Low Mass vs. High Mass

[monkeysmom]

I love them both, for different reasons.    The beauty of a high Mass is simply awe inspiring.   But I find it extremely difficult to follow along.   I'm new to the TLM and feel really lost at a high Mass.
The low Mass is also beautiful and easier for me to follow.    And there's no incense.    Big deal to a mom when one of her children has asthma.  

[Distributist]

Though all are wodnerful, in general, I am a Low Mass guy, a bit more quiet and meditative for me.A little too much going on at others.

[Distributist]

I can't understand why so many people have a problem with saying the rosary during mass?  People have different devotional habits which they express their love and closeness to God.  Mass is, besides a Holy Sacrifice of the priest offered to God, a chance for the faithful to pray and come closer to Christ and his saints.  One of the big problems I have with the N.O. mass (besides the banal music and no sense of a mystery of sacrifice) is that they constantly force people to participate in the mass.  From the moment you walk into n NO to the moment you leave, there is no sense of a personal space or private prayer.  Everything is focused on the communal and here and now.

The great thing about the old mass was it allowed room for the personal prayer habits of individual worshipers.  Besides participating in the mass, by our prayers united with the priest, we are still able to commune with Christ in our own way.

Bob

We should pray the Mass with the priest, not engage in our own seprate prayers, like some Protestant-me and Jesus. There is ample time for Rosaries before Mass, afterward or at other times.The Mass is a prayer for the whole Body, not everyone going off and doing their own thing.I find it disrespectful to ignore the Mass, important as it is, to do a private devotional that can be done in its own time.

[Credo]

Properly speaking, High Mass is to be the norm of the Latin Rite.

While both Low and High Mass provide ample time for personal prayer, quasi-liturgical, personal devotions like the Rosary or chaplets should be done before or after Mass. Everybody's attention should be fixed on what's happened at the alter. The Holy Rosary is great, but in the order of prayers, Mass ranks as the highest, with the Divine Office coming in second and various devotions thereafter. AnimaChristi, perhaps you can say your Rosary to prepare for Mass, it seems like that would be really helpful.

Lastly, there is no such thing as a Traditional (with a capitol 't') Catholic

[StrictCatholicGirl]

We should pray the Mass with the priest, not engage in our own seprate prayers, like some Protestant-me and Jesus.

I agree.. The Mass is not just the prayer of the priest or the prayer of the individual. It's the Prayer of the Church, the whole church: militant, suffering, and triumphant. We should be "tuned in" to what's happening on our altars. I'd say more than tuned in, we need to participate by praying along, by entering into the mystery. I don't know if "enter into the mystery" is a NO term or not. Whatever, it's a good description of what should be happening at every Mass.

 

I will agree with Rob however that the NO is wall-to-wall noise. There should be appropriate pauses and times for silence and reflection, and if the Mass was being said right, there would be. The so-called "music ministers" could really help in this regard. Many of them look at silence like dead space that needs to be filled.

 

- Lisa

[DrBombay]

I prefer low Mass because it's quicker.  I keep hearing about the legendary 12 minute low Masses from back in the day.  I'd attend Mass everyday if it was one of those.

Well, ok, no I wouldn't.  But I'd love a 12 minute Mass every Sunday.

[MeaMaximaCulpa]

I can't understand why so many people have a problem with saying the rosary during mass?  People have different devotional habits which they express their love and closeness to God.  Mass is, besides a Holy Sacrifice of the priest offered to God, a chance for the faithful to pray and come closer to Christ and his saints.  One of the big problems I have with the N.O. mass (besides the banal music and no sense of a mystery of sacrifice) is that they constantly force people to participate in the mass.  From the moment you walk into n NO to the moment you leave, there is no sense of a personal space or private prayer.  Everything is focused on the communal and here and now.

The great thing about the old mass was it allowed room for the personal prayer habits of individual worshipers.  Besides participating in the mass, by our prayers united with the priest, we are still able to commune with Christ in our own way.

Bob

I understand that other people have different devotional habits, but didn't St. Pius X say the best way to "actively participate" during Mass was to follow along in our Missal?

This was the goal of the liturgical movement started by the blessed Pontiff.  Not to reform the liturgy, but to better understand it.

[Archbishop_10K]

Rosary before Mass isn't exactly a pet peeve, but I'd prefer a ten-minute long organ improvisation on the Introit (orchestral if possible), followed by a choral motet based on the psalm from the Gradual, then a soft organ prelude until the sacristy bell rings.

A rosary before Mass would be more appealing if it were chanted in Latin. If I were a composer, I'd write a score for the orchestral accompaniment to the Rosary, with special motets in between for each mystery.

[AnimaChristi]

I think the Low Mass is helpful for those new to Tradition, because its much easier to follow along with the priest during Mass.  However, High Masses also have their place.  My mom has only ever been to a Low Mass, and I think she is secretly wondering: "So this is it?".  Of course, when my family does visit me at college, I'll be sure to take them to a High Mass, so they can see the extraordinary beauty of the ancient Rite.

I agree with Anima Christi that traditionalism is principally about doctrine, and restoration  thereof.   Yet, or different tastes in Mass shouldn't be a diving issue.

Actually, I do prefer High Masses and I think for someone new to Tradition it is ideal to "wow" them with the beauty of it.  And I think it is more user-friendly than a low Mass too.

One complaint I have about the FSSP Mass I usually attend is that they have "high Masses" where they ordinaries are sung, but then don't do the other stuff like incense, torchbearers, gospel procession, etc.  I'm just an "all or nothing" sort of person and I feel that if you're not going to have a REAL High Mass, just go with a Low.  Another thing I have to say is that I feel like I get A LOT more out of Mass when I read prayers pertaining to the different parts of the Mass (found in older prayer books) for private devotion, rather than the prayers of the Mass itself. 

[Credo]

But I'd love a 12 minute Mass every Sunday.

Why's that?