March 24, 2004
Brilliant!
Go read this right now. It is a great fisking of some idiot who is lamenting the introduction of one (count 'em, that's one) Traditional Rite mass in the Diocese of Phoenix.
Now, I am perfectly happy with the Novus Ordo, in Latin, celebrated reverently, and I do tend to think that there are a lot of people out there who pine for some glorious golden age of Catholicism that flourished in the 1940's and 1950's. However, when some aging Boomer gets so hysterical about one Traditional Mass, I have to wonder what it is that he really is objecting to and what he really likes about the current state of the liturgy.
I honestly cannot see how anyone who is not tone-deaf, blind, and stupid could think that the church architecture, liturgy, music, and art that 95% of the American Church has to suffer under is anything but crap. The people who defend this garbage talk about "engaging the culture" and all sorts of stuff that sounds (and is, in theory) quite good.
One time I was talking about some stained-glass monstrocity that I encountered and some Boomer started to defend them and accused me of being resistant to modern art. I started to probe and certain enough, said Boomer's defense of Modern Art was nothing more than knee-jerk reaction. She had never heard of Diebenkorn, Ryman, Neri, Stella, and a host of others, yet she was telling me that my criticism was based on nothing more than some yearning to go back to the 1950's.
Run along little Boomer. Go play with children your own age. The grown ups are having a discussion here.
OK, I am being unfair to the Baby Boomers. This specimen was actually slightly older than the Boomers (an even more dangerous group).
In a way, she was right. I do yearn for aspects of the 1950's, like the high point of Abstract Expressionism (as found in Richard Diebenkorn's Berkeley series from 1955 and 1957).
Posted by erik at March 24, 2004 10:54 AM | TrackBackRyan:
I am so proud of you, my former Latin student.
Why not learn Latin? What do you think they speak in heaven?? (Remember that one?)
SC
That is really good. What is the opposition to the Latin Rite anyway???I go on Saturday Nights to a Novus Ordo Latin Mass, by and large it is not much better then a well done Novus Ordo in English. It does, however, allow me to keep the Latin slightly sharp, which is very useful in this banking field that I enjoy so much. Seriously, boomers really need to found their own church. I remember seeing Fr. Fessio in an interview once, where a boomer was grilling him. He stopped and said "If you don't like the rules no one said you HAD TO BE A CATHOLIC". Look the Unitarian church would love to have you and your social justice, Dean Howard (that is for you Erik) loving, tree hugging, lack of eucharistic respecting loosers. As for the rest of us that enjoy, nay yearn for a liturgy that nutures us and furthers our understanding of the salvivic nature of Christ, let us worship in the language of the Church Universal it doesn't hurt you at all.
RAM