In my experience of the Mass of St. Gregory (from henceforth to incorrectly be referred to as the "Latin Mass") there is a heavenly host of graces which abundantly bless the souls of the faithful. The beauty, depth, and direction of the Mass are of inestimable value. But, BUT, like any endeavour which involves fallen humanity, the Latin Mass, or any Mass/Divine Liturgy, can be soured if one does not check oneself. Based on my experience, here are three ways to mess up the Mass:

1) Be a Know-it-All

I have many wonderful, devoted, and insightful friends involved with the Latin Mass. I recently tried reaching out and talking to a couple of other people who attend the same Mass, yet whom I would've never seen myself talking to before. I raised the topic with them of a recent video I saw explaining some of the issues in the Church today (FYI: A Taylor Marshall video). Immediately I was met with: "Yeah, I couldn't even watch 30 minutes of him... he doesn't know anything about imperialism. Ridiculous! Imperialism is blah blah blah..." And thus I lost any desire to talk to these people ever again. It took less than 30 seconds of conversation. Why? They were being know-it-alls. I am willing to admit there are many things I need to learn about. For instance, this "imperialism" topic. I am not well-read on the modern debate surrounding it (nor, to be frank, do I really care). And yes, I've studied political philosophy in great depth (including Aquinas). It doesn't matter. Being a know-it-all is a tremendous turn off. 

2) Be Unbalanced

"Lord, may I have balance and measure in everything... except love." Thus writes St. Jose Maria Escriva. Look, we must put our all into the Mass. This includes serving, singing, decorating, spiritually preparing, and even dressing ourselves, to the best of our abilities. Further, these small "talents" of ours must be done in accord with the deep theological traditions of the Church. Otherwise we lose efficacy and, essentially, wander around cluelessly like the Israelites in the desert. Yet love for the Mass must not get in the way of common sense with living. "Ite Missa Est" means we are commissioned (not simply "dismissed"). Thus the Mass must act, and balance, our entire lives. And let me repeat, our lives must be balanced with common sense. 

I'll give you an example. I heard that some people do not necessarily feed their children before a 9am Mass. Say what? I understand the importance of the Mass. It is the "source and summit" of our day, week, and entire lives (Lumen Gentium 11). But come on! Children NEED to eat when they wake up. Otherwise, you are inflicting their hungry wrath on every last person at Mass. And it's not the child's fault. Feed your child! This is an example of being unbalanced. The Mass is most important. And there should be sacrifice involved in attending Mass. It's not easy, for instance, to attend a two hour Corpus Christi Mass at 5:15pm on a beautiful Thursday in June with fidgety children. Such a sacrifice would be abundantly bless by Our Lord. But to forgo a simple balance in life such as feeding your children, one that can be easily attained, is a means to souring the graces of the Mass. 

3) Be Grumpy Cat

Our own family has experienced something that we never would have thought much about before. That is, years ago we attended a Latin Mass. We found out that after Mass each Sunday the parishioners go downstairs for a quick coffee/snack and socializing. So we went down. Immediately we were sought out by a married couple. They introduced themselves, asked questions about ourselves (little did they know that I used to go to this parish in my university days... long before they were even Catholic), and authentically expressed a joy that we were here, with the hope of seeing us back soon. It made all the difference in the world that these people had reached out to us.

Last week, while we were attending the Latin Mass at this same church, I did something I never ever would have done before. I saw a couple at Mass whom I had never seen before. It turns out they weren't even Catholic. After Mass they went down to the basement for a cup of coffee. I turned to my wife and said, "Wife," says I, "we should go introduce ourselves to that couple over there." Wife readily agreed. And so we did. I thank the people who did the same to us years earlier. Sometimes in life it's the little things.

No one wants to hang out with grumpy cat. Be joyful. I think of the one man I know who, just days after finally acquiring a small herd of buffalo, had the herd drown in a swamp. The next morning at coffee time post-Mass, though he clearly was devastated, it seemed he was the one who was trying to console others over the tragedy of the dead buffalo. What a lesson in joy. We all have terrible days. Or weeks. Heck, even years. But sanctifying others should not be by being a thorn in their side. Be joyful. Or at least don't be grumpy.

