Messa in Latino has the interview. Dutch Cardinal Willem Eijk celebrated his first Pontifical High Mass in the Traditional Roman Rite as an “impressive and unforgettable experience.”
Here is part of what the Cardinal said:
The Eucharistic celebration at the Grote Kerk in Oss was my first Pontifical Holy Mass in the extraordinary form. Fortunately, there is a team of priests there, along with a master of ceremonies and a group of acolytes and altar servers who are familiar with this rite, which made it a truly beautiful ceremony. I found it a very impressive and unforgettable experience. The church was filled with people praying devoutly. Most were young, and there were also many families. There was widespread recourse to the sacrament of penance and reconciliation (confession). The Tridentine Rite is very solemn and offers many moments of silence, thereby providing ample opportunity for personal prayer. The priest celebrates the Eucharist, not as is often claimed ‘with his back to the people’, but facing the altar and thus Christ. This helps those present to consciously turn towards Christ as well.
Other bishops and priests have recounted how moved they were to have said the TLM for the first time. Some have wept. It is for many like saying Mass for the first time.
The Cardinal mentions in the interview that he once declined doing an ordination because he had to learn the TLM first.
I would add that – IMO – the easiest liturgical role there is (provided he can pronounce Latin) for a bishop is to be celebrant of a Pontifical Mass. There are all sorts of people around the bishop who can guide him here and there. The bishop is free to pray.
This underscores a major difference in the ars celebrandi of the Novus Ordo and the Vetus Ordo.
In the Novus Ordo, a great deal of weight is put on the priest or bishop celebrant to carry forward the liturgical action.
In the Vetus Ordo, very little weight is put on the celebrant because he is controlled by the rubrics and the style of celebration and the layout of the sanctuary. His eyes should be lowered, his chair faces to the “north”, not toward the people. It is as if he is in a suit of armor that knows how to move on its own.
Thus, the priest is freer than at the Novus Ordo even though the priest at the Novus Ordo is ironically free to do much of what he wants according to myriad options.
This burden on the Novus Ordo celebrant personally have to “drive forward” the liturgical action is, I think, what scares bishops away from celebrating the old rite. They imagine its complexities and mistakenly thing that it is going to depend on them to make it all happen, as it would in the Novus Ordo. And let’s not even get into the issue of Latin (which canon law required them to learn before ordination – really – can. 249). Hence they draw back with anxiety. And because bishops don’t like to seem that they don’t know what to do, their anxiety can turn to hostility.
Yeah, I’m psychoanalyzing. So what. Am I wrong?
I’ll just repeat that the easiest liturgical role there is for a bishop is to be celebrant of a Pontifical Mass. There are all sorts of people around the bishop who can guide him here and there.
Your Excellencies… try it… you’ll like it.
Speaking of moving experiences with the old Mass, HE Robert P. Reed, Auxiliary of Boston, was just appointed new Rector of the Archdiocesan major seminary, Saint John’s.
https://www.ncregister.com/news/boston-auxiliary-bishop-says-he-wept-first-time-after-celebrating-traditional-latin-mass
https://www.sjs.edu/news/archbishop-richard-henning-appoints-bishop-robert-p-reed-as-23rd-rector-of-saint-johns-seminary
In the interview, Card Eijk states that he wanted to do this because an FSSP parish had been established in his diocese recently. His Eminence deserves, in my book at least, major kudos for putting this effort in because it would benefit his flock. That’s ‘pastoral’ at its best, I’d say.
And even more so because he had to go outside his diocese for this Mass (the spurces don’t state explicitly why, but I can imagine that quite some support and a large church would help, maybe those were the reasons?) and outside the country to get additional traing in the vetus ordo. He must have reserved quite a bit of time for this project.
One of my most cherished experiences was when the Bishop came to the VO Mass at our Church to offer confirmation. He has never even said a NO Mass ad orientem. After he confirmed a large number of candidates and it was time for the Mass of the Faithful, he kneeled along with the numerous altar servers while our priest offered Mass. I found this sort of humility very inspiring.
I was hoping that after retiring he would learn the VO because in the past these confirmations had been done by the Bishop Emeritus, who at that time had recently passed away. We were fortunate to have had two doctrinally sound Bishops. All I know about our current Bishop is he has not moved to suppress the VO.
Like scholars, Bishops are supposed to be humble. As an admittedly non-humble scholar, I understand why Bishops don’t seem to be, but an arrogant Bishop can do much more damage than I could and as an elderly retired professor it is gratifying to meet people who tell me they enjoyed my class. (See, I am not humble.)
Beautiful to see. Incredible!
I believe he was in LaCrosse recently for Cardinal Burke’s 50th. I would imagine Burke is and was a great influence on him.
He was made a Cardinal in a pretty stacked consistory if my memory serves me right. Eijk, Burke, Collins, Amato, Sarah, Ranjith, Bertolucci and Sgreccia. This must have an impact on your personal road and journey in the Church.
Links in a chain,
I’m happy for the good Cardinal.
My childhood memories of the Vetus Ordo has always included time to actually talk to Jesus during parts of the Mass. I had a St. Joseph’s Daily Missal that I did use during Mass to follow along. But I could mark my place, close my eyes and talk to Jesus during the quiet parts. I loved that opportunity and still miss it. The Novus Ordo does not leave me with that opportunity. It is always busy and noisy. I pray I will someday be able to attend the Vetus Ordo before I’m called Home.
Exactly!. The NO does not leave time for prayer. It is rush, rush, distract and look over here. My mother-in law grew up with VO. She was brainwashed in the 1960s in the torture that the parishes were put through,but she continued to tak her new missal to the NO Mass and pray the Mass. She once told me that she did not understand why the other parishioners did not do likewise in the NO. The NO is so haphazard and there are so many options. The priest never tells which canon or even which feast day readings he will use.