www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall EWTN to Broadcast Solemn High Traditional Mass

Hey y'all, found this interesting. Glory to God! Perhaps it will become a more frequent occurence, whatwith Bishop Baker taking the healm at the Birmingham episopal throne. May it inspire people to desire good, holy, and traditional liturgies, whatever the Rite may be, at their own parishes.


Alexis

About time! Good for them! Also, couldn't be much of a better setting for it.

Timothy the Orthodox catechumen

And thank goodness the first-time viewers won't have a Low Mass as their primary exposure to traditional Roman Catholic liturgy. Yeck...

Alexis

Very true. Smells and bells and chant with all the stops pulled out--as it should be.

Timothy the Orthodox catechumen

It's sad that far too many RCs don't realize what they have been missing for the last 40 years. Maybe that's about to change.

I would say there is no maybe about it. It will be slow at first, but the return of the TLM will prove to be a complete renewal of the Liturgy in the Latin Church. Perhaps then, we in the Latin Church will have the same reverence for the Body and Blood of Christ as the Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Catholics have.

I attended a Low Mass this morning. What is so yuck about it?

(The High Mass is a very different experience, I admit. I like both.)

I just prefer High Mass. I think Low Mass is very beneficial to some, but I think there is a somewhat more "experienced" spirituality about it. The High Mass "aides" you more. I think very holy souls get a lot out of Low Mass, but for the rest of us, High Mass does just fine!

Alexis

The Low Mass is a quiet contemplative mass for the laymen, I can understand it not carrying well on TV. I do love the High Mass, the musical aspects to it slides my interior life to an awe of the holy presence at the altar. That holiness is not magnified in the quiet mass.

Even for us not-so-holy, the Low Mass is very healthy!

If you are Eastern Catholic or Orthodox, I'm not surprised you prefer High Mass or the Missa Cantata -- the chanting makes the Latin Mass more like your Divine Liturgy.

I also attended a Low Mass Sunday morning (they will return to regular High Mass at the parish after the summer in September), and I have no strong preferences between the two, except that on special Feast Days, it seems proper to put more sollemnity into the Liturgy. And the Missa Cantata usually requires more preparation than the Low Mass, especially regarding the choir and settings.

Since July 7 I have been reading various reactions, and have had one or two conversations about the now Extraordinary Rite. I see the wisdom of the Pope's initiative, and I pray for its "success", but at the same time, there are a number of reasons why it may take a while to "catch on", especially outside of the context of university chapels/parishes and large cities.

I think Fr. Dwight Longenecker, on his blog, has addressed them pretty well (over a period of time, not in one single post). He was raised Fundamentalist, converted to the Anglican Church in England, then "poped" as that say, under the Pastoral Provision, and is now a pastor at one parish and an assistant at another (I believe in Bishop Baker's diocese of Charleston). He respects the TLM, but does not see it figuring large in his care of his parishioners and evangelization. His reasons are worth considering, and I wish him well.

Fr. Longenecker's Blog [gkupsidedown.blogspot.com]

Michael

P.S. If EWTN begins to broadcast the TLM on a more regular basis (which they were already discussing before the MP was issued), that, in itself, will have an exemplary value by allowing Catholics who are not biased against it, to see the dignity and reverence for themselves.

Any word as to who the choir singing the Mass will be? Hope they bring in a good one. Maybe with an orchestra and do a Mozart mass! It would sound awesome in that acoustic.

I haven't heard who the choir will be, but EWTN has fielded quite an impressive choir itself, especially for some of their special events over the last year or so. I'm an ignoramus about the settings, but I can't get one beautiful solemn "Alleluia" they sang out of my head.

Well, Michael, I was raised Methodist and converted to Roman Catholicism, and am still a Roman Catholic. I just prefer High Mass, and also *strongly* prefer it on Sundays and Holy Days since Solemn High Mass is (supposed to be, although not in practice) the normal celebration of the Mass. Low Mass and even Sung High Mass are aberrations, although understandable, since it takes quite the effort to put on a Solemn High Mass weekly or daily, although St. Francis de Sales, the local TLM parish here in Atlanta, does it without a hitch numerous times per week.

As far as the choir, I don't know what they'll do, but I really hope they incorporate more chant and less orchestra music.

Alexis

A good voice has beauty unmatched by man-made instruments.

Alexis,

I didn't mean to offend. I think I was rather agreeing with you.


I live very close to (apparently) the only parish in the diocese, that was authorized by the Bishop to celebrate the TLM (i.e., pre-Motu Proprio). It is a smallish parish (1400 familities, I'm told), and no more than 1/2 have a college education. It is difficult to bring together the resources (human beings with the needed talents) to celebrate a Solemn High Mass. On Sundays, the 9 AM Mass is TLM, and they try to have one at Noon on several other days of the week. The Pastor is the driving force behind it, and he manages to enlist the help of other priests. But on the whole, there is nothing like what one might expect in a more central urban parish.

Is St. Francis de Sales an exclusively TLM parish?

Michael