The Community for Catholic Moms

Extraordinary Catholics

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A group for those who follow the beautiful traditional Latin Mass. This is the Mass which has now been coined "The Extraordinary Form of the Mass" by Pope Benedict XVI in his encyclical "Muto Propio"

Location: Web based
Members: 21
Latest Activity: Aug 12

FAQ:

1. Is this Rite of the Mass permitted by the Pope?
When Pope Paul VI introduced his New Rite of Mass in 1969 he gave permission for the continuation of the Tridentine Rite in England and Wales, for example. Many priests were accorded the right to continue celebrating the Traditional Latin Mass, as well, and then, in 1984 Pope John Paul extended that permission to the whole world. In 1988 the Pontiff asked the Bishops to be generous in the application of the permission.

In 2007, Pope Benedict XVI acknowledged that every priest has a right to offer this form of the Mass, which he calls the Extraordinary Form.

2. In the Traditional Latin Mass, do the people sing or say the prayers with the priest?
Just as in the celebration of the Mass in the Ordinary Form (post-Vatican II Mass), the priest alone will recite many of the prayers of the Extraordinary Form of the Mass (1962 Missale Romanum). At a High Mass where the choir sings the Ordinary (unchanging) and Proper (changing) chants, the people are encouraged to sing the responses (i.e. Amen, Et cum spiritu tuo, Dignum et justum est, etc.), and if possible, the Ordinary (i.e. Kyrie, Gloria, Credo, Sanctus, Agnus Dei). At a Low Mass the people can sing hymns along with the choir. At a special form of the Low Mass called the Dialogue Mass, which is celebrated in some places, the people may also recite some of the responses with the altar boys.

A newcomer to the Extraordinary Form of the Mass will notice that at a High Mass, the choir often sings while the priest is quietly praying at the altar. Because it typically takes the choir a longer time to sing its part than it takes for the priest to say his part, the two will overlap.

3. Does the Traditional Latin Mass fulfill the Sunday obligation?
Of course! - as it has for nearly twenty centuries.

4. Why does the priest not face the people for most of the Traditional Latin Mass?
The priest offers Mass facing the same direction as the people, because he and the people together are offering worship and sacrifice to God. He is not turning his back on the people to exclude them. Rather, as a Christian community, are all facing ad orientem (i.e. toward the east) waiting in joyful expectation for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ who will return to judge the living and the dead and the world by fire (Rite of Baptism, 1962).

What in the early Church determined the position of the altar was that it faced Eastward. To quote St. Augustine: "When we rise to pray, we turn East, where heaven begins. And we do this not because God is there, as if He had moved away from the other directions on earth..., but rather to help us remember to turn our mind towards a higher order, that is, to God."

This quotation shows that the Christians of those early days, after listening to the homily, would rise for the prayer which followed, and turn towards the East. St. Augustine always refers to this turning to the East in prayer at the end of his homilies, using a set formula, Conversi ad Dominum ("turn to face the Lord").

Discussion Forum

Solemn High Mass 2 Replies

Started by Christine. Last reply by Erika Drain Oct. 19, 2009.

Mass Control 6 Replies

Started by Erika Drain. Last reply by Michele Aug. 26, 2009.

Comment Wall

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Comment by Erika Drain on August 12, 2010 at 1:02am: Hi everyone! Just wanted to stop by and announce that Todd, my DH, got a job! He will be telecommuting with a company from Denver, CO!!! So this means we can move anywhere the Latin Mass is stable!!! Thank you for your prayers and sweet words! Now...where to move? lol...we are probably going to end up in Ohio...the FSSP just established a Apostolate there (I hope I'm not repeating myself here, lol)! GBY all and keep us in your prayers as we know this whole situation has to do with being able to attend a Latin Mass Community!

Comment by Cathy LeBlanc on July 20, 2010 at 9:50am: I remember having to put +JMJ+ on all my work for some of my classes. Not all the teachers required it, but I used to like it. I think I may start making my 1st grader do it in homeschool. We attend Latin Mass at our designated Cathedral for our Archdiocese...it takes us an hour and 10 minutes, one way, to get there. I really hope we get one closer to us one day, especially with daily Mass. It has been 1 year this June that we began attending the TLM on a regular basis...loving it!

Comment by Erika Drain on July 20, 2010 at 12:29am: I taught at a school with Carmelite nuns and the kids all had to place +JMJ+ as the header and footer of their assignments...I loved it and try to do it as often as possible... :)

Comment by Stephanie Martin on July 20, 2010 at 12:23am: That's wonderful, Erika. :) BTW, my grandparents used "J.M.J" all the time. I miss them so much.

Comment by Erika Drain on July 20, 2010 at 12:09am: Thank you, so much everyone for the prayers and the information! :) I'm secretly excited that he got laid off! lol...oh how we dream of having the EFM available daily! <3 We have a priest friend who is FSSP who is willing to baptize our baby at our local Parish but the Pastor won't allow it and said we need to go to another parish 50 minutes North of us to do it (that's were the EFM is offered now in our Diocese)...so we are very excited for this Mass possibility and job as well - ALL prayers are SO welcomed! :) God bless you all! Pax Christi! +JMJ+

Comment by Stephanie Martin on July 19, 2010 at 11:53pm: Thank you very much, Christine :)

Comment by Christine on July 19, 2010 at 11:50pm: Welcome Stephanie!

Erika, your family will be in my prayers, as your huband looks for a job. The FSSP lists all of their locations on their website, http://fssp.com/press/locations/.

Comment by Stephanie Martin on July 19, 2010 at 6:59pm: Thank you, Jessica. :)

Comment by Patricia Warren on July 19, 2010 at 6:06pm: Everyone, there is also a French Wiki page that lists EF Masses worldwide at http://honneurs.free.fr/Wikini/wakka.php?wiki=PagePrincipale

It is user-updated, so anyone can go there and post about the Masses they know about. I keep up the Diocese of Raleigh EF, as I direct the schola (Schola Vox Clara) that sings for the EF around the diocese as well as in my home church.

Comment by Jessica Kendel on July 19, 2010 at 5:40pm: Welcome Stephanie! Glad to hear about your love for the TLM!

Erika and anyone else who is interested. If you did not know there is a website www.traditio.com that has a list of traditional latin masses listed for each area in the country. Erika that might be a big help to you as you search for a new area to go where you can attend the Latin mass. The directory includes all Latin masses so it does include latin masses provided by the Society of St. Pius the V, the Society of Pius X, CMRI and independent priests as well as diocese or FSSP masses. The author appears to favor independent and other masses said by priest who hold a sede-vacantist belief, but you and your family can make the decision as to which masses you choose to attend. In my opinion, it is so cool to have a list of all the TLMs in North America. We are military and move frequently so it has come in handy a lot. Erika I pray that God helps you to find a good job for your husband and a good mass to attend with a regular (by that I mean steady or constant- every sunday or every day if possible) priest. God bless!