I was a bit disturbed today by a comment made by a friend and I got to thinking afterward that this topic would make a good blog post, though I know what I have to say will probably have some thinking, "I knew she was losing her way and now I really know she has lost it." Unfortunate, yes - but true that some will think this after reading this post.
I was under the weather last night, lasting throughout most of the evening. Sometimes this happens to me when a migraine is on the horizon...I get sick in the middle of the night for some strange reason and then BAM (!) within 24-48 hours I get a full blown migraine. At any rate, since I was sick through most of the night I was exhausted this morning and couldn't get up to make it to Mass. I elbowed my wonderful husband and told him he better get up and get the little ones to CCD; all this at 8:55 (they have to be at church at 9:45)! So they all scrambled and got out the door while I snoozed to catch up on my sleep for which I was robbed in the hours preceding the scurry out the front door to Mass this morning. The children were in a Christmas play so I fell out of bed around 11:15 or so and got myself together feeling weak, but much better! We spent the better part of the afternoon watching all the children and some adults of the Parish perform beautiful Christmas plays and songs.
Before the festivities began, though, I mentioned to my oldest daughter that I would be going to our local parish (a Novus Ordo Roman Catholic Church) that evening; this was within earshot of my friend of five years or so. She smirked a bit and started to comment....thought about it for two seconds and then returned again to make the comment. She said, "Well, I guess that will be your penance for the week huh?" I just looked at her straight in the eye and said, "I like the Novus Ordo and I do not mind going one bit." There was really nothing more to say after that. She just turned and probably felt that awkward moment we all feel when we meant for a comment to be funny, but then it wasn't received as such. I tried to smile and move on and we chatted about our children and such just before the Christmas concert began. I cannot dislike this person because she has lost her perspective, but I can make a stand for the examination that I have made over the past six months to a year.
This comment gave me such great pause because it is a topic I have been giving great thought and consideration to over the past six months or so. I was born and raised in the Ordinary Rite of the Catholic Church. It was there I received all my Sacraments and it was there my heart and soul always longed. We left for the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite, or the Traditional Latin Mass, seven years ago for various reasons - reasons I won't go into at this point in time, but I never was a Novus Ordo hater. I have fond, fond memories in the Novus Ordo. I am blessed to say I never experienced or witnessed some of the extreme nonsense that does go on in some parishes, like the Clown Mass etc...Most parishes that I belonged to were pretty Orthodox. I worked for several years as a full time Youth Minister and those were very blessed years indeed.
I find much of the animosity comes from converts to the Faith and even those who have never actually spent time in the Novus Ordo. I totally reject the idea that somehow these millions of Catholics are less than ideal or somehow lost in their Faith. I must admit that when I first started attending the Extraordinary Form, the Traditional Latin Mass, I was caught up in the beauty and the reverence and yes (!) this is the way it should be all over. Somewhere in the last 40-45 years the Church has gotten off track and became watered down, lost the reverence for Christ's true presence, but at the end of the day we are all Catholics and none of us know anyone else's heart or thoughts. As I sat in Mass this evening and looked around at the people I saw people just like myself, kneeling in prayer before Mass starts, genuflecting in reverence for the presence of Christ on the altar, receiving Our Lord in Communion with great respect. It is there and these people are just like me and just like anyone else whether they worship at the Traditional Mass or the Novus Ordo or any other valid Rite of the Catholic Church. No one person is any better than the other. This bigotry works both ways as well. I know personally some folks who think what we do at the Traditional Mass is outdated and well - fringe.
For a while I believe I was treading down a slippery path in my way of viewing these other folks who are all encompassed in the ONE Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. I let myself be influenced by some people I know, by websites I was visiting, by articles I was reading. I fell prey to some of the same skewed thought patterns probably six years ago and thereafter for quite some time. I had to take a time out and realize I am no better than anyone else. I am thankful that I can attend a wonderful Mass such as the Traditional Latin Mass. I do see the fruits of the labor of the Extraordinary Form, but I do not demonize any other valid Rite of the Church either. It's not christian charity to do so. I took this inventory, of course, after much prayer and thought that went into making the decision to move to Maine. The entire state of Maine has two Traditional Catholic Masses. Two. I had to stop and say, "Am I willing to go to the Ordinary Form if need be; maybe daily Mass with the children at the Novus Ordo, which seem to be in abundance up there, and Sunday at the Traditional Latin Mass?" This was a BIG question. And then, like many other things in my life I really had to question WHY I had shut out something that was so dear to me my entire life? I mean I know the reasons I left for a more Traditional setting, but why was I so resistant to returning?
I think a person can begin to believe anything under the influence of many like-minded folks telling them, "this should be this way and that should be that way" and lose perspective. That's what happened to me. I lost my perspective. What I do know in my heart is what we say in the Creed:
We believe in one God, the Father, the Almighty, maker of heaven and earth, of all that is seen and unseen. We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only Son of God, eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. Through Him all things were made. For us men and our salvation He came down from heaven: by the power of the Holy Spirit, He was born of the Virgin Mary, and became man. For our sake He was crucified under Pontius Pilate; He suffered, died, and was buried. On the third day He rose again in fulfillment of the scriptures: He ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of the Father. He will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead, and his kingdom will have no end. We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life, who proceeds from the Father and the Son. With the Father and the Son, He is worshiped and glorified. He has spoken through the Prophets. We believe in one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church. We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins. We look for the resurrection of the dead, and the life of the world to come. Amen.
I hope we can all open our hearts even a little to see we are all Catholic no matter the valid Rite we worship under.
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