Tlm At Steubenville

[Guest Girraffeed]

Hi- as I am at Steubenville and my name is on the petition I figured I should chime in.

One main point I want to make.

This does NOT represent the general attitude of the students. This was a decision by the college not the students. Not many of my fellow university goers that I have talked to about it are hostile towards the Extraordinary form of the Mass. Most are willing to let it be- they might not attend- but they wont fight against it.

If you have any more specific questions- just ask.

[jiyoung]

I'm also a current student at Franciscan. And I think that while yes, the NO liturgy is fine and beautiful and all, there is something inherent in the TLM that allows me to worship more fully. To say that the NO should be enough and I don't need it at the school is the same attitude that many bishops have had towards their faithful in their dioceses, and it should at least be clear that Pope Benedict issued this motu proprio to combat this attitude. Further, having a TLM shouldn't be to the detriment of the NO, because nobody is being forced to go; it only really affects those people who want this by giving us what we so desire. It's not about one liturgy being better than the other any more than the Roman rite is better than any Eastern rite--it's more a personal thing in that respect.

It's simply unfair to deny this to us, because if the chapel is really so concerned with our spiritual development, and we feel (in large numbers!) that this would be highly beneficial to our faith, then they should be falling over themselves to provide this for us. I'm disappointed that this has become what seems like a political power struggle rather than meeting the needs of the student body, which is what the chapel ministry should be doing. This is not about "conquering the NO" but our love for the old liturgy, and I'm also disappointed when people, seeing this, begin to attack the campus liturgies (which I personally avoid, but I've been trying to at least stay quiet about how I feel about them personally) and the Novus Ordo in general. This really sends the wrong message for what this is about. That's why I'm glad the people who are heading this movement at Franciscan are who they are--both very charitable and very normal students, and Claire especially as the "charismatic traditionalist" is not the typical person you would expect to head this sort of thing.

I'd just like to ask people's prayers in this, because I think people are becoming really combative--I was actually incredibly angry when I first found out but have since calmed down--and this whole political thing is really just so unsavory and not at all what this is about. If this is really about our spiritual growth then our action must be fueled by prayer.

As far as the "charismatic traditionalist," I don't think it means meshing the two in the Mass. I know several of these types here--I've always been more on the contemplative side myself, but I came back into the Church through the charismatic movement--and they're traditional in liturgy but charismatic in spirituality and use those gifts OUTSIDE of the liturg, which honestly is where I would place them personally. They make it work--so it shows that it is indeed possible to be both if you wanted to be,