By now it’s no secret that I attend the Latin Mass; however, I’ve not always been partial to the Latin Mass. For a few years after my conversion to the Catholic Faith, I was cautiously curious about the the “old Mass.”

I perceived it as exotic, antiquarian, and even as a dangerous. Although I had some esteem for the “old liturgies,” I was not convinced of the merits of the Latin Mass and the culture, which for better or worse, surrounds it.

My wife and I starting taking our family to the Latin Mass around Feast of the Ascension of 2010. Before we made this move, however, I had some serious misgivings about the Latin Mass, which we also call the Extraordinary Form of the Roman Rite. Our concerns were some of the common concerns that others still have and voice regularly. I cannot speak for everyone, but I’d like to go through my own personal misgivings about the Latin Mass and then explain how I overcame them, or, to be blunt, learned to live with them.

“Daddy, look! Girl priests!”

There were a lot of things that caused us to make the transition. Part of it was my attachment to aesthetically beautiful liturgy from my Anglican days. Most of it had to do with my alarm at the liturgical abuse that we witnessed. For example, the first time that my four year old daughter saw female “altar boys” serving at the altar, she tugged on my sleeve and said, “Daddy, look. I wanna be a girl priest, too.” Not encouraging.

Just sayin’. That’s the child’s version of lex credendi, lex orandi at work.

Mass as the Diamond Ring

Please don’t hear me saying that the Novus Ordo is invalid. By all means, it is valid and re-presents the true sacrifice Christ to God the Father. But the Mass is like a diamond engagement ring. It’s not enough that it be a real diamond. It must also have a gold ring and a proper setting if you want it to really shine and be appreciated.

There were a number of dissatisfactions, but the breaking point happened some time in early 2010. It was the straw that broke the camel’s back.

That “Grover” Eucharistic Moment

It was a Sunday. I won’t identify the church. Our family went forward to receive Holy Communion. My family always tried to receive Communion from the priest, but sometimes it was impossible and you’d get re-routed to an Extraordinary Eucharistic Lay Minister. This re-routing must have happened this day. The EM to whom we were routed that day was wearing jeans and she had on an over-sized blue shirt with a giant image of Grover’s face. I just did a Google search and found a picture of the exact shirt:

Here, I was entering into intimate Communion with the Divine Logos, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Himself…but I was staring into the face of Grover from Sesame Street.

Grover never bothered me before, but that day I was deeply bothered by Jim Henson’s icon staring me in the face. Beautiful vestments had been instituted for a purpose. Up until now I did not appreciate how they prevented the faithful from coming into contact with Muppets during the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

As I returned to my pew, I thought inwardly: “This church is empty of any Catholic images, statues, or icons. The only icon that I can gaze into is the EMs muppet’s shirt. This is ridiculous. I don’t want my children to grow up with this perception of the one true Faith.” I had seen worse things than this before, but for some reason the Grover moment broke me.

I was now ready to make full-hearted foray into the Latin Mass community served by the FSSP (Priestly Fraternity of Saint Peter – in union with the Holy Father, of course). Yet, I had a few pre-conceived notions against the Latin Mass and its adherents.

My Pre-Conceived Stereotypes:

First of all, I was turned off by the so-called “traddies” who haunted the pews during the Latin Mass. Here are the common stereotypes of those scary traditionalists that you hear about in conversations:

“Modest clothing,” which seems to be interpreted as “denim for the ladies” and “no denim for the men,” paired with ubiquitous jumpers for moms and daughters, men with pants hemmed too short, 1950s haircuts, and “brown” as the most holy of all colors. Actually, make that “Carmelite brown.” Judgmental and Pharisaical so that all outside their version of Catholicism are in need of “fraternal correction.” Bishop-bashers, which means that we must police the behavior of bishops and post their faults online. Dour facial expressions: Sad, depressed, and/or angry. Uneducated, yet obsessed with Latin. Amish Catholics or Bunker Catholics, which means that we must bunker down, circle the wagons, and wait patiently for the Three Days of Darkness. Jansenists in theology, which means that they are really Catholic Calvinists who believe that human nature is totally depraved and salvation is a gave of accumulated points. (St Thomas Aquinas rightfully taught that grace perfects nature. Jansenists hold that grace gets rid of that nasty nature.)

I think that sums up the traddy stereotype pretty well.

So, are they true?

Well, like all stereotypes, the traddy sterotype is greatly exaggerated but based on reality. After five years, I still experience mitigated examples of the stereotypes above, but it’s not as thorough as I had suspected.

Let me interject that my wife and I were braced for the worst but were pleasantly surprised. Yes, people did come up afterward and compliment our family. They were kind. They invited us to coffee. The priests were welcoming friendly and genuinely concerned for our souls. This last feature, the outstanding priests, is the key to all of this. We met young Catholic friends immediately – friends to this day. People were nice and friendly.

In true Thomistic fashion, let’s examine each objection in order:

ad 1. “Modest clothing” which seems to be interpreted as “denim for the ladies” and “no denim for the men” paired with ubiquitous jumpers for moms and daughters, men with pants hemmed too short, 1950s haircuts, and “brown” as the most holy of all colors. Actually, make that “Carmelite brown.”

My wife and I have learned that “modest” does not mean homely. It takes time, style, and even money to dress modestly and attractively. Are some people dressed in burlap jumpers? Not burlap, but there are some jumpers here and there. But that’s just a tiny minority. Most men and women (and children) look pretty dignified. And to be quite honest, I’d much prefer to see a whole team of burlap jumper ladies than 19-year-old girls with low cut tops, short-shorts, or “jeggings.” If you’re Catholic in the USA, you know exactly what I’m talking about. Which would you rather have?

ad 2. Judgmental so that all outside their version of Catholicism are in need of “fraternal correction”

Judgmentalism is a problem for any Catholic who is serious about his faith. Whenever we try hard to enter the narrow gate, we occasionally pause and pity all the souls taking the other path. Pity often gives way to resentment, especially when they’re having so much fun on the other path. Is there an inordinate amount of judgmentalism or Pharisaism in Latin Mass circles? Yes, it’s certainly there. However, I don’t think that Latin Masses causes judgmentalism. I think it’s because the Latin Mass attracts religious people and the devil tempts the religiously minded with pride. The devil knows he’s not going to tempt Mrs. Latin Mass to strut around in a tight sweater and jeggings. No, he has different plans for the religious. Pride is his powerful temptation for the devout.