"Come with me if you want to live"

Adoremus · July 08, 2018, 12:50:22 PM

There is a now famous line in one of the Terminator movies, Terminator 2 I believe, where Arnold Schwarzenegger's character, "The Terminator", says to Sarah Connors "Come with me if you want to live". I'm sure you're asking by now, What does this have the do with the Catholic Mass, or with Catholicism for that matter. Well, the two are widely unrelated, (though many analogical comparisons can be loosely drawn from this movie line ans the Catholic Faith.) BUT, that iconic line is a lead-in to a nagging thought that's been on my mind since I started attending the Traditional Latin Mass" in 2010.

My first experience with the Usus Antiquior was amazing! It grabbed me, body and soul, and stripped me away from the Novus Ordo Parish that I was barely attending, and it opened my eyes to the absolute beauty and awe of a properly said Mass.

As is the way things go in this world, everything eventually changed. People were reassigned, new people take over, etc. etc..

I stated to move around in the circle of Traditional Latin Masses in me area, and my enthusiasm began to wane, to the point where I started missing TLM Masses. In thinking about the inordinate amount of changes I've seen in our area in regard to the TLM's and the people and places that the Mass is said, I looked back to try to figure out how the fire that burned within me after my first TLM dimmed. And then it hit me!

The Brother that led our Oratory was transferred away, and the Oratory was relocated last year, and was recently relocated again. I went to a few Masses after the first relocation with the fill-in presiders, but stopped attending in favor of other local TLM's. When word spread that my original Oratory was relocating again and getting a new leader, I decided to attend the first Mass in the new location. Like the first relocation, this move was again to a struggling parish looking for numbers to keep their doors open. Half the Masses are now in Latin at this parish, and the other half are in the "vernacular". After the first Mass, I milled around outside as folks exited, and I heard a course of well-meaning complaints from folks that were members of the parish, saying how hard the Mass was to understand. These were folks that were old enough to have attended a few Pre-Vatican II Mass before they were moth-balled. They appeared wanting to support the move of our Oratory to their parish, and give the Latin Mass that they barely understood as a kid a shot again. It was there in that moment that I realized what was bugging me. (And this is not a reflection on that first Mass, but a reflection of what had bothered me at other places I attended)

What those folks were saying, reminded me that the Latin Mass was a struggle for me for quite a while after I first started attending. The original Benedictine Brother that offered Mass at that Oratory, said a reverent Mass, and his Homilies were outstanding. So in spite of the difficulty of understanding the Mass in Latin, I was engaged by the level of detail and attention that this Brother put into the Mass, and I was motivated to want to make the Mass a part of me. What I was noticing subconsciously as I moved from Mass location to Mass location, but not fully realizing until that moment, was that when I attended Masses said by other Brothers/Priests/Canons, They were running through the Mass as if they were presiding at an auction. Having a reasonable grasp of where we were in the Missal made no difference, because the connection I had with the Mass was being stripped away in lieu of Brothers/Priests/Canons that were trying to set world land speed records in how fast (and how inaudible) they could say the Mass! Ok, you win, you finished the Mass in under an hour! You checked the box. That's what was bugging me, I get ONE HOUR a week to BE Catholic, and the Priest won't honor the Sacredness of the Holy Mass by slowing it down and letting it be heard and sink in as we are participating in it!

So, "Come with me if you want to live"!

If you want the TLM to grow and be accepted by the Novus Ordo crowd, make sure those that offer the Mass understand the importance of their role in offering it, AND the importance of engaging us in the Mass. Even if it means going over the allotted "golden hour" if needed, to make sure the Mass is said with the respect and reverence it deserves! Mass schedules can be changed to accommodate full and complete Masses. The problem ISN'T that the Mass is in Latin, the problem IS that, in some cases, it's being offered poorly.

People WANT this Mass! They just don't know it! And they will never get to know that the want this Mass! Clergy that aren't engaged, aren't helping! SLOW DOWN THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS!
We are fortunate to have a leader at our Oratory that understands the importance of saying a reverent Mass and puts time into his homily. This is NOT a TED Talk, it's the Holy Sacrafice of the Mass. Please, think about us in the pews.

Greg · July 08, 2018, 01:16:43 PM

It's from Terminator 1. Kyle Reece says it to Sarah Connor after the shoot out in "tech noir".

John Connor programs the Terminator to say it in Terminator 2 so that Sara Connor will trust it.

St.Justin · July 08, 2018, 03:27:42 PM

Quote from: Adoremus on July 08, 2018, 12:50:22 PM
There is a now famous line in one of the Terminator movies, Terminator 2 I believe, where Arnold Schwarzenegger's character, "The Terminator", says to Sarah Connors "Come with me if you want to live". I'm sure you're asking by now, What does this have the do with the Catholic Mass, or with Catholicism for that matter. Well, the two are widely unrelated, (though many analogical comparisons can be loosely drawn from this movie line ans the Catholic Faith.) BUT, that iconic line is a lead-in to a nagging thought that's been on my mind since I started attending the Traditional Latin Mass" in 2010.

