Cornell Center for a Good Time

July 2007

Thank you, Michigan Catholic

Cardinal Maida, though he has never been known as a warm friend of the extraordinary form of the one only Roman Rite, did however have some good things to say after its release. Fr. Zuhlsdorf noted some of these points in Maida’s statement:
Both forms celebrate our participation in sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection of Jesus Christ: in the “ordinary” form or post-Vatican II, we do so by means of our English (vernacular) language and communal prayer, while in the extraordinary or pre-Vatican II form, participation also includes listening to the prayers in Latin and joining our hearts to the words and actions. . . . The Holy Father also believes there are Catholics— of all generations— who have expressed a sincere desire to experience the pre-conciliar liturgy and have found it a compelling and attractive means for worshiping the Lord.
Now today in The Michigan Catholic, the official newspaper of the Archdiocese of Detroit - I’m from Michigan, hence my interest - there was a good article about the release of Summorum Pontificum and the situation at St. Josaphat’s in Detroit, the home of the indult for the past several years. The article by Robert Delaney said nothing weird or stupid at all; in fact, it put everything in a very positive light, I thought, making it sound as though it were the most natural thing in the world that the Pope had finally freed the old Mass. In particular, I liked these words from one of Delaney’s sources:
Betty Klink, 76, of Dearborn, said she expects she will stick with St. Josaphat. “It’s only about 10 minutes on the freeway on Sunday mornings, and I really do love that beautiful old church. Also, I’ve gotten to know other people at the social hour after the Mass,” she said. Klink said she never questioned the Church’s right to change the Mass, but never stopped missing the old Mass either. “I became a Catholic in 1957 after much searching and praying, and I loved the Mass — it was one of the things that attracted me,” she said. Not only did Klink welcome it when the Vatican allowed its use again back in 1984, and when Cardinal Adam Maida allowed it locally in 2004, but is glad to know that it will now be more widely available. “For some reason, it just seems more respectful,” she said. Klink might fit the profile of people expected to attend Tridentine Masses when they were restored, but Begin said most of the attendance at St. Josaphat “is young families, including some very large families,” and put the average age of adults at about 42.
Bravo to the Archdiocese of Detroit, Delaney, and their newspaper! I hope that they are as generous in their implementation of Summorum Pontificum as they’ve been in their sentiments thus far.