Something is happening...

Deceit - that's the name of the painting.

"Because something is happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you, Mister Jones?" - "Ballad Of A Thin Man" - Bob Dylan

The other day I ran into a priest who said, "It's the traditionalists that cause all the problems." Until recently he had been a member of the personnel board for the Archdiocese of Mpls/St. Paul - really not very long ago, maybe a couple of years? - although he is no longer. That means he had a hand in deciding which priests are assigned where.

Today I ran into this extraordinary couple. He was once an elder in the Jehovah Witnesses, a well educated man, and now very well educated in Roman Catholic theology and liturgy. They began their conversion in a standard Novus Ordo parish. They were attracted to St. Agnes and yet found their way to the traditional Mass - the Tridentine rite. To hear their testimony is truly awesome. Their understanding of the Mass puts my own understanding to shame. They attend the Novus Ordo when they have no alternative, and they accept the Novus Ordo as a valid Mass. Yet their love of the ancient rite is profound. Their understanding and ability to navigate the Latin is unusual, especially for former protestants. They are totally devoted to Pope Benedict XVI and are in no way 'sedevacantist'. Neither do they tolerate any vindictive criticism or detraction of the hierarchy. I was very impressed with their testimony. Very moved indeed.

I posted on my 'other' blog about the Altar of the Chair having been removed from St. Peter's Basilica in Rome. It was jack-hammered out of there. One has seen what has happened over the years to countless Churches, stripped of ornament and the old altars. Was someone trying to get rid of every vestige of the traditional rite? Was there some sort of iconoclasm occuring in our midst? Nothing like this ever happened since the Protestant Reformation - nothing. What happened? Why have people been silenced, exiled, marginalized, and ostracized?

Something has been happening here
But you don't know what it is
Do you,
Mister Jones?