28 September 2011

My First Extraordinary Form Mass

I spent the weekend in Oxford with Charlotte's godmother and her family.  When she heard that I'd never been to Mass in the Extraordinary Form (EF), she told me she would take me to the one at the Oxford Oratory.  So early Sunday morning found us driving through Oxford to get to the Oratory for Mass.  We were slightly late, so I sat in the back with the kids.  Normally we'd sit in the front so they could see, but I didn't want to disrupt anything.  As it turned out, Charlotte slept the whole time, and Kieran was quite tired.

It was a Low Mass, and I hadn't gotten a missal, so I wasn't always sure what was happening.  I found that I really had to concentrate a lot more to ensure that I remained engaged and wasn't just a spectator (that's not a complaint).  I don't know much Latin, but of course knew the Agnus Dei and Sanctus and such.  I'd like to go to another EF Mass, and definitely want to go to a High Mass sometime.  I'm sure I'd get used to it fairly quickly if I went to the EF more.  Of course, I'm also quite happy to attend the Novus Ordo, which can also be quite beautiful.  Regardless, I get to see Jesus, which makes it all wonderful. :-)

1 comment:

  1. I'm not Catholic, and honestly have only ever been to one Catholic service (in England, ironically) but the last sentence sums it up perfectly.

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