Friday, September 19, 2008

"Discarding beauty"? A Priest Reflects

Dear Readers,

The following is the"true confession" of a priest: before he became a priest, it was the "most beautiful thing this side of heaven", the immemorial holy Mass which we now call the "Extraordinary Form" of the Roman Rite, which drew him to the altar of God and ordination as a priest.
What is haunting for me, and may also be for you, is to wonder how many vocations to the priesthood, how many conversions from error and false creeds, how many fallen-away Catholics may have been saved from their way had this very unnecessary tragedy been averted through an authentic, truly "Catholic", interpretation of the Second Vatican Council.
+mcitl

The priest writes:

"Many years ago, back in College (1981) I took a girl-friend to see a movie called 'True Confessions".

"It was about an ambitious priest who discovered what it really meant to be a priest.

"Anyway, the opening scene was of a solemn high nuptial mass. I was just a college kid and had never seen what the old mass looked like. I remember being amazed at the beauty of the Mass as displayed in the movie and wondered how and why the Church had ever discarded something so beautiful. I remember being angry that I had been deprived of my birthright. Somehow, also, that night the seeds of my own vocation were nurtured and I longed to see the day when this beautiful form of the mass would one day shine forth again. Here is an excerpt from that movie, the solemn high nuptial mass scene I saw. Enjoy this beautiful clip:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPjcBl48dwU

(The Movie, “True Confessions” can be purchased at Amazon.)

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