A 'Bishop' Who Needs a Kick Up the Arse!

A comment on the All Souls Requiem Mass at St Mary Magdalen Church celebrated in the Extraordinary Form, by 'The Cardinal' on Valle Adurni's blog.

"I am a bishop, and I certainly do not understand this liturgy. Marionettes wearing birettas with grim looks on their faces is not what I understand by celebration. A soprano soloist who brings the opera house into church with her Bel canto is not an adornment to the sacred liturgy. A deacon who has never been taught how to hold a thurible correctly....Shall I go on? The whole thing was infinitely depressing. If you are going to do these things, for heaven's sake do them properly."

Can't you just hear the howls of the demons as they are sent into the squealing pigs!? If this guy really is a Bishop then his comment is depressing, but at the same time, heartening, because we know that a liberal Bishop who is less than loyal to the Holy Father has just seen the future and guess what, it isn't to his taste! Let's just examine that video once more...



Ah...beautiful, isn't it!? Now, let's analyse 'His Lordship's' comments.

1. "I am a bishop, and I certainly do not understand this liturgy."

Well, since the publication of Summorum Pontificum, written by His Holiness, explicitly asked Priests and Bishops to liberate the Traditional Latin Mass and at least make themselves familiar with it, should the Faithful ask for it, then you're really not doing your job properly. The Successor of St Peter has spoken and you've more or less told him to shove it. I wonder how that reaction to the desires of Pope Benedict XVI, now gloriously reigning, will be met by St Peter at Pearly Gates. May I suggest that given that the Vicar of Christ has asked you to do something, that you seriously consider doing it, for the sake of your soul and the souls in your care, lest you and they all be damned to a circle of Hell in which 'Shine, Jesus, Shine' is blasted out 24-hours a day with no hope of reprieve or consolation.

2. "Marionettes wearing birettas with grim looks on their faces is not what I understand by celebration."

The Traditional Latin Mass demands solemnity and devotion and how much more so the Mass for the Dead. I suppose that your idea of an All Souls Requiem Mass involves liturgical music from the B52s performing a live version of 'Shiny, Happy People' at the Communion Antiphon. This was a Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, of prayers for the dead, not a 'community celebration', unless that is you are talking about the Angels and Saints welcoming our departed brothers and sisters in Christ into the Biggest Ceaseless Party ever. This side of Heaven, who can say? But I'll bet that God was so pleased with the devotion and prayerfulness of this Mass that He demanded the release of an extra hundred thousand souls to be invited His Kingdom.

3. "A soprano soloist who brings the opera house into church with her Bel canto is not an adornment to the sacred liturgy."

Well, I sang in that Choir as well. It took weeks of practise, of rehearsal to get the Sanctus and the Libera Me right and if Faure's Requiem isn't good enough for you, then frankly, I'd recommend St Jude, because in terms of liturgical and musical taste, you're a lost cause. I thought, and many other parishioners thought, that the Pie Jesu was absolutely beautiful. What with a small choir boy with a sublimely angelic voice not being on hand, we went with the next best thing and she was good. Having heard reactions at the after Mass reception, I can tell you people thought it aided prayer and that the occasion merited it.

4. "A deacon who has never been taught how to hold a thurible correctly...Shall I go on? The whole thing was infinitely depressing. If you are going to do these things, for heaven's sake do them properly."

It was All Souls Day. By all accounts, All Souls Day is not a day for dancing, what with the graves of our loved ones being so nearby. Regarding the dead, Our Lord said, "Blessed are those that mourn." He didn't say, "Blessed are those that 'celebrate'." There are of course great days of celebration within the Church, All Saints was particularly rousing, but as the Psalmist says and as also sang by The Byrds, 'A time to laugh, a time to weep etc.' I've been learning to serve the Latin Mass myself and I can tell you, it is more intricate than the Novus Ordu, personally I get nervous, especially kneeling so close to the Consecration. Next time I might have to take some valium beforehand because I have the tendency to tremble, what with being on my knees so much while on top of that being in the Presence of the King of the Universe.

The whole experience inspires awe and sometimes fear, for the All-Powerful God is being made present on the Altar. Now, 'my Lord', I may not always get the Latin Mass right, in terms of the words or the actions and even the Priest (and Deacon and Sub-Deacon) make minor liturgical mistakes every now and then. The whole point is that we learn from these mistakes and try to improve the next time so that God may be glorified by His clergy and servers by assisting at Mass more impeccably. I am quite sure that the Lord looks kindly on those who seek to follow the advice of His Vicar on Earth and overlooks their errors. After all, better to try and make mistakes than to stubbornly go against the wishes of the Holy Father because if you tried, you might get it wrong, because that, 'my Lord', would be Pride.