I'm sure I will get the phrasing wrong in this, but please bear with me.
Yesterday we attended a mass in the Extraordinary Form, known commonly as a latin mass. It was the first time that any of us had attended such a mass.
I knew it would be very different than the Novus Ordo masses we usually attend, so I tried to prep as much as possible. I watched a couple You Tube videos of parts of a High Mass, found a latin-english missal online with the Ordinary of the mass and read through it. Plus, I bought the book The Latin Mass Explained by MSGR George J Moorman. Great book. I wish I had read more of it prior to us attending the mass.
Despite my preparations, I was still quite lost during the mass. I spent far more time trying to follow around and follow the people around me in standing, kneeling, and sitting, than I did focusing on God. That is not too surprising since it was my first time attending, I was very nervous, and it was all so new to me.
A large part of me didn't like the mass. I felt like I wasn't getting much out of it other than observing what was going on. But therein lies something that also sticks with me.
It was extremely clear that the focus on the mass was NOT about me or about what I got out of it. The focus of the mass was very clearly the sacrifice offered to God. As MSGR Moorman called it, the mass is the great drama; The priest approaching God to offer Him the highest form of worship, a sacrifice. The sacrifice of the Mass is the unbloody sacrifice of the Eucharist. We, the lay people, participate in this offering together as one body. We are there united as one body, one Church, before God. We are not there to stand alone as individuals and think of ourselves.
Of course, this is the case with every mass. But the sacredness, the beauty, and the words and actions of the latin mass drove home that point very clearly.
It would be nice to be able to attend that mass more often, but it is a 45 minute drive during nap time. The result is an extremely over-tired and cranky baby.
On the way home we had a good conversation about the seal of confession. I take great comfort in knowing that not only can a priest not tell anyone what I said to him during the sacrament of reconciliation (confession), he is forbidden from even acknowledging to anyone that I went to confession. He must keep the seal of confession even at the threat of jail or death.
Joe of course brought up the argument about murders and child molesters confessing something during confession and the duty to protect others. I did my best to summarize this article for him:
http://catholicexchange.com/can-priests-ever-reveal-what-is-said-in-confession
Overall, I think attending a latin mass was a good experience for us. Perhaps someday we will make it to another one.
