Every Mass is Extraordinary [I Am a Traditional Catholic]
"The body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ" - what can be more extraordinary than that?
In Roman Catholicism we often see a division between those who prefer a style and form of liturgy what has come to be called the "Ordinary" Form, usually in a vernacular language, the 'usual' Mass one experiences around the world today - and the "Extraordinary" Form - the Mass of Ages, the Mass of Trent, the 'Traditional Latin Mass': the Mass with its direct roots in such antiquity a thousand years before that.
Sundays.
But either way, when we think about it: we meet God Himself in the Eucharist. That is [i]extraordinary[/i] beyond measure.
It seems fitting then, despite my own preferences, that there exist two forms in which we do this. (Would that some permutations of the 'Ordinary' Form take on the reverence of the 'Extraordinary', though!)
But every Mass is extraordinary, really.
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@Pfuzylogic They're similar in a lot of respects (though the TLM is of course always in Latin, and the 'new' Mass while it can be in Latin is usually in English, Spanish, Polish, etc) - the level of ceremonial around the TLM is generally far greater though. There's an immense visual (and musical, usually!) difference between the two forms.
Though the overall structure: Introit (entrance chant) - general confession & absolution - Kyrie eleison - Gloria in excelsis (some of the time!) - lessons - homily (if one is given) - Offertory - Sanctus & Benedictus - Consecration - Agnus Dei - Reception of Holy Communion - Dismissal is basically the same to both.
@Persephonee I have attended about 3 Catholic services, one wedding and a funeral. I enjoy the Christmas Mass at the Vatican over the television. Thank you for sharing. Even though our denomination broke away from the Roman Catholic Church in the the 16th century. We still share quite a bit.
@Pfuzylogic Martin Luther (for all his faults from a Catholic perspective!!) certainly did know a good thing or two - I know that largely the Lutheran services mirrors the order of the Mass, for a start! And yes, there is unquestionably more that unites Lutherans, Catholics, and some others, on the whole, than divides us.
What is broken, and what divides us, can be fixed - even if it takes several hundred years. If it took a few hundred years to begin meaningful and charitable dialogue between Catholics and Lutherans (and other denominations) - perhaps with another few hundred all may be formally united again. It's a devout hope (if possibly naive, given what human nature can be like!). :) God bless you
