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| The Tridentine Mass expresses best the catholicity of the Catholic Church. The way in which the Tridentine Mass developed in a steady manner from the earliest days gives it a perfectly clearer connection to the Mystical Body throughout the centuries. The Tridentine Mass is also said basically the same way in every Latin Rite diocese in every country of the world. There may be insignificant differences in customs from one place to another (like whether the priest wears a biretta or not, or whether it's a dialog Mass or not), but going to a Tridentine Mass anywhere in the world, you know exactly what to expect and everything is quite familiar. The use of the Latin language and Chant also form an intimate connection between Roman Rite Catholics of every era and every nation. Another way the Tridentine Mass is good is that everything is significant. A person could spend a lifetime learning the meaning of every tiny detail of the Tridentine Mass. And it is an interesting thing to learn about. There are several adv0antages to this in the Tridentine Mass. For one thing, there is a lot of instruction that can be gained from watching and listening, when a person knows the meaning behind what is going on. This was the same adv0antage to the symbolism of stained-glass windows and statues (quite a bit of that was tossed out along with many items of symbolism in the Mass). With symbolism, much more significance and meaning can be squeezed into a much smaller space or much shorter amount of time. But it must be learned first. When it is less necessary to learn about what is there because things are more blatant and obvious, people feel less need to study the Mass at all. Then what can happen is that people do not understand even the basics of what happens at Mass. There are few distractions at the Tridentine Mass. There is no place in the Tridentine Mass for socializing, which is easy for things like the "Sign of Peace" to be corrupted into. There's also no distraction that comes from wondering what strange thing the priest is going to do next as happens sometimes. The actions of the priest during the Tridentine Mass seem to be laid out more precisely and in greater detail and with fewer options, which leaves little room for surprises. One more reason for my personal preference is that the Tridentine Mass is its beauty. There is a grandeur and awesomeness in the prayers and rituals of the Tridentine Mass. The way things are expressed in the Tridentine Mass finds the perfect balance between being trite and being obscure. And the actions performed are unmatched in their precision and grace and expressiveness. I do go to a Novus Ordo Mass when I cannot go to the Tridentine Mass (that Mass is only on Sundays around here, so I go to the Novus Ordo Mass on the other 6 days of the week). I wish I could attend the Tridentine Mass all the time -- but I am grateful that there is a daily Mass of some kind that I can attend every day. I've heard there are parts of the country where people are deprived of a daily Mass altogether, and the most important thing about the Mass is the glorious Sacrifice that takes place at every valid Mass, regardless of the Rite. I hope one day to live someplace where I'll be able to attend the traditional Mass every day! DE:http://rickmk.com/trid.html |