The Church, in her Wisdom has given us the Ordinary Form of the Mass. We, as a Church, are currently blessed with the option (in most places) to attend Mass using the Ordinary Form or the Extraordinary Form. Both are valid in the eyes of the Church and both have beauty and both can be done well or done horribly.

I’ve been to both forms and to be honest, I prefer the Ordinary Form, when celebrated reverently. I have been blessed to see the Ordinary Form celebrated with great reverence and love. I’ve seen it celebrated ad orientem, with many of the parts in Latin, and all the focus on Love Himself.

That is not to say that I do not love the Extraordinary Form, I also an very drawn to it as well. However, if I had the option here, where we are, I’d still pick a reverently done Ordinary Form Mass.

That being said: It pains me when I see/read fellow Catholics who do not see the beauty and/or the validity of the Ordinary Form. On a discussion group I belong to, members make it sound like the most horrible place in the world is a Ordinary Form Mass. There is talk about how glad they are for being able to escape the Ordinary Form for the Latin Mass. (Note: the OF is the Latin Mass as well.)

Sometimes I feel as though a wedge is being driven between those of us who are faithful Catholics because of the Mass we attend. Many times I feel as though I am judged to be less faithful because I prefer the Ordinary Form. I’ve actually been pondering this for a few weeks now.

Yes, both forms are valid, and yes, abuses can happen in both forms. However, both forms bring us the Source and Summit of our faith, Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus, Love Himself. God made flesh, come to Earth to die on the Cross for our Salvation. He is present in both forms! He comes to us, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity at each and every Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

We, as Catholics, need to realize that even if the priest celebrating Mass seems to want to be anywhere but there, if the people in the pews around us seem more interested in chatting that praying, or (and this is one I struggle with) if the hymn choices are suspect at best, heretical at worst, the Mass is still the Mass and Jesus has come to us in the Blessed Sacrament.

So please, let us put aside the judging over what form is attended and look to see the beauty that is present in both!

Karol asked if we could go to Mass again today. I couldn’t come up with a good reason to tell him no and my heart was telling me to go as well, so we went to the 1210 Mass in Valdosta. Joshua met us there as well, which made it nice.

On the way to town, Karol was upset about the retirement of our Holy Father and kept asking why. I reassured him that everything was going to be just fine and that God will not abandon us, Pope Benedict, nor the Church. That calmed him down a bit and seemed to accept my answers.

After Mass, we headed home, had lunch, then sat down for some quiet time. At 2pm, I told the kids it was time to say a prayer for our former Holy Father and for our Church.  I didn’t make it through the first Ave before I started bawling my eyes out. Saying goodbye is hard!

Now we wait for the announcement of the Conclave and the election of our new Pope. I don’t know about you, but I’m super excited to see what the Holy Spirit has in store for the Church!

This morning, I woke up early, threw my hair in a ponytail, got the kids dressed (with Joshua’s help) and headed off to Mass (with the kids, but without Joshua). Our pastor was offering the Mass today in Thanksgiving for Pope Benedict XVI and I wanted to be there, as it would be the last Mass where we would hear “Benedict our pope.”

I made it there, with a minute to spare, got in the pew with the kids. I made it through the Mass with a few children who thought silence was an option. I made it through with my temper in check. I ignored a fit being thrown by a cute four year old (she missed the Holy Water font on the way in and wasn’t happy about). Her fit involved her laying on the floor and being very quiet. I was okay with that for today.

Benedict (the two year old, not the Holy Father) brought a stuffed toy in with him. Yikes, normally not permitted and I was reminded why. Flamingo started snoring during the homily. No it wasn’t a toy that made noise, Benedict decided that it was sleepy.

Margaret and Karol had their little skirmishes but were mostly okay, I think. Maybe not. All I know is that at 37+ weeks along, I took my four kids to Mass on my own. There was a time where I was scared to just take the older two out in public on my own.

I am so very thankful for the Mass that Father offered this morning. Our pastor has a special connection to our Holy Father. He was studying in Roma when Blessed John Paul II died and was there in the Square when Pope Benedict was announced our pope. He was also selected to read during the Holy Father’s Inaugural Mass.

Let us keep our Holy Father in our prayers as he finishes out the final day of his Pontificate, and let us offer our prayers for the College of Cardinals, that they be guided by the Holy Spirit as they prepare for, then enter the Conclave, in the coming weeks.

 

 

 

 

“But of that day and hour no one knows, neither the angels of heaven, nor the Son,- but the Father alone.”
Matthew 24:36

I’ve seen a lot of discussion around the interwebs these past few weeks, about the end times. It seems that many people are buying in to prophesies about the end of the world and tying them into the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI. Many of these people, good and faithful Catholics, those who would scoff at a Mayan Calendar or someone predicting that the end of the world would happen at 6pm this Saturday, are taking to heart that Pope Benedict is the second to last pope and that the end of the world is upon us.

I don’t know if this is the case, because I’m not God (see scripture above), but even if it were, if I’m living my life as I should (trying to be faithful, receiving the sacraments as often as possible) why should I be afraid? Shouldn’t I trust in the Lord to deliver me from evil? We pray that every time we pray the Our Father, shouldn’t we believe that He will?