Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Fair and Balanced Coverage of the TLM Comeback




Maybe we can get Al-Jazeera to do a piece on the glories of Judaism. Or Howard Dean to provide a retrospective about the triumph and virtue of Ronald Reagan.


Sheesh. You'd think the journalist here would have at least tried to seem objective. Did I miss the quote from parishioners who actually attend the Traditional Mass? We have half a dozen remarks from people who have either never attended one or don't attend one now. Yet the only pro-TLM comment is from the priest offering such Masses. How strange. Was there even an effort to contact these parishioners?


Here's the best part:


"I think it's boring," said 82-year-old Mary Douglas of Tempe, a longtime member of St. Mary's parish in Chandler, saying the church should be more concerned with retaining young Catholics. "What can we do to make people to stop leaving the church?"


Many Catholics cannot even understand the Mass in English, "much less in Latin," said Douglas, who, for many years, has attended St. Mary's Christmas Eve Latin Mass, which she termed a "rewarding experience," nonetheless.


"The big picture is what counts," she stressed. "Why are people leaving? Why do they not attend Mass? Why is Mass boring?"


So the TLM is boring. But the Pauline Mass in the vernacular is boring too. You can't understand the TLM. But you can't understand the Pauline Mass either. Basically, I guess Mass just sucks, then. It is a marvel how anyone can be present for something like what's shown above and be bored.


On a side note, the whole thing about why are young people leaving is hilarious by itself. I have never attended a TLM at which the majority of the congregation were over the age of 30. It's the youth who are pushing this. All those who want disco balls during the consecration and "Awesome God" awfulness during the procession should take careful note of this.


2 comments:

haskovec said...

I totally agree, as someone who is 30 years old I think if the church my wife and I attend offered a Latin Mass at a Convenient time we would probably go to it. I think the Latin Mass appeals to the youth. (Of course maybe it helps that we speak Spanish and some Italian so Latin isn't as foreign for us). Also didn't someone mention the homily in Latin. I would think the homily would still be done in Vernacular as well as the readings or am I wrong about that?

Throwback said...

Yes. The homilies are vernacular.