music Magazine recently made available to the public this splendid article by our own Charles Weaver. It includes an edition of polyphony for the GOOD FRIDAY “Reproaches.” Renaissance composers often set the various offices of Holy Week; e.g. readers will probably be familiar with the beautiful TENEBRAE setting by Father Tomás Luis de Victoria (d. 1611). From what I can tell, Ludwig Senfl (d. 1543) was originally a Catholic priest, but eventually was seduced by Luther and ended up abandoning the sacred priesthood.
    —Jeff Ostrowski
    Coming Soon! • Symposium 2023
    A few weeks ago, dates were announced for Sacred Music Symposium 2023. The rehearsal videos are beginning to appear! For example, the KYRIE ELEYSON contains sections by Lassus, Victoria, and Palestrina. You can see and hear Part 1 at this link. Much more information about this wonderful conference will be released soon!
    —Jeff Ostrowski

Random Quote

“Only against this background, of the effective denial of the authority of Trent, can one understand the bitterness of the struggle against allowing the celebration of Mass according to the 1962 Missal after the liturgical reform. The possibility of so celebrating constitutes the strongest, and thus (for them) the most intolerable contradiction of the opinion of those who believe that the faith in the Eucharist, as formulated by Trent, has lost its validity.”

— Cardinal Ratzinger, 2001

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