Documentarian and Latin Mass devotee says, ‘You can’t just squash it’

[Michie]

Father Stephen Saffron, parish administrator, prays before distributing Communion during a traditional Latin Mass July 18, 2021, at St. Josaphat Church in the Queens borough of New York City. The parish, located in the Diocese of Brooklyn, celebrates a traditional Latin Mass on Sundays and five other days of the week. The Sunday liturgy has a dedicated following, drawing more than 150 people from Queens and neighboring counties, in addition to southwestern Connecticut and northern New Jersey. (Credit: Gregory A. Shemitz, via CNS).


NEW YORK – When Cameron O’Hearn set out two years ago to create a documentary on the Traditional Latin Mass, he envisioned it being an invitation to his fellow Catholics. What he didn’t anticipate was Pope Francis also making it a news event by restricting the Mass’s celebration a month before the documentary was set to release.

Now facing that reality ahead of the August 15 release of the first episode of his three-part documentary Mass of the Ages, O’Hearn believes his project has extra significance.

“I had no idea that it would come at a time like this, where now we’re making a statement of ‘No, this is a treasure. We love this Mass. We’re not angry traditionalist Catholics. We’re faithful Catholics. We’re giving tons of money to our bishops, to the church. We’re restoring faith in our neighborhoods,’” O’Hearn, the founder and director of Horselord Films, told Crux.

Continued below.
https://cruxnow.com/church-in-the-u...in-mass-devotee-says-you-cant-just-squash-it/

 

[BrAndreyu]

Having been to one now, I can at least see where Francis is coming from as I've been going to the Catholic church for my entire childhood and most of my life, but I felt out of place today and didn't know what to do and I think that's the reason why he wants the extraordinary rite restricted. Most Catholics now have known the Novus Ordo and nothing but since their childhood and feel out of place and confused at TLM. It's a shame, because it was gorgeous and if it were closer I'd put the work in to making that the regular expression of my faith. But it's over 30 miles away, the church is very small and I feel inadequate now after going to that mass. I feel like I'm not as "good" as everyone who goes there every week and knows Latin, knows the order of the TLM and what to do, and has Christ the King Sarasota as their home parish.

However, I am glad that I went and checked it out. I'd never been to one before and it was good to see it before it goes the way of the dinosaurs. I do however feel inadequate and kind of "bad" for not having been raised in that church environment, because I am Catholic and feel like I should have been able to keep up with what was going on perfectly the way I do in N O mass every week without even having to look at the provided sheet of responses, movements, etc.

I don't think it should be restricted though. I think it should be encouraged because I would like to have this sort of a parish in my city proper, because then I would put in the work to learn what was going on, what to say, etc. It really was a beautiful mass but I felt very out of place, like the same way I feel when I visit an Orthodox church.