Letters

Modern saints and traditional liturgy

Seamus Mahady

Contents - Nov 2007 - Buy a copy now Editorial: East Timorese to attend World Youth Day - Michael Gilchrist Democracy: Religious leaders must have freedom to speak - Cardinal George Pell Australia's Missionaries of God's Love congregation continues to grow - Mary Pidcock News: The Church Around The World Liturgical Abuse: Trinitarian language lost in Brisbane Scriptures - Michael Apthorp Ora et labora: How monastic hospitality can strengthen one's faith - Br Barry Coldrey CFC Latin is still the universal language of Liturgy - Bishop Arthur Serratelli World Youth Day: Wagga Wagga priest's 'fly-a-thon' project to aid East Timor Architecture: How a Sydney parish church was restored - John O'Brien Poetry: A poem on the priesthood - Among the Apostles - John O'Neill Letters: Bishop Robinson - Eric Carman Letters: Teachings rejected by Bishop Robinson - Kevin McManus Letters: Modern saints and traditional liturgy - Seamus Mahady Letters: Petition Letters: True Church? - John Frey Letters: Clerical attire - Fr G.H. Duggan Letters: Infallibility - Jerome Gonzalez Prayer: John Paul II and the Rosary - Fr. M. Durham Books: Catholicism and Fundamentalism by Karl Keating: essential reading in apologetics - Valerie Renkema (reviewer) Books: ONE MAN, ONE WOMAN by Dale O'Leary - Bill Muehlenberg (reviewer) Internet 'Singing Catechism': catechesis for the 21st century - Fr James Tierney Music: Cherished Hymns of the Forefathers - 2DVD and CD set - Peter Donald (reviewer) Books: Books available from AD Books Reflection: Benedict XVI on Sunday Mass: 'not a command, but an inner necessity' - Pope Benedict XVI

I quite enjoyed reading the cover story of the August AD2000.

Of particular interest was the mention that recently canonised saints could be honoured with the traditional liturgy.

I can often imagine the many saints that the Church has given us in the post-conciliar period looking down in bemusement at the sight of their memory being celebrated exclusively with a liturgy so different from the liturgy which sustained their own faith journey.

Edith Stein definitely comes to mind. The liturgy, as celebrated in her time, was such an important part of her conversion experience and subsequent prayer life as a Roman Catholic! Her personal copy of the Roman Missal was a treasure to Edith - she had meticulously studied every detail of it before she had even attended a Mass. Especially, she delighted in the fusion of the Old and New Testament texts.

As an aside: how can secular newspapers claim, as some have done, that the traditional liturgy is anti-Semitic? Having attended Masses using the 1962 Missal fairly regularly for over 12 years, I've not seen any noticeable anti-Semitic passages yet. St Edith Stein certainly didn't either!

SEAMUS MAHADY
Kewdale, WA

Reprinted from AD2000 Vol 20 No 10 (November 2007), p. 14