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Epoch Times
19-05-2025
- General
- Epoch Times
The Traditional Latin Mass Movement and the Romance of Orthodoxy
Commentary The Traditional Latin Mass recently has been the subject of a surprising number of articles in mainstream publications including The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and The New Yorker. It is estimated that only 2 percent of Catholics attend this ancient form of the Mass, yet it is attracting much attention. Traditional Latin Mass (TLM) communities in America have seen growth of about 10 percent year over year since 2022, according to one priest who surveyed several TLM parishes across the United States. Many other parishes experience a 3 percent decrease yearly. The story of the diocese of Oakland, Calif., on the one hand, and the parish of St. Vitus in Los Angeles are representative of what is happening in the Catholic Church at large right now, and it would behoove the newly elected Pope Leo XIV to pay attention to the traditionalist movement in the Church, a movement driven by young laypeople and young priests. In 2022, Oakland Bishop Michael Barber commissioned a report to investigate solutions to the collapse of the faith in the diocese. This 73-page document details the lack of priests and lack of funds and discusses the possibility of parish closures, mergers, and clusters. Right now, Oakland is working on clustering parishes together under shared priests. This is happening in other cities, too. In Los Angeles, on the other hand, a single priest has grown the Latin Mass to such an extent that several church upgrades have not been enough. The TLM parish of Related Stories 12/27/2023 1/14/2022 However, because it continued to grow, coexistence became difficult. St. Vitus was soon able to purchase its own church, which its parishioners fixed up and beautified. Yet it quickly outgrew this space and, during COVID, 'expanded' with the use of a large outdoor tent. Last year, the parish purchased a larger property north of the city, and yet even here, on an ordinary Tuesday, the Masses are standing-room only. For the Easter Vigil Mass at 8 p.m., one family arrived at 4:30 pm to get seats inside of the church. This is happening at many traditional Latin Mass parishes around the country. In order to understand why the old Latin Mass is experiencing an incredible revival, it is necessary to look beyond the explanations that most of the mainstream media outlets offer. Contrary to these narratives, the TLM movement is not political, social, or aesthetic. It is liturgical. The The liturgical life of many traditional Latin Mass Catholics encompasses much more than church on Sundays. They honor saints with real feasts; seasonal festivities such as Christmas and Easter take place after an extended fast and last for a whole season, not just one day. Children often do not have cellphones until late high school or college. It is not uncommon for their homes to lack a television, or for it to be relegated to the basement for family movie night. These folks sometimes uproot and move or drive very long distances to celebrate the Latin Mass. They seem to live according to a pre-modern rhythm of life. The very 'weirdness' of this older form of Christianity is part of what makes it attractive to young people, who form its base. A 2022 survey that found that over 80 percent of priests ordained after 2020 identify as 'conservative/orthodox,' while none of the priests described themselves as 'very progressive.' This marks a distinct change from the views of older clergy, Pope Francis having been among them, who embraced the 'modernizing' efforts of the Young people are rebelling against a disenchanted world of materialism, nihilism, and depression. They yearn for re-enchantment, for beauty, and for the ancient form of worship that gives meaning and rest to restless souls. Pope Leo XIV would do well to encourage this blossoming youth movement, and to remove the restrictions on it that his predecessor put in place. Wherever a Traditional Latin Mass is celebrated, a community grows around it. Within a couple of years, formerly dying parishes could be utterly revived. Views expressed in this article are opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times.
Yahoo
06-05-2025
- Yahoo
Breaux Bridge parade performance disrupted by stolen equipment
BREAUX BRIDGE, La. (KLFY) — Michael Barber says he and his students were set to perform in the Parade on Sunday, but after their equipment was stolen, they had to improvise. 'They were hurt, and they were hurt to see me cry,' said Barber. 'It's not fair to the kids because the kids work hard, my kids work hard every weekend, and we travel all over Acadiana to perform, we were supposed to perform this weekend and now we can't.' Barber, the director of , says he and his students went to KO Storage in Breaux Bridge to retrieve their equipment around 8 a.m. on Sunday. He says when he got to the storage unit, he found the lock on the unit missing and the inside completely empty. 'When I got to the storage, everything was gone, I noticed a lock was gone, and when I raised the door up to the storage, I noticed all our equipment was gone, I ended up at the parade route, along with my kids, with no equipment to perform,' said Barber. Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now Barber says nearly $5,000 worth of equipment was stolen. 'Between the speakers, a laptop, wiring, two generators and a banner, you're looking at almost $5,000 in stolen goods,' he said. Despite this, Barber's students did manage to perform in the parade thanks to the Breaux Bridge Crawfish Festival Association and people along the route. 'Good people from the city helped us to where we could get behind their float and they helped us with music we could perform,' said Barber. Barber says his dance school also had a performance scheduled for next Saturday but had to cancel due to their equipment being stolen. He sends this message to the person involved in the theft. 'To whoever did this malicious act, it's not fair to kids,' said Barber. 'It's not about me, it's about the kids, and these kids don't have an outlet already, so you need to think about that.' Barber says he has contacted Breaux Bridge Police and filed a report to investigate the theft. If you would like to donate to help Michael and his students replace their stolen equipment, click . Breaux Bridge parade performance disrupted by stolen equipment New clinic at Lourdes focuses on Mom's health LCG intensifies drainage work ahead of rainfall Louisiana bills promise tax break for oil companies Goodbye, Skype: Once-popular video calling service shuts down for good Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
