Tuesday, July 16, 2013

Anglican Ordinariate Parish Near Boston


Here is a link to the Saint Gregory the Great Church parish website which includes the ordinary of the Mass chanted to the ancient Gregorian melodies, in the vernacular.  Interesting.

I find this especially interesting in that their Mass seems to be largely the "Tridentine" Mass in the vernacular.  That is a very significant development in the "reform of the reform."

The logical question from the standpoint of a regular roman catholic diocesan priest is "why can't I say that Mass too."  I am a priest in the English speaking part of the world.  I love the traditional Mass.  Why am I and my congregation forbidden access to this most traditional form of the English language Mass?  In other words, we can say the Novus Ordo however we like. We can say the Usus Antiquior.  But the Anglican use is only for the Ordinariate?

Given the international status of English in the world today, it seems to me that it should be open to every priest and congregation in the entire Catholic world, just as the "Ordinary" and the "Extraordinary" Forms are.  What would we then call this Anglican Use Liturgy?  "The Ordinary Extraordinary" Form? or "The Extraordinary Ordinary Form"?