Priest, Where Is Thy Mass? Mass, Where Is Thy Priest: Seventeen Independent Priests Tell Why They Celebrate The Latin Mass

By Angelus Press

Seventeen Roman Catholic priests (none of whom are formally members of the Society of Saint Pius X) explain why they celebrate the old rite of the Latin Mass instead of the New Mass. In question and... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1892331268
• ISBN13: 9781892331267
• Release Date: April 2004
• Publisher: Angelus Pr
• Length: 210 Pages
• Weight: 0.64 lbs.
• Dimensions: 8.3" x 0.5" x 5.5"

Customer Reviews

Hurrah for the Priests of the Tridentine Rite

My earliest memories of Mass are of the first stages of the New Order. I remember having a Communion rail, then not having one. Over the years, I felt that the Mass provided me less and less grace. I have gone for years not going because there seemed to be no point. I won't say the New Order itself was bad, but in the way it is celebrated, it does seem to be susceptible to being "dumbed down" way too much. Almost by accident, I discovered that a Latin Tridentine Mass was celebrated near me every Sunday afternoon. Since then, I never miss Mass unless I have to work. It is almost like the Tridentine Mass provided something to my soul that the New Order did not. This book helps a lot to explain that phenomenon. If I felt that way, how much more deeply would the priest feel it?

some thoughts....

I came back into the Church after a 35 year journey in evangelical protestantism. I figured that priests, bishops and the parishoners all believed in the teachings of the Church, consistent over 2000 years, or they would move on to the "church of fun" down the street. Wrong. I was dismayed beyond belief. I've always been a voracious reader and went through writings of various saints like Aquinas and St. Augustine. Where was the Catholic Church of history? It certainly isn't the one with the sign that says, "St. So-and-So Catholic Community." That one is Catholic in name only. Through God's grace I discovered the traditional movement where people like myself will drive over an hour each way to attend "The Mass." People attend because they want to be Catholic. Read the book!

A Look Deep into the Mysterious World of Catholic Tradition.

Over the last few years, the students at the SSPX seminary in Winona, Minnesota, conducted interviews with priests who still say the Traditional Latin Mass as opposed to the Novus Ordo. THis little gem is the result of those interviews. None of the priests interviewed are members of the SSPX. THeir numbers include both secular and order priests, those ordained before the famous (or infamous) Second Vatican Council and those who lived through the touchy-feely drivel inflicted on modern seminarians. All have come to the same conclusion, namely that the changes that swept through the ROman Catholic CHurch in the 1960s and '70s have led to an unacceptable break with the Church's history and her Sacred Traditions. All of them would break away from their Liberal Bishops and begin providing The Mass and the Sacraments to the Traditional Faithfull in what Traditonal Catholics refer to as "Independant Chapels." SOme are cut off altogether from their pensions and have their faculties revoked by their bishops. Their interviews well reflect the bitterness of Traditional Catholics who have watched everything they love trounced in the years since the REvolution. One of them, ironically, tells how Archbishop Levada, the Pope's new appointment as head of the Holy Office, once told him how Transubstantiation "is a long and difficult word and we don't use it anymore." Others tell of years of suffering in silence and fear of being "outed" as Traditionalists. The world of modern day Catholic Tradition is a highly fascinating one and is known to so very few. The SSPX seminarians of Winona deserve a round of applause for bringing these interviews to light.

take a look

At my parish one of the easiest ways to tell a joke is to mention the traditionalist/Tridentine movement. Within minutes everyone listening will jump in to call the Traditionalists names and to mock them. I never really thought about it before but after reading Priest Where is Thy Mass, Mass Where is Thy Priest, I find myself wondering why there is so much hostility towards them. Each one of these priests has a very sad story to tell. They preferred for various reasons to say the traditional mass instead of the Novus Ordo and they all got smacked down for it. This is strange when you stop to consider that some of our bishops have ignored or covered up some pretty foul behavior in the past and yet these 17 men were handled with such scorn and even outright cruelty. If this is how traditionalists were usually treated in the 70s, 80s and 90s then it's no wonder why some are bitter about the experience. The book makes for painful reading. Some of the priests here rebounded with humor, others are obviously angry and disgusted. All of them seemed sad and still a little shocked at how things have turned out. If you've ever cracked a joke about the traditionalists or was the least bit curious about them read this book and try to do it with an open mind. I'm glad I did.