Scenes from a Mass Celebrated According to the Orthodox Western Rite in Latin

Something not often seen... Scenes from the Holy Mass celebrated by Benedictine monks under the omiphorion of the Russian Church Abroad. They have been granted the use of the Church of St. George in Niagara Falls by the bishop of a traditional Anglican Church (not part of the Episcopal Church).

Truly a thing of beauty. And beauty is truth expressed. If any FReepers in the Baltimore area would like to see another way Mass can be celebrated beautifully, I suggest attending Mass at Mount Calvary Catholic Church in downtown Baltimore. Mount Calvary used to be a high Anglican parish. The entire parish converted to Catholicism in 2012, and is now part of the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter. Mass is celebrated according to the Divine Worship Missal, and is closer to the Tridentine Mass than to the Novus Ordo. It is very, very beautiful.

So in the Catholic Church we have an incredibly rich and diverse liturgical heritage. The Eastern Churches have the Divine Liturgy, which has a mystical quality and spirituality quite deep, and distinct from that in the West. The Western, Latin Rite Church also has three forms of the Mass: The Extraordinary Form, the Ordinary Form and the Divine Worship.

Most Catholics today have heard of the Tridentine, but have either never attended it, or have no real memory of it. That's quite a shame. It's an awesome experience to be present at a solemn high Mass.

But most Catholics have never even heard of the Divine Worship, also referred to as the Anglican Use. This is the form of the Mass used by the Personal Ordinariate of the Chair of St. Peter, which is for former Anglicans who have come into full communion with the Roman Catholic Church. This form of the Mass shares the same dignity and beauty of the Tridentine, but with its own distinctive elements, and is said in high "church" English. It has a very penitential tone to it. I believe it is more accessible to those Catholics who don't have any idea what the Tridentine Mass is about. I think it can serve as a real bridge between the Novus Ordo and the Tridentine Masses.

Anyway, if you have the opportunity to attend a Mass said according to the Divine Worship, I heartily recommend it. You can find out more by Googling "Anglican Use Mass". That's the more common, but less official name for it. But don't be fooled by the term "Anglican Use." An Anglican Use Mass is fully Catholic, in every sense of the term. It is more Catholic than the Novus Ordo, for sure.

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