The Holy Father's Revolution

The Holy Father on the Liturgy: In the liturgy, we are all given the freedom to appropriate, in our own personal way, the mystery which addresses us." In fact, he turned the complaint around, noting that these manufactured liturgies themselves amount to a kind of tyranny exercised over hapless congregations, the vast bulk of which do not belong to parish liturgy committees. "Those able to draw up [manufactured] liturgies are necessarily few in number, with the result that what is 'freedom' for them means 'domination' as it affects others." (From Benedict's Revolution: The Return of the Old Latin Mass at Inside Catholic)

Tyranny is the exact word.

A TLM Parish!

A parish in Dayton, Ohio has embraced the TLM. And, surprise, surprise (not!) they are growing. A snippet: 

Though you might expect an aging congregation drawn by nostalgia for the good old days, the hundreds that gather at Holy Family include young families like the Wilsons. Their children, and many others in the parish, are being home-schooled.

“People who go here really care about what and how their kids are being taught,” said Angie Schwand, of Waynesville, who is home-schooling her four sons. ”If you’re doing that yourself, you’re making sure they are learning what they should and the reasons for it, especially in the religious area.”

Holy Family’s pastor, the Rev. Mark Wojdelski, said his church is committed to preserving traditions, and that’s what draws people.

“We get a lot of people who realize they were sort of robbed as children from some of the traditions that their parents took for granted,” said Wojdelski, whose history with the Dayton Latin Mass group dates back to 2006 when he began commuting from Indiana on Sundays to say Mass.

A Fearless Catholic

So, how does a Catholic convert who has discovered the TLM handle herself? First, a little bit of a recent interview, and then watch Ann Barnhardt's viral video below.

 iOTW: How devout are you in your faith?

Ann – Hmmm. How does one answer that without falling into massive false pride? I am a convert to Catholicism after years of study and logical, reasoned thought – which is NOT a sin, by the way, no matter what that nun with the six dollar crewcut told you. Beyond that, it only took me a year to find the pre-Vatican II Tridentine Latin Mass. If I had to guess where this bizarre strength and total lack of fear is coming from, I would have to guess that it is from my assisting (such as it is) at the sublime, holy Tridentine Mass. Internally and in my relationship with Christ I am admittedly a near-total disaster. I reckon He looks at me and just shakes His head. Mea culpa. Mea culpa. Mea maxima culpa.