And so...

These three mini-rants all come from my experience of attending the Latin Mass. They might sound harsh, whereas really they are not intended to be. I would just like to leave off with one other thing I noticed last week while attending the Latin Mass. I took our little two year old to the back of the church because she was being fussy. I looked up to pray and what I saw was unmistakable. I saw men everywhere. MEN. Yes there were children, mothers and grandmothers there. But really what stood out was just how many men there were. Many had a baby in one hand, and a Missal in the other. They were praying and rearing. All in the same breath. There is something truly special and life-giving about this Latin Mass.

Hence, I say: let's be careful to not mess it up.

CCReno: Brought to you by the letters Z and K

Have you been listening to Fr. Zs daily Lenten podcasts? Every day he gives a wonderful five minute audio presentation which is sure to benefit one's Lenten journey. I enjoyed yesterday's podcast. Give it a listen.

Yes, he quotes from the amazing Wyoming Catholic professor Peter Kwasniewski. It is a shock to go to a Novus Ordo Mass and simply have the Mass said. Why do priests have this need to start chatting? If I wanted to chat with you then I'd invite you for coffee. It truly feels like we are in a vehicle that keeps jolting and rocking on its journey forward. Or like watching a TV show that has commercial breaks every two minutes. It is not pleasant to say the least. We love our current priest in our town right now, but his chattiness at Mass (yes he has been told so too) is just suffocating the life out of our Mass. But it's not just him. It's everywhere. He's just following the standard practice. As I said, he's a wonderful priest whom we love. He needs guidance though, coming from the powers that be. I think it is clear that, among other things, priests need to be commanded to say Mass ad orientem. Turn around and face Jesus. Chat with Him. In your heart. Good luck with that however, if you remember what happened to Cardinal Sarah when he calmly suggested the idea.

Lately I have been enjoying Kwasniewski's book: Noble Beauty, Transcendent Holiness: Why the Modern Age Needs the Mass of the Ages. I will say more about the book at other times. However, I would like to give you a quote which pretty much sums up what it is like to go to Mass on Sunday, at least in Saskatchewan:

"Is it not true for a large number of the faithful, larger than officialdom would ever admit, that the Ordinary Form as typically celebrated puts a serious, almost fatal cap on our genuine 'active participation'? Far from helping us along the road to perfection, attracting us with its inner mystery and outward beauty, such a Mass is an event we just try to get through as quickly and painlessly as possible, hoping we will not think too much about anything we are seeing or hearing, and perhaps making a promise to ourselves as we leave that we will not loudly complain about it all the way home or over the pancakes. How ironic, that a rite so drastically overhauled and reworked with a view to 'reaching people at last' and soliciting their hearty involvement has, in reality, soured and repelled so many of the faithful over the decades!" (p.178).

Book Review: Breaking Bread 2018

For the modern enlightened Catholic, one steeped in the decades-old tradition of discernment, mercy, feelings and accompaniment, the latest Breaking Bread 2018 hymnal is sure to strike a spiritually enlightened chord, or even as many as four chords. Speaking of chords and accompaniment, guitars are a must, drums optional, and a circle church with a prominently-featured choir most desirable. For Catholics not so sophisticated in the movement of the spirit (lowercase s intended), Breaking Bread 2018 can still provide utility if one ponders hard enough. If having a brown paperback with a picture of fish falling from the sky (or are they jumping to the sky?) fails to ignite your soul, perhaps the same brown paperback could help ignite any campfires you may desire to have. Alas, let us spark the conversation and note some of the highlights of the latest Breaking Bread. And I accept the title only insofar as we speak of bread as Christ's flesh via the communicatio idiomatum. A topic undoubtedly the editors of Breaking Bread discerned while accompanied by a devout Thomist.