My first experience with the Usus Antiquior was amazing! It grabbed me, body and soul, and stripped me away from the Novus Ordo Parish that I was barely attending, and it opened my eyes to the absolute beauty and awe of a properly said Mass.

As is the way things go in this world, everything eventually changed. People were reassigned, new people take over, etc. etc..

I stated to move around in the circle of Traditional Latin Masses in me area, and my enthusiasm began to wane, to the point where I started missing TLM Masses. In thinking about the inordinate amount of changes I've seen in our area in regard to the TLM's and the people and places that the Mass is said, I looked back to try to figure out how the fire that burned within me after my first TLM dimmed. And then it hit me!

The Brother that led our Oratory was transferred away, and the Oratory was relocated last year, and was recently relocated again. I went to a few Masses after the first relocation with the fill-in presiders, but stopped attending in favor of other local TLM's. When word spread that my original Oratory was relocating again and getting a new leader, I decided to attend the first Mass in the new location. Like the first relocation, this move was again to a struggling parish looking for numbers to keep their doors open. Half the Masses are now in Latin at this parish, and the other half are in the "vernacular". After the first Mass, I milled around outside as folks exited, and I heard a course of well-meaning complaints from folks that were members of the parish, saying how hard the Mass was to understand. These were folks that were old enough to have attended a few Pre-Vatican II Mass before they were moth-balled. They appeared wanting to support the move of our Oratory to their parish, and give the Latin Mass that they barely understood as a kid a shot again. It was there in that moment that I realized what was bugging me. (And this is not a reflection on that first Mass, but a reflection of what had bothered me at other places I attended)

What those folks were saying, reminded me that the Latin Mass was a struggle for me for quite a while after I first started attending. The original Benedictine Brother that offered Mass at that Oratory, said a reverent Mass, and his Homilies were outstanding. So in spite of the difficulty of understanding the Mass in Latin, I was engaged by the level of detail and attention that this Brother put into the Mass, and I was motivated to want to make the Mass a part of me. What I was noticing subconsciously as I moved from Mass location to Mass location, but not fully realizing until that moment, was that when I attended Masses said by other Brothers/Priests/Canons, They were running through the Mass as if they were presiding at an auction. Having a reasonable grasp of where we were in the Missal made no difference, because the connection I had with the Mass was being stripped away in lieu of Brothers/Priests/Canons that were trying to set world land speed records in how fast (and how inaudible) they could say the Mass! Ok, you win, you finished the Mass in under an hour! You checked the box. That's what was bugging me, I get ONE HOUR a week to BE Catholic, and the Priest won't honor the Sacredness of the Holy Mass by slowing it down and letting it be heard and sink in as we are participating in it!

So, "Come with me if you want to live"!

If you want the TLM to grow and be accepted by the Novus Ordo crowd, make sure those that offer the Mass understand the importance of their role in offering it, AND the importance of engaging us in the Mass. Even if it means going over the allotted "golden hour" if needed, to make sure the Mass is said with the respect and reverence it deserves! Mass schedules can be changed to accommodate full and complete Masses. The problem ISN'T that the Mass is in Latin, the problem IS that, in some cases, it's being offered poorly.

People WANT this Mass! They just don't know it! And they will never get to know that the want this Mass! Clergy that aren't engaged, aren't helping! SLOW DOWN THE HOLY SACRIFICE OF THE MASS!
We are fortunate to have a leader at our Oratory that understands the importance of saying a reverent Mass and puts time into his homily. This is NOT a TED Talk, it's the Holy Sacrafice of the Mass. Please, think about us in the pews.

Not sure what you are saying. A good Low Mass is about 30 minutes and a good High Mass is a bout 2 hrs.. I am thinking you are looking in the wrong place for the problem...

Richard Malcolm · July 08, 2018, 07:01:46 PM

Quote from: St.Justin on July 08, 2018, 03:27:42 PM
Not sure what you are saying. A good Low Mass is about 30 minutes and a good High Mass is a bout 2 hrs.. I am thinking you are looking in the wrong place for the problem...

I'm not sure, either.

But one idea I have is to make the effort to make all Sunday and HDO Masses sung, and sung well (resources permitting).

I'm seeing more of that, which is good.

Chestertonian · July 09, 2018, 12:04:37 AM

Thanks for sharing the your conversion story. Wanting to live.... Please pray that I desire it

Greg · July 09, 2018, 05:31:35 AM

The Terminator series has a "Resistance" fighting Skynet.

The key difference being the Skynet doesn't laugh at them.

lauermar · July 18, 2018, 07:57:04 AM

May the force be with you all. Oops! Different movie.

Innocent Smith · July 20, 2018, 07:48:50 AM

Since I don't know the exact situation and all the particulars the OP is experiencing at Mass I will extend benefit of doubt to him.

But I had an entirely different view as I was learning. In the first place I read the entire Mass in my Missal multiple times before ever attending a TLM. Of course I also read many of the Propers and tried to figure out how the Missal was organized.

In spite of all that preparation I was completely lost the first couple of times I attended. But I recognized that was entirely on me, not the priest or servers.