The reasons many Catholics give for disliking the Traditional Latin Mass may surprise you.
“The Mass is in Latin and I can’t understand what they’re saying…besides that, the priest has his back turned to me.” You may think that’s the primary objection a lot of Catholics have against the Mass of the Ages. You hear that frequently, but that observation on the part of those who prefer the Novus Ordo Mass is just that…a preference. Preferring the simplified vernacular of the N.O. Mass doesn’t imply hostility against the Vetus Ordo which existed for 1500+ years before everything was changed so radically in 1969. Most of the time, Catholics with this opinion simply enjoy the Mass they grew up with, simply having no idea what they’re missing. Often, they can’t understand why there is so much hostility against the TLM or why those currently in power are so intent on restricting it…if not wiping it out altogether.
So…why are some Catholic laypeople so hostile against the TLM?
For a few, they have a sour memory of a Latin Mass they didn’t like way back in their past, or have heard someone else complaining about such a Mass. “Father mumbled through it as fast as he possibly could, and didn’t seem to care what he was doing!” You hear this occasionally from people who remember a bad Latin Mass back from the ’50’s or 60’s. And, yes, there were sloppy, careless priests back then. The fact that the vast, huge majority of TLMs available today are offered with extreme care, reverence and attention to detail does little to impress these people. “I didn’t like the Mass then, therefore it’s probably still no good now,” they might say.
But that’s not the most common argument you’ll hear against the TLM…not by a long shot.
Interestingly enough, it’s not typically about the rubrics, the smells, the bells, the Latin or even the fact that Father is facing away from them. It’s not even the preaching on theological topics that were suddenly unpopular in the wake of Vatican II.
Nope.
It’s the people who attend the TLM. You and me…the way we behave. The way we act (or, the way people think we act, or what they’ve heard from someone else how we act) is probably the single biggest turn-off in the minds of many who find the TLM objectionable.
It’s long past time that we disband the “Veil Police” in our TLM communities!
First, let’s look at how we behave during Mass. I’ve witnessed this first hand: A family shows up to a local TLM for the first time, curious and eager to learn about this ancient rite. But this family has made the critical, unforgivable and damning mistake of not dressing quite up to standards. Perhaps these first-timers are not wearing veils. Perhaps their clothes, which would be considered modest attire in 95% of their weekly activities, are just a tad too immodest for the TLM veterans in the pew behind them. You know what happens next.
They are berated for not being up to standards. They are embarrassed. Humiliated. Made to feel unwelcome. They never darken the doors of a TLM again. And they tell their friends about their experience.
We can’t control what they’re doing in Rome, but we certainly can control what we ourselves are doing inside the doors of our own TLM communities! If somebody new shows up at your TLM, they’re probably not FBI undercover agents or Vatican spies (and even if they are, they deserve a smile and a welcome); they’re just regular people who don’t fully understand our ways and customs. Shame on us if we don’t give them the biggest welcome they’ve ever had when visiting a new church!
The other area where we Trads can give ourselves a bad reputation is by our behavior in online social media (*article’s author sheepishly raises his own hand and mumbles “guilty as charged”*). Admittedly, there is so much horrifying nonsense taking place in our Church that it’s natural to want to react to it. How we react to that odd story or post on Twitter or FaceBook may serve to confirm a bias already present among those of our brethren disinclined to Traditional Catholics in the first place. We can be firm in our defense of the Faith without being vicious. It’s not easy, but it’s something I have to work on, and perhaps you do as well.
Bottom line: More than ever, we need to be welcoming to visitors. I’m not saying we need to ask them to stand up and introduce themselves at the beginning of Mass, then shower them with mindless applause (I’ve actually seen that done in some N.O. Masses). We should introduce ourselves before Mass, ask if they have any questions, and maybe even offer to walk them through that paperback Red Missal they picked up in the narfex on the way in. After Mass, we should welcome them again and introduce them to a few other “regulars.” And if they are dressed a little bit differently than the rest of us, let’s just keep our yaps shut, OK? If their first visit is positive enough, maybe they’ll come back. That’s the whole point, isn’t it?