Speaking of Bread, we have Bread for the World. There is no fear of losing the significance of the Sacred Mysteries here, because bread, of course, refers to us. "May we who eat be bread for others." Hmmm. I always understood it that the grains of wheat symbolize how we all are, well, crushed and sifted while becoming part of the Body of Christ. Not so fast. We are bread that is shared with others. For on the night he betrayed the Christ, Peter, after partaking of the bread, said to his fellow apostles: "Take, eat, I am bread for you." Perhaps this song might not be best suited for a Catholic Mass...

One of many servant songs. This one actually is unique. It has the line "I___________ am__________ your song." Many people criticize the banality of modern sacred worship music. It was refreshing to see a new zinger of a line. I want to be a song too now. I've never been a song.

Oh yes, the other Servant Song. In this worship song we don't even so much as pretend to be singing to God. This song is actually directed at the others in the church! Thus it is not a worship song but a... um... of course... a Servant Song! Did I mention yet that Breaking Bread 2018 is intended for Mass? In this song I would also like to give honourable mention to the presumption that we will make it to heaven together, where God will surely delight in our singing in harmony.

"This is my fight song. Take back my life song..." Sorry. Wrong song. Just: "This is my song." Pour yourself a drink. Close your eyes slowly. Let this sink in: "And sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine; But other lands have sunlight too, and clover." Now open your eyes. You'd better pour yourself another drink. And no, as far as I can tell that line was not written by the fictitious Bertie Wooster. For even if Wooster did in fact pen such a poetic nonsense, surely Jeeves would conspire one of his fish-brained devices to have said poetic nonsense destroyed before any evidence of its existence would leave Wooster's flat, save for the mandatory entry into the archives of the Junior Ganymede Club, whereby all Gentlemen's Personal Gentlemen could delight in the poetic nonsense while sipping a brandy and quipping that there is, indeed, sunlight in Paris and Berlin.

What could go wrong with a song from the year 1966 and published by a company called Vernacular Hymns Publishing Co.? Here's a question though for you. Have you ever seen someone, besides Jesus, who is the light of the world and shines this light so well that you see the good and give glory to God? Perhaps a saint. Here's a follow up question: Have you ever seen a saint sing about how he shines light so well that all people see his or her good and give glory to God?

This song is rather witty. The words speak of rain, while the melody falls in pitch. It is as if the words are justified by the melody. And the song fits the cover of the Breaking Bread 2018 book. I recall vividly the picture of fish raining down from heaven. Bravo.

A hymn inspired by Pope Francis' encyclical Laudato Si. I'm still waiting for a hymn inspired by Humanae Vitae. Now that would be interesting. Back to this... hymn? I question the gender-neutrality of this song, however. Is the Sun male? The moon female? Perhaps Prime Minister Justin Trudeau should invest some money into revising this.

Finally a very appropriate Lenten hymn. I am quite famished at the moment. Wait, I thought people had enough to eat? Was our being bread not good enough for them?

It's not the "Sing a new church into being" that gets me, though by all means some people should simply go start their own church. But to see the word "diversity" in a hymnal...

"In the land there is a hunger. In the land there is a need. For the sound of the word of God upon every word we feed." Sounds like a mouthful to me.

I criticized the Servant Song earlier for being a song intended to be sung to other people and not God. Now we have the infamous Mary Mother of God/Jan. 1 recessional hymn. There isn't even an attempt to sing this song to others. We actually are singing to ourselves. Astounding. Reminds me of Gollum of Lord of the Rings. Judging by every time I've heard this song sung I would wager that Gollum would do a better job of singing it.

I can try and forgive much of the silliness and, as my friend the late Fr. Kenneth Walker would call: "theologically ghetto" words from Breaking Bread 2018. But I cannot and will not attempt to forgive this last song. The song steals the structure of St. Thomas Aquinas' Pange Lingua/Tantum Ergo and replaces it with more social justice soldiering to better humankind. Aquinas' name is then mentioned, as if to suggest that he would approve of, or worse created, such meandering. St. Thomas Aquinas! The Angelic Doctor himself! Well here, Breaking Bread folks, is a real snippet of how Aquinas composes sacred chant for the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. From Pange Lingua:

"Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature by His word to Flesh He turns;wine into His Blood He changes;-what though sense no change discerns? Only be the heart in earnest, faith her lesson quickly learns."

