“Lex orandi, lex credendi“
I am going to provide a short summary as to why I chose to stop attending the novus ordo Mass (I will refer to it as the New Mass) and exclusively attend the Traditional Latin Mass (TLM). Having attended the TLM now on a regular basis for over a year now, I am 100% convinced my decision to transition my family over to attending a TLM parish was the best decision of my life. I will try to explain why.
The roots of this decision to exclusively attend the TLM for me and my family actually dates back to my childhood and would require a more full-length book—which I am working on for this topic if people are actually interested. For purposes of this post, I am going to focus on the most immediate and important reasons for our decision to exclusively attend the TLM.
At the outset, I will note that there are many great people who I respect and love at our former New Mass parish. There was no point when I thought any individual parishioners, priests and staff at the parish did not genuinely care about me and my family. I believe they always had, and still have, the best of intentions and a strong desire to serve God.
The main reasons we chose to leave, including leaving the parish school in which my youngest daughter was enrolled in, involved several factors. These issues and factors would apply to most New Mass parishes, in my opinion, which is why I think this story will resonate with a lot of Catholics and perhaps even some protestants thinking about converting to the Catholic faith.
The Mass is About Sacrifice
First and foremost, are the differences between the New Mass and the TLM forms. The New Mass and the TLM are technically two different forms of the same Roman rite. However, the TLM is NOT the New Mass, just said in Latin. Both forms of the Mass are canonically valid, but the differences are profound. Our move to the TLM significantly impacted my family’s spiritual life and understanding of the faith.
Yes, the TLM is said in Latin, and for very good reasons. Putting that aside, this should not concern a newcomer. Although it may be hard to follow at first, you can buy a missal which provides the English translation or sometimes the parish will have one for you to use. Even if you get lost at first, that is okay. More importantly, unlike the New Mass where it is easy to get caught up worrying about whether to stand or sit and what to say (because the form insists that the congregation participate), in the TLM, the priest and altar servers perform this role on your behalf. So, don’t worry if you don’t know Latin!
The TLM’s focus is on sacrifice. The Sacrifice of the Holy Mass is and always has been primarily, and most importantly, about sacrifice. It always has been since the TLM was first celebrated in most of its parts not long after the time of Christ, but certainly solidified by the time of St. Gregory the Great in the sixth century. It is not primarily a community meal or group worship service like the New Mass, instituted in 1969, tends to communicate.
As a fairly uninformed Catholic school kid growing up in the 1980s attending the New Mass, the concept of sacrifice for the atonement of sin was rarely mentioned, let alone discussed. Perhaps the idea of a naked, bloody, suffering Jesus on the cross suffocating to death was too unpleasant for some, and it was more pleasing to talk about the wise, loving Jesus who hung out with sinners and preached peace and love. I don’t know.
The reality is that when the priest, reflecting Christ’s words at the Last Supper, says “this is My Body, which is given for you” and “this is the chalice of My Blood, which shall be shed for you,” Christ at that moment really and truly becomes present under the appearance of bread (in the host) and the wine (in the chalice). Christ was foretelling and instituting the Sacrament of Holy Communion at the Last Supper in anticipation of what would be completed on the Cross. The Mass allows us to participate in that one sacrifice at Calvary in a mystical or sacramental way. This is very serious business, and it should be treated as such.
Reverent Worship and Practice Matters
While the priest in the New Mass says the same words at the consecration (the transformation of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood), and validly consecrates the hosts, much of the rest of the atmosphere at the Mass, including the prayers, does not reflect the reality of the sacrifice taking place before our eyes.
Distribution of Holy Communion is a perfect example. The consecrated Holy Eucharist is Christ. Receiving Holy Communion from a man (or woman for that matter) who is wearing an NFL jersey, or even wearing jeans and t-shirt, placing hosts into the hands of communicants walking through a communion line does not reflect the reality of holy sacrifice. Holy Communion is not a food pantry or a buffet line. Moreover, we believe that Christ is present in every single little particle of the host no matter how small. The fact that crumbs of the host most certainly drop to the floor to be stomped on by others in the communion line, should be reason enough to never receive communion in the hand again.
