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Yippee!
So this morning we had Low Mass. Two boys have been busy learning all the responses and actions (they're a little shaky on some of the pronunciation, but hey, so am I) and watching them getting to grips with the moves is pretty amazing. I've said it before, but this really is the original "liturgical dance" with every action laid down precisely in the rubrics. It is awesome...
Now I know that the Mass is the Mass is the Mass... whatever form, however badly celebrated, whatever the state of the priest, Jesus Christ himself deigns to come down to us in the Real Presence. I would never deny that the Novus Ordo is just as valid as the Classical Mass. And, with Fr. Tim as my Parish Priest, I am luckier than many in having less to complain about in the celebration of the Novus Ordo (no chance of getting a cheery "Good morning, folks, and I hope you're all feeling fine and dandy for our celebration today, and now let's tell God...")
But...
I have to admit that I am likely to thump the next person who states that the priest has his back to the people. Hasn't anyone ever noticed that, unless you are in the front row, there are quite a few members of the congregation who have their backs to you... ?! The priest is facing the same way as everyone else: towards God. And the prayers are addressed to God. In the Novus Ordo it can feel as if we are responding to the priest... not for nothing is it referred to as a "dialogue Mass."
The silence and the lack of continual movement on the part of the congregation are so liberating: I am truly free to participate in whatever way I want (and that won't be the same each week.) I can choose to follow what is happening by reading a Missal which gives a translation of the prayers and readings, or I can follow the words in the Latin closely and pray along with them under my breath, or I can pray the Rosary, or I can use a prayer book to meditate on the different parts of the Mass... or I can just sit and revel in the fact that I am in the Presence of God, and He loves me...
Incidentally, the Missal I have for the Extraordinary Form of Mass was the first indication for me that catechesis since the reforms of Vatican II has been sorely lacking: the wealth of information about what is happening during the Sacrifice of the Mass, and about how to prepare for Mass and for Holy Communion is really mindblowing. By comparison, the Missals available (in English) for the Novus Ordo are seriously dumbed-down.
God bless you, Holy Father, for liberating the Extraordinary Form of Mass.