Please Sir... Can I Have Some More?
Posted by: tony on 09/17/2007 10:03 PM
Updated by: tony on 09/17/2007 10:03 PM
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Expires: 10/18/2007 12:00 AM
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This is the plaintive cry of the hungry orphan, Oliver, in the theater production of the same name. Sometimes, I find myself at Mass, thinking those same words.
Scelata seems to feel the same way:
You can only accomplish what you can accomplish.
And you can't even accomplish that if you expend your energy on what you can't accomplish.
But that's all beside the point.
If I were not employed, and were free to participate where and when and how I would, the Extraordinary Form would not be my first choice.
But now, praise Benedict and the motu proprio, I am at least entitled to ask for that, whereas I am not entitled to ask for the Ordinary Form with the Ordinary sung in Latin.
Or the Ordinary Form with the priest facing ad orientem. Or the Ordinary Form with no jokes. Or the Ordinary Form without being asked to squawk Lord of the Dance. Or the Ordinary Form without a glad-handing rotary convention inserted where the Pax Christi is offered. Or the Ordinary Form where no adolescent in a football jersey will address me from the sanctuary. Or the Ordinary Form with no mention of Jambalaya or sports enthusiasms.
So I am asking for the Extraordinary Form.
And my aspirations are rightful.
Amen.
The huge assumption has been that the motu proprio was a result of petulant traditionalists, some schismatic and some not, who had been whining so long that the Holy Father was prompted to give in to them, much like the widow and the judge in Scripture. And once these oldsters go to their final reward, we can bring out the dancers and strike up another strain of "Sing a New Church".
This is patently false.
The younger generation, those in their 20's and 30's are suffering from "spiritual scurvy". They aren't feeling well spiritually, but they don't understand why. So they are searching. Some turn on EWTN and see a Mass, much like the one in their home parish, but being celebrated in a new (to them) and powerful way. They go on the internet, and they begin to actually read the documents of Vatican II, rather than just following the "spirit of Vatican II" that their local pastor (or bishop) espouses. They are discovering what they are missing. Here are the spiritual lemons, limes and oranges that will help make them well.
However, some may mistake Latin as the cure all for bad liturgy. It is not. You can celebrate a mass as badly in Latin as in English. The extraordinary form, even though it has its warts, is standard.
McDonald's food has become so successful, not because it's especially good food, but because the food is standardized, quality is controled, and it tastes the same wherever you go in the world. Compare that to "Joe's Eats", where you may get salmonella from badly prepared food.
If you're in an unfamiliar area, you will gravitate to McDonald's because it is what is familiar to you. It may not be the best food, but you know what you're going to get, it's going to taste good, and it won't make you sick.
I think that's why people are gravitating to the extraordinary form. They want something standardized and regulated. They want it to taste pretty good, and not make them sick.
The downside of this is that if you always eat at McDonald's, you never get a chance to try out the Four Seasons with their fabulous gourmet fare.
But what if every restaurant was a Four Seasons? Would anyone ever go to Mcdonald's again?
What if the ordinary form was celebrated in a way that not only nourished our souls, but ignited our spiritual taste buds? What if you never had to worry about "heresy poisoning", and every Mass in every church was a sumptuous banquet?
I pray for the day when the transcendence and holiness of the ordinary form "puts the extraordinary form out of business". But until then, there will be a lot of people asking for McDonald's
(H/T to Cantate Deo)
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