Friday, March 02, 2007

the Tridentine Mass

There was a good article recently in the Baltimore Sun about the Tridentine Mass in Baltimore, i.e. at St. Alphonsus parish. I've been there before, it's beautiful. Here's a snippet:
Young people who never experienced the Mass before Vatican II are also drawn to the spirituality of the service. Phair, a lifelong parishioner of St. Alphonsus, studies modern languages at University of Maryland, Baltimore County and uses a Latin-French missal during the service.

She describes it as an "overwhelming spiritual experience, because it's so reverent."

"There's another level there that I don't find at other Masses," Phair says.

Bastress says the church almost operates like three separate parishes: the English-speaking community, those who come to Lithuanian services at 8:30 a.m., and the Tridentine followers at 11:30 a.m. The latter is the largest service with up to 175 attendees each Sunday, many of whom travel from as far away as Virginia or Pennsylvania to attend.

When the Diocese of Harrisburg started offering a Tridentine Mass several years ago, it drew some regular attendees from St. Alphonsus.

"They wouldn't come all that distance just for a social gathering," says Timonium resident Rita K. Dent, president of the Gregorian Society. "It's the beauty and the reverence and of course the sacrifice. The Novus Ordo contains all that, but I think it's much more enhanced in the Latin."
In other words:


3 comments:

Anonymous said...

How can I find a Tridentine Mass in my area?

Anonymous said...

Yay Latin!

Jason Ramage said...

I'm glad the Tridentine traditional is being kept alive and has a strong following, but I've been a few times to St. Martin of Tours in Louisville and I really don't see how Latin enhances anything. To me, it's just different clothes on the same Body. I'd rather find a parish where the priest actually talks about the readings every week, breaks down what it means and why, and applies it to our everday life. How can I find that at a Catholic parish? :)