In one of the films that we have seen in class, what struck me most was a line uttered by a priest who said “we are a Vatican II people, many may not be aware of it, but most of the things that we do as a Church were the results of the Second Vatican Council.” Attending the Latin Mass in Our Lady of Victories Parish made me more convinced of this; I realized all the more that the way we worship, our manner of seeing the Church and its people, our attitude towards the world, and even the way we do theology at present are all brought about by the fruits of the Second Vatican Council.
I attended the mass on January 1, 2012 at 9:00am; I initially do not know what to do when I arrived in the church since that was my first time to visit Our Lady of Victories, more so, attend a Tridentine Mass. Upon reaching the church, I noticed that some people were lining up towards its entrance, with me not knowing exactly what to do and afraid that people might take offense on my unfamiliarity of the rite if I ask questions, I also joined the queue thinking that maybe it is a line for people doing a required prayer before entering the church. But when I saw some people going inside the church without joining the line, that was the time that I tried to see where the line would lead me, and then I realized that the line leads to a confessional box so I immediately went off the line and proceeded inside the church. I believe that this initial encounter of mine symbolizes my lack of awareness of my spiritual heritage as a catholic who has been initiated to the faith in the spirit of Vatican II. I came to the church with a mentality of openness, not even thinking that it is a schismatic community nor with a superiority complex in reference to my being in full communion with the Catholic Church; in this case, my visit to this traditionalist parish felt like a journey to my past which allowed me to understand our church today and appreciate more and more the Spirit that moved the council initiated by Pope John XXIII.
Upon entering the Our Lady of Vitories church, I felt the atmosphere of solemnity which is sometimes lacking in our own church. It was also easy to be at prayer because of the condition of the place.The general demeanor of the people present that day as well as their manner of dressing up reminded me that I am indeed in a Holy Place. The priest in full regalia and altar servers in inticately designed surplice, together with their calculated moves, give me an impression of the dignity and sanctity of the liturgy we were celebrating.
The first difference that I have noticed when we were about to start the mass was the announcement that we are celebrating the “Circumcision of the Lord” that day instead of the January 1 liturgical celebration which I know as the “Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God” and our church’s “World Day of Peace.” I experienced more confusions when we started with the mass because I do not know even the basics such as when to stand up, sit, or kneel down so I ended up being always on guard, observing intently the people seated in the pew in front of me. I was also impressed by the fact that quite a number of young people are present and they know exactly the responses and the songs in Latin. But some people continued to do their private devotions, especially the rosary, while the mass is going on; on the other hand, a large number of the congregation, including me, was silent all throughout the mass because they simply do not know what the responses are. My moment of curiosity came to its peak during the consecration, when the priest turned his back to the congregation and started to say the silent prayers. I tried hard to see what he was doing but unfortunately I was not able to do so. I would have wanted to see how the consecration in the Tridentine Mass was being done, specifically the rubrics, but all I saw was the back of the priest and some of his hand movements while holding the vessels.
What I liked the most in my experience attending the mass in Our Lady of Victories church was the homily delivered by Father Alain-Marc Nely, the First Assistant to the Superior General of the Society of Saint Pius X. I listened carefully to him because that was the only part of the mass delivered in English, thus, the only part which I understood. He started his homily by greeting the congregation with “Holy New Year” instead of saying “Happy New Year.” He continued with his discourse explaining that holy new year is the more appropriate greeting because holiness comes before our happiness. He also said that our happiness depends much on the way we live a holy life and that our joy, to be genuine, must be anchored in the Lord. In a way, I can say that his homily reflects much my experience attending the Tridentine Mass – its emphasis on the things which are holy. I believe that this can serve as a challenge to us, especially when in the church, most of our church-goers fail to recognize that our church is God’s temple and that all of us are called to holiness.
When I read the “Weekly Bulletin” of the church, a newsletter containing the liturgy of the day and some announcements, my attention was caught by this statement: “we must double and triple our prayers and efforts to make our nation more and more agreeable to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the King of the Philippines during this year.” For me, this statement gives an image of a God who needs to be appeased by our own capacity to make amends, it also tends to focus much on human effort rather that the grace of God, his mercy and his gratuitous acts.
Another line from the “Weekly Bulletin” made me uncomfortable because it claimed that “the council of Vatican II devastated the Church. New Masses teaches secretly that the Mass is no longer for God but mainly for men, primarily for their entertainment. The worldly spirit penetrated into the Catholic souls, even priests and bishops, and they are astray. They try to seek an impossible union between the spirit of the Gospel and that of the world.”
This statement made me ask: how do they see us? I may not have an exact answer to this question yet but my experience in Our Lady of Victories convinced me that the Spirit that moved the Vatican II was right in making our liturgy more meaningful to the faithful. Although I am aware that Vatican II is not perfect, it is not a one-shot solution to all our questions as a church and that there were also abuses in the liturgy done after the council, I still go by the fact that Vatican II gave way to a renewed expression of our faith without digressing to the ideals and creed we uphold. Personally, I can say that Vatican II unveiled the beauty of God and the Church to the humanity today so that together with St. Augustine we can recognize clearly this “beauty ever ancient and ever new.” By using the vernacular and making the mass inculturated in our own context, I have understood better the meaning of the Word made flesh and dwelt amongst us. I believe more in the God who lovingly makes himself accesible to his people and a church who expresses that its people’s joys, hopes, fears and anxieties are also its own. I ended my new year’s day with a mass in our own rite and i told myself: welcome home!
THE ELLIS EXPERIENCE 