Which of these would you choose to give glory to God?
This Catholic Church (in Austria) or
This Catholic Church (Notre Dame)
This Catholic Church
This?????? Ok, this is liturgical abuse and shouldn't happen anyway Or
This
This (unconsecrated hands on the Eucharist) or
This (Pope Emeritus required those to receive on the tongue while kneeling)
No disrespect to those who attend Churches like those on the above left, but I prefer the Churches on the right. There were excellent symbolic reasons for why Churches were a certain way and the Mass was celebrated the way it which it was. In the past there was an understood respect for those attending Mass; in dress, signs of reverence and frequent Confession to assure no mortal sin was present before receiving the Eucharist. I'm not judging the intentions of those who built these modern Catholic Churches, but why on Earth does it need to look like a Pizza Hut? The beautiful traditional Catholic architecture was so grand and expensive, not to flaunt the wealth of the Catholic Church, like some Protestants like to declare, but to give glory to God. The Parish my family attends was completely paid for by Polish immigrants who gave everything they had to built a Church. The expensive statues they purchased enriched the lives of several generations who came to worship there. What greater gifts could we give our Lord; our life (service), our prayers and a beautiful home for the Blessed Sacrament.
There are many ways in which we can return to tradition. I am not a priest, but Vatican II did give the laypeople more "active participation" in the liturgy. Alright then, I will participate by supporting traditional practices of the liturgy. We can't just tear these modern buildings down, but we can make changes, such as the following...
1. Put the tabernacle back to the center of the altar. This really bothers me. Instead of the tabernacle being in the center of the Mass itself, a priest's chair sits there instead. Wow, this seems pretty disrespectful, even though it may not have been intentional (even though I suspect that in some way it is). The Mass is not about us, it's about God. Why tabernacles were tucked away in a side chapel, away from the main sanctuary is beyond my comprehension.
2. Statues! I can't say how blessed I am to attend a Parish where I receive the Holy Eucharist on my knees directly in front of a statue of Jesus. Being able to look up at this incredible statue does wonders for me spiritually. Other statues of Mary and the Saints throughout remind us that they are praying with us, and that the altar is the closest thing to heaven on Earth that we experience. It helps us to pray with them and gives us comfort when we remember their lives here on Earth.
3. Altar rails. Praise God that our pastor is working on putting altar rails back in our Parish. When they are available, more people kneel. If they kneel, they are more likely to receive on the tongue. When this happens, it is less likely that the Holy Eucharist is desecrated (by those walking off with it, by particles remaining in the hand, by multiple unconsecrated hands touching the Eucharist). Many buildings aren't set up for altar rails (there isn't room), but having kneelers available may help with those who would like to kneel.
4. Eliminating "Eucharistic Ministers". If only consecrated hands are supposed to touch the Holy Eucharist, as St. Thomas Aquinas had written, then this is what should happen. If Communion takes an extra 20 minutes, so what? Why are we in such a rush? We are in the presence of our Lord and shouldn't be in a rush to leave anyway. Use that time for prayer, since no one stays after Mass to do so anyway. If consecrated hands are the only handlers of the Eucharist, lay people will show more respect and reverence.
5. No more altar girls. EWTN answers on altar girls. The more altar girls, the less boys (if you use girls at Mass, you aren't using boys, common sense). It's tradition. The more boys exposed to the priesthood and the Mass, the better, because these are potentially future priests. I was an altar girl as a child, and I did learn a lot about the Mass, but I now feel as though I took an opportunity away from some of the boys who could have served.
6. Churches should start putting up signs like this:
There are many ways in which we can return to tradition. I am not a priest, but Vatican II did give the laypeople more "active participation" in the liturgy. Alright then, I will participate by supporting traditional practices of the liturgy. We can't just tear these modern buildings down, but we can make changes, such as the following...
1. Put the tabernacle back to the center of the altar. This really bothers me. Instead of the tabernacle being in the center of the Mass itself, a priest's chair sits there instead. Wow, this seems pretty disrespectful, even though it may not have been intentional (even though I suspect that in some way it is). The Mass is not about us, it's about God. Why tabernacles were tucked away in a side chapel, away from the main sanctuary is beyond my comprehension.
2. Statues! I can't say how blessed I am to attend a Parish where I receive the Holy Eucharist on my knees directly in front of a statue of Jesus. Being able to look up at this incredible statue does wonders for me spiritually. Other statues of Mary and the Saints throughout remind us that they are praying with us, and that the altar is the closest thing to heaven on Earth that we experience. It helps us to pray with them and gives us comfort when we remember their lives here on Earth.
3. Altar rails. Praise God that our pastor is working on putting altar rails back in our Parish. When they are available, more people kneel. If they kneel, they are more likely to receive on the tongue. When this happens, it is less likely that the Holy Eucharist is desecrated (by those walking off with it, by particles remaining in the hand, by multiple unconsecrated hands touching the Eucharist). Many buildings aren't set up for altar rails (there isn't room), but having kneelers available may help with those who would like to kneel.
4. Eliminating "Eucharistic Ministers". If only consecrated hands are supposed to touch the Holy Eucharist, as St. Thomas Aquinas had written, then this is what should happen. If Communion takes an extra 20 minutes, so what? Why are we in such a rush? We are in the presence of our Lord and shouldn't be in a rush to leave anyway. Use that time for prayer, since no one stays after Mass to do so anyway. If consecrated hands are the only handlers of the Eucharist, lay people will show more respect and reverence.
5. No more altar girls. EWTN answers on altar girls. The more altar girls, the less boys (if you use girls at Mass, you aren't using boys, common sense). It's tradition. The more boys exposed to the priesthood and the Mass, the better, because these are potentially future priests. I was an altar girl as a child, and I did learn a lot about the Mass, but I now feel as though I took an opportunity away from some of the boys who could have served.
6. Churches should start putting up signs like this:
The Church shouldn't have to tell people how to dress. Parents should teach their children how to dress respectfully and model this for them in their daily lives, not just in Church. Of course, it is apparent that this isn't happening. Parents are the primary educators of children, but when they are lacking in religious education and so much so that they become a distraction to others during Mass, the Church needs to step in. Now that prom dresses have evolved into nothing more than a fancy-looking bathing suit, it's no wonder why immodesty is creeping into the Church. Modernism is destroying our Church physically and spiritually. The way we dress affects the way we act and the way others perceive us as well. It is also sinful to dress immodest, so the Church should correct this if it's happening at Mass.
I'm just a lay woman. I know I have no right in correcting priests and bishops unless they performing serious liturgical abuse. I can offer input, if asked. The more of us lay Catholics that understand the traditional liturgy and express a desire for Parish to revert back to these practices, the greater chances of it happening. It has to happen from the ground up and with lots of prayer. If the Parish you are attending causing pushing you toward a spiritual decline, or is robbing you and your family of a true, Catholic Mass (because of liturgical abuse), you should go elsewhere. The closest Parish to my family is 5 minutes away, but we drive to a Parish 10 minutes away because it offers the TLM, which we prefer. Our Parish also has a beautiful, reverent Ordinary Mass as well. Support these Parishes the best you can. They really need our prayers and service.
Here is a great article from EWTN that explains Pope Emeritus' views on traditional liturgy: Beauty in liturgy
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