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Father, thank you for your thoughtful submission. I believe the topic is of great importance, especially as we find ourselves in the midst of this Eucharistic Revival. I was very recently at a Mass where it was more of a show than a sacrifice to God the Father. Rubrics? Wouldn't have known they existed. It was painful to be present with all the liturgical abuses, improvisations, and experimentation that were taking place. All things that I was recently assured where a thing of the past. I believe that until the we rediscovers the reverence that is assumed by the Church towards the Mass and the Eucharist itself, it will continue to wither. We will continue scratching our heads, wondering why the pews are empty. But, where parishes are treating God like God, there we will find many faithful. May the Holy Spirit be our guide. May we only be concerned about doing God's will. May we all be fearless for God.
I also wonder what John Cassian's parish is like. He commented on some previous posts. Do you know him? He said he lives in Southeast MO, but it doesn't ring a bell from my time at St. Mary's.
Thank you, Fr. Charles, for your comments. I don’t know John Cassian. John Cassian was a renowned monk and ascetic of, I think, the 4th century. So, maybe it’s a pseudonym.
“We will continue scratching our heads, wondering why the pews are empty. But, where parishes are treating God like God, there we will find many faithful.”
That is so powerful and so true. My husband and I recently switched from a Novus Ordo Mass that felt like a Protestant church with sacraments to a Traditional Latin Mass. We have both wept because we felt like something was stolen from us. That’s because the choice of reverence was. We now drive 3-hours, round trip, to the Pre-Vatican II Mass. It is the best thing we have ever done for our souls. There are also SO many people- especially young people and families. If the Eucharistic Revival did a “Year of Traditionalism” where they offered more of that style Mass across the country, pews would be filled.
Thank you, Father, for this wonderful article on reverence. In our society there is not a lot of middle ground. I know that I have lost several friends due to my being pro-life and pro-God. For a long time- religion and politics were taboo topics that nobody discussed. And they certainly didn’t dictate who you could or couldn’t be friends with. Recently, the divide is met with so much hate. So many people mock Christianity. So many people try to silence those who speak out against abortion and transgenderism. There are only extremes and the Catholic Churches that are not showing “enough” reverence- feel lukewarm. They don’t feel like truth. They feel Protestant.
It feels like the only way to stay rooted in Truth in the Catholic Church is to a radical in Traditionalism.
Thank you Fr. John Brown, for the beauty and truth conveyed in your reflections. Possibly those who have experienced pre-Vatican II, the "Spirit of Vatican II", and now post Vatican II liturgies, have a fuller "palette" to draw from in evaluating the comparative state of reverence in our current liturgy and how attention to the rubrics are a big part of that. I see how the rubrics of the ad orientum posture would accurately reflect the reality of that which is taking place during the Eucharist prayer.
Father, thank you for your thoughtful submission. I believe the topic is of great importance, especially as we find ourselves in the midst of this Eucharistic Revival. I was very recently at a Mass where it was more of a show than a sacrifice to God the Father. Rubrics? Wouldn't have known they existed. It was painful to be present with all the liturgical abuses, improvisations, and experimentation that were taking place. All things that I was recently assured where a thing of the past. I believe that until the we rediscovers the reverence that is assumed by the Church towards the Mass and the Eucharist itself, it will continue to wither. We will continue scratching our heads, wondering why the pews are empty. But, where parishes are treating God like God, there we will find many faithful. May the Holy Spirit be our guide. May we only be concerned about doing God's will. May we all be fearless for God.
I also wonder what John Cassian's parish is like. He commented on some previous posts. Do you know him? He said he lives in Southeast MO, but it doesn't ring a bell from my time at St. Mary's.
Thank you, Fr. Charles, for your comments. I don’t know John Cassian. John Cassian was a renowned monk and ascetic of, I think, the 4th century. So, maybe it’s a pseudonym.
That is what I was thinking too. I hope you are doing well! Looking forward to seeing you in October.
“We will continue scratching our heads, wondering why the pews are empty. But, where parishes are treating God like God, there we will find many faithful.”
That is so powerful and so true. My husband and I recently switched from a Novus Ordo Mass that felt like a Protestant church with sacraments to a Traditional Latin Mass. We have both wept because we felt like something was stolen from us. That’s because the choice of reverence was. We now drive 3-hours, round trip, to the Pre-Vatican II Mass. It is the best thing we have ever done for our souls. There are also SO many people- especially young people and families. If the Eucharistic Revival did a “Year of Traditionalism” where they offered more of that style Mass across the country, pews would be filled.
Thank you, Fr. Braun!
Thank you, Father, for this wonderful article on reverence. In our society there is not a lot of middle ground. I know that I have lost several friends due to my being pro-life and pro-God. For a long time- religion and politics were taboo topics that nobody discussed. And they certainly didn’t dictate who you could or couldn’t be friends with. Recently, the divide is met with so much hate. So many people mock Christianity. So many people try to silence those who speak out against abortion and transgenderism. There are only extremes and the Catholic Churches that are not showing “enough” reverence- feel lukewarm. They don’t feel like truth. They feel Protestant.
It feels like the only way to stay rooted in Truth in the Catholic Church is to a radical in Traditionalism.
Thank you Fr. John Brown, for the beauty and truth conveyed in your reflections. Possibly those who have experienced pre-Vatican II, the "Spirit of Vatican II", and now post Vatican II liturgies, have a fuller "palette" to draw from in evaluating the comparative state of reverence in our current liturgy and how attention to the rubrics are a big part of that. I see how the rubrics of the ad orientum posture would accurately reflect the reality of that which is taking place during the Eucharist prayer.
Carolyn McCrate-Hajduk
Thanks Carolyn. That was kind of you.