AD DEUM

As has been published far and wide on the internet the holy Father has shown all the Catholic world his desire for a return to continuity and tradition in his celebrating the missal of Paul VI "Ad Orientem". It's been a vexation for me to read the unenlightened and rather ignorant mutterings of the secular press regarding Sunday's liturgical celebration. One would think that a bit more research could be put into an article other than to say in essence that the holy father celebrated Mass "with back to the faithful". The secular and sadly Catholic press all to often lead only to confuse the faithful and public at large with their ignorance of liturgical matters.

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I am and know many of you out there in blogosphere are eternally grateful to the holy father for this sign of hope and "the hermeneutic of continuity". We know that for far too long (for many of us since childhood) we have been told that any kind of continuity with the preconciliar church is out of touch with that nebulous "spirit of Vatican II". My reading of Sacrosanctum Concilium in junior high school was enough to inform me that the "Novus Ordo" as it was celebrated in the great majority of Churches was not what the council fathers had in mind. Not to mention that what was seen in the average parish church was in sharp contrast to what I read about (liturgically-speaking) in the "Lives of the Saints". It was as if there was a "fresh start" from "point zero" and that everything that had existed and been held to be sacred and in high esteem prior to 1969 was suspect. It was common place to hear "Oh, Vatican II did away with that!". I'm sure many of you have heard this ad nauseum.

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I am grateful that the holy father has taken the lead in this endeavor to dispel this myth. My great hope is that he shall continue to do this with ever more frequency. He needs our daily fervent prayers.