I am not opposed to the TLM myself. Just opposed to those who end up acting not in a spirit Christian charity towards those who attend parishes where there is only the NO mass, even when it is done in a very reverent manner such as at my parish by those who attend TLM masses themselves.
At a time when Christians in other countries are fighting for their lives we who can still worship freely in this country cannot be fighting with each other.
I so agree. We absolutely should not be fighting with each other. Our experiences are just different, therefore rather miles apart.
If it’s any consolation, the TM is at the mercy of the bishops and not so much the differences between the faithful. The faithful are mostly indifferent but not stridently opposed to something that has been unavailable to them or they have never seen themselves.
There are now, seemingly, a handful of bishops in the West who will cheerfully and actively provide for the TM, despite the longing for its return by young and old alike, and this despite the clarity of instructions from two popes to provide the great old Mass that defined Catholics for centuries.
Certainly the TM has been so banished in the US seminaries that priests themselves have seldom, if ever, been exposed to it nor trained for it, can no longer speak the liturgical Latin required for it or with any fluency, having for 40 years seen only the truncation or complete disposal of the beautiful, penetrating prayers and gestures of the TM.
Thirteen years in the Church as a convert and I have never even observed the traditional Mass, but instead have seen even the Novus Ordo celebrations become more and more indistinguishable from my Protestant experiences.
This just means I am rather exercised by the obvious campaign to keep the TM so “Extaordinary” that it is now considered a cultural oddity and a point of contention.
I am glad you have a reverent NO. I have not experienced even that in about six years. I have had to wonder if I will ever see a well done TM, in my lifetime.
Peace be with you. Rita