To defend the old rite is not the same as being a worshiper of ancient times; it is to be eternal

To defend the old rite is not the same as being a worshiper of ancient times; it is to be eternal.

A quote. A quote Greg and I have read today, have liked, have discussed.

A quote from Mons. Domenico Bartolucci.

A quote in support of the "traditional" liturgy, what we now tend to call Mass in the Extraordinary Form.

I have written about liturgy before, some examples being here, and here.

Or, this post, or this and this.

Thus, reading the above interview gave me nuggets of hope, quotes to share, ideas to consider once again.

I told a friend, recently, about our praying at a Latin Mass on the Vigil of the Assumption. Her response was to say that she didn't like the Latin Mass ( she hasn't attended one! Ever!). Her reason? There would be no participation. ( What the #*#*?)

But there is participation. In the prayer. In the sacred music. In communion with Our Lord, with all the saints.

To quote from the interview ~ I know how participation in old times was like, both in Rome, in the (St. Peter’s) Basilica and outside it, for instance down here in Mugello, in this parish, in this beautiful countryside, which was then populated by people strong in faith and full of piety. During Sunday Vespers the priest could just start singing “Deus in adiutorium meum intende” and thereafter fall asleep on his seat to wake up only at the “chapter”, the peasants would have continued alone and the heads of the family would have intoned the antiphon!

But how does one understand the liturgy in Latin? There are missals to follow. Repeated attendance breeds familiarity with the rubrics, the prayers, the music. The liturgy tends to lift one's soul and mind. It is catechesis in action.

As the Msgr. says ~ Dearest friends, have you never read Saint Paul: “It is not important to know anything but what is necessary”, “it is necessary to love knowledge ad sobrietatem”