And so, Breaking Bread 2018. Now remember that every song has all rights reserved, so you cannot use my pictures in order to learn and perform these hymns. In all seriousness, I pity the fools who spent money on this book, all for the sake of weakening the faith in the Real Presence in their parish. They are like fish out of water. Falling from the sky. Or jumping to the sky? Simply put, they know not whether they are coming or going. I will stick to "Word-made-Flesh, the bread of nature, by His word to Flesh He turns." Amen.

Octave Follow Up (again)

In light of my recent ranting against the removal of the Octave of Pentecost, and how "Ordinary Time" has taken over, Catholic Memes has a temporary solution.

Hey I'm all in for that! Maybe even stretch the votive Mass thing longer? Until Advent? Speaking of Advent/Christmas, it was almost surreal at Mass last night. The red altar colours and such from Pentecost had yet to be replaced. And Father of course was decked out in a green chasuble. The 25 degrees Celsius, that's 77 Fahrenheit for you Americans, or 298.15 Kelvin for you Kelvenists, graciously reminded me that it was not Christmas time. To the senses, everything seems disjointed. Theologically, things are disjointed.

But alas, my ranting must stop. Things could always be worse. The Church surely will survive the disconnect in our current liturgical calendar. As for things going worse, there's always Malta as an example:

No, we're not there yet. But boy do we ever need the Holy Spirit now more than ever.

Music Mondays: an Ordinary Rant

Pentecost is over. So too, then, is the Easter season. We now head back into ordinary time. Just what is ordinary time? We see green vestments. We are reminded that "green means growth." We are told of how farmers grow crops at this time of year. And just like that for the next nearly half of a year our liturgical lives will be ordinary.

I get that green means growth. And sometimes growth is hard work. Take my backyard for instance. Our hockey rink killed our grass. I think rinks do better on sandy soil. So I've spent the past month nurturing our grass. I've planted new seed. scattered better soil. Watered it daily. It's slowly bouncing back. But that's what grass is supposed to do. It's in its nature to grow, to grow green, and to bounce back every year. The physical growth of a human is somewhat similar. We are born, and then we somehow just get along with our life. Toddlers. School age. Teenagers. Adult life. Old age. Barring unfortunate circumstances, it's all pretty natural I would say.

The spiritual life, however, is perhaps not so simple. Growth in the spiritual life, due to original sin, just doesn't simply happen. Left to ourselves we actually very quickly fall apart and get torn in every direction besides God. Ordinary spiritual times can leave us stagnant.

Once upon a time following Pentecost there was an Octave of Pentecost. Additionally, each Sunday following Pentecost was titled the ___th Sunday after Pentecost. For example, the 11th Sunday after Pentecost. Additionally, the Christmas season used to be longer, and following it the weeks were in reference to how many weeks before Lent. In other words, up until 1970, the Catholic liturgical calendar was always looking towards something. Spiritually speaking, we need this. It is much more exciting to know we are in a time of Pentecost then an ordinary time. It is far more uplifting, purposeful, and inspiring. It makes us all part of this grand Church Militant battle. We all join in, not the just the apostles. It's like... it's like...

That's right, Gonna Fly Now is the Music Monday selection. It's been said that composer Bill Conti, after making the song, received enough money to buy a vehicle. And then a boat. And then a house... and then... the money just kept coming in! It was a hit!

We all need to be pumped up. Everyday. Especially in the spiritual realm.

Music Mondays: Broadway to Hell

Happy Easter to everyone! The joke around these parts was "Merry Christm...er.. Happy Easter!" We woke up to a dusting of snow and lots of cold. But, as Fr. Andrew so innocently said in his homily on Easter morning, the glory of Christ, as described at the Transfiguration, is dazzling as white as snow. Amen. And, because I can, Alleluia too.

