The Traditional Latin Mass: back to the future?

"The rumour mill is churning with speculations that the Holy See is
about to loosen the regulations surrounding the Tridentine Mass," writes Benjamin Blosser in Ad Limina Apostolorum, "due to widespread frustration over the fact that bishops have been so reluctant to allow its use." Quoting from a Crux News article (dated July 2nd) based on a report in the U.K.'s Catholic Harold dated June 18th (via Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam), he writes:

According to the report by Freddy Gray, "Cardinal Castrillon Hoyos, prefect of the Congregation for Clergy, told The Latin Mass, America's leading traditionalist magazine, that the Vatican was preparing to issue a 'juridical guarantee' in favor of the Tridentine rite, which was the Church's official rite from the 16th century until 1962.

John Medlin, development manager for the Latin Mass Society, said he was excited by the cardinal's comments. 'Rome is signaling that it is prepared to use the transcendent nature of the traditional Mass as a standard to rein in the abuse in the new rite,' he said. 'We are beginning to hear the death knell of liberalism in the Church and not before time'....."

Citing an article from the North Carolina Research Triangle area based NewsObserver.Com, Benjamin Blosser said that he was happy to note the report of a strong Tridentine Mass community in his former diocese of Raleigh. The article goes on to report:

As part of its efforts to reach out to all members, the Catholic Diocese of Raleigh is allowing traditional Latin masses at Dunn's Sacred Heart Catholic Church. For some, it is a walk down nostalgia lane. But for many more it is a new experience -- one that appeals to young people.

Indeed, Latin is enjoying a modest comeback. Such as Mel Gibson's "The Passion of the Christ," spoken in Latin and Aramaic, may be partly responsible. More likely, the traditional Latin Mass owes its fascination to a longing for timelessness and transcendence.

"There's a sense of mystery and holy sacredness," said Kim Hoover, 42, of Clayton, who recently attended the first such Mass with her family. "I don't know how to explain it -- a reverence you don't find a lot of times."

There is probably some truth to the observation, as Benjamin Blosser notes, that the sudden resurgence of interest in the Old Mass is connected to the abuses in the New. Indeed, one of the best things that could happen liturgically in the contemporary Roman Catholic Church is for the Vatican to allow free reign to the traditional Latin Mass, expose the New Mass to the free marketplace of liturgical competition, and let people vote their preferences with their feet. Everyone would be a lot happier, and in the most unexpected ways, we could well see grace abound within the Church.