Some may attempt to reduce the alleged attachment of the faithful to the older liturgies, including the liturgy according to the 1962 Missal and the Unreformed Holy Week in the pre-1955 books, as being purely preference or sentimentality. This can be a dangerously unpastoral and unfair basis for an argument. This can also be vastly inaccurate.
For argument’s sake, let us say it is merely a strong preference. As a general rule, in educated and polite society, legitimate preferences should be respected. As people, we are full of likes and dislikes. We have a plentitude of preferences that we would prefer to have respected. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear, there are preferences. Should not our preference in liturgy be respected and even celebrated?
There is a claim that the reason for these restrictions and instructions on the Latin Mass and older forms of the Roman Liturgy is to promote unity within the Church. This, again, seems to be a dangerous precedent. The Church has members of every nation, culture, nationality, and ethnicity. The Church, by the commission of her Divine Head, is diverse. The Body is diverse, but unified under one head, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The legitimate diversity in the Church should be amplified, as the legitimate diversity of the organs in a human body. Even within the Roman Church, there should be legitimate diversity in the use of the traditional rites of the Church, the traditional religious rites of the Church, and local customs.
There are different people who have different needs. It can be hard to recognize the needs of others when we are so contented within our own lives, or so focused on meeting our own needs. The Church has historically recognized the diverse spiritual needs of the flock, and therefore allowed for legitimate diversity in spiritual practices. The Novus Ordo Missae is often compared to a banquet feast where everyone is welcome at the table. This is a lovely description of the Mass, to be sure, but it is not suited to the needs of all people. The Mass is more than a banquet, but the focus on the Last and Eternal Supper is appealing to some people. It may not be as appealing to others. There are others who may yearn for the silence and somber reality of being placed at the foot of the Cross. There are still others who desire to be part of something that doesn’t require them, yet draws them in.
There are different kinds of museums. There are the museums where people can touch and manipulate the exhibits. These museums are delightful, but they rely on the ingenuity of the viewer for full appreciation of the exhibits. The Novus Ordo Missae is like these interactive museums. Then, there are museums which hold exhibits not to be touched. These museums are carefully curated and hold pieces with objectivity. They do not require interaction to be beautiful, they simply require witness. The older forms of the Roman liturgy are like these museums.
The Mass is often compared to a marriage feast. There are different kinds of weddings. There are the weddings where the guests are included in an integral manner throughout the ceremony and reception. They are encouraged to show their love and support for the new union in a very public way. The focus is on the community with the new couple. The Novus Ordo Missae is like a wedding where all the guests have a role in making the wedding special. There are also those weddings where the guests are called upon to bear witness to the union of the couple in a more solemn way. The couple exchange vows and the wedding is focused on them, rather than on the community with them. The guests are legal witnesses that can attest that the wedding did, indeed, take place. And, they witness the beautiful ceremonies that the couple has chosen to participate. This is like the older liturgies of the Roman Church.
These analogies serve as examples for legitimate variance. It is hard to argue that one kind of museum should not exist in favor of the other. It is hard to argue that one kind wedding should exist in favor of another. The Novus Ordo Missae is welcoming by design. The older ceremonies are alluring, but not welcoming in the same sense. The Novus Ordo Missae needs the active participation of the people in a way that the older forms of the Liturgy do not. The Novus Ordo Missae can be prayed beautifully. The older forms of the Roman eliminate the human error to some degree. As long as the priest follows the rubrics and the perennial customs of the Church, it is done beautiful. Where the Novus Ordo Missae invites, the older forms allure. Where the Novus Ordo Missae draws up the sentiments of the people, the older forms transcend human sentiments. Where the Novus Ordo Missae focuses on the unity of the Church praying together, the older forms focus on the unifying blood of Christ, split for the salvation of souls.
The attachment that some have to the older forms of the Mass are more than mere preference to bells and incense. There is not an inordinate love of Latin that brings us into the Mass. It is not a distaste for the Novus Ordo. It is not a decisive or subverted intention. It is an expression of legitimate spirituality where we bear witness to the august majesty of God. We worship not as King David dancing before the tabernacle, but as St. John at the foot of the Cross. To deny us the ability to worship God in this way, which has been a historically proper way to worship for over a millennia, is to deny the Church part of her patrimony and part of her rich heritage. To deny us the wholeness and richness of the unreformed liturgies during Holy Week does not promote unity in the Church. It suppresses the very expression of unity we wish to contribute to the Church.
Please do not deny us of our heritage. Please do not deny us of our liturgical expression of our spirituality. Please do not say this is for the unity of the Church. Please do not say it is for our own good. We simply wish to serve as a witness at the foot of the Cross, as did our fathers and grandfathers, mothers and grandmothers, for generations before us. We want to be unified with the whole Church, past and present and future. Please, allow us to lift up our hearts in this way. And, remember, we will continue to pray for you.