I have seen more than once Holy Eucharist dropped on the floor at the New Mass, only to be picked up and walked away with by the communicant. I have seen a lay Eucharistic minister trip on steps at the altar and spill the Precious Blood. I have actually seen the Precious Blood spilled multiple times onto the floor over the years, usually when the communicant attempts to drink and spills for some reason. How many Eucharistic particles or drops of Christ’s blood were scattered and splattered across the floor? I do not know. That’s the point, no one knows, but God knows.
Sadly, this risk of desecration, whether intentional or not, by receiving Holy Communion in the hand and drinking from the Chalice is ignored in most New Mass parishes. “It’s going to happen, accidents happen” is the attitude. Excuse me, but that is the Body and Blood of Christ who suffered a horrific death and died for you on the cross, an event just re-presented at the Mass!
To make matters worse, due to COVID, many pastors are now requiring their parishioners to ONLY receive communion in the hand, in violation of the canonical rights of Catholics to receive Holy Communion on the tongue while kneeling. This further communicates the unholy and revolting idea that Holy Communion is not “essential” and should take a back seat to secular concerns.
Contrast this with the TLM where only a priest distributes Holy Communion and only to the communicant on the tongue while they are kneeling (unless there is physical reason why you need to stand). The Chalice is not offered to the laity, which is fine because Christ’s Body and Blood is contained in both species. Only the priest distributes communion because only those with consecrated hands should be handling the hosts out of reverence and respect for the Holy Eucharist. This was always the rule strictly maintained in the Church until the 1960’s. Again, the Mass is about proper sacrifice, not a worship service designed to entertain and give lay people “something to do.”
This lack of reverence for the Holy Eucharist and the sacrificial nature of the Mass, translated into other areas as well. When you attend the TLM you will notice a major difference from the New Mass with respect to the music and hymns. This was one of the biggest motivators for me to start attending the TLM. The TLM High and Solemn Masses will typically have a pipe organ accompanied by a choir singing Gregorian Chant. As theologian Dr. Peter Kwasniewski points out, even the documents of Vatican II acknowledge that Gregorian Chant is “specially suited to the Roman liturgy; therefore, other things being equal, it should be given pride of place in liturgical services.”
Any yet, at the New Mass, Gregorian Chant is virtually unheard of. It is not uncommon to hear modern rock and roll beats played with guitars, drums, and pianos (which is also a percussion instrument not intended for liturgical worship) along with a choir singing hymns sounding like the latest John Denver hit if you happened to live in 1978. A few of these modern hymns are downright heretical if you actually read the lyrics, but most of them simply emphasize the communal nature of the Mass, while avoiding like the plague any notion of sacrifice. Bad music, makes for bad liturgy and bad worship. It also misleads the congregation about the nature and purpose of the Mass.
Reverence and Truth Educates the Community
The de-emphasis on the sacrificial nature of the Mass affects the attitude of those who attend Mass. At the New Mass, it is not uncommon to see women wearing backless dresses with uncovered shoulders or tight yoga pant leggings, while the men wear torn jean shorts, sandals and football jerseys. But it was the lack of silence and ongoing chattering before and after Mass that became unbearable for me. It was not uncommon for me to attempt to pray quietly after Mass while others were literally yelling at each other across the pews about what they were going to barbecue that day for the football game.
On the contrary, strict silence is always maintained before and after Mass at the TLM for prayer. The men almost always attend in their Sunday best, which is usually a suit and tie. Women are dressed nicely, but modestly. Although not required, many women also prefer and enjoy wearing a head (not a face!) covering, typically a chapel veil. Covering of the woman’s head at Mass is a long-standing Biblically supported practice. Father Phil Wolfe perhaps explained the chapel veil best,
“The veil is a visual sermon, it’s a visual statement, it’s a public proclamation before the Lord that He IS the Lord and that we love Him and that we are ready to obey him. It’s a totally counter-cultural statement proclaiming obedience in the midst of a culture that is totally permeated with this attitude of ‘I will not serve.’ That, in any age, but especially in ours, is a very great mystery indeed.”
