Tridentine Mass

Since the election of Benedict the XVI to pope, I've been hearing a lot about a supposed lift on the ban on the use of the old mass, also known as the Tridentine mass because it has roots in the council of Trent, not because because it has anything to do with a gun or is a three prong staff that you throw at people. After the first rumor failed to pan out (that a little over a year ago at the solemnity of the Body and Blood of the Lord the Pope was going to declare it okay for any priest to celebrate it anytime) I became skeptical. The rumor persisted and I kept thinking that it was the wishful thinking of my more traditional brother priests.

Then I read this story from Catholic News Service and found out that it actually could happen and may happen soon. I am profoundly incapable of celebrating this rite but I have respect for those priests who would like to be able to do it. Heck, I've always been told that variety was the greatest thing the council allowed for. I don't believe that but that's what people that institute their own "traditions" always tell me. This is the way this parish celebrates mass, they say. Yet, when a legitimate movement in the church seeks to rejuvenate an old prayer form, people just go crazy.

I don't think that I'll ever do the Tridentine rite mass. But, I never expected to be as traditional as I am. Who knows? Maybe in ten years the only mass I'll do is the Tridentine Rite Mass.