The night before was anything but dazzling. I went with my sister to St. Paul's Cathedral in Saskatoon for the Easter Vigil. It started out as normal. A fire. The beautiful prayers. The proclamation of light. However, we soon noticed that the regular choir from years past was absent. This piano player started playing, in a distracting manner, during the sacred Exultet. Then the first reading came. From Genesis. The piano started up. Creation sounds (?) gave undertone to the reading. Wispy soprano trills and powerful bass staccatos. Emotion was building. And then, the choir which had abruptly arranged themselves in the front of the church near the Paschal candle, started swaying and breaking into a chorus describing how God saw it was good. Mass became a cheap Broadway musical! Because that's why we go to Mass, after all. Well Broadway, or is it hell (?) hath no fury as compared to what was unleashed. My sister and I had our jaws drop. More reading of creation. More chorus. I half expected a person dressed as a globe to come bouncing out. What happens next I cannot say. Because we walked out of the Easter Vigil. We walked out in shame. Shame for what Christ's victory over death has become... a cheap (and awful) Broadway musical. A new meaning to incense at Mass. The Church used to warn that messing with the Mass was a mortal sin. I suppose people don't even believe in mortal sin anymore, let alone care to worship, on the most solemn of nights, with dignity, truth, and beauty. We walked out of the Easter Vigil. I still need to let that sink in. My sister went to catch another Vigil (with a Las Vegas flare to it...). I went back to the hotel and had a long shower.

Nevertheless, joy of joys, we went to the Latin Mass the next morning! Oh the prayers. The real sweet smelling incense. The Regina Caelis and Victimae Paschali Laudes. The Lord, in His great kindness, erased the stunning memory of the night before. It was beautiful. Of course everything concluded with a organ-filled Jesus Christ is Risen Today.

This great Easter carol is rooted in the 14th century and was originally titled: Surrexit Christus Hodie. It has seen many modifications and additions throughout the years. It is both solemn and joyful. As Fr. George Rutler explains in his book, The Stories of Hymns:

"[It] is a little like the way of the Church when she is faithful to herself: there are some celebrations too joyful for ordinary happiness. To be solemn is not necessarily to be sad; it can be a very high happiness. When that is forgotten, the sacred dance can be twisted by touchy-feely affectation into superficial hugging and self-conscious cuteness. And so it is in the 'Church of What's Happening Now.' But it cannot be so in the Church Catholic" (p. 95).

And thus Fr. Rutler accurately describes my experience of Easter this year. Enjoy the solemn, and sacred, hymn of praise:

BONUS:

The boys had breakfast in bed at the hotel. 

Princess Emilie hogs the main bed to herself.

Last Easter

 This Easter

 The family

And picking up a bit of bunny poo when we got home!

Babel! Babel! Look at me now

Before Mass yesterday, a Mass in which the Millette choir made its first appearance since January 1st, my brother and I were jokingly creating little gimmicks we could add to the Mass. For instance, turning the fan on high on during the first reading (been done before), turning the lights out and having a bonfire, or releasing a dove into the church. It doesn't take a genius to create gimmicks for Mass, but it does take a fool to implement them. BenedictXVI/Ratzinger famously said: “The greatness of the liturgy depends – we shall have to repeat this frequently – on its unspontaneity” (Spirit of the Liturgy, 166).

So Mass was going along nicely. Lots of Latin, chant, polyphony, and squirmy liberals. Then the priest stated he wanted everyone to speak the Our Father in a different language. What followed was the most awkward Our Father ever prayed at a non-clown Mass. Everyone, in hushed voices, "babbling" whatever language they knew. In unity with the Universal Church I did mine in Latin, but was cut off near the end. Apparently Latin takes longer to say.

The theology behind it all is astounding. Man, in his pride, wanted to build a tower to the heavens. God confounded the self-seeking plan at salvation, and confused the people with many languages. At Pentecost the Holy Spirit came and, by the birth of the Church, all people were able to understand the voice of the apostles. The apostles did speak with diverse tongues, but their voice was understood by all. A complete undoing of Babel. Two thousand years later we have priests wanting to still undo Pentecost. Never mind the GIRM: "It is desirable that they know how to sing together at least some parts of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, especially the Profession of Faith and the Lord’s Prayer, according to the simpler settings" (par. 41). Never mind Canon Law “In celebrating the sacraments the liturgical books approved by competent authority are to be observed faithfully; accordingly, no one is to add, omit, or alter anything in them on one’s own authority" (846 §1). 

