This chapter of the book really only makes sense in light of the Western liturgy. Some contend that the Church has lost its masculine touch. If anything, the Church has lost its feminine touch and has embraced this effeminate masculinity that is so degrading it might as well be barbaric and bland. This is the Protestant abuse of the Novus Ordo. But proper reflection on Our Lady is something that is brought to our attention by the Tridentine Mass. Peter Kwasniewski talks about his devotion to the rosary in this second to last chapter of the book. How does the Mass compare to the rosary in his perspective? Although I pray the rosary, it isn't generally considered an Eastern devotion so for someone reading this book as a Greek Catholic, this is the chapter that makes the least sense to me in favor of the Tridentine Mass but it certainly makes a strong case for it from a Western perspective.
The purpose of the rosary is repetitive meditation that intends to lead us inward toward the mystery of God. In the East, we have repetition too. We pray "Lord, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, have mercy on me the sinner!" We pray that constantly. We make certain it is constantly on our lips and ingrained into our hearts. When it comes to critics of the Tridentine Mass, they hate the repetition of prayers that occur within it. Why do they hate it so much? Repetition is a key to remembering things, to grafting things into the mind. That is why repetition is so important. When it comes to a song, we hear the chorus over and over again so that by the end of the song, the chorus is ingrained into our heads. This is why music can be such a bad influence on us. If we are hearing toxic sludge, our mind is repetitively filled with toxic sludge. The Apostle Paul calls us to think on the things that are true, noble, right, pure, lovely, yielding kindness, these things think upon. Repetition is a mental meditative tactic to turn our minds toward what is important.
Thus, repetitive prayers in Mass are far from being tedious, they are what cements our minds to bask in the glory of God. They train our minds to be elevated toward holy things. This is why the prayers of the rosary are repeated. They also call us toward mystery. They call us toward participation in the Life of Jesus. When we go through the rosary, we start with the Annunciation. This is the beginning of the earthly Life of Jesus. This is the beginning of his humanity and our godliness. This is the point in which man and God become one inside the Virgin. As we go through the mysteries, we finally end up at the coronation. The Virgin Mary is both a type of the Church as a type of the Ark of the Covenant. She is both the Church and the Ark of the Covenant. We enter into the Virgin Mary's life because we are the Church as well. At the end of our life with God on Earth, we are called up into death with Him so that we are then raised from the dead and we become crowned with the glory of Heaven. This is how the rosary is much like the Mass.
Kwasniewski reflects on three things that if we are to forget about them, will result in the collapse of Catholic theology. Reverence for the Fathers and Doctors, reverence for the sacredness of the liturgy, and reverence for the Christian society these things seek to build. With the modern liturgical revolution, all three of these things are lost and stripped away. I don't imagine it possible to have the Tridentine Mass with the theology of Pope Francis. In fact, many of these recent Popes sound rather foreign when one becomes basked in an Eastern perspective, but Kwasniewski does speak from a Western perspective. But the Tradition, overall, encapsulates so much of the lives of the saints that it is impossible to revere them while not thinking that something is missing currently. We have seen how lack of reverence for the saints has been something that the Novus Ordo has produced. Thus, to embrace their theology, one cannot refuse to worship as they did.
Reverence for the sacredness of the liturgy has become optional these days. The more extraordinary ministers, the more the Eucharist seems to be degraded. I remember the treasurer at the Anglican Mission I went to telling me how some of these Traditionalist Catholics don't think that their own brethren even believe in the Eucharistic theology of the Church any more the way the body of Our Lord is handled. How can one be so casual about Our Lord's body and yet still profess the belief in transubstantiation? It doesn't make sense. If one believes what they are fed is truly divine, then one must treat it as God. If one treats God so poorly thinking that it's just a wafer or even just any other normal object, then reverence for the holiness of the Tradition is lost.
Reverence for the Christian society that our fathers sought to build has been lost. In today's Church, the theology has been so consumed with focusing on the dignity of man and the rights' of man, one wonders if man has become God too soon. It really does look that way given the attitude and current theological trends of the clergy. I have seen more clergy this past year standing up for democratic values and condemning even the classical values of the ancient traditions in favor of democratic values. Whether they are doing this for money or not is uncertain but it really seems to be the former. Since when does the Church stand for democratic values? Never. At least not until now. The overwhelming trend in the Church has not been toward the glorification and promotion of Christendom, far from it. The trend in the Church has been toward the glorification of man, man's rights, and man's free will. This is an idolatrous form of humanism.
All three of these have been lost. Is it any wonder why the liturgy has been crumbling apart, the Church is rife with scandals and schisms, or that ravenous wolves have taken the place of shepherds? May we all recollect on who we are. May we all wake up from this amnesia. May we look backwards so that we may look forwards. O Lady and Theotokos, Ever-Virgin Mary, pray for us!
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