The Wheat&Weeds made a rare foray into the world of "attending Mass as a family" this morning. Usually the two parents attend separate masses w/ different Weedlets in tow --in the interest of Mom Actually Being Able to Pray At One Mass Each Week (baby thinks all silences are to be filled w/ the sound of his voice).
Through a series of fortuitous misunderstandings between the parents, we ended up at the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception and stumbled upon a First Mass of a priest ordained yesterday for the Diocese of Arlington. Mass was in the gorgeous crypt, and it was a solemn high mass complete with polyphany choir and K of C honor guard (which kept the 4-year-old sufficently distracted. "But Mom, knights are supposed to have swords," was his only complaint). A mass like that puts RC2 in the immediate spirit of worship. Her kids: not so much (about which more in a sec).
A bit of Catholic lore from the new priest's comments at the close of mass. He said that there is an ancient custom in the Church that the priest receives the cloth that binds his hands after they are annointed for use as his finger towel at his first mass. This cloth is to be buried with his parents when they die, so they can offer "proof" that they've given a vocation to the Church. Isn't that cool?
Her children's mixed reactions to the solemn high mass (they rarely experience one because our parish used to have one of the Glory & Praise composers in residence, so the "folk" mass is an enshrined tradition and the "traditional" choir is, forgive me Lord, dreadful. It means well, but several of its members can't carry a tune) turned her thoughts once again to liturgy and the fact that tastes have to be educated. You can't, as the Traditionalists would have it, simply announce, "And now, after that little interruption, we return to our regularly scheduled Latin rite," and expect everyone to "get it." By now, the new forms are themselves a kind of tradition. Mess with them, and you will be doing to others precisely what you feel was done to you. Coincidentally, stumbled upon a George Weigel column on this very topic as it relates to B16.