Do your own thing. Just don't criticize.

Like the city that nurtured my greed and my pride,

I stretched my arms into the sky

I cry Babel! Babel! Look at me now

Then the walls of my town, they come crumbling down

                                      - Mumford and Sons

Why I prefer the Extraordinary Form of the Mass

A Mass is a Mass is a Mass? Although the Mass is the one true sacrifice of Christ, ultimately how it is celebrated is of great importance to us. We use our senses to soak in what is around us. If what we see, smell, and taste is like bacon, well, that's probably what it is. If it looks, smells, and feels like a pig with lipstick, that's probably what it is. A Mass is a Mass is a Mass is somewhat like saying a car is a car is a car. Sure a k-car and a ferrari are both intended to get you to your destination, but there is a significant difference in how quickly and effectively each one will.

With this in mind, I must confess that I prefer attending the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (EF) over the Novus Ordo Mass (NO.. and I don't mean "NO" as if to put it down... far from it! It's simply just the initials for Novus Ordo). Becca and I wish we lived closer to Saskatoon, thus making it easier for us to attend on a regular basis.Here are my main reasons why for prefering the EF:

1 - Latin

2 - Music

3 - Not the "Look at Me!" show

4 - No (or very few) liturgical abuses

5 - Communion Rail

6 - Altar boys

7 - Ad Orientem and more beautiful in general, such as with vestments, high altars, etc.

8 - The prayers

9 - The priestly actions are more controlled.

10 - More continuity with the Church's organically developed practice.

"But wait!" you say. "Many of these things are sometimes in the Novus Ordo Mass!" Correction. These things are/should-always-be in the Novus Ordo Mass. Let's take a look at my list again.

1 - Latin
Sacrosanctum Concilium (Vatican II document) permitted the vernacular. However, the language of the Church, and the Mass, is still Latin. This is why I refuse to simply call the EF rite the Latin Mass. The EF rite and the Novus Ordo rite are both intended to be in Latin. In fact, the recent Novus Ordo General Instruction of the Roman Missal tells us that, at the very very least, we should all be singing the parts of the Mass in Latin.

"Since the faithful from different countries come together ever more frequently, it is desirable that they know how to sing together at least some parts of the Ordinary of the Mass in Latin, especially the Profession of Faith and the Lord’s Prayer, according to the simpler settings.[cf. SC 54, Inter Oecumenici 59, Musicam Sacram 47]"(GIRM 41).

Latin is profound. Even if you don't understand it, a certain Ratzinger used to say that even this is a symbol of the fact that a heavenly language is needed to proclaim the praise and mystery of the Mass. Isn't it ironic that liberals in the Church freak out over people not standing together at communion, "for the sake of unity," yet scoff at a universal language of prayer.

2 - Music
The vast vast majority of Novus Ordo Masses have music that makes you want to stab your ears with pencils until they are rendered incapable of ever hearing another Dan Schutte-me-now narcissistic folk sing song again. On the other hand, at the EF Mass we attend great care is taken to providing beautifully chanted Mass parts (note: not added on songs) that actually sing praise to God, not man. But the Church has always taught that Gregorian chant is the measuring stick for sacred music. Again, GIRM 41 says:

"The main place should be given, all things being equal, to Gregorian chant, as being proper to the Roman Liturgy. Other kinds of sacred music, in particular polyphony, are in no way excluded, provided that they correspond to the spirit of the liturgical action and that they foster the participation of all the faithful.[cf. SC 116, also SC 30]."

Sacred music is the greatest of artistic treasures in the Church. It is not just for the EF but for all liturgies.

