The Traditional Mass: Pastoral advantages

Fr Tim Finigan has written a very interesting post on the reactions of his congregation to a recent Missa Cantata he sang. He writes, in part:

Those who have come to the Church out of interest and are unfamiliar with the [Novus Ordo] Liturgy, and those who are coming back to the practice of the faith which they lapsed from in their teens are actually disadvantaged by a heavily didactic liturgy in which finding your place in the book or "worship aid" is given great importance.

By contrast, the Classical Rite allows people to participate in different ways without being self-conscious or feeling that they are not "joining in" properly. Most especially, there is a very dramatic silence surrounding the consecration. Everyone can understand this without the need to read anything or hear anything except the sacring bell. The elevation of the sacred host in the midst of this silence, and the genuflection of the priest (which can be more clearly seen if he is turned ad orientem) cries out without words that this is the mysterium tremendum et fascinans.

For the whole post, see here.