A Continuity Revolution

From a reader:

A German friend informed me that he just returned from Rome, and on Sat morning there were at least 8 TLM’s at the side altars in San Pietro.

 

I don’t doubt it.

And I bet the priests were young.

We are going to see a revolution pretty soon, I think, a Continuity Revolution.

When young priests learn the older form of Mass, they gain a new perspective on who they are as priests and what are about at the altar. 

Their ars celebrandi will change even, especially, in the Novus Ordo.

This change in the priests will effect changes in congregations as they in turn gain new perspectives on what Holy Mass is about and who they are as participants.

 

About Fr. John Zuhlsdorf

Fr. Z is the guy who runs this blog. o{]:¬)
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19 Comments

  1. jbas says:

    I wonder if the appropriate congregation will require Latin-Rite seminaries to teach the EF?

  2. Aaron says:

    Jbas, from what I understand, before the Latin-rite seminaries can start teaching the EF, they’ll have to reintroduce the teaching of Latin itself. That seems to be a major holdup in my diocese: all the priests below retirement age are too young to have learned Latin in the seminary.

    I’m sure the increased use of the EF will affect the way these priests say the OF when they do so. But I think it’s interesting that when they’re alone, with no guitars or EMHCs in sight, so they certainly could say the OF as reverently as it can be said, many are choosing to say the EF, which they probably had to learn in their free time.

  3. Guillaume says:

    I can confirm this fact. A close friend of mine, a young french priest studying in Rome says TLM every morning in San Pietro. He told me a lot of young priests (and not so young as well) frequently say TLM at side altars.

    The Continuity Revolution is already started !

  4. aloysius says:

    I can vouch for this too. Some young English priests I know were in Rome recently and were stunned at a) the early morning queues to say mass in the basilica – which they joined, and b) that the majority were in the EF.

    They were stunned, but intrigued …

    Brick by brick!

  5. MOP says:

    When our American son (31) was ordained in the French diocese of Freyjus-Toulon this last June, he requested the traditional fiddleback vestments as a gift along with the modified Roman chasubles for the NO. Daily, he says the TLM.

  6. TJerome says:

    MOP, you are blessed indeed to have a priest son who is faithful to the Church’s traditions, including the traditional liturgy. Will your son return to the US at some point? Tom

  7. MOP says:

    Tom, With the approval of his Bishop, he spends part of the time in the US. He is presently working on his STL at the Institute of St. Thomas Aquinas in Toulouse.

  8. jlmorrell says:

    It can’t come soon enough!

  9. TJerome says:

    MOP, your son must be a very talented young man. Given that he is working on his STL, should I assume he is heading for a teaching position rather than working in a parish? Is he incardinated in a French diocese? Tom

  10. MOP says:

    Tom, yes, he is incardinated in the French diocese. He is following the request of his bishop to continue his studies.

  11. JimGB says:

    My parish is run by a religious order and one of the priests, who has only been ordained for a couple of years, has been learning the TLM on his own. While he has not celebrated it publicly at our church, it is clear that his celebration of the NO Mass has been impacted in a positive way by his learning the rubrics of the TLM. I am hoping that he will gradually introduce some Latin into the NO celebration, but I am not sure that the pastor will go for it.

    Our music program does not support the TLM. The organist/music director is a talented musician, but he follows the typical music prgram you find in many U.S. Catholic churches today. Some traditional Latin hymns on occasion, NEVER a sung Gloria or Credo in Latin, “contemporary music” at two masses, lots of Marty Haugen “songs.”

  12. Justin from Ohio says:

    MOP,

    Great to hear about your son. I hope there’s an opportunity someday for him to return to the U.S. and maybe serve one of our diocese or parishes here in the USA, as we desperately reverent, devout priests.

    I’ll pray for him and good luck to him in wherever his vocation and service to the Church takes him.

  13. irishgirl says:

    Wonderful to read about your priest-son in France, MOP! The Bishop of Frejus-Toulon is very supportive of the TLM!

    If only cloning was moral….we’d have many more such priests!

  14. Henry says:

    In my diocese there are a half dozen priests who have learned to celebrate the TLM, all of them ordained under 10 years. If you went around and viewed Novus Ordo Masses celebrated by all our diocesan priests, and knew nothing about each but what you saw personally in their OF masses, I’d bet you could pick which were the EFers.

  15. Henry: That is exactly the sort of thing I am talking about. Thanks for that.

  16. Ferde Rombola says:

    At a get together after our CL meeting last Friday, we were talking about TLM with our mid-30s pastor. I casually asked him how he was coming along with it. Just as casually he answered, “Pretty good. I have the first part memorized and I think I can get the rest using the book.

    Monday, the Feast of the Conversion of St. Paul, he brightened up the NO by praying the Liturgy of the Eucharist in Latin. It won’t be long…

  17. TJerome says:

    Ferde, what wonderful, wonderful news. You are very fortunate to be in that parish. Because of the young priests (Father Z included) I have great hope
    for the future of our Church. Tom

  18. Mitchell NY says:

    All very good news and I am sure what the Holy Father has in mind..Now it is Rome’s turn again, enforce Veterum Sapientia and perhaps add an adendum from our current Holy Father about its’ importance and relevance in today’s Church. Indirectly enabling Priests to do what many right now can not. VS is an Apostolic Constitution and legally binding if I remember correctly. It should not be allowed to be ignored.

  19. cheekypinkgirl says:

    I would personally prefer a revolution in the “middle.”

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