3 - Not the "Look at Me!" show
4 - No (or very few) liturgical abuses
Let's group 3 and 4 together. Wouldn't it be odd for a priest at the EF Mass to start changing the words of the Mass, and start rambling off in Latin about praying for Aunt Betsy's pet llama and how good it is to see so many youth at Mass and that we must truly care for mother earth because this is the greatest cause of Christianity this day. Heck, it would be weird to hear a Latin "good morning!" immediately following the opening sign of the cross. It's just... out of place. Once again, though, this holds true for both the NO and EF.

5 - Communion Rail
I love the communion rail. So practical. So reverent. Even the "scrum" leading up to communion is great. There are no ushers. This means that those who do not think they are prepared to receive communion are not pressured to receiving. I mean, really? Everyone goes to communion in the NO liturgy. Everyone is in a state of grace? Once again, though, communion rails can be for both the EF and NO.

6 - Altar boys
Again, even in the NO priests have the right to have only a male sanctuary. Altar boys go beyond the immediate Mass. There is the idea that they are also experiencing a closeness to Mass which helps in the discernment process.

7 - Ad Orientem and more beautiful in general, such as with vestments, high altars, etc.
This is a significant point. I firmly believe, for strong theological reasons, all Masses should be said ad orientem. The Mass is primarily a sacrifice, with the priest offering the needs of the people, and himself, on the altar (Ratzinger, Feast of Faith). Also, it is a sign of the missionary Church seeking the promised land (Exodus). Going along with ad orientem worship is beautiful high altars, and a greater care for beautiful vestments and such. But you get the point here. Such things should also be seen in Novus Ordo Masses. In fact, ad orientem, as I understand it, is still the primary way to say Mass in the NO. Thankfully Cardinal Robert Sarah, head of the Congregation for Divine Worship, is working on this. (Note: I'm currently reading the new book about him... wow! What a saint!)

8 - The prayers
I remember in university when I started going to the EF Mass in Saskatoon. I was blown away with how profound the prayers were, to the point of reading through the little red manual while eating breakfast each morning. Unfortunately many of the NO prayers were hastily made up, or very poorly translated. Furthermore, what's with all the option for the Eucharistic Prayers? Originally the sixties liturgists argued that they were trying to act in the name of an alleged Hippolytus text. This reasoning has since been disproved. All in all, I hold that the prayers in the EF Mass are more profound and beautiful. Note: am not saying that the NO prayers are not profound and beautiful!

9 - The priestly actions are more controlled
The actions of the priest in the EF Mass fill me with awe. Signs of the crosses here, genuflections there. A deep bow here. This word spoken aloud, then back to a whispered voice. The priest is a slave to what is going on. I hear stories about priests who, once they learn to say the EF, are impacted deeply, and feel they, for the first time, understand how to say the Mass.
Once again, though it may be difficult, the mentality of the priest as a slave to the liturgy is certainly possible in the NO.

10 - More continuity with the Church's organically developed practice
Look, I've read Vatican II many times. Certain documents of it I've read easily over fifty times. I have literally written hundreds of pages on Vatican II, including summaries for each and every document. Whenever someone tries to interpret Vatican II to me, I always wait to see if they mention another document: Mediator Dei by Pius XII. The long and short of it is, Vatican II can not, shall not, will not be read faithfully unless it is read in light of Mediator Dei. Withouth Mediator Dei, Vatican II becomes what we now experience it to be. With Mediator Dei and its teaching on Church continuity, Vatican II becomes what it is supposed to be. In other words, All these reasons why I prefer the EF mass over the NO mass can all be solved if Vatican II is read in light of Mediator Dei. Let me put it this way. The most beautiful, prayerful, and wonderful mass I ever intended was... a Novus Ordo Mass. It was a Latin Novus Ordo mass at St. Patrick's in Montreal. Everything that I have mentioned above was done properly, in light of the Church's organic development, as taught in Mediator Dei. It was a Mass I will never forget. I long for such a Mass.

So a Mass is a Mass is a Mass? When following the full teaching of the Church, it's possible. But then, all things are possible when we follow the full teaching of the Church. What an extraordinary thought.