Another major difference I have found is that the nature and quality of the homilies (the sermons) are much different. While the typical New Mass homily will typically offer happy, politically correct, non-challenging messages such as the need to “be nice” and helping the poor, the TLM homilies typically are going to be much more relevant to the salvation of your eternal soul. Topics such as heaven, hell, repentance, and the need to avoid sin are not uncommon themes at the TLM—they are almost completely avoided at the New Mass in my experience.
Why the focus on these not so very bright topics? Because they are the topics that we most need to hear about in the modern world today. The post-Vatican II Church’s refusal to acknowledge and call out evil for fear of the reactions of those both within and outside the Church demonstrates a lack of moral courage and inability to grasp the pervasive and ubiquitous nature of evil in our society. The Church’s primary function is not political or social activism—its primary job is the salvation of souls. This message has been lost since Vatican II—traditional priests are attempting to reset this disordered notion of the Church’s true mission.
There is much more to say about the differences between the two forms of Mass. The New Mass use of altar girls and women in liturgy, priests celebrating Mass facing the people with their back to Christ in the tabernacle, the watered-down Eucharistic prayers, the adlibbing within the liturgy by the priests, the removal of prayers and references to sacrifice throughout the Mass, and the removal of politically incorrect verses from the Bible reading rotation are all cause for concern. In my opinion, they are good reasons to attend the TLM where these things simply do not happen.
A Traditional Atmosphere Fosters and Supports Faith
Before concluding, I do want to mention that one of biggest differences I have noticed since joining the TLM Catholic community is the seriousness in which the parishioners take their faith and make it a part of their daily lives. Studies have shown TLM parishioners are much more likely to believe in the Real Presence and follow the Church’s moral teachings in their lives. They tend to contribute more financially to their parish and live consistently with the requirements and teachings of the Church (as authentically taught by the magisterium over 2000 years). They order their daily lives around the liturgical calendar of the Church rather than that of the secular world.
This is not to say that everyone who attends the New Mass lacks faith or lives immorally. Nor am I trying to say that those who attend the TLM are perfect—they are not. What I am saying is that those who attend the TLM, as a general matter, tend to live out their faith and the Church’s teachings in their daily lives (not just Sundays) and accept the Church’s harder teachings, even at great sacrifice.
This acceptance of the Church’s traditional moral teachings permeates the atmosphere and environment within the TLM parish itself. It creates a setting more conducive for those who reject the ways of the sinful world and provides a unique support base not found anywhere else in the culture. The TLM environment and the Mass itself constantly reminds us not to be of the world but to reorder and conduct our lives with our eternal destiny in mind. Living a lifestyle in accordance with God’s will is much easier when others you see every week (or every day) are doing the same thing.
What are you going to see when you attend the TLM? You are going to see many reverent, respectful young married couples with children. Other than some babies crying, you will experience a great amount of silence before, during and after Mass, intermixed with beautiful Gregorian Chant. You will experience the same Mass St. Gregory the Great in the 500s experienced, as well as the same Mass many of your ancestors dating back centuries participated in. You will hear solid unqualified Biblical teachings reinforced by the traditions and teachings of the Catholic Church that date back to Christ Himself without the interjection of modernist, politically correct commentaries. You will worship Christ in a more reverent and fruitful way that will bring more grace and peace into your life. These are just some reasons to attend the Traditional Latin Mass.
Again, the point is that both the liturgical environment and attitude of the clergy and laity should reflect the reality of the Mass. Our actions should reflect our faith and what we believe. This disconnect in the New Mass parishes is a major reason why I chose to only attend the TLM.
Much more can be said about all these topics. But I encourage anyone looking into converting to the Catholic faith, or who attend a New Mass parish now, to consider attending a Traditional Latin Mass parish near you. Admittedly, it may seem quite foreign to you at first, especially because the Mass is said in Latin. I promise after attending the TLM as least three or four times, you